Massive fail- utterly devastated

[rossco]

All of those fish in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid closed used up all the oxygen in short order. I know it doesn't seem right when these fish make it that long in a bag, but I'm pretty certain that's why they died.

 

[JonPhillips]

Could there have been anything in the bucket? Chemical?

She said it was fresh saltwater.

 

[JonPhillips]

All of those fish in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid closed used up all the oxygen in short order. I know it doesn't seem right when these fish make it that long in a bag, but I'm pretty certain that's why they died.

the lid was open

 

[JonPhillips]

All of those fish in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid closed used up all the oxygen in short order. I know it doesn't seem right when these fish make it that long in a bag, but I'm pretty certain that's why they died.

Not all the way open, but I had my hand on it making sure it got air...

 

[JonPhillips]

Could there have been anything in the bucket? Chemical?

She said it was fresh saltwater.

 

[JonPhillips]

whoops I said that twice sorry

 

[Tehreefer]

Too small of a bucket for all those fish, for that length of time. Even with the lid off they just suffocated. They needed their own 5g bucket at least.

 

[Chris Adams]

All of those fish in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid closed used up all the oxygen in short order. I know it doesn't seem right when these fish make it that long in a bag, but I'm pretty certain that's why they died.

absolutely something to consider, was thinking same thing about cover

 

[JonPhillips]

Too small of a bucket for all those fish, for that length of time. Even with the lid off they just suffocated. They needed their own 5g bucket at least.

makes me feel even worse!

 

[JonPhillips]

How do I tell if the clam is dead?

 

[CodyRVA]

+1 suffocation/stress... 3.5 hours in one container for all those fish; the outcome doesn't surprise me, but hey man live and learn thats all you can do at this point.

 

[glb]

makes me feel even worse!

It's ok. It's happened to all of us at some point. Take a deep breath and let yourself off the hook.

 

[Duke4Life]

+1 suffocation/stress... 3.5 hours in one container for all those fish; the outcome doesn't surprise me, but hey man live and learn thats all you can do at this point.

I'm in line with these folks. Did you check for ammonia at all? Sorry 2 hear about this.

 

[Duke4Life]

It's ok. It's happened to all of us at some point. Take a deep breath and let yourself off the hook.

+1 we all have our time.

 

[Techie_]

No doubt in my mind that it was the brittle star.

My uncle has a 225g mixed reef and had one of these... He lost about $200 in a LA order because while his clowns were sleeping, they went missing, slowly, more and more went missing. After we decided to investigate, we pulled all the rock out of tank, and lo and behold: the brittle star was there with a fairly large sized pile of fish skeletons.

This is the only other incident where I've heard of these brittle stars going rouge. I guess they decided live food tastes better.

EDIT: after reading the thread a bit more, it seems it may have been lack of oxygen. However, be careful with brittle stars.

 

[JonPhillips]

I'm in line with these folks. Did you check for ammonia at all? Sorry 2 hear about this.

I did not.

 

[Reeferfourlife]

+1 on lack of oxygen. Need a portable air pump for that long of a trip. Petco has a battery operated air pump i think.

 

[JonPhillips]

+1 on lack of oxygen. Need a portable air pump for that long of a trip. Petco has a battery operated air pump i think.

yup. WOW!

 

[WilRams]

Yup fully agree if all those fish were in one bucket that would be the cause. Sorry about your luck. Learn and move on. I feel like you have been doing a lot in just a few days. Might want to take your time so you can make sure you have all your bases covered. Keep your head up!

 

[Lowstorm]

Hold on one second. Fresh saltwater. As in brand new-mixed right before the move?

Could have been chemically burned. Super freshly mixed saltwater sometimes does that. It has to mix for a few hours to a day before its fully safe to use.