Everything is dying....

[LayT27]

I have now lost 6 fish to Swim bladder disease in 2 weeks. What else do I need to be doing?

I have a 75gallon tank that is going on 3 months (May 15 added first fish). According to my SafeAlert tests, the tank has cycled. I started with a Melanarus Wrasse and a Fire Goby to help kick off that cycle after 2 weeks of the tank being started. I added a bunch of Turbo Start. Brown hair algae started to take over the tank so i added some nessarius snails to help and to get established in the sand bed. That was all in the first month. I waited another 6 weeks to let everything settle and get established.

2 Weeks ago I purchased a Tomini Tang and a Coral Beauty Angel...Everything was great, both were eating and then after 3 days the Tomini Tang started swimming funny, appeared to be SBD. I tried to save him but didnt work. a few days later the coral beauty did the same. I contacted the LFS and they switched them out thinking it was a parasite because water parameters still show the tank is fine and I am doing a 20-30% water change twice a week (is that too much?).

I replaced the Tang and Coral with another Tomini, fox face, sailfin tang and an urchin. The tomini Tang died before I could even get home to acclimate (i think he got smashed in the corner when the bag was put in the box and just didnt make it) the Sailfin Tang showed signs of SBD and passed away over this past weekend and the Fox face did the same thing a few days later. Again, tank parameters appear to be normal.

The Urchin, snails (they are breeding), melanarus wrasse are doing fine and eating. The fire Goby passed away today with what appears to be SBD.

What am I missing or did I just get a bad run of fish? All the fish have been from the same LFS. I normally quarentine new fish but since i only had two in there, I deemed the whole tank as a QT tank. But I cant seem to figure out if its my tank with the issues or if it was the fish and i need to go to a new fish store. Im almost at the point of selling off everything and being done with it. I know patience is key but i shouldnt be losing fish this quickly.

75gallon tank with live rock
Trigger Ruby 30S sump
Reef Octopus 110 INT Protein Skimmer

 

[sixty_reefer]

I have now lost 6 fish to Swim bladder disease in 2 weeks. What else do I need to be doing?

I have a 75gallon tank that is going on 3 months (May 15 added first fish). According to my SafeAlert tests, the tank has cycled. I started with a Melanarus Wrasse and a Fire Goby to help kick off that cycle after 2 weeks of the tank being started. I added a bunch of Turbo Start. Brown hair algae started to take over the tank so i added some nessarius snails to help and to get established in the sand bed. That was all in the first month. I waited another 6 weeks to let everything settle and get established.

2 Weeks ago I purchased a Tomini Tang and a Coral Beauty Angel...Everything was great, both were eating and then after 3 days the Tomini Tang started swimming funny, appeared to be SBD. I tried to save him but didnt work. a few days later the coral beauty did the same. I contacted the LFS and they switched them out thinking it was a parasite because water parameters still show the tank is fine and I am doing a 20-30% water change twice a week (is that too much?).

I replaced the Tang and Coral with another Tomini, fox face, sailfin tang and an urchin. The tomini Tang died before I could even get home to acclimate (i think he got smashed in the corner when the bag was put in the box and just didnt make it) the Sailfin Tang showed signs of SBD and passed away over this past weekend and the Fox face did the same thing a few days later. Again, tank parameters appear to be normal.

The Urchin, snails (they are breeding), melanarus wrasse are doing fine and eating. The fire Goby passed away today with what appears to be SBD.

What am I missing or did I just get a bad run of fish? All the fish have been from the same LFS. I normally quarentine new fish but since i only had two in there, I deemed the whole tank as a QT tank. But I cant seem to figure out if its my tank with the issues or if it was the fish and i need to go to a new fish store. Im almost at the point of selling off everything and being done with it. I know patience is key but i shouldnt be losing fish this quickly.

75gallon tank with live rock
Trigger Ruby 30S sump
Reef Octopus 110 INT Protein Skimmer

Have you got any pictures of the fish that died? And the ones that still alive

 

[E_reefer]

Sorry for all the losses. What exactly are your tank parameters? Specific gravity, temp, ph? And are you sure cycle completed? Have you tested recently for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? Assuming all of those are good as you put it, it is unlikely you have had bad run of fish but more likely there is a highly contagious disease like marine velvet. I have never heard of swim bladder disease- is that a freshwater fish issue? Im assuming they have all presented the same symptoms- what are the symptoms? Sometimes fish will swim sideways and “flash” up against rocks and walls or begin to invert, which could indicate other types of disease. Do the fish have spots or sores, are they breathing very fast or swimming more around the surface like trying to get air? Are their gills bright red? You mentioned not quarantining fish, but how did you acclimate them? Did you observe at the store prior to bringing home and are other fish at the store doing the same thing?

 

[LayT27]

Sorry for all the losses. What exactly are your tank parameters? Specific gravity, temp, ph? And are you sure cycle completed? Have you tested recently for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? Assuming all of those are good as you put it, it is unlikely you have had bad run of fish but more likely there is a highly contagious disease like marine velvet. I have never heard of swim bladder disease- is that a freshwater fish issue? Im assuming they have all presented the same symptoms- what are the symptoms? Sometimes fish will swim sideways and “flash” up against rocks and walls or begin to invert, which could indicate other types of disease. Do the fish have spots or sores, are they breathing very fast or swimming more around the surface like trying to get air? Are their gills bright red? You mentioned not quarantining fish, but how did you acclimate them? Did you observe at the store prior to bringing home and are other fish at the store doing the same thing?

I will retest today to give better parameters for the cycle and pH but i know the SG is 1.025-1.026, temp is 73.8F. The SBD basically is them floating aimlessly unable to hold themselves upright. if i turn the wave makers off, they will just sink like a rock. I noticed increased breathing on the fox face and the tomini tangs. The fire Goby came out nowhere, he usually hides anyway.

