Everything new dies!

[fishybizzness]

So my tank has been set up for almost 1 1/2 years. I lost a few fish last year after Irma and Maria but I chalked it up to not having the pumps running 24 hrs a day due to being on generator power for several months. I've had 2 slippery dick wrasses and several gobies for about a year now and they have made it through everything no problem. For about the last month or 2, every new fish I have added dies within a week or 2. They would be eating fine one day and by the next day or two I find them dead. I have lost a blue chromis, Atlantic blue tang, a surgeon fish and a filefish. I haven't seen any spots or odd behavior. Through all this the original fish are healthy as ever. I tested my water several times and no paramaters are out of whack. I'm at a loss and don't know what to do.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Most likely there is a parasite in the tank. Your older fish have developed an immunity to, but newer fish in a stressful situation are much more susceptible.

 

[fishybizzness]

My gobies are always spawning so I took that as a sign that the tank is pretty healthy. I feed fresh food such as mussels and shrimp regularly and I add live mycid shrimp every month. How do I get my new fish to develop immunity? I also use nsw so even if I quarrantine there is still a chance of parasites coming in with the water.

 

[fishybizzness]

How do I figure out what parasites are in the tank?

 

[eatbreakfast]

My guess would be velvet, but without symptoms it's hard to say for sure. The disease forum regulars would be able to help.

 

[fishybizzness]

The only thing I noticed was that the fins on the filefish were a little frayed but I found the Arrowhead crab eating it so I figured that could have been the cause.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

You cant make fish become immune to parasite. Its something that is dormant or not attacking in numbera because parasite itself doeant feel threatened for it to mass produce and cause damage to other fish.
When you add new fish they are stressed due to shipment/transport. New environment and new tank mates etc which weakens their immunity while preexisting fish dont have that lack of immunity per se. Parasite attacks and wins.
Using nsw will always carry a risk of bringing a bug home. Thus you will need to sterilize the water.
It's done by adding 3.75ml bleach to every gallon of nsw then mix is it for few hours let is sit then mix again for few hours.
Once that process is done you can use aeration to take bleach out over several days or use sodiumthiosulphate.
945 grams diluted in 1 gal water solution. For every 4ml of bleach used you need 1ml of solution to neutralize it. Mix and aearate till you cant smell bleach anymore.
This will guarantee no parasite making it to your tanks.
For current parasite you need to setup a qt and pull all fish out into qt and observe till you can id the disease.
Leave main tank fallow for 10-12 weeks or drain it (if no corals) and let it sit dry for a while. Basically a reset unless we identify the bug.

 

[fishybizzness]

Thanks for the detailed response. I'm currently working long shifts at work, 7 days a week for the last few weeks and won't be able to set up a quarantine for at least a few more weeks. I'm happy to learn how to sterilize the nsw as I didn't know that could be done. I'm figuring that the remaining fish will be ok as they have been for over a year now. I also think I'm going to do a fallow period as soon as time permits. Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[4FordFamily]

I agree on going fallow, and treating fish prophylactically for what is most likely velvet.

 

[fishybizzness]

What meds should I be using?

 

[ZaneTer]

Established wrasses can be horrible creatures.......think six line wrasse. Your tank may be suffering from established bullies. Just some food for thought.

Edit - Harlequin tuskfish are notorious for being docile as young fish and very tolerant to tank mates it has grown up with. When mature they can often turn quite psychotic towards any new addition.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Copper based meds. Cupramine, copper power, coppersafe.
Territorial aggression could also be the problem like somebody just mentioned. Have you noticed the new fish fighting with the old ones?

 

[fishybizzness]

I'm going to order some cupramine today so I can get it by the time I'm ready to quarantine. I haven't seen any aggression from the wrasses whatsoever, actually the opposite. They have been hanging out with all the new fish I put into the tank. There has been slight aggression from the gobies but mainly territorial, only if a fish gets too close to their caves under the rocks. I started reading up on the copper treatment process and it seems to be very detailed. I will continue reading until I feel like I have a full grasp of the process.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

What led to a diagnosis of velvet in this case?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Combination of timing and educated guess.

 

[Benny Morosco]

I have 2 questions if you don't mind me asking...

1. Do you Quarantine your fish before they go in to the tank ?
2. Are the fish that keep dying from the same store?

 

[fishybizzness]

No and no. The quarantine part is changing though

 

[Lasse]

I doubt there is a disease caused by a microorganism in this case - it is to fast and as you say no odd behavior. How do you purchase your fish that have died? Online or in fish stores? How long has the transport been? How do you acclimatize your purchases? What´s is your salinity - if possible measure with at least two different methods. Have you done any test like Triton or ATI ?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[eatbreakfast]

I doubt there is a disease caused by a microorganism in this case - it is to fast and as you say no odd behavior. How do you purchase your fish that have died? Online or in fish stores? How long has the transport been? How do you acclimatize your purchases? What´s is your salinity - if possible measure with at least two different methods. Have you done any test like Triton or ATI ?

Sincerely Lasse

Some strains of velvet work in that time frame and can be relatively asymptomatic.

The op's fish last a week or two, acclimation issues would be transparent earlier than that.

Shipping stresses would follow a faster time frame.

The op has an arrow crab, spawning gobies, and uses NSW, so parameters shouldn't be far off enough to lead to fish deaths.

 

[Lasse]

If velvet - should they not have a heavy breath before the die? Yes - it can be velvet - but there can be 100 more reasons for it based on the facts in the first post. Is NSW always of good quality because it from the see ? That´s not my experiences. What is the salinity in the aquarium? Do NSW means real NSW or that he runs the aquarium with NSW concentrations?

Sincerely Lasse