pureconcept
Community Member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2021
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- 73
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- 26
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- new york city
- What state or country do you live in
- New York
pureconcept
New Member
JoinedJan 11, 2021Messages1Reaction score0Locationnew york city
hi im new to this hobby and have had a tank for about 2 months. i have a 100 gallon tank that finished cycling a few weeks ago. i rusged it with ammonia, bacteria solution,live rocks and live sand. i had 2 clownfish and 1 blue tang in the tank for a few weeks. the tang was there for about a week longer. the fish were healthy and eating yesterday. today when i arrived home from work 1 clown is normal (swimming eating not flashing) 1 clown was laying in the sand breathing very fast and the blue tang was hiding in the rocks breathing very fast. i did not see them acting oddly except the sick clown didnt eat alot the day before.i dont see any signs of anything. the fins are good,they have no spots or dusting, the gills arent red and there are no red streaks on the body, and there are no cloudy eyes or growths on them. within 2 hours after i arrivwd home one clown died and the tang is still hiding,often falling onto its side and breathing quickly non stop. the only new things is i made a polycarbonate lid ,i built a shelf over the tank and i forgot to turn on the filter after feeding yesterday but i still have 2 powerheads agitating the water . the lid is raised an inch along the back and i turned the filter back on when i arrived home. im baffled because it happened so fast almost like it was a poisoning but if that was the case i would think the third fish would be sick too.according to the tests of the water i ran when i got home my ph is about 8.1 the ammonia is between 0 and .25 . nitrite is at 0 and nitrate is at 5ppm. the temp is at 78 and the salinity is at 1.023.only other i am baffled by the quickness of the death,the fact that 2 out of the three are sick and the lack of behavioral or phyaical symptoms prior to today. my water quality is a bit off buyif it was water quality i wouldnt expect it to be so fast or 2 fish to get sick at the same time. they were introduced to the tank 1 week apart too.im wondering if piece of the edges of the plastic lid might have flaked off and was eaten but i dont imagine that would cause breathing issues. i considered that maybe the sheetrock debris from the shelving might be an issue but i read that its non toxic online.if it was a poison i would expect all three to get sick.
if anyone has made it to this far into my post i thank you for bearing with my ranting and for any info you may offer.
i would like to identify what may be the cause so i can decide what to do next. i am afraid of a water change because i dont want to stress the struggling tang and i dont feel its water quality.if the other clown gets sick and i lose all my fish i will go fallow for 12 weeks though i hope i dont have to do that.maybe just treat the tank for ich/marine start over..
