Losing fish

[Striket85]

Hey guys, question. I have a 29g fowlr setup. It's been running for about 7 months. About a month ago I decided it was time for some fish. No ammonia/nitrite reading, very low nitrate. Started the cycle about a month prior with one and done. Well so far I've been through 4 clowns. I've since setup a QT where I have a clown currently but just woke up to my clown in my DT dead. Got a CUC from reef cleaners. Tested parameters again this morning, no ammonia or nitrites, 20 nitrates. Temps at 78-80 (they fluctuate here in florida), 1.025 salinity. I do normal acclimating procedures (float the bag, add a cup of tank water, empty half, add another cup, net the fish into the tank. Takes about an hour). This last clown was acting just fine up until he just disappeared last night and I found him this morning what appeared to be glued to some rock. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent spending $200 a month on clownfish?? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Sharkbait19]

Hey guys, question. I have a 29g fowlr setup. It's been running for about 7 months. About a month ago I decided it was time for some fish. No ammonia/nitrite reading, very low nitrate. Started the cycle about a month prior with one and done. Well so far I've been through 4 clowns. I've since setup a QT where I have a clown currently but just woke up to my clown in my DT dead. Got a CUC from reef cleaners. Tested parameters again this morning, no ammonia or nitrites, 20 nitrates. Temps at 78-80 (they fluctuate here in florida), 1.025 salinity. I do normal acclimating procedures (float the bag, add a cup of tank water, empty half, add another cup, net the fish into the tank. Takes about an hour). This last clown was acting just fine up until he just disappeared last night and I found him this morning what appeared to be glued to some rock. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent spending $200 a month on clownfish?? Thanks so much in advance!

Do you have any pics of your clowns before or after death? It sounds like this could be the result of a protozoan illness/parasite, which can easily occur if you have no quarantine procedure. Pictures would certainly help confirm this is the case, though. Other than that, could you post your parameters so that we could have a precise reading of your entire tank? Thanks!

 

[Striket85]

Do you have any pics of your clowns before or after death? It sounds like this could be the result of a protozoan illness/parasite, which can easily occur if you have no quarantine procedure. Pictures would certainly help confirm this is the case, though. Other than that, could you post your parameters so that we could have a precise reading of your entire tank? Thanks!

2 of the 4 clowns were acting strange from the day they got home. The other 2 were acting find. I don't have pics after, the one I just pulled out had a large chunk taken out of him near under his gills. The other one that was acting strange was hiding in the corner for a long time and did develop what looked like a light white rash under his gills. The other 2 showed no signs of any illness. I initially though Brooks but idk.

What parameters are you looking for other than what I posted? I can test whatever I can with the API kit, so just let me know and I'll get those.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hey guys, question. I have a 29g fowlr setup. It's been running for about 7 months. About a month ago I decided it was time for some fish. No ammonia/nitrite reading, very low nitrate. Started the cycle about a month prior with one and done. Well so far I've been through 4 clowns. I've since setup a QT where I have a clown currently but just woke up to my clown in my DT dead. Got a CUC from reef cleaners. Tested parameters again this morning, no ammonia or nitrites, 20 nitrates. Temps at 78-80 (they fluctuate here in florida), 1.025 salinity. I do normal acclimating procedures (float the bag, add a cup of tank water, empty half, add another cup, net the fish into the tank. Takes about an hour). This last clown was acting just fine up until he just disappeared last night and I found him this morning what appeared to be glued to some rock. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent spending $200 a month on clownfish?? Thanks so much in advance!

How are you treating sg? Is it calibrated?
2 degree temp swing a day isn't horrible.
Any signs of any pests? Crabs, mantis, ect.

 

[Sharkbait19]

What parameters are you looking for other than what I posted? I can test whatever I can with the API kit, so just let me know and I'll get those.

pH and salinity are the two other big ones that come to mind for fish, although based on what you’ve described, brooklynella seems like a strong possibility.

 

[Striket85]

How are you treating sg? Is it calibrated?
2 degree temp swing a day isn't horrible.
Any signs of any pests? Crabs, mantis, ect.

Treating? Idk, I keep my tank at 1.025 gravity. (sounds like there's something more I need to do)
Yeah I have my heater set on my inkbird at 78 degrees but it gets warm in my office so it's usually at 79 (it's 79.5 right now)
All I have is the 29g CUC from reef cleaners. I thought maybe my emerald crab got em but now I believe he just had some dinner after the fact.

