Help, all my fiah are dying.

Cina · Sep 13, 2020

This is my very first post. I've read this forum for about a year and now I need help. I have a 36 gallon tank that I've had for a year and a half. I'm worried my clownfish is about to die because every other fish in the tank has died. I don't know what's going on. My water tests seem good: ph 7.8, ammonia .25, nitrite 0, nitrate 20ppm, salinity 28.

Here's the events that took place up until now.. We had 5 five fish in the tank (clownfish, pj cardinal, dottyback, and a blue damsel) and they all seemed healthy. We added a snail and some hermit crabs about 2 months ago. Then we switched the substrate from river rocks to sand. We then added another snail and an emerald crab. All these additions happened a week or more apart. We then added a lemon tang. A week later we added a rcb shrimp and another emerald crab. The tang died 2-3 days after we added the shrimp. I returned the emerald crab in fear it had something to do with the tangs death. I got a carpenter wrasse from the LFS and it died after 2 days. 2 days later the shrimp is dragging my pj cardinal into his cave where he piles it onto a dead dottyback. 2 more dead fish. I returned the shrimp because I thought it killed my fish. . I got a bangai cardinal and it was dead the next day so the shrimp wasn't the cause. 2 days later my midas blenny died. The next morning (today) my blue damsel died. All thats left is my clown, some hermits and a couple snails. The clown seems to be acting different. Last night it was swiming up and down in the corner of the tank then it was staying close to bottom of the tank. This morning it was swimming but seems like he may be gasping, not sure. He's also darting which I've never noticed before. He was at the top of the tank for about hour today. Does anyone have any idea what might be happening? I feel like it's just a matter of time before my clown is dead. None of the fish had spots or white poop that I could see.

Here's a video of my clown this morning. Does he look like he's gasping?

Tired · Sep 13, 2020

Any ammonia is toxic, and your tank is right on the edge of how much stock it can hold. Start doing water changes until you get that ammonia down.

WIReefer · Sep 13, 2020

Any amounts of ammonia are not good, any chance you are using an api test kit? That is most likely a false reading. Do you see any signs of fish disease?

highest_tides · Sep 13, 2020

Raise your salinity as well but that's not why they are dying. Water change is in order and SLOWLY raise salinity while doing it.

Cina · Sep 13, 2020

WIReefer said:
Any amounts of ammonia are not good, any chance you are using an api test kit? That is most likely a false reading. Do you see any signs of fish disease?

Yes, I'm using the API tests. I don't notice any signs of disease. Every fish seemed fine until I found them dead the next day. They ate, swam, no scratching against rocks. The dottyback was gasping a couple days before it died.

Cina · Sep 13, 2020

Cina said:
Yes, I'm using the API tests. I don't notice any signs of disease. Every fish seemed fine until I found them dead the next day. They ate, swam, no scratching against rocks. The dottyback was gasping a couple days before it died.

What tests should I use for ammonia instead of the API ones?

MetaKnight101 · Sep 13, 2020

Don't think it's ammonia since your inverts are alive. (API test kits are notorious for false readings) Did your dead tang have any powdery dust on him. How's your oxygen level? Is there enough flow? The rate that your fish are dying seems to be related to parasites.

Did you QT your fish and inverts?

MetaKnight101 · Sep 13, 2020

Cina said:
What tests should I use for ammonia instead of the API ones?

Salifert is a good brand to use.

Cina · Sep 13, 2020

MetaKnight101 said:
Don't think it's ammonia since your inverts are alive. (API test kits are notorious for false readings) Did your dead tang have any powdery dust on him. How's your oxygen level? Is there enough flow? The rate that your fish are dying seems to be related to parasites.

Did you QT your fish and inverts?

I didn't QT any fish or inverts. The tang didn't have any powdery dust on him. His fins were pretty tattered but I figured the crabs and shrimp where responsible since the tang kept going towards them. As far as air flow, I have a HOB filter that creates flow and bubbles but thats it. For the size tank I have I thought that was sufficient. It's just weird that the 5 fish I had for a year and a half have been fine until now.

Not sure what my oxygen level is. How do I test that? I googled it but haven't been able to find anything helpful. This is my first saltwater tank so there are still a few things I'm still not privy to.

Skynyrd Fish · Sep 13, 2020

Welcome to R2R! Sorry your having problems. I would do some water changes. Please use ro/di water and bring the salinity up a bit slowly. Also let the tank rest for a while before doing anything else. No adding or removing anything. Observe the clown for white spots or a dusting of tiny white spots. If you see this then you need to treat with copper. I hate to say it but it’s a good idea to quarantine new fish for a month to make sure they are not sick. Good luck.

MetaKnight101 · Sep 13, 2020

Cina said:
I didn't QT any fish or inverts. The tang didn't have any powdery dust on him. His fins were pretty tattered but I figured the crabs and shrimp where responsible since the tang kept going towards them. As far as air flow, I have a HOB filter that creates flow and bubbles but thats it. For the size tank I have I thought that was sufficient. It's just weird that the 5 fish I had for a year and a half have been fine until now.

