Losing fish at night

[TexAg09]

Hi all. First time to post but ive been lurking around and researching for a while. Great forum. I'm not entirely new to reef tanks, i had a 120 gal about 10 years ago but work and life got in the way and i got out of the hobby. Earlier this year I decided to get rid of our FW tank and set up another reef. Its been going for about 4 months now and everything was going good up until about 3 days ago. The first morning i saw remnants of a banggai cardinal in my power head (OctoPulse 2 which runs at 20% at night). i thought it was a fluke then the next morning the other cardinal was in the same spot. Starting to get a little concerned but everything still looked good. Then this morning a watanabei angelfish was laying at the bottom of the tank. All fish appeared healthy and ate well. Any idea what may be causing this? System info and water test results below.

System:
75 gallon DT with DIY 30 gal sump
Reef Octopus 150int skimmer
BRS carbon reactor
AWC with DOS (1.5 gal/day)
ATO with RODI, checked this morning to verify 0 TDS)
~60 lbs live rock (started as dry rock)
Just started dosing 2 part
Apex controller

Livestock before the losses:
1 - Oscellaris Clown
1 - Gladiator Clown
2 - Banggai Cardinals (now gone)
1 - Kole Tang
1 - Midas Blenny
1 - Yellow Watchman Gaby (havent seen it in a while either)
1 - Watanabei Angelfish (now gone)
1 - Longnose Hawk (jumped while doing maintenance and didnt survive)
2 - Torch coral
1 - Hammer Coral
2 - Acans
1 - Aleveopora

Testing this morning:
Ammonia and nitrite - 0 (salifert)
Nitrate - 2 (salifert)
Phosphate - 0.00 (hanna)
Ca - 425 (red sea)
Mg - 1340 (red sea)
Alk - 9 dKh (red sea)
Salinity - 1.025 (calibrated refractometer)
pH - 8.1-8.2 (apex)
Temp - 77.5-78.5 (apex)

As mentioned above, i just started dosing 2 part to bring calcium and alk up. (350 and 7.7 previously). I did start that slow and levels have been consistent. The only other recent change was switching lights to a reefbreeders photon v2+ about a week ago. The light is currently only running at 28% max to acclimate everything. All the testing looks good to me and the coral is doing great but as you can see im not having much luck with the fish.

 

[TexAgReefer]

Sorry for your losses and good luck finding the culprit.

Felt obligated to post. Good luck and Gig 'Em!

 

[jeffchapok]

Any invertebrates not listed above in your CUC? It sounds to me like you have a nocturnal predator of some sort. If so, it may have sneaked in on a coral frag. How deep is your sandbed?

 

[TexAg09]

Sorry for your losses and good luck finding the culprit.

Felt obligated to post. Good luck and Gig 'Em!

Thanks!

Any invertebrates not listed above in your CUC? It sounds to me like you have a nocturnal predator of some sort. If so, it may have sneaked in on a coral frag. How deep is your sandbed?

The cleanup crew consists of about 8 hermit crabs (red leg), 10 cerith snails, 5 nassarius snails and a very small emerald crab that is hiding somewhere.
I thought it could be a nocturnal predator too but i dont know what it could be or what it could have come from. The sand and rock were new so no way something hitchhiked in from that. I doubt something big enough to kill fish could have hitchhiked in on the corals, right?
I made a beginner mistake of not quarantining the fish or corals, so no telling if some disease got in from not doing that. I dont see any spots on the fish and the coloration of all of them look good, unless i just dont know what im looking for

 

[ca1ore]

There is often a tendency to assume some kind of lurking predator, and of course it is certainly possible. Far more likely is some underlying disease or nutritional problem. First question is have you added anything new recently? Second, how long had you had the fish that died?

 

[TexAg09]

There is often a tendency to assume some kind of lurking predator, and of course it is certainly possible. Far more likely is some underlying disease or nutritional problem. First question is have you added anything new recently? Second, how long had you had the fish that died?

I have not added anything new recently other than the light and starting the 2 part. Ive had the fish for about a month. I was just looking through the tank and noticed the kole tang is now a little pale in color.

 

[MERKEY]

Sounds like posted above with some type disease or bacterial infection. Can you post pics of tang that is changing?

Also by chance snap any pics of the dead fish?

Although more knowledgeable will chime in I might start thinking of a fresh water dip to rule some things out.

