My Vlamingi is going downhill

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi all,

I have something really weird going in my tank and I can’t figure it out. It seems to have come out of nowhere. It’s hitting so fast I thought velvet or brook but there have been no outward signs of disease I could see.

Tank is 180 and 11 years old. Yellow, purple, and Vlamingi tangs. All at least 11 years or older. I did a glass cleaning and stirred sand and blew some detris off rocks. It seems like next day or so the tank changed. The tangs were skittish, swimming fast and hiding. The purple disappeared into the rocks. Then the yellow started having issues swimming and breathing. He passed. Now my Vlamingi is going down hill. All 3 tangs, I have not seen a mark on them. The Vlamingi freaked out when the power went out Saturday he almost crushed his head on rocks and scratched his side. I can’t beli I’m losing my babies. After 11 years they aren’t fish anymore

Temp 78, 35 ppt, alk 9.0, ph 8.2, cal 420, mag 1250
No changes other than frags from a live sale a few months ago, I dipped the frags.

Any ideas, maybe someone sees something in the pics? The white on the Vlamingi is sand on his slime coat he just got from kicking up sand.

 

[Silver14SS]

Sorry to hear it. I don't see ammonia or nitrite in your list of test results, maybe something spiked there from stirring the sand?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Sorry to hear it. I don't see ammonia or nitrite in your list of test results, maybe something spiked there from stirring the sand?

Thanks silver, no ammonia, nitrates ok. I put some prime in anyway. All the other fish doing fine. 2 bar rabbit, flasher wrasse, 2 cardinals, 3 chromis, diamond goby, file fish, hermits all running around fine

 

[reefer2000]

Hi all,

I have something really weird going in my tank and I can’t figure it out. It seems to have come out of nowhere. It’s hitting so fast I thought velvet or brook but there have been no outward signs of disease I could see.

Tank is 180 and 11 years old. Yellow, purple, and Vlamingi tangs. All at least 11 years or older. I did a glass cleaning and stirred sand and blew some detris off rocks. It seems like next day or so the tank changed. The tangs were skittish, swimming fast and hiding. The purple disappeared into the rocks. Then the yellow started having issues swimming and breathing. He passed. Now my Vlamingi is going down hill. All 3 tangs, I have not seen a mark on them. The Vlamingi freaked out when the power went out Saturday he almost crushed his head on rocks and scratched his side. I can’t beli I’m losing my babies. After 11 years they aren’t fish anymore

Temp 78, 35 ppt, alk 9.0, ph 8.2, cal 420, mag 1250
No changes other than frags from a live sale a few months ago, I dipped the frags.

Any ideas, maybe someone sees something in the pics? The white on the Vlamingi is sand on his slime coat he just got from kicking up sand.

[/QUOT

Hi all,

I have something really weird going in my tank and I can’t figure it out. It seems to have come out of nowhere. It’s hitting so fast I thought velvet or brook but there have been no outward signs of disease I could see.

Tank is 180 and 11 years old. Yellow, purple, and Vlamingi tangs. All at least 11 years or older. I did a glass cleaning and stirred sand and blew some detris off rocks. It seems like next day or so the tank changed. The tangs were skittish, swimming fast and hiding. The purple disappeared into the rocks. Then the yellow started having issues swimming and breathing. He passed. Now my Vlamingi is going down hill. All 3 tangs, I have not seen a mark on them. The Vlamingi freaked out when the power went out Saturday he almost crushed his head on rocks and scratched his side. I can’t beli I’m losing my babies. After 11 years they aren’t fish anymore

Temp 78, 35 ppt, alk 9.0, ph 8.2, cal 420, mag 1250
No changes other than frags from a live sale a few months ago, I dipped the frags.

Any ideas, maybe someone sees something in the pics? The white on the Vlamingi is sand on his slime coat he just got from kicking up sand.

I know for a fact if you did reefing for 11 years than you know way better than me what to but I realy have a hunch that you probably fed something that caused this even if its the same food you fed all the time probably had something in it that you didn't see, i would personally quarantine them and start feeding garlic just my opinion. Hope your fish get well! Having them 11 years is a long time and sucks to lose them like that.

 

[reefer2000]

J

Hi all,

I have something really weird going in my tank and I can’t figure it out. It seems to have come out of nowhere. It’s hitting so fast I thought velvet or brook but there have been no outward signs of disease I could see.

Tank is 180 and 11 years old. Yellow, purple, and Vlamingi tangs. All at least 11 years or older. I did a glass cleaning and stirred sand and blew some detris off rocks. It seems like next day or so the tank changed. The tangs were skittish, swimming fast and hiding. The purple disappeared into the rocks. Then the yellow started having issues swimming and breathing. He passed. Now my Vlamingi is going down hill. All 3 tangs, I have not seen a mark on them. The Vlamingi freaked out when the power went out Saturday he almost crushed his head on rocks and scratched his side. I can’t beli I’m losing my babies. After 11 years they aren’t fish anymore

Temp 78, 35 ppt, alk 9.0, ph 8.2, cal 420, mag 1250
No changes other than frags from a live sale a few months ago, I dipped the frags.