Not sure what my oxygen level is. How do I test that? I googled it but haven't been able to find anything helpful. This is my first saltwater tank, so there are still a few things I'm still not privy to.

I highly doubt the shrimp or the crabs created the tattered fins or had anything to do with the tang's death; I have tangs and also own a shrimp and crabs. These types of inverts are not the type that harms or prey fish. They're like scavengers; they eat leftover food on the ground. I think your HOB is adequate for your tank; it should create enough oxygen for the tank. The only thing I can see that is killing your fish are parasites. You said that you didn't QT your fish or corals, so there's a good chance that velvet or ich is present. Your fish are also dying pretty fast for ich so it could be velvet. Sometimes fish with thick mucus might not show any symptoms. It's a good idea to start QT fish and corals to prevent parasites, and you should start to treat all of your fish.

Jay Hemdal · Sep 13, 2020

Just off the cuff, based on the clues given, I would say that the tang brought in a disease called marine velvet, Amyloodinium. The person asking about the powdery dust was thinking about that as well. The skin change due to velvet can be pretty subtle and easy to miss.
If I read everything correctly, you have a clownfish remaining, but it is acting off also. I think in the end, you are going to need to leave this tank fishless for 6 weeks. I would invest in a quarantine tank and follow a good protocol for new fish.

Welcome to R2R, sorry it couldn’t have been under better circumstances !
Jay

Cina · Sep 15, 2020

So I took some water samples to my local LFS and turns out my Nitrates were closer to 80 and my salt was low at .020. I also had a clogged filter, which I cleaned immediately. The fish didn't show any signs of disease but some of the dead fish did have redness in the gill area. I did a 50% water change which brought my Nitrates down closer to 30 and salt up to .023. The clownfish seemed happier. He was swimming around more and not staying in one spot. The next more morning I lost a snail which raised my Nitrates a bit so I did a 30% water change which brought my Nitrates close to 20. The clownfish seemed to be swimming even more now but I can see some discoloration in his skin and redness on the tail end of his body. No dust, just redness.

This morning I wake up to find I've lost the clownfish. I'm pretty sure my tank had bad water conditions with the clogged filter and dead fish every few days without water changes. I know now that when a fish dies I'm supposed to do a water change. Lesson learned. Now I'm worried if the redness on my clown is a sign of infection or just that he was living in poor water conditions.

Should I treat my tank with any sort of medication before adding fish (once my water conditions are healthy of course)? I have 5 hermits and a snail still alive in the tank.

How long should I wait to add fish back in my tank once my Nitrates are brought down and my salt is raised?

Dipan Desai · Sep 15, 2020

Cina said:
So I took some water samples to my local LFS and turns out my Nitrates were closer to 80 and my salt was low at .020. I also had a clogged filter, which I cleaned immediately. The fish didn't show any signs of disease but some of the dead fish did have redness in the gill area. I did a 50% water change which brought my Nitrates down closer to 30 and salt up to .023. The clownfish seemed happier. He was swimming around more and not staying in one spot. The next more morning I lost a snail which raised my Nitrates a bit so I did a 30% water change which brought my Nitrates close to 20. The clownfish seemed to be swimming even more now but I can see some discoloration in his skin and redness on the tail end of his body. No dust, just redness.

This morning I wake up to find I've lost the clownfish. I'm pretty sure my tank had bad water conditions with the clogged filter and dead fish every few days without water changes. I know now that when a fish dies I'm supposed to do a water change. Lesson learned. Now I'm worried if the redness on my clown is a sign of infection or just that he was living in poor water conditions.

Should I treat my tank with any sort of medication before adding fish (once my water conditions are healthy of course)? I have 5 hermits and a snail still alive in the tank.

How long should I wait to add fish back in my tank once my Nitrates are brought down and my salt is raised?

As others have stated. It seems more and more likely it was disease. Also clogged filters wont do that. As everyone has stated it was probably velvet. You will want to go fallow for 8 weeks. Always QT your new fish. There isnt anything you can add to your display to eradicate the problem other than not putting in any new fish for 8 weeks. I always assume the worst in my fish fromt he pet store so when I get them and always QT. I also always runs copper and Prazi on all fish. All it takes is 1 fish to nuke your system which you just experienced. Another good option if you cant QT is look for other reefers breaking down their system and buy their fish but dont do this until your tank has run fallow.

Jay Hemdal · Sep 15, 2020

I agree with Dipan. Your water quality isn’t the core issue here, else you would see invertebrates dying before the fish. I would just kick back and enjoy your tank with just the inverts, and set up a quarantine tank and use that for new fish.
If you have any questions along the way, just let me know!
Jay

Rickybobby · Sep 15, 2020

Sorry for your losses. Adding all those creatures as time went on brought in disease for sure. You must quarantine everything including snails for this not to happen again.