 

[TexAg09]

not the best pictures but maybe itll help. Unfortunately i didnt think to take any of the dead fish this morning. The cardinals were both torn up by the powerhead so that wouldn't have helped much

 

[TexAg09]

My parents stopped by today and when they walked in they said it smelled like the ocean. I guess i was nose blind a bit because when I left and came back it noticed it too. I wouldn't say it was a bad smell, just something off. The skimmer cup was about half full, which is normal and it wasn't that. I decided to do a 20% water change because thats all that was left in my AWC container. Tank looks better and the smell is gone. I don't think it was ammonia or that would have shown up in the test this morning. May or may not be related to the fish deaths. I wonder if that 1.5 gallons a day just isn't enough turn over.

 

[King Turkey]

My parents stopped by today and when they walked in they said it smelled like the ocean. I guess i was nose blind a bit because when I left and came back it noticed it too. I wouldn't say it was a bad smell, just something off. The skimmer cup was about half full, which is normal and it wasn't that. I decided to do a 20% water change because thats all that was left in my AWC container. Tank looks better and the smell is gone. I don't think it was ammonia or that would have shown up in the test this morning. May or may not be related to the fish deaths. I wonder if that 1.5 gallons a day just isn't enough turn over.

1.5 gallon turn over??

 

[TexAg09]

AWC (auto water change) changes out 1.5 gallons of water daily.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Have you heard any unexplained snapping or popping noises?

 

[Salty Lemon]

not the best pictures but maybe itll help. Unfortunately i didnt think to take any of the dead fish this morning. The cardinals were both torn up by the powerhead so that wouldn't have helped much

There are white spots on your Kole tang's tail and possibly some on his sides. Have you had an ich problem?

 

[TexAg09]

Have you heard any unexplained snapping or popping noises?

I have not, but with a 1 month old screaming most of the time, its hard to hear anything. What would that potentially be?

There are white spots on your Kole tang's tail and possibly some on his sides. Have you had an ich problem?

You know, i hadn't noticed until i took the picture. With the lines on the tang they kind of blend in. Definitely weren't any noticeable on the angelfish yesterday. How quickly would that kill the fish? I thought it was more of a nuisance that would come and go.

 

[Salty Lemon]

You know, i hadn't noticed until i took the picture. With the lines on the tang they kind of blend in. Definitely weren't any noticeable on the angelfish yesterday. How quickly would that kill the fish? I thought it was more of a nuisance that would come and go.

Some fish can fight it off, and some people can manage their tanks with it -- but it is definitely a killer.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Snapping sounds could be indicative of a mantis shrimp preying on tank inhabitants.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I see possible ich or velvet on the tang. You may try a freshwater dip to begin with. Copper based treatment likely needed at least for tang.
I also ask - How old is tank and how often were you adding fish ? How did you acclimate fish also?
MAY I SUGGEST , TAKING A WATER SAMPLE TO A TRUSTED LFS TO HAVE THEM TEST FOR YOU AND SEE WHAT READINGS THEY COME UP WITH .(ph, ammonia, salinity and nitrates)
What test kit(s) are you using ?

Also, assuming you purchased live rock- After lights out, grab a bright flashlight and see if any possible hitchhikers such as a worm, eel, crab or shrimp have appeared in which you did not purchased, out and exploring the tank )

 

[King Turkey]

AWC (auto water change) changes out 1.5 gallons of water daily.

I would up the water change to being closer to 2.5 gallons a day or keep it as is and do a manual ten percent water change once every two weeks. yeah looks like ick GL it can be a nightmare.

 

[King Turkey]

well at night you also get ph swing. test first thing in the morning when lights come on once mid day light cycle and then at night. I am wondering if a big ph swing along with ick could be stressing them out. do you have a refugium with a light running opposite schedule it tank light or 24/7? but yeah I would totally up the water changes.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

I have not, but with a 1 month old screaming most of the time, its hard to hear anything. What would that potentially be?



You know, i hadn't noticed until i took the picture. With the lines on the tang they kind of blend in. Definitely weren't any noticeable on the angelfish yesterday. How quickly would that kill the fish? I thought it was more of a nuisance that would come and go.

Hi there! Sorry for your loss. There is definitely parasitic activity on the tang. It looks more like ich but it could possibly be velvet, the pictures shows light dusting but it could just be the lighting or angle.

Velvet kills quickly vs. Ich that certain fish can build a temporarily immunity towards... some don't and the parasite takes a foot hold of the immune system.

You'll need to qt all fish with copper solution for 3-4 weeks in separate hospital tank. In addition you need to run your display fallow for approx. 3 months to starve out the parasite.

Do you have the means do this?