Something killed my fish - any advice?

[esther9290]

Leave the fallow for 76 days. If it was ich, and maybe it wasn't, I do think that they have the longest life cycle, and the number of days is pretty much still argued over, but that's how I saved myself money and health. It really sucks to see your fish die, or even worse when you have to do it because you they have no chance and are just suffering. I know it's very tempting to just throw your new animals into the tank. I have 6 right now sitting in quarantine, and I have to smack myself not to let them in too early, but if you are building a reef, it's for a long time, so a month here or there is not making a difference. I had one fish survive my last wipeout, a 6-line. I took him out, treated him with copper, and left the DT alone for 82 days. After that, I quarantined my fish, and not had a single case of ich in my tank since then. I am saying it was ich for sure, but it should work with most parasites and bacteria. No hosts, they die too. Patience is the key to this hobby.

Im absolutely not dying to put any fish in at the moment - still getting over the thought of my clowns. So Im happy to take that advice and leave it as it is for a few months. I'll leave the corals and inverts there as it is. And will post the results of the triton tests when i get them back

 

[esther9290]

Also the emerald crab is missing ... or molting somewhere in hiding. But the sexy shrimp is healthy and fine, along with the rest of corals and hermits and snails

 

[vetteguy53081]

Could it be the gfo i added a few weeks ago?

Gfo is a strong oxide that affects coral over fish but can’t be ruled out

 

[vetteguy53081]

Also the emerald crab is missing ... or molting somewhere in hiding. But the sexy shrimp is healthy and fine, along with the rest of corals and hermits and snails

Fallow of 45 days should be sufficient with 60 for parasitical issues

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for the response.
They didn't die with their mouths open. Thats quite possible what you say with the powerhead. I am going to try and get some thing to test the co2 (if such a thing exists).
Right after posting this, i went looking for the goby, who is the only other fish in the tank and usually hides between the rocks. Sadly he had passed away too. I just did a 50% water change on Friday. Should i dump out all the water and restart the tank with fresh rocks and sand?

Testing for carbon dioxide and/or dissolved oxygen is expensive. It is much easier just to supply a tank with good aeration from an air stone and know that you've covered that base.

It may not have been low oxygen though. All fish have died, right? if so, it easily could be a protozoan fish disease like velvet. The best thing to do in that case is to run the tank fishless (just invertebrates) for 60 days to clear out any fish parasites. No real benefit in starting over....

Jay

 

[esther9290]

Testing for carbon dioxide and/or dissolved oxygen is expensive. It is much easier just to supply a tank with good aeration from an air stone and know that you've covered that base.

It may not have been low oxygen though. All fish have died, right? if so, it easily could be a protozoan fish disease like velvet. The best thing to do in that case is to run the tank fishless (just invertebrates) for 60 days to clear out any fish parasites. No real benefit in starting over....

Jay

yes all 3 fish have died. But the emerald crab is fine and so are all the other snails and hermit crabs. The sexy shrimp is also doing well, and hosting on the BTA. All other zoas and palys and GSP are fine.
I found / ordered an oxygen test kit on amazon earlier today for under 20 bucks. I assume its not reliable, and hence the low price? I'll add an airstone rightaway.

I cant express how thankful I am for all the information. Coming on this forum this morning, a fish disease hadn't even remotely crossed my mind. I was thinking i screwed up something by either setting the AI lights too high yesterday, or that it was the phosphate/iron/reef-roids dosing. Now Im starting to see how it could be a disease after all.

 

[Pickle_soup]

yes all 3 fish have died. But the emerald crab is fine and so are all the other snails and hermit crabs. The sexy shrimp is also doing well, and hosting on the BTA. All other zoas and palys and GSP are fine.
I found / ordered an oxygen test kit on amazon earlier today for under 20 bucks. I assume its not reliable, and hence the low price? I'll add an airstone rightaway.

I cant express how thankful I am for all the information. Coming on this forum this morning, a fish disease hadn't even remotely crossed my mind. I was thinking i screwed up something by either setting the AI lights too high yesterday, or that it was the phosphate/iron/reef-roids dosing. Now Im starting to see how it could be a disease after all.

Sadly, fish loss is part of this hobby. Sometimes you have to pass on fish in LFS because of how they look, or fish in other tanks look. I am kinda getting back into the hobby, last 30 months or so I did not pay much attention to my tank, and before then all my fish were healthy and some died of old age, but I didn't add anything new. Quarantine tanks are a must if you want to keep your fish healthy and happy. Well, there is more that needs to be done, but that's step one. I am reluctant to medicate right away, but there is nothing wrong with a freshwater dip and observation for 2-3 weeks to see how the fish are behaving. The smallest thing I don't like, I am medicating the qt.
I don't have any reliable LFS around me anymore, so for the first time, I ordered my fish from Bluezoo Aquatics. I was really happy with the fish. They all arrived looking really healthy and came with an acclimation kit and a pamphlet with directions for different types of animals. I was even impressed with their box. I will try Dr Reef next time to see how well those fish do. They have a more strict quarantine process than BZA. BZA is a place I will definitely buy more from.

 

[esther9290]

Sadly, fish loss is part of this hobby. Sometimes you have to pass on fish in LFS because of how they look, or fish in other tanks look. I am kinda getting back into the hobby, last 30 months or so I did not pay much attention to my tank, and before then all my fish were healthy and some died of old age, but I didn't add anything new. Quarantine tanks are a must if you want to keep your fish healthy and happy. Well, there is more that needs to be done, but that's step one. I am reluctant to medicate right away, but there is nothing wrong with a freshwater dip and observation for 2-3 weeks to see how the fish are behaving. The smallest thing I don't like, I am medicating the qt.
I don't have any reliable LFS around me anymore, so for the first time, I ordered my fish from Bluezoo Aquatics. I was really happy with the fish. They all arrived looking really healthy and came with an acclimation kit and a pamphlet with directions for different types of animals. I was even impressed with their box. I will try Dr Reef next time to see how well those fish do. They have a more strict quarantine process than BZA. BZA is a place I will definitely buy more from.

After the fallow (which is an interesting term i learnt today), I am going to look into those websites to stock again gradually with fish. For now, Im keeping my other damsel tank fa-aar away from this "genocide" aquarium, and also buying all the medications/qt tank i need to have on hand next time a disease strikes. Thank you all for the valuable information.
Come to think of it, over the last 2-3 days the smaller clown would just lay on his side on the gravel close to the glass wall. But once i move towards the tank, he'd get up and swim away. Now its making sense that he might have been sick.

 

[esther9290]

I got back the triton test today. Very happy with the depth of details.

Among "unwanted heavy metals" everything is at zero , except for Aluminum at 215 microgram/ltr.
Everything listed as "macroelements" seem to be in the green-band of the recommended levels.
Lithium and Iodine are at the high end, with 346 and 222 micrograms/ltr respectively.
Zinc is high at 40 mcg/l, and the recommendation is under 5mcg/l
Iron is on the high end at 93 mcg/l

Phosphate is very high at 0.493 milligm/l (ppm), and this clearly shows why i keep getting unwanted algae. I'll change out the GFO rightaway, and perhaps look into getting a reactor instead of putting it in a bag in the back refugium. Any point in getting any of the tens of Triton products they have recommended I get based on the results at https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/icp-oes/187471 ?