So confused with what is happening

[shred5]

High DKH should not kill fish.

I am guessing this is ammonia or low Oxygen.. Things going higher up in the tank is because there is more oxygen higher up.

Not only that fish are breathing heavy... that is another sign of low oxygen or a sign of ammonia.

I would bet oxygen is dropping at night or it is ammonia.



I do not trust test kits so I always use two because I have had bad ones especially Salifert.

Another thing is PH could be dropping low at night but I doubt it would kill fish..

 

[SDK]

Taking the invert behaviors into account, it seems like an ammonia spike caused the behavior you observed. Possibly due to the first death in a possibly overcrowded and/or newer tank. Ammonia will interfere with oxygen absorption in both the fish and invertebrates, which is a good indicator of a spike in level..

I would guess it's a "result" and not a "symptom" of whatever else caused the die off.

 

[Jon Fishman]

My 2 domino Damsels pecked out an eye from a yellow-tail blue, and then a week later his other eye was bulging out and he was hiding a lot..... then a week later he just disappeared.

5 Damsels and 1 Chromis...... were the Damsels harassing the Chromis at all before it died? I wouldn't be surprised if your Damsels killed it, then you ammonia spiked.

 

[BestMomEver]

My 2 domino Damsels pecked out an eye from a yellow-tail blue, and then a week later his other eye was bulging out and he was hiding a lot..... then a week later he just disappeared.

5 Damsels and 1 Chromis...... were the Damsels harassing the Chromis at all before it died? I wouldn't be surprised if your Damsels killed it, then you ammonia spiked.

Hold up.... I missed the part abt the domino damsel. I had one years ago in a 500 gallon tank. He was a nasty thing. He grew big and ugly and tried to kill all my nearly adult tangs... orange shoulder, powder blue, hippo, vlamingi, yellow.... etc. they were 2 to 3 times his size. I had to catch him with a fish hook and some shrimp. Returned him to the lfs. Will never have another. He could be chasing the other fish around, which would be detrimental if your parameters are off. I’m not sure he is the killer. You’d see bruises and marks on your fish and he wouldn’t kill your snails. But he could be stressing everyone. I would suggest you take him back if you can. Even if your fish survive this, he will, in the end, be the only fish you have. You won’t be able to add any more either. Once established, he won’t allow anything else in your tank. They are adorable.... but not for a community tank unless it’s really large.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Hold up.... I missed the part abt the domino damsel. I had one years ago in a 500 gallon tank. He was a nasty thing. He grew big and ugly and tried to kill all my nearly adult tangs... orange shoulder, powder blue, hippo, vlamingi, yellow.... etc. they were 2 to 3 times his size. I had to catch him with a fish hook and some shrimp. Returned him to the lfs. Will never have another. He could be chasing the other fish around, which would be detrimental if your parameters are off. I’m not sure he is the killer. You’d see bruises and marks on your fish and he wouldn’t kill your snails. But he could be stressing everyone. I would suggest you take him back if you can. Even if your fish survive this, he will, in the end, be the only fish you have. You won’t be able to add any more either. Once established, he won’t allow anything else in your tank. They are adorable.... but not for a community tank unless it’s really large.

This is in my tank, not the OPs..... he/she didn't specify what type of damsels, just that there were five of them......

And for what's it's worth, I put a 7+ inch Lionfish in my tank and that lazy thing wasn't able to catch the Damsels...... I'm in the process of making sure my new tank is set-up and stable, and when the water mostly gets emptied from the old tank, and the rocks are removed, and there is nowhere for them to hide...... the local shop is EXACTLY where those damsels are going! I already took the Lionfish there, he came with the new tank, and I had no desire to keep him. Had him for 3-4 days I'd say, but he would certainly "hunt" the other fish at feeding time!

 

[MKDean]

We do small daily water changes. We buy water from the local store, I’m not sure if they mix or get it shipped in. I have tested and it always tests fine. We use Hannah checkers and Red Sea tests. I can take a sample in to have it double checked. I don’t dose any buffers just Red Sea nitrate and phosphate remover and the coral supplements they recommend along with it. We are running a skimmer. We had 2 chromis and 3 damsels. Now just down to the 3 damsels that are one inch. We will have to keep the stocking down I guess but haven’t had a problem before. We started with seeded rock, it’s been up and running for a year and a half. How would I work to get alkalinity down? It’s been pretty consistent lately. Usually 11-13 but this is the highest

 

[MKDean]

I have my wave maker agitating the surface and the filter out put does as well. Should I add an air stone for a bit to see if that will help? If it’s ammonia spikes how should I manage that?

