Fish Dying off, no clue why
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Greatreefer
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Are there any fish left in the tank?
Before the fish passed, did you notice any abnormal behaviors? such as : breathing heavily or, swimming crazy?
one thing it could be is ammonia poising which causes the gills of the fish to burn and can cause the fish to breathe heavily. or, another idea yet, highly unlikely is that they could have been poisoned.
Before the fish passed, did you notice any abnormal behaviors? such as : breathing heavily or, swimming crazy?
one thing it could be is ammonia poising which causes the gills of the fish to burn and can cause the fish to breathe heavily. or, another idea yet, highly unlikely is that they could have been poisoned.
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This is such a strange incident at this point. Keep us updated on the remaining fish. Curious if any symptoms develop or if they perish too.
It's similar to my exp with the bad RODI. The corals didn't die strait up or show anything more than not really doing well. So cyano futons alge not all the fish died at once.
So yea probably a toxin getting in. Now finding the source.
So yea probably a toxin getting in. Now finding the source.
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I would guess a toxin of some sort that is hurting fish more than the other inverts. Happens. Bleach will actually kill fish long before corals, but you would have seen instant death from fish.
bairdimusprime
Bill
you know after reading through this thread some more and thinking over the last few days... maybe it was an oxygen level issue. after the loss of 5 fish the other fish are stable now?
Yeah no other losses yet. I just got the plastic hose clamp in the mail and about to change the stainless clamp out.
I switched to RODI water the other day, maybe that was it?
Would I be having an oxygen problem on an open rimless with no cover and the return hitting the top of the water with two mp40's moving the water around with a nice current?
I also bought a ground to put in the tank to take care of any possible stray voltage.
I switched to RODI water the other day, maybe that was it?
Would I be having an oxygen problem on an open rimless with no cover and the return hitting the top of the water with two mp40's moving the water around with a nice current?
I also bought a ground to put in the tank to take care of any possible stray voltage.
Duke4Life
Just a crazy eel guy, LMAS
Not the switch to rodi (unless bad),I did the same thing and had no issues.
Duke4Life
Just a crazy eel guy, LMAS
Nope
I haven't read through all of the posts yet because there are so many.... so if someone already asked this I apologize......
What test kits are you using? It sounds like an ammonia spike to me. Especially since it soumds like you added dry reef rock recently. They will say its ready to add to the tank, to make it seem like a time saver, which makes more people buy it. IF you ever add anymore dry uncured rock, only add very small peices every couple of days. That way your tank has time to adjust slowly and increse its bacterial population. I had an ATI test kit that threw me off for a while. If your using ati kits, I would take a water sample in to be tested. I would strongly recommend doing so, even if your using a good test kit actually. But IF it was an ammonia spike, it may have gone down by now. But Either way, id still have the lfs test EVERYTHING in your water. A very low ph or high ammonia would by my guess. high salinity would be my next guess.
Another thing....if you cant use RO water, use distilled. Its better than purified. Its highly unlikely that the purified water is what killed your fish. I am lretty sire corals are the main concern when it comes to that. But still, I wanted to mention it.
It could be some kind of bacterial disease or parasites. Its kinda hard to tell with no visible signs. Usually fish will show some kind of stress if they are sick though. Rather it be loss of appetite, rubbing on rocks, hiding under rocks, not going near powerheads (would indicate they are too weak to resist getting sucked into them), visable white spots or a white film, or fins deteriorating. Look for ANYTHING that seems off. Even if its just something small.
If itjink of anything else ill let you know. I know it sucks when you lose so much in the beginning. It happened to me with ick. I was devastated. But it made me move to mostly coral with only a few fish. This way I dont ha e to worry about the fish so much. I just dip all the coral I get. Im sorry for your losses, but keep your head up and keep with it. This hobby is incredibly rewarding after the first few months or trial and error. The good Will end up outweighing the bad in most cases
good luck!
What test kits are you using? It sounds like an ammonia spike to me. Especially since it soumds like you added dry reef rock recently. They will say its ready to add to the tank, to make it seem like a time saver, which makes more people buy it. IF you ever add anymore dry uncured rock, only add very small peices every couple of days. That way your tank has time to adjust slowly and increse its bacterial population. I had an ATI test kit that threw me off for a while. If your using ati kits, I would take a water sample in to be tested. I would strongly recommend doing so, even if your using a good test kit actually. But IF it was an ammonia spike, it may have gone down by now. But Either way, id still have the lfs test EVERYTHING in your water. A very low ph or high ammonia would by my guess. high salinity would be my next guess.
Another thing....if you cant use RO water, use distilled. Its better than purified. Its highly unlikely that the purified water is what killed your fish. I am lretty sire corals are the main concern when it comes to that. But still, I wanted to mention it.
It could be some kind of bacterial disease or parasites. Its kinda hard to tell with no visible signs. Usually fish will show some kind of stress if they are sick though. Rather it be loss of appetite, rubbing on rocks, hiding under rocks, not going near powerheads (would indicate they are too weak to resist getting sucked into them), visable white spots or a white film, or fins deteriorating. Look for ANYTHING that seems off. Even if its just something small.
If itjink of anything else ill let you know. I know it sucks when you lose so much in the beginning. It happened to me with ick. I was devastated. But it made me move to mostly coral with only a few fish. This way I dont ha e to worry about the fish so much. I just dip all the coral I get. Im sorry for your losses, but keep your head up and keep with it. This hobby is incredibly rewarding after the first few months or trial and error. The good Will end up outweighing the bad in most cases
good luck!Try point one powerhead straight up at the water surface to get lots of surface agitation. It kinda sounds like low oxygen to me. Since the fish are less active. If low oxygen is the problem, you should see a noticeable difference in the affected fish within an hour or so. If any fish have been moving very little or staying hidden on or on the bottom of the tank, do the powerhead trick, and check back on the fish in about an hour. Id keep the powerhead in this position for ever. Its good to agitatie the water surface anyway.
Update... Lost the other Cardinal. Stopped eating two days ago. No other signs of disease. I put him in fresh water in a dark cup and nothing came out. Cut him open and took some pics but had no clue what I was doing. I'm setting up a QT tank this week. Not going through this again. Here are the pics if anyone sees something in them that I can't. He was attached to the power head so he looks a little roughed up.
You would need to dissect the gills and examine then under a microscope. Somewhere I have images of what ich, velvet, brook trophonts look like under a scope.
Based on the timeline, I very much suspect your tank has velvet. @4FordFamily encountered a strain of velvet that killed in much the same way - visible physical symptoms never manifested. My theory is dinospores invaded the gills first, and all the fish died due to asphyxiation before the parasite ever made it's way onto the skin.
I'm not 100% convinced velvet is what happened here, as many other good theories have been put forth as well. It's just my best guess. How many fish are left in your DT?
Based on the timeline, I very much suspect your tank has velvet. @4FordFamily encountered a strain of velvet that killed in much the same way - visible physical symptoms never manifested. My theory is dinospores invaded the gills first, and all the fish died due to asphyxiation before the parasite ever made it's way onto the skin.
I'm not 100% convinced velvet is what happened here, as many other good theories have been put forth as well. It's just my best guess. How many fish are left in your DT?
