Help. Fish dying

[Paulo Faria]

Hello guys.

My readings are Amonia 0; Nitrat 1; Nitrite 10mg/l
The blue tang and shrimp died, the two clown fishes and some snails are still alive.

I've put the clown fishes in a separate bowl, and some of the snails. Can´t find the others.
Going to change pretty much all of the water.
Anything else I should do?

Thanks

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

We are going to need more background information I think. Here is a link to some helpful hints about posting those:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Typically, shrimp are sturdier to water quality problems than snails are. Could the shrimp have died from something unrelated to the tang?

Are the clownfish still eating?

Jay

 

[Paulo Faria]

We are going to need more background information I think. Here is a link to some helpful hints about posting those:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Typically, shrimp are sturdier to water quality problems than snails are. Could the shrimp have died from something unrelated to the tang?

Are the clownfish still eating?

Jay

Thanks Jay.

Yesterday morning all the fishes ate very well, and suddenly, at night, they avoided the food. The swimming and the behavior was natural, but they didn't eat. This morning I saw that the tang was breathing abnormally, and the clown fishes were very quiet. In a matter of minutes, the tang started to swim on the side, and "sunk" to the bottom. After 1/2 hour it was dead. The shrimp was already dead by this time. The only thing I did the day before yesterday was to vacuum the cyano bacteria, and a 30% water change (reverse osmosis water).

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The tank work, if done properly should not have caused this, but just to check - no symptoms at all before that? If not, then it could be something went wrong with the process.
Jay

 

[Paulo Faria]

The tank work, if done properly should not have caused this, but just to check - no symptoms at all before that? If not, then it could be something went wrong with the process.
Jay

No symptoms. That's why I don´t know exactly what caused it. Do you think it could be the "new water" added? I have a large container outside, properly closed, full of osmosis water. I'm filling it up with new water, right now.

 

[Azedenkae]

No symptoms. That's why I don´t know exactly what caused it. Do you think it could be the "new water" added? I have a large container outside, properly closed, full of osmosis water. I'm filling it up with new water, right now.

Hmmm. What was the salinity after the water change?

 

[Paulo Faria]

Hmmm. What was the salinity after the water change?

1.020

 

[Azedenkae]

1.020

Can I just clarify, when you say you are doing water changes with RO water, that's with mixed saltwater right? 1.020 sounds a bit low. Not low enough to kill fish theoretically, but anyways. How long have you had the fish? Sorry, should have asked this first. Only just got in front of my laptop, and usually my brain works better when that happens.

 

[Paulo Faria]

Can I just clarify, when you say you are doing water changes with RO water, that's with mixed saltwater right? 1.020 sounds a bit low. Not low enough to kill fish theoretically, but anyways. How long have you had the fish? Sorry, should have asked this first. Only just got in front of my laptop, and usually my brain works better when that happens.

With mixed saltwater, yes. I inserted the blue tang about 1 month ago. The clown fishes has 1 week. The Aquarium was cycling for 3 months.

 

[acanman]

Can I just clarify, when you say you are doing water changes with RO water, that's with mixed saltwater right? 1.020 sounds a bit low. Not low enough to kill fish theoretically, but anyways. How long have you had the fish? Sorry, should have asked this first. Only just got in front of my laptop, and usually my brain works better when that happens.

Why is 1.020 low? If it's a fowlr that's perfectly fine.

 

[Azedenkae]

Why is 1.020 low? If it's a fowlr that's perfectly fine.

Absolutely. Maybe I should have clarified it as being low compared to the general expected baseline level. But yes, for a fowlr it is absolutely fine.

 

[Azedenkae]

With mixed saltwater, yes. I inserted the blue tang about 1 month ago. The clown fishes has 1 week. The Aquarium was cycling for 3 months.

Very odd then hm. The only thing I can imagine is if there was something wrong with the water that you used for the water change. How were the clowns doing? If they seem to be fine, I would actually be hesitant to do another water change, if the water used for the water change is the source of the issue itself... though yeah, not entirely sure what it could be, sorry.

 

[Paulo Faria]

Thanks guys. Finishing the water change, with salt and at the right temperature. The clowns are doing fine on the emergency container
Let's see what happens... Hopefully the problem was the amount of cyano... but not sure.

 

[Azedenkae]

Thanks guys. Finishing the water change, with salt and at the right temperature. The clowns are doing fine on the emergency container
Let's see what happens... Hopefully the problem was the amount of cyano... but not sure.

Generally cyano do not cause issues, at least with fish and crustaceans. They can produce cyanotoxins, yes, but just cleaning off cyano generally is not attributed to any issues.

 

[Bume]

Hello guys.

My readings are Amonia 0; Nitrat 1; Nitrite 10mg/l
The blue tang and shrimp died, the two clown fishes and some snails are still alive.

I've put the clown fishes in a separate bowl, and some of the snails. Can´t find the others.
Going to change pretty much all of the water.
Anything else I should do?

Thanks

I had something similar a few years ago when my skimmer failed and I didnt notice. Do you have a skimmer and if so you might check it and the oxygen in the water. I lost almost everything but a clown.

 

[Paulo Faria]

I had something similar a few years ago when my skimmer failed and I didnt notice. Do you have a skimmer and if so you might check it and the oxygen in the water. I lost almost everything but a clown.

That's one thing I would like to discuss with you, guys. When I bought all the aquarium equipment, the guy from the store (a long time established one) told me that I wouldn't need a skimmer. I have a very good filtration system and a UV sterilizer. The water is always crystal clear. Should I get a skimmer?

Anyway, changed around 50% of the water and the clowns seems to be ok. All the other animals died.
But still have the nitrite around 0.5.

 

[MaxTremors]

That's one thing I would like to discuss with you, guys. When I bought all the aquarium equipment, the guy from the store (a long time established one) told me that I wouldn't need a skimmer. I have a very good filtration system and a UV sterilizer. The water is always crystal clear. Should I get a skimmer?

Anyway, changed around 50% of the water and the clowns seems to be ok. All the other animals died.
But still have the nitrite around 0.5.

If you are showing nitrite, your tank isn’t fully cycled (though if you’re using API test kits, it could be a false positive). As far as whether you need a skimmer, it really depends. How big is your tank? What do you plan on keeping? A skimmer isn’t necessary, but if you’re going to keep bigger, messier fish it will definitely help you to go longer between water changes. It will also oxygenate the water, which is important if you’re going to be keeping active fish like tangs. Personally, I wouldn’t go skimmerless on a tank 30 gallons or larger, but I’m also doing reef tanks where water quality is more important.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Some questions as you are monitoring tank:

What is age of tank ?
Tank Temperature?
What are you using to measure salt level (salinity) ?
What test kits are you using?
What RODI unit are you using ?
Cyano seems too soon UNLESS you are using Tap water from the faucet?
What salt mix are you using ?