 

[BrandonS]

Have you added anything to the room lately that would add Co2? The ph seems low to me and maybe at night it is dropping due to a Co2 increase. Is the tank near a furnace or heating vent? With winter still hear if you are running your furnace extra it could be leaking Co2 into the house.do you have Co2 detectors in the home? as a safety concern side note.

 

[MKDean]

Have you added anything to the room lately that would add Co2? The ph seems low to me and maybe at night it is dropping due to a Co2 increase. Is the tank near a furnace or heating vent? With winter still hear if you are running your furnace extra it could be leaking Co2 into the house.do you have Co2 detectors in the home? as a safety concern side note.

We live in California so no furnace running. No vents within 15 feet.

 

[dbjonesjr]

What salt mix are you using for your tank?

 

[BrandonS]

What temp are you running the tank at?

 

[BrandonS]

Wonder if your store got a bad batch of salt? Fritz had a bad batch a few years back and they were killing fish left and right. Is there another LFS close by to buy some water from?

 

[MKDean]

Wonder if your store got a bad batch of salt? Fritz had a bad batch a few years back and they were killing fish left and right. Is there another LFS close by to buy some water from?

Yes, we can try from a different store. They don’t mix their own. They get it brought in by a truck I believe. I will definitely try a different store.

 

[MKDean]

What temp are you running the tank at?

We run our tank at 78.

 

[BrandonS]

Just seems worth a try. Will eliminate or confirm the water being the issue. Maybe the other store mixes there own and you can get a brand name as well.

 

[MKDean]

Just seems worth a try. Will eliminate or confirm the water being the issue. Maybe the other store mixes there own and you can get a brand name as well.

Thank you, we will try that

 

[BrandonS]

Thank you, we will try that

keep us posted, fingers crossed.

 

[madweazl]

I'm guessing Red Sea nitrate and phosphate remover is NO3PO4x? Carbon dosing promotes the growth of bacteria and these bacteria consume oxygen. At night, your corals are consuming oxygen and releasing, carbon dioxide, exacerbating this problem. If I had to guess, oxygen depletion would be at the top of the list. I'd cut back on the NO3PO4x and see how things go.

For what it's worth, I dont find the tank to be stocked to a level unsustainable.

 

[Brew12]

Sounds to me like lack of plant life like macro algae.

I would add macro algaes in an in-tank refugium and add cheapo lights like a spot led plant light to get the algae thriving.

The decrease in co2 and possibly ammonia plus increase in oxygen should help the situation.

my .02

I think this is the problem.

You are starving your tank of nutrients by driving nitrates too low while at the same time driving oxygen levels down. Redsea NoPox (which I believe is what you said you are using) will deplete a tank of oxygen if not well aerated. With no algae in the tank there is little oxygen generation inside the tank. With no algae, you also probably aren't getting enough food to the crabs and shrimp.

Algae is a very good thing to have in a reef tank. It's very difficult to grow coral in a tank that won't also grow algae. Algae also offers that buffer in case of an ammonia spike by consuming it directly.

Oh, and the nasserius snails are carnivores and likely came out to feed on the dead and dying fish. Do you feed fresh or frozen meaty foods?

 

[MKDean]

I think this is the problem.

You are starving your tank of nutrients by driving nitrates too low while at the same time driving oxygen levels down. Redsea NoPox (which I believe is what you said you are using) will deplete a tank of oxygen if not well aerated. With no algae in the tank there is little oxygen generation inside the tank. With no algae, you also probably aren't getting enough food to the crabs and shrimp.

Algae is a very good thing to have in a reef tank. It's very difficult to grow coral in a tank that won't also grow algae. Algae also offers that buffer in case of an ammonia spike by consuming it directly.

Oh, and the nasserius snails are carnivores and likely came out to feed on the dead and dying fish. Do you feed fresh or frozen meaty foods?

The nopox depelting oxygen could definitely be it. We had hair algae that nothing seemed to have gotten rid of. We still have algae on the sides and rocks but it’s not hair algae. Should I try an air stone for the mean time to increase oxygen? We don’t have enough room for a Refugium. We feed a variety of frozen foods.