Fish loss

[dmorty217]

I also have trouble keeping fish alive. It sucks when you have expensive taste and you have $600 fish dying.

A good QT is vital to keeping fish alive. Pro actively treat with prazi, metro, copper, CP and furan 2 .

 

[mcarroll]

There is certainly more than one way to skin this cat, but I would space my fish out a lot more than that - probably no more than a fish per quarter.

I might even wait months between fish to become accustomed to the new guy.

It also takes time to find fish that I can be beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-sure are worth the hassle and risk of bringing home. It is possible to get lucky quicker, but it would take me typically weeks to zero in on an individual to bring home.

 

[wigwam]

I also have trouble keeping fish alive. It sucks when you have expensive taste and you have $600 fish dying.

A good QT is vital to keeping fish alive. Pro actively treat with prazi, metro, copper, CP and furan 2 .

Your fish might be dying from a drug over dose

 

[melypr1985]

Here's a picture I was able to get of my magnificent foxface. Hopefully you can see I noticed today a few dark colorized Dots on him.

I do see some dark spots on him, but unfortunately that picture is too fuzzy to make out what they are. He does look stressed. You'll just have to try for a better picture and watch your fish for the symptoms I listed for you. Take note of the ones you see and let us know. We can try to narrow it down for you, but I'm starting to suspect @mcarroll may be right here.

 

[bairdimusprime]

Couldn't agree more with @melypr1985 and @mcarroll. Try for some new pics as well we all would love to help

 

[underwaterdan]

I just don't see how I'd keep loosing fish if I added too many too fast. You'd think at some point it would level out and I'd stop loosing fish. Which is why I was leaning towards a disease.

 

[jetmaker]

I don't think you are if there are no symptoms its not a disease. I still think you may have stray voltage and you won't feel it somebody on here I know can tell you how to test it. And Tell you how to hook up a grounding probe. Let's try @Humblefish he may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Feltman]

If ur going to start a qt anyway once they die, why not start one now and get those fish out and possibly save them? It's not normal to be loosing that many fish. I've been in the hobby 5 years and only lost 3 fish and 2 of those were in qt I couldn't save (it does happen).

 

[underwaterdan]

I am going to set up a quarantine. Just unsure what to treat them for and for how long. Also unsure if I can put that many fish in a quarantine at once. I have 8 left.

 

[Feltman]

I am going to set up a quarantine. Just unsure what to treat them for and for how long. Also unsure if I can put that many fish in a quarantine at once. I have 8 left.

Personally I think at this point it's pretty clear u have something and letting ur tank run fallow is best. You can observe the fish a lot better as well in a quarantine, maybe get a better picture for some of these fine people to give you there opinions. Plus if it does come to it that they all pass, ur tank will have already been sitting fallow for a time already.

 

[cu455]

There are a ton of things that can be wrong. If you don't plan on removing the fish you should treat the tank with prazi. It might help might not but it is reef safe and won't hurt. A diatom filter might be useful. Do the dead fish show anything that might indicate aggression towards them? You might have a rebel fish taking your fish out one by one.

To test for stray electric you will need a multimeter. You might be able to find a coupon online for a free one at harbor freight. Put one probe in your tank, the other in the grounding hole of a socket and check the current. If there is stray electric just start unplugging things until you see the current drop.

 

[melypr1985]

There are a ton of things that can be wrong. If you don't plan on removing the fish you should treat the tank with prazi. It might help might not but it is reef safe and won't hurt.

There truly are a ton of things that could be happening here. I hate to hazard a guess without symptoms to whittle it down. Prazi is easy to dose, use and handle. it wouldn't hurt to treat the fish with it. If you want to run a test for flukes first before adding the prazi then you can do a FW dip on one of the fish first.

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.

It's a start. For sure get them all into a QT and be ready to do water changes.... frequently.

 

[underwaterdan]

Well today my foxface was out swimming around and I noticed white dots on him. First time im seeing these dots. If I had to describe them it would be small raised white dots on his fins. No itching or other symptoms. So ich? Can ich kill fish rapidly?

 

[Lynn52]

What my brain keeps coming back to is the statement that the fish had ich but it went away. That sounds like they weren't treated and the tank is infected. Now white spots kind of confirms it to me.

 

[underwaterdan]

What my brain keeps coming back to is the statement that the fish had ich but it went away. That sounds like they weren't treated and the tank is infected. Now white spots kind of confirms it to me.

actually you are correct. I had a fish with white spots which I assumed was ich and never treated it, it simply stopped appearing.

 

[Feltman]

actually you are correct. I had a fish with white spots which I assumed was ich and never treated it, it simply stopped appearing.

Once ich is in ur system it never goes away unless treated. Your fish may become resistant to it enough to stop showing the signs but it is still infecting the fish. I believe it's hubble fish that has a write up on living with ich but even with the write measures the smallest stressor event will break down there immune to make them susceptible again.

 

[underwaterdan]

So the only solution is to leave the tank fallow for 6 weeks?
Do I need to remove clams, shrimp, snails etc? Are they carriers?

 

[RMAS0934]

I am completely new to this so I am actually a little hesitant to ask, but is there a chance that it could be velvet? The only reason I ask is that in one of the articles both melypr and humble fish posted was that velvet first shows up as dark spots on the fish, then white spots (mucous) follow. I noticed that in the picture posted earlier in the thread, the foxface had dark colored spots. Although I would have though velvet would spread in more obvious and quicker fashion than this. I'm trying to learn as much from this thread along with underwaterdan so I thought I'd ask...

 

[jetmaker]

I am completely new to this so I am actually a little hesitant to ask, but is there a chance that it could be velvet? The only reason I ask is that in one of the articles both melypr and humble fish posted was that velvet first shows up as dark spots on the fish, then white spots (mucous) follow. I noticed that in the picture posted earlier in the thread, the foxface had dark colored spots. Although I would have though velvet would spread in more obvious and quicker fashion than this. I'm trying to learn as much from this thread along with underwaterdan so I thought I'd ask...

And velvet kills fish quick

 

[melypr1985]

I am completely new to this so I am actually a little hesitant to ask, but is there a chance that it could be velvet? The only reason I ask is that in one of the articles both melypr and humble fish posted was that velvet first shows up as dark spots on the fish, then white spots (mucous) follow. I noticed that in the picture posted earlier in the thread, the foxface had dark colored spots. Although I would have though velvet would spread in more obvious and quicker fashion than this. I'm trying to learn as much from this thread along with underwaterdan so I thought I'd ask...

While possible, typically there are more noticeable symptoms. @4FordFamily had a bout with velvet that never showed symptoms until it was way too late. So it does happen. Maybe he can shed some light on his experience with this for you. The speed of dying fish seems to point toward velvet, but typically you would see too many dots to count or even a dusting of them.
Try and get another picture of him and the dots. We need it to be as close as possible and very clear.