How do I sanitize a QT that had a fish death?

[Dom]

So yesterday, I had this happen:

Something terrible just happened... right before my eyes.

I am currently in day 13 of a quarantine of a Saddleback puffer. Things were going well; although its appetite left something to be desired. Today, as I watched him from across the room, he had an episode of darting around the tank along with some flashing behavior. Then it just died. This...

www.reef2reef.com

I haven't received much feedback as to possible causes of this. So I am working on the assumption that it was disease and not toxins from dumping 2 cups of crushed coral into the tank.

Now, if this tank was just PVC pieces, sterilizing is easy. But how do I treat the bag of live rock in the sump so that I am sure it is safe to use?

Thanks,
Dom

 

[Sharkbait19]

#fishmedic
No odd behavior beforehand? Was the coral or qt exposed to any toxins?
If you want to be super sure, you can bleach everything in the qt and start over. That’s really the only way to be 100% sure you killed everything.

 

[Dom]

#fishmedic
No odd behavior beforehand? Was the coral or qt exposed to any toxins?
If you want to be super sure, you can bleach everything in the qt and start over. That’s really the only way to be 100% sure you killed everything.

Well… he ate the second day in QT, but then absolutely no eating.

I was watching him from across the room. Suddenly, he darted around the tank and then there was some flashing.

Minutes later, he was dead. 20 years in the hobby and I’ve never seen anything like this. He was just floating around in the tank current.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well… he ate the second day in QT, but then absolutely no eating.

I was watching him from across the room. Suddenly, he darted around the tank and then there was some flashing.

Minutes later, he was dead. 20 years in the hobby and I’ve never seen anything like this. He was just floating around in the tank current.

You said the crushed coral was "wet", could it have gotten contaminated with something, was it sealed in a bag for some time?

I've had only a few fish "die right before my eyes" it is pretty rare without seeing some other symptoms beforehand. Shock can happen, maybe there was just too much stress from adding the crushed coral?

Jay

 

[Sharkbait19]

I would look at that not eating as a sign of something. It’s not uncommon for puffers to come in with internal parasites (at least in fw puffers) which can definitely lead to issues of left untreated.

 

[Dom]

You said the crushed coral was "wet", could it have gotten contaminated with something, was it sealed in a bag for some time?

I've had only a few fish "die right before my eyes" it is pretty rare without seeing some other symptoms beforehand. Shock can happen, maybe there was just too much stress from adding the crushed coral?

Jay

Yes, I agree. The addition of the crushed coral with death coming two hours is a damning coincidence.

You often hear stories of people stirring their substrate and then fish dying after the toxins trapped in the substrate are released. I think it may be something along these lines.

To answer your question, yes, the crushed coral was stored wet in a bag. It was stupid of me not to rinse, but, I didn't think the quantity of crushed coral added to the tank would contain enough of anything to be detrimental.

Question: How do I treat the live rock in the sump to be sure it is safe to use in another tank?

 

[Dom]

I would look at that not eating as a sign of something. It’s not uncommon for puffers to come in with internal parasites (at least in fw puffers) which can definitely lead to issues of left untreated.

Agreed.

I can't ignore the fact that it wasn't eating with the exception of a small amount on day 2 in QT.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, I agree. The addition of the crushed coral with death coming two hours is a damning coincidence.

You often hear stories of people stirring their substrate and then fish dying after the toxins trapped in the substrate are released. I think it may be something along these lines.

To answer your question, yes, the crushed coral was stored wet in a bag. It was stupid of me not to rinse, but, I didn't think the quantity of crushed coral added to the tank would contain enough of anything to be detrimental.

Question: How do I treat the live rock in the sump to be sure it is safe to use in another tank?

The safest way to deal with the live rock (and still keep it active) is to leave it in a fishless system for 45 to 60 days.

Jay