 

[Dburr1014]

Treating? Idk, I keep my tank at 1.025 gravity. (sounds like there's something more I need to do)
Yeah I have my heater set on my inkbird at 78 degrees but it gets warm in my office so it's usually at 79 (it's 79.5 right now)
All I have is the 29g CUC from reef cleaners. I thought maybe my emerald crab got em but now I believe he just had some dinner after the fact.

Sorry, typo. TESTING

 

[Striket85]

pH and salinity are the two big ones that come to mind for fish, although based on what you’ve described, brooklynella seems like a strong possibility.

pH is at about 8.1 (api kit)
Salinity is at 1.024

 

[Striket85]

Treating? Idk, I keep my tank at 1.025 gravity. (sounds like there's something more I need to do)
Yeah I have my heater set on my inkbird at 78 degrees but it gets warm in my office so it's usually at 79 (it's 79.5 right now)
All I have is the 29g CUC from reef cleaners. I thought maybe my emerald crab got em but now I believe he just had some dinner after the fact.

Ahh... a refractometer. This one to be exact

 

[Striket85]

Sorry, typo. TESTING

Ok so after calibrating the dang thing, salinity is at 1.022. Could that be the culprit?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Ok so after calibrating the dang thing, salinity is at 1.022. Could that be the culprit?

It’s highly unlikely that this is the cause. The salinity isn’t terribly off, and fish are also quite tolerant of lower salinities, more so than other marine organisms.

 

[Striket85]

It’s highly unlikely that this is the cause. The salinity isn’t terribly off, and fish are also quite tolerant to lower salinities, more so than other marine organisms.

I kinda thought so. I've been doing A LOT of research into this and am aware of treating with hyposalinity etc. I'm just lost. I'm afraid that I might need to nuke my tank or something with something before I can add anymore fish to it.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I kinda thought so. I've been doing A LOT of research into this and am aware of treating with hyposalinity etc. I'm just lost. I'm afraid that I might need to nuke my tank or something with something before I can add anymore fish to it.

Don’t put anything into the tank, as adding chemicals to the reef can hurt things in the long run. Your best option is a 45 day fallow period, as I am pretty sure that what you’ve described is brooklynella disease, which will eventually die off on its own if you keep fish away from the system. Although this takes a while, this is the only surefire way that you have eliminated a parasitic infection. During this fallow time, you could set up a QT tank and begin quarantining new fish so they will be ready to move into the DT at the end of the fallow.

 

[Striket85]

Don’t put anything into the tank, as adding chemicals to the reef can hurt things in the long run. Your best option is a 45 day fallow period, as I am pretty sure that what you’ve described is brooklynella disease, which will eventually die off on its own if you keep fish away from the system. Although this takes a while, this is the only surefire way that you have eliminated a parasitic infection. During this fallow time, you could set up a QT tank and begin quarantining new fish so they will be ready to move into the DT at the end of the fallow.

Ugh, ok. Kind of demoralizing. Cycled the tank for 6 months only to get this disease that takes 45 days to eradicate -_-

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Was there any particular reason to cycle the tank for 6 months? Normally, 2-4 weeks is sufficient.

 

[Striket85]

Was there any particular reason to cycle the tank for 6 months? Normally, 2-4 weeks is sufficient.

Just had no time to stock the tank. Not in any rush. Was also adding equipment and such. I only mentioned that it was running for 6 months prior to confirm I had a "cycled" tank...

 

[Dburr1014]

Ok so after calibrating the dang thing, salinity is at 1.022. Could that be the culprit?

Not to get off topic for losing fish but, how did you calibrate it? Do you have a solution at 35sg?

 

[Striket85]

Not to get off topic for losing fish but, how did you calibrate it? Do you have a solution at 35sg?

Per their instructions, added distilled water and calibrated it to 0 ppm

 

[Unitylover]

move the rocks around. there might be a crab or mantis shrimp, brook has tell tale signs and cant kill that fast

 

[ReefCheef]

Hey guys, question. I have a 29g fowlr setup. It's been running for about 7 months. About a month ago I decided it was time for some fish. No ammonia/nitrite reading, very low nitrate. Started the cycle about a month prior with one and done. Well so far I've been through 4 clowns. I've since setup a QT where I have a clown currently but just woke up to my clown in my DT dead. Got a CUC from reef cleaners. Tested parameters again this morning, no ammonia or nitrites, 20 nitrates. Temps at 78-80 (they fluctuate here in florida), 1.025 salinity. I do normal acclimating procedures (float the bag, add a cup of tank water, empty half, add another cup, net the fish into the tank. Takes about an hour). This last clown was acting just fine up until he just disappeared last night and I found him this morning what appeared to be glued to some rock. Any ideas on what I can do to prevent spending $200 a month on clownfish?? Thanks so much in advance!

Are you using RODI?