Fish disaster... :(

[Rlynch818]

Hello. I am having a major fish disaster and am clueless on what's happening. Most of these fish I've had for at least 4-5 years. 2 days ago all of my fish were very happy, eating well, etc. Yesterday I woke up to a dead yellow tang, purple tang and 6 line wrasse. The other fish (4 large green chromis and a huge maroon clownfish) were fine, eating well, etc, and the few corals I have (a few zoas, acans, green hammer, a couple more) all look great. I took water to get test done at lfs and all the parameters were good... alk-8.12, cal-480, Po4-.1, Sg-1.025, no nitrates/nitrites. They said maybe something contaminated the water. I did 40 gallon water change and changed carbon. (I have a 100 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump). The chromis and clown fish looked great all day. I woke up this morning to all of the chromis are dead. Only thing left is my clownfish that I've had for 8 years. Again, the corals look great.

I have a grounding probe so it can't be stray voltage. The only thing I've changed on the tank is that I added a filter sock a couple days before this started happening. Here's a pic of my purple tang before he died. Huge white spot around his gills. Anyone have any ideas as to what is happening??

 

[Katrina71]

I'm so sorry. That would be terrible.

 

[3mm3]

I'd pull the filter sock. Was it new? Was it one you have had?

 

[CindyKz]

I was thinking the same thing...was the filter sock old? new? clean? If that was the only change, that's the only thing I can think of.

I'm so sorry you're going through this

 

[Rlynch818]

I'd pull the filter sock. Was it new? Was it one you have had?

It was new. I'm taking it out now and will do more water changes today.

 

[3mm3]

It was new. I'm taking it out now and will do more water changes today.

Did you wash the sock prior to use? I ask because I have purchased filter socks and filter bags from places like amazon in the past and some have been of questionable material and/or have had a strange smell or feel. I tossed the questionable stuff.
I am sorry for your fish losses. Losing fish after so many years sucks.

 

[Rlynch818]

Yeah, I rinsed it out... the same way I've done for years before adding a new sock. I didn't notice anything unusual with it before I installed it.

 

[Maritimer]

Was the purple tang the only one to show that white spot?

My g0-to guess for this would be some kind of contamination, but perhaps someone else on the #reefsquad has experience with something similar . . .

~Bruce, very saddened by such loss

 

[Rlynch818]

Yes, the purple tang is the only one to show that huge spot. I don't/didn't see anything on the other dead fish. My 4 year old son is very upset, but probably not as upset as I am. I've had some of these fish since before he was born.

 

[3mm3]

I thinks its possible the sock had some kind of contaminant or possibly something was dropped into the tank or sump during maintenance?

 

[Rlynch818]

I thinks its possible the sock had some kind of contaminant or possibly something was dropped into the tank or sump during maintenance?

I have to think it's some sort of contamination. I am always extremely careful about what goes in the tank (my hands, etc.) In over 15 years in this hobby, I've never had anything like this happen. We do have a cleaning lady once in a while, but we've had her for years and she knows not to go near the tank with anything.

 

[Maritimer]

I thinks its possible the sock had some kind of contaminant or possibly something was dropped into the tank or sump during maintenance?

Or possibly by a well-meaning four-year-old? I've known kids to put odd things in weird places, like feeding a peanut-butter sandwich to a VCR, or creating a "spawning" of goldfish (cheesy cracker ones) in Dad's aquarium . . .

~Bruce

 

[3mm3]

Or possibly by a well-meaning four-year-old? I've known kids to put odd things in weird places, like feeding a peanut-butter sandwich to a VCR, or creating a "spawning" of goldfish (cheesy cracker ones) in Dad's aquarium . . .

~Bruce

I had seen through the years stuff like that happening, definitely possible.

 

[GHsaltie]

You can run some purigen media to see if you've got any contaminants. I also wonder if you might have a nasty bacterial infection going through your tank. How is your clown doing right now?

 

[Rlynch818]

The 4 year old would never put anything into the tank. He's been taught very well not to. I'm leaning more towards the cleaning lady using too many chemicals near the tanks with not much air circulation. I'll get the purigen today.

 

[Maacc]

Also grab some polyfilter pads. Put it in and see what color it turns.

 

[RamsReef]

Polyfilter

 

[GHsaltie]

Also grab some polyfilter pads. Put it in and see what color it turns.

That's the one I was thinking of, not purigen. Sorry, my bad .

 

[will424]

did you test ammonia? looks like the skin was peeling off the only time i've seen that is when ammonia is high mabey some type of chemical got in

 

[eatbreakfast]

If it was a contaminant all the fish would have died around the same time. The chromis would not have looked fine the day after many of the fish died and then died the next night, they would have died the same night or have been dying throughout the day, if it were a contaminant. Timing wise it would seem more like a nasty pathogen.

Any larger than normal temperature swings? Brief power outages? Changes in aquascape? New cuc or corals? A lot of activity around the tank? Media reactor turned off for awhile and turnes back on?