Fish dropping dead like flies!!!

[Jeremy K.A.]

Your tap water may have changed since it was last tested. I would use tank water to thaw your food.

I was thinking that, it's well water so I'm not sure how that works exactly but I was wondering if something changed

 

[themcnertney]

Yeah should be running an RO/DI.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

I saw someone post something similar to my issue on another forum but I don't remember which one, some of the users said it could be ammonia "I don't have a test for" or Nitrate poisoning. Does GFO have an effect on test results for Nitrates/ phosphates?

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Yeah should be running an RO/DI.

For the tank water I do, for feeding I didn't because it's less than a 1/4 cup probably so I didn't think it would make any difference at the time

 

[themcnertney]

Tap water, but I've had that tested before and it's safe, as for how long I've had the fish, the bangaiis almost 2 years, and the dart fish probably 6 to 8 months roughly

For the tank water I do, for feeding I didn't because it's less than a 1/4 cup probably so I didn't think it would make any difference at the time

I'm lost as you're all over the map with your posts?

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

I'm lost as you're all over the map with your posts?

Lol my bad let me clear that up. I used tap water to thaw out frozen food, but very small amounts of water. I use RO/DI water for mixing the saltwater and for topping off

 

[beaslbob]

I would use common FW mollies to test out the tank. Much better to lose a $2 molly than an expensive marine only fish.

my .02

 

[Brew12]

Lol my bad let me clear that up. I used tap water to thaw out frozen food, but very small amounts of water. I use RO/DI water for mixing the saltwater and for topping off

I scoop a little water out of my tank to thaw my frozen food in. For me, that is the easiest and safest way possible.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

I would use common FW mollies to test out the tank. Much better to lose a $2 molly than an expensive marine only fish.

my .02

there's already other fish in it that have been there for two years

 

[Robink]

Me too with using the tank water. Don't put any tap in there. See if that solves the issue. If no other fish are scratching or showing any signs of any kind of parasite then it's most likely the water. If your tank has been up and running for awhile unless something major happened you shouldn't have any ammonia in there and the corals would also be an indicator.

 

[Robink]

there's already other fish in it that have been there for two years

Just to clarify, it's not a new tank. Established mixed reef. That is correct @Jeremy K.A. , right?

 

[Kevin D]

Tap water, but I've had that tested before and it's safe, as for how long I've had the fish, the bangaiis almost 2 years, and the dart fish probably 6 to 8 months roughly

Tap water can change, cities can change the way they treat it and what they treat it with, not uncommon for levels of various contaminated to change over time. Not saying that’s your issue but I would try to get away from using tap water for starters. When was your last water change? Do you use tap water for that as well? I’m guessing you do condition the water before use? Are you treating with any copper or meds? Water conditioners don’t mix well with copper and some meds.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Just to clarify, it's not a new tank. Established mixed reef. That is correct @Jeremy K.A. , right?

Correct!

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Tap water can change, cities can change the way they treat it and what they treat it with, not uncommon for levels of various contaminated to change over time. Not saying that’s your issue but I would try to get away from using tap water for starters. When was your last water change? Do you use tap water for that as well? I’m guessing you do condition the water before use? Are you treating with any copper or meds? Water conditioners don’t mix well with copper and some meds.

the last water change was... I believe around 4 or 5 days ago, and no I do not use tap water for that, I use RO/DI to mix the fresh saltwater. I am not treating the tank with any conditioners or meds

 

[Kevin D]

Have you checked ammonia in case you are having a mini cycle? Not sure if you posted that already.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I need your help Reef2Reef crew! In my 55 gallon mixed reef I've lost 3 fish this week. Parameters are Po4 undetectable/trace, nitrates undetectable/trace, Alk 10, Calcium 460. The symptoms are as follows: This is on different days, I'd feed the tank and the fish would eat. First time, Bangaii eats food and within seconds spazzes out hardcore, starts swimming erratically all over and then completely stiffens/ seizes up and stops breathing, then 20 or so seconds later maybe starts breathing, then dies within a few hours- Exact same thing happened with 2 scissortail dart fish.

I have NO IDEA what is happening, and I do not want to lose anymore fish.
Please let me know what you think, or if you've had same experiences. Thank you so much

I had some lyretail anthias a year or two ago that did the same thing. They would go crazy eating and would have like a seizure and die right while eating (none of the other fish were affected, just my lyretails). It totally freaked me out, and I never figured out why. I even dissected one anthia and did other post mortem checks trying to figure out if there was some parasite, flukes, or worms in the fish.

Good luck discovering an answer. I chalked my deaths up to some type of cardiac arrest...since it only affected my lyretails, I just assumed it was an internal parasite issue that i wasnt aware of that triggered a heart attack or nervous system issue when they got super excited at feeding tine.

 

[amazongb]

I had this happen once with a chromis when feeding pellets, I believe he choked. He was perfectly fine before I fed.. I now give my pellets a little 2 minute pre-soak in rodi or tank water before feeding smaller fish.. never had a problem with large fish like tangs etc..

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

Have you checked ammonia in case you are having a mini cycle? Not sure if you posted that already.

I don't have a test kit for that but I'm going to bring a water sample into the LFS asap, I was wondering that as well

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

I had this happen once with a chromis when feeding pellets, I believe he choked. He was perfectly fine before I fed.. I now give my pellets a little 2 minute pre-soak in rodi or tank water before feeding smaller fish.. never had a problem with large fish like tangs etc..

Thats not a bad idea, I may try that!

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

I had some lyretail anthias a year or two ago that did the same thing. They would go crazy eating and would have like a seizure and die right while eating (none of the other fish were affected, just my lyretails). It totally freaked me out, and I never figured out why. I even dissected one anthia and did other post mortem checks trying to figure out if there was some parasite, flukes, or worms in the fish.

Good luck discovering an answer. I chalked my deaths up to some type of cardiac arrest...since it only affected my lyretails, I just assumed it was an internal parasite issue that i wasnt aware of that triggered a heart attack or nervous system issue when they got super excited at feeding tine.

Glad you made the attempt to see if anything was noticeably wrong inside the fish! Appreciate the feedback, if I ever find out what it is I will definitely post it. So far we're still quite stumped