Any ideas, maybe someone sees something in the pics? The white on the Vlamingi is sand on his slime coat he just got from kicking up sand.

I know for a fact if you did reefing for 11 years than you know way better than me what to but I realy have a hunch that you probably fed something that caused this even if its the same food you fed all the time probably had something in it that you didn't see, i would personally quarantine them and start feeding garlic just my opinion. Hope your fish get well! Having them 11 years is a long time and sucks to lose them like that.

 

[KrisReef]

Bummer.
Hail Mary:
Check Oxygenation (disturb the water surface in the DT)
Add a Polyfilter.

Don't know what you kicked up when you stirred the tank but O2 & contaminant issues in the water column are the two "might be's" that come to mind.

Good luck

 

[DMG Reef]

I stirred up and vacuumed my sand bed a few years ago when my tank was about 4 years old. I didn't lose any livestock but I got a horrible outbreak of thick mats of algae and all of my coralline algae died off. It was ugly. There's no telling what's hiding in our sand. Thankfully, my fish weren't affected. I'm like you - they aren't just fish anymore.

So sorry for your loss. I hope the others pull through. Good luck.

 

[Katrina71]

@Paul B or @Lasse ever had anything like this in yours?

 

[Katrina71]

Are you running a UV by chance?

 

[Lasse]

This is a long shout but I can´t rule it out after seeing the pictures. Look closely at the base of the dorsal fin (and in the thin membranes between the spines) at the upper part of the head before the dorsal and in the eyes of the fishes. Look after tiny gas bubbles just inside the first cell layers. This can be a disease named "bubble disease" - it is not infectious - it is caused of supersaturation of nitrogen gas in the water. It is a form of the bend (decompression sickness) but in fish. The supersaturation in aquariums of N2 can take place with outside pump installations that have a leak on the suction side of the pump, to much small bubbles from the skimmer that together with high oxygen concentrations (caused by photosynthesis) give a high total gas pressure and theoretical by a huge and fast release of trapped N2 gas combined with not sufficient aeration. In freshwater - it is also common when using tap-water from deep drilled wells as water then you do WC. I have once seen it in other type of tap water but that time you could spot very much of small tiny bubbles in the water after the WC.

Cure - take away the cause and aerate, aerate and do not forget to aerate - and time

Sincerely Lasse

 

[cancun]

Oh wow! So sorry for your losses! You are right they are part of our family! I hope the others pull through!!! Keeping my fingers crossed for your finned pals!!!! Keep us posted! @Lasse interesting information.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Thank you everyone for you help. I lost him last night.

@Lasse this is why I like you and have great respect. I would have never thought of this. I think this is the closest of any possibilities. When I stirred up the sand it clogged up the filter sock and the return pump chamber water level dropped. It was after my ATO sensor. The tank was heavily saturated with micro bubble for 2 days before I noted it. It also makes perfect sense why my Piggy was swimming so fast and all over. I imagine he was trying to clear his gills. It would also most like.y account for the lack of buoyancy the tangs all had.

I miss him already.

 

[ScottR]

Thank you everyone for you help. I lost him last night.

@Lasse this is why I like you and have great respect. I would have never thought of this. I think this is the closest of any possibilities. When I stirred up the sand it clogged up the filter sock and the return pump chamber water level dropped. It was after my ATO sensor. The tank was heavily saturated with micro bubble for 2 days before I noted it. It also makes perfect sense why my Piggy was swimming so fast and all over. I imagine he was trying to clear his gills. It would also most like.y account for the lack of buoyancy the tangs all had.

I miss him already.

Sorry for your loss Scott. Beautiful fish.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I’m not trying to be funny, only learn... you have concluded it was ‘death by micro bubble?’

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I’m not trying to be funny, only learn... you have concluded it was ‘death by micro bubble?’

Your fine @JumboShrimp . This is why we are all here. If I am understanding what @Lasse said and what I had read long ago,

The excess micro bubble are causing the atmospheric pressure inside the tank to exceed the outside. The pressure is caused by the excessive o2 building up into Nitrogen. Not common and of course only I could do it. So I basically killed my fish

Gas Bubble Disease - WikiVet English

en.wikivet.net

 

[vetteguy53081]

Excuse my expression, but this Sucks ! I have a Vlamingi juvenile that is growing like a weed and eats like a horse.
My guess would be Uronema marinum often called uronema which affects the skin and gives the fish those tiny bubbles. As in your case it is associated with poor water or leaching into the water whereas toxin levels have suddenly risen.
I will poke my bedding with a siphon but i will never stir it up.

 

[Peace River]

Wow - I am truly sorry!

 

[Katrina71]

I'm sorry for your loss . Thank you for sharing. I learned something.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I read the article. Wow! “Up to 100% of fish may die.” Sorry I had to get an education at the expense of your fish. Hang in there!

 

[cancun]

So sorry about the loss of your little guy. That article is very interesting. That is rough....he looks like a beautiful well taken care of fish!