Fish intoxicated by overdosing trace elements?

[Billyreef-ita]

Hi everybody,

15 days ago I found the container of ATI Eseential 2 connected to the dosing pump completely empty. During the night 500ml were dosed in my 75G tank.
Honestly I do not know how could this happen, but after that I tested the water and I just found the calcium higher than normal, from 350 to 550ppm. The solution n.2 of ATI Essential contains calcium and trace elements. I said to myself, not a big problem in the end, it will be absorbed by the SPS in some weeks.
After 2 weeks all my fishes are dead (four tangs and two clownfishes). They are dead not all at once, but everything happened in the last 3-4 days.
Water parameters are just fine and the fish were healthy. Corals are fine. Could the fish be intoxicated by the excess of trace elements in the water? I tested only calcium but I didn’t test for heavy metals with an ICP test.

Do you think it could be that?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Sorry to hear about the fish.

I don’t know how much of what elements are in it, but it is certainly plausible it was part or all of the issue.

 

[VDC]

Why was you calcium so low?

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Calcium was low as I spent some time without balling waiting to buy ATI essential

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Sorry to hear about the fish.

I don’t know how much of what elements are in it, but it is certainly plausible it was part or all of the issue.

Thanks
Is there a product helping to reduce or absorb excess trace elements? Or just water changes?

 

[Miami Reef]

I definitely believe the SPS and corals would die significantly sooner than the fish would.

If the corals and inverts are fine, I believe it’s not a trace element issue. Any parasites? Did you add any new fish recently?

 

[Billyreef-ita]

I add a Leucosteron a week ago, the others have been in the tank for one year/two

 

[Billyreef-ita]

However the first deaths started before the introduction of the Leuco

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks
Is there a product helping to reduce or absorb excess trace elements? Or just water changes?

Yes, depending on what they are, but I agree on assessing other organisms. If all others are fine, it may be more likely a disease.

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Yes, depending on what they are, but I agree on assessing other organisms. If all others are fine, it may be more likely a disease.

Corals are fine. My tank is SPS dominated with some LPS. All of them are as usual.
Other than that ,I have two shrimps but they are usually hidden in the rocks, I cannot say if they are there anymore

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Corals are fine. My tank is SPS dominated with some LPS. All of them are as usual.
Other than that ,I have two shrimps but they are usually hidden in the rocks, I cannot say if they are there anymore

My best guess is disease.

 

[Billyreef-ita]

I haven’t noticed any particular such as spots on the fishes, but I agree this could be a plausible option. What do you suggest? Running UV lamp to sterilize the water? Continuing water changes and wait some weeks before adding new fishes?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I haven’t noticed any particular such as spots on the fishes, but I agree this could be a plausible option. What do you suggest? Running UV lamp to sterilize the water? Continuing water changes and wait some weeks before adding new fishes?

I suggest asking a fish disease expert whether he thinks disease is plausible and what to do..

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Thanks

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks

Trying to determine causes in fish loss after-the-fact can be very difficult.

All of the fish in the tank dying with the invertebrates apparently doing fine always points to one of two things; either a fish disease, or a dissolved oxygen/gas issue. In cases where there were toxins in the water, or some major problem in the water's chemistry, some or all of the invertebrates would also be affected.

Since the fish died over a period of a week or two, I think you can rule out dissolved gas issues (either supersaturation or ack of oxygen) as that would have killed all of the fish at once.

As to what the disease might have been, flukes can cause fish to die off over a few week's time. Amyloodinium, velvet kills much faster, but the only symptom is usually rapid breathing. Ich of course will show on the fish as white spots.

Jay

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Thanks Jay,
They had no white spots so I think we could exclude Ich.
I only noticed in the last day of the Clown tag that he stopped moving around the tank and was swimming all time against the MP40 powerhead. Always in the same direction and very close to the powerhead.
Does this mean something?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Jay,
They had no white spots so I think we could exclude Ich.
I only noticed in the last day of the Clown tag that he stopped moving around the tank and was swimming all time against the MP40 powerhead. Always in the same direction and very close to the powerhead.
Does this mean something?

Yes - swimming into water flow is what marine fish do in response to gill issues. If the tank has good aeration, then the cause is some gill disease. Generally, if this gill disease hits all fish over a few days, it is velvet Amyloodinium. If it is combined with skin mucus, it is Brooklynella. If fish loss is drawn out for weeks, then it is flukes.

 

[Billyreef-ita]

What can I do now? Using UV lamp to sterilize the water? Waiting some weeks before adding a new fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

What can I do now? Using UV lamp to sterilize the water? Waiting some weeks before adding a new fish?

A fishless fallow period will eliminate obligate fish parasites. 60 days is sufficient, but some people have found 45 days works if the water temperature is above 81 f.

Don’t forget though, if you don’t quarantine the new fish (or have them quarantined for you), you can bring a new disease back in.

 

[Billyreef-ita]

Thanks in October I’ll add a new one