Main symptoms ive noticed is almost like a drunk state, unable to swim to straight or just floats aimlessly and the tangs showed signs of breathing fast. No one seemed to be gasping for air or had any spots on them.

the only deceased fish i have in the freezer are the sailfin and the fire goby. the others i trashed. when purchasing the fish, i sat and watched each one of them for at least 5 minutes, all were out and about swimming and such, no sores or issues observed. The owner even confirmed that the new Tomini I recieved had been there longer than the previous one i purchased so he felt confident he was good to go. I acclimate by putting them all in a 5 gal bucket, i will check the salinity of the LFS and my water to see how long i need to acclimate. The salinity was 1.020 so i acclimated via drip line for an hour. Tomini was dead before i even had a chance to get him in the tank. I did notice a different Fox Face with white velvetty stuff on his fins. I asked the LFS if they were all on the same filtration and he said no, so i felt confident the fish i took were not impacted, guess I was wrong. I just blew atleast $200 on fish and im wondering if its my set up or the LFS. Should I treat me entire tank now with paragard or something? I dont want to kill off my snails and urchin. they seem to be the only active thing i can keep alive

 

[LayT27]

Have you got any pictures of the fish that died? And the ones that still alive

I can take a few of the ones i saved. I have a video of the Tomini tang when he was showing symptoms

 

[LayT27]

I included some videos of when I first got them. The Sailfin and fox face was on last Friday. The sailfin was what my wife sent me on Saturday. Fox face passed away on Monday.

Could I have contaminated food? I have new life spectrum Maine pellets and then frozen brine shrimp, my sis shrimp and marine cuisine.

 

[sixty_reefer]

@Jay Hemdal could help as he’s the new fish expert on the forum, unfortunately I can’t see the vid as an on my phone

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have now lost 6 fish to Swim bladder disease in 2 weeks. What else do I need to be doing?

I have a 75gallon tank that is going on 3 months (May 15 added first fish). According to my SafeAlert tests, the tank has cycled. I started with a Melanarus Wrasse and a Fire Goby to help kick off that cycle after 2 weeks of the tank being started. I added a bunch of Turbo Start. Brown hair algae started to take over the tank so i added some nessarius snails to help and to get established in the sand bed. That was all in the first month. I waited another 6 weeks to let everything settle and get established.

2 Weeks ago I purchased a Tomini Tang and a Coral Beauty Angel...Everything was great, both were eating and then after 3 days the Tomini Tang started swimming funny, appeared to be SBD. I tried to save him but didnt work. a few days later the coral beauty did the same. I contacted the LFS and they switched them out thinking it was a parasite because water parameters still show the tank is fine and I am doing a 20-30% water change twice a week (is that too much?).

I replaced the Tang and Coral with another Tomini, fox face, sailfin tang and an urchin. The tomini Tang died before I could even get home to acclimate (i think he got smashed in the corner when the bag was put in the box and just didnt make it) the Sailfin Tang showed signs of SBD and passed away over this past weekend and the Fox face did the same thing a few days later. Again, tank parameters appear to be normal.

The Urchin, snails (they are breeding), melanarus wrasse are doing fine and eating. The fire Goby passed away today with what appears to be SBD.

What am I missing or did I just get a bad run of fish? All the fish have been from the same LFS. I normally quarentine new fish but since i only had two in there, I deemed the whole tank as a QT tank. But I cant seem to figure out if its my tank with the issues or if it was the fish and i need to go to a new fish store. Im almost at the point of selling off everything and being done with it. I know patience is key but i shouldnt be losing fish this quickly.

75gallon tank with live rock
Trigger Ruby 30S sump
Reef Octopus 110 INT Protein Skimmer

Hi,

I watched the video of the Tomini and the Sailfin tang - they don't have swim bladder disease; that would show with the fish being either positive or negatively buoyant, and these two fish a neutrally buoyant. What they are is termed "moribund", a polite term for dying. Both fish were pretty skinny, and I can't tell for sure, but they seemed to show signs of discoloration on their skin that could be parasites. Generally, if your urchin and snails are fine, it isn't water quality. You mentioned bad food; that could be, but the last batch of bad frozen food I had, I definitely could smell it. I would say there is a parasite issue EXCEPT that the melanurus wrasse is still fine - that confounds things a bit. At this point, you can't treat with invertebrates present in the tank, so I would let things lay fallow for 40 days. If the wrasse is still doing well by that time, you could start adding hardy fish one at a time (but quarantine is always best).

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

How did you acclimate the fish ( how long and what method? )
Also, with this stocking of fish, how old is your tank and at what temp and salinity is your tank?

 

[lavoisier]

It is a hard lesson, but without quarantine the risk of disease is always present. In 40 years of keeping aquariums I've never experienced an infectious disease outbreak and for a lot of that time I did not quarantine but the risk is always present. I've come to the point where I will only stock quarantined fish in my DT. Good luck.

 

[LayT27]

How did you acclimate the fish ( how long and what method? )
Also, with this stocking of fish, how old is your tank and at what temp and salinity is your tank?

That was answered previously.

That was answered

It is a hard lesson, but without quarantine the risk of disease is always present. In 40 years of keeping aquariums I've never experienced an infectious disease outbreak and for a lot of that time I did not quarantine but the risk is always present. I've come to the point where I will only stock quarantined fish in my DT. Good luck.

Yup. I blame myself cause I have a QT up and running with cycled media but there wasnt anything except the 2 fish and the inverts in the tank. But since one of my OG fish died, its apparent it was something that could have been prevented