FishTruck
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2018
- Messages
- 974
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- What state or country do you live in
- Illinois
I have a permanent QT 40 gallon breeder, with live rock and a HOB filter. My success rate is about 50% with premedication, and no better with observation only. The fish that don't make it always look great for 1 to 2 weeks, then just as the I have the salinity near reef tank (1.023), they become confused, start bumping in the glass like they are blind, then die within 48 hours of looking great. The fins look ratty sometimes or a mucous seems to form on the body of the fish, but more often - no visible signs. No cysts or spots.
Recently, I ran a blue throat trigger and some damsels through. No meds, just observation for three weeks. All fine and in my DT now.
The tank was fallow for a month until I picked up a nice blue throat trigger. It was eating and looking great, allegedly came from another tank. I raised the salinity from 1.017 (what was in the bag) to 1.023 over a period of 10 days (like I always do)... and right when I am close to DT salinity and thinking about putting the fish in the big tank - they get sick.
Reef tank measures 1.026 on the same refractometer which also matches my conductivity probe. Yesterday, the fish isn't acting right, today, it's like it's brain-dead. Wedged into a crevice nose down. Swims by banging it's nose into the bottom glass. Now sideways on the bottom. I can see it's eyes moving around, but no gill movement. It's like it is paralyzed.
The first time this happened, I thought it was copper toxicity. So, I am not using copper or any meds.
Nitrates are 20, ammonia is zero, I have changed about 1 gallon per day. Questions:
1. what might cause fish to suddenly go south at 7 to 10 days with no obvious signs?
2. am I "waking" something up that does not do well in hypo-salinity?
3. is there something lingering in my QT that only emerges with every other QT run?
Plan:
1. empty and scrub the QT, get rid of the live rock
what else??
Recently, I ran a blue throat trigger and some damsels through. No meds, just observation for three weeks. All fine and in my DT now.
The tank was fallow for a month until I picked up a nice blue throat trigger. It was eating and looking great, allegedly came from another tank. I raised the salinity from 1.017 (what was in the bag) to 1.023 over a period of 10 days (like I always do)... and right when I am close to DT salinity and thinking about putting the fish in the big tank - they get sick.
Reef tank measures 1.026 on the same refractometer which also matches my conductivity probe. Yesterday, the fish isn't acting right, today, it's like it's brain-dead. Wedged into a crevice nose down. Swims by banging it's nose into the bottom glass. Now sideways on the bottom. I can see it's eyes moving around, but no gill movement. It's like it is paralyzed.
The first time this happened, I thought it was copper toxicity. So, I am not using copper or any meds.
Nitrates are 20, ammonia is zero, I have changed about 1 gallon per day. Questions:
1. what might cause fish to suddenly go south at 7 to 10 days with no obvious signs?
2. am I "waking" something up that does not do well in hypo-salinity?
3. is there something lingering in my QT that only emerges with every other QT run?
Plan:
1. empty and scrub the QT, get rid of the live rock
what else??
