Fish dying in quarantine

[Lizfrank1234]

hello, our main tank has been running now for around 6 months. We set up two small(60 litre) quarantine tanks,one for fish and one for frags/corals etc. We used tank water from a water change to fill both tanks and decided to buy some livestock. We bought a Royal Gramma,a Starry Blenny and a Suntail Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair. We put the fish in one tank and the shrimp and a few frags in the other. All fish ate well for a couple of days then one by one all three died. They were breathing fast and eventually just being blown around in the current until they died. We stripped the tank down completely,cleaned it all with vinegar,let it dry and left it for a couple of weeks before setting it back up again.On Saturday,we picked up another Royal Gramma and a Starry Blenny from a different shop to the first time and on Sunday,another Suntail Goby from another different shop. When we got back with the Goby,the Gramma was dead. The Starry was eating like a pig for two days then has got really picky and the Goby was not eating. Today the Goby died and the Blenny is breathing rapidly. Can not for the life of me think what is going wrong. The water parameters all seem good and the critters in the big tank and the corals in the frag tank are all doing well in the same water.Anybody have any ideas,i hate seeing things die!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

What tests are you using for ammonia ?
What do you have for filtration?


Are you medicating the qt?

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Hello,im using a Salifert test kit and an ammonia alert badge and no i have not medicated because they have not lived long enough for me to do so. I was intending using Prazipro but have not yet.

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Sorry i forgot to say,i have a internal filter with sponges and biological media that stayed in my sump for 6 weeks,small powerhead,airstone and heater,bare bottom with some plastic fittings

 

[Billldg]

1st, did you acclimate them, or better yet, did you match salinity to the water they were shipped in, could be osmotic shock, you can match the salinity to the water they were shipped and then steadily raise it to match your salinity. 2nd, as soon as I see them eating good, usually after a day I start prazi treatment and treat for internal parasites with GC, internal parasites are bad as of late. Trust me, having lost a lot of fish in QT myself I'm getting pretty good at what not to do and have learned what to do.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Gotcha.
So no ammonia right now?

Ant way to get more air into the tank?

#reefsquad

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Yes i acclimated them. I didnt match the salinity to the shipping water because the tank was already set up. Only one fish was eating well so didnt want to treat them until they were all feeding. No,theres no ammonia and the airstone is putting a lot of air in. Thanks

 

[Flippers4pups]

How did you acclimate them? Sounds like ammonia poisoning.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I am going to ask something that is important and often overlooked... do you have any air fresheners, bleach water, glade plug ins, etc that are near the QT setup?

I recently had a friend that lost a bunch of fish.. he couldn't figure it out and called me over. the house smelled like a potpourri factory. I said, dude, what is that smell??!!!!
then he said " oh that is my wifes....oh...." then we both just looked in shock at each other.

glade plug ins installed in the living room the day before the deaths...

 

[Mycota]

I am going to ask something that is important and often overlooked... do you have any air fresheners, bleach water, glade plug ins, etc that are near the QT setup?

I recently had a friend that lost a bunch of fish.. he couldn't figure it out and called me over. the house smelled like a potpourri factory. I said, dude, what is that smell??!!!!
then he said " oh that is my wifes....oh...." then we both just looked in shock at each other.

glade plug ins installed in the living room the day before the deaths...

+1 on this. I had to remove a motion sensor aerosol air freshener that was in the same room as mu tank. Took me forever to figure out why everything was dieing. I also used to live in an apartment that got black mold really bad and whatever they used to kill it wiped out my whole tank except 2 clowns.

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Hello,the first fish were acclimated by allowing water into the bags a few times over about an hour as per the instructions from the shop,the second lot of fish,i drip acclimated them for about 40 mins until the water volume had more than doubled,so two different methods,bothwith the same result.All air fresheners etc were banned when we decided to get the new tank. We built an extension on the house to put this tank in so a lot of thought went into it. It is about 1500 litres with the sump and has cyced for over six months. I tried to follow the advice on here about how to set up the Qt but feel i must be doing something wrong. I agree that it looks like some kind of poisoning but like i said earler,the frag tank and main tank both have the same water and both have things alive and well in them. The fish Qt was cleaned between batches of fish as well. Thanks for your replies,need to get to the bottom of this,we are both very upset about losing these fish and cant carry on watching things dying,its dreadful

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I'm sorry, it really does suck to watch a fish die. Where did you get the fish?

Fact of the matter is that many fish move so fast through the supply chain that sometimes they just give up the ghost. This happens more than people like to admit.

However, for ALL of them to die.. Something doesnt seem right for sure. Fish can get shocked from going from dirty water to really clean water but (I have seen freshwater discus die from this) but the fish you listed are not THAT sensitive.

just listing things that newbs do that kill fish..seems like you have not done any of them.

1. copper and prime... nope
2. dirty QT tank...nope
3. dirty airstone??
4. too fast copper...nope
5. going from low to high salinity? (this can be bad.. many LFS run low salinity).
6. airborne contiminants...nope
7. no place to hide in tank or lack of sand for wrasse??
8. no lid... not applicable here
9. stray voltage from heater??
10. high ammonia from exhausted DI resin in rodi... I did this once
11. over dose medication...nope

anyone else? what am I missing?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I am thinking salinity shock. have you calibrated your meter? calibration solution is cheap, or go to the LFS with your meter.

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Hello Brian, the airstone has been changed between batches of fish,the going from low to high salinity could be something. I have calibrated my refractometer and have an apex on the big tank. Both tanks run at 34.9 so if the lfs water was very low? The fish have been bought from three different shops. There is pipe fittings for them to hide and no wrasse. Stray voltage from heater is worth checking. My ro/di has only been running a few months and if it was producing ammonia there then it wouls affect all the tanks but the others are fine. Would the salinity shock take up to a week for them to die? Also ammonia poisoning? Thanks for your time

 

[Campy10]

Following as I’m going through the same problem. Can’t seem to keep Fisk alive in the QT and have a similar setup. I even adjusted the water in my QT to match the water in the bag of my latest fish. It is frustrating and I’m sure my wife thinks I don’t have a clue which I can’t argue given my results.

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Hello Campy,this is horrible isnt it. My other half is getting really upset at the fish deaths to the point where she doesnt want to get any more. To be honest,i am starting to feel the same way,we've lost four and the one thats left looks grim. Have you had multiple failings in different batches also?

 

[NTCook]

Hey, new to R2R but been in hobby for over 10 years.

Quick question based on what I'm reading about your setup and not knowing your personal experience level. Has the QT itself been cycled or are you just trying to use water from your main system in the QT? Did you check ammonia immediately after fish deaths? It just sounds too much like ammonia to me.

 

[Lizfrank1234]

Hi,the Qt has an internal filter with 2 sponges and some biological media(ceramic) that were kept in the return section of the sump for six weeks prior to setting up the Qt. I have checked the ammonia with a Salifert test kit and the Qt tank has an ammonia alert badge in it. Thanks for the reply

 

[JumboShrimp]

This one is quite the murder-mystery. Feeling your pain

 

[Lizfrank1234]

I know,its very puzzling and very horrible. The starry blenny is still alive at the moment and has juat ate a little so hopefully he will hang on but i cant say im confident