Lost my first fish, a fire tail goby.

[raketemensch]

I’m trying to figure out what went wrong, and am leaning toward a not wide enough variety of foods.

He spent far too long in the QT (two+months) because of issues with my main tank. I don’t have an ATO on it, since it isn’t supposed to be in use for that long, so he went through some salinity swings at times, over that time span it went from 1.025-1.028 a few times, which could be stressful for sure. Other than that, his water quality seemed good to a beginner, and the nitrates stayed below 20 the entire time.

He mainly got pellets, which he seemed to like, twice per day, from an auto feeder. He also got unfrozen mysis at night several times per week to supplement.

He seemed perfectly healthy when I got him, so I truly think this one is on me. The irony is that as of last night my main tank is finally ready to go (been fighting with it since October), and he was going to move into it today...

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your losses

Here's a link to a thread that totally changed how I feed my fish. They are all fat and healthy

I adapted @jsker 's method a bit. I often will use a variety of frozen fish cubes: chopped clams, mysis, brine, cyclops, algae, reef mix, etc. I put several into a bowl. Place in the fridge to "slump" and then pour off the excess liquid (the liquid boost nitrates, phosphates). Now I also add some Beta Glucan to the mix instead of vitamins like Selcon, vita chem, etc. . The mix will stay good in the fridge for a few days. A wide, varied diet is awesome for the health of your fish

Preparing Frozen Foods for My Fish and Corals

Feeding saltwater fish and corals.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[raketemensch]

Sorry for your losses

Here's a link to a thread that totally changed how I feed my fish. They are all fat and healthy

I adapted @jsker 's method a bit. I often will use a variety of frozen fish cubes: chopped clams, mysis, brine, cyclops, algae, reef mix, etc. I put several into a bowl. Place in the fridge to "slump" and then pour off the excess liquid (the liquid boost nitrates, phosphates). Now I also add some Beta Glucan to the mix instead of vitamins like Selcon, vita chem, etc. . The mix will stay good in the fridge for a few days. A wide, varied diet is awesome for the health of your fish

Preparing Frozen Foods for My Fish and Corals

Feeding saltwater fish and corals.

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks, I think I'll go down that road eventually. Right now I'm going to take a step back from fish and focus on a grow-out tank of zoas and my 14g RFA tank.

I just really hope I can figure out what I did wrong, as I don't want to do this to another animal.

 

[Katrina71]

Was he the only fish in QT?

 

[raketemensch]

Was he the only fish in QT?

Yup, he had it to himself.

 

[Katrina71]

Look, don't beat yourself up. It happens.

 

[Flippers4pups]

While in QT, did it loose weight? Did you treat it with any meds while in QT?

 

[Gareth elliott]

Sorry for the loss
If don’t find a definitive cause, i wouldn’t beat yourself up too badly.

Sadly sometimes fish pass at not fault our own too. They have heart attacks, were already old when collected, were collected with cyanide, etc.

I doubt it would be diet that would have killed a fish in only 2 months. There are decade or older fish in tanks that have only ever eaten dry food. Though will say your quest to better nutrition is a worthwhile one. There are many more signs of health than just longevity and diet surely plays an important role .

 

[raketemensch]

While in QT, did it loose weight? Did you treat it with any meds while in QT?

No meds at all, actually, I was just observing and planning to move him into the main tank as he seemed quite healthy.

So the salinity swings weren't horrible? I'm just getting started, so I don't know what kind of leeway I have here.

 

[raketemensch]

Look, don't beat yourself up. It happens.

I'm emotionally OK, I'm just looking at it from a more... scientific perspective? I'm making this up as I go by reading these forums, I've got no resources IRL, so I figured I'd ask around a little.

 

[Katrina71]

You may never know.

 

[Flippers4pups]

If it was eating, can't rule out disease or parasite. They, like wrasses, can have internal parasites. If so, loss of weight and thinning of the body would have been indicated. Or could have succumbed to old age.

 

[artieg1]

I doubt it was food. If it was eating any kind of commercial prepared food, that wouldn't have killed it. A sudden death like that can be a mystery. And, um, nobody likes things dying but that is going to be a part of this hobby. We're caring for tiny delicate creatures thousands of miles from their home!