Weird stuff on rocks and fish dying :(

[hannahrauh]

Hi everyone, I am new to this and am getting very frustrated with the current situation in my tank. I had a firefish and two clowns, and a bunch of snails and hermit crabs. Firefish suddenly died last night and one clown isn't eating. Snails are also not moving much. I have had this weird kind of slime on my rocks and trying to take it off manually isn't really working, it just comes back the next day. I am not sure what to do. Can anyone ID this or have an idea of possibly what could be killing my fish/ stressing them out? pH and nitrate levels are normal, doing regular water changes.

 

[bradleym]

How long has your tank been set up? It looks like it is cycling.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Rocks just appear to have algae on them. Perfectly normal in a new tank.
Any pics/videos of the fish? Firefish act off before dying? Were the fish quarantined?

 

[hannahrauh]

How long has your tank been set up? It looks like it is cycling.

It has been set up for about four months!

 

[moz71]

tank does look like its cycling! are you testing amonia or any other parameters? Even if that is dino's on rocks which it could be that is NOT killing your fish

 

[hannahrauh]

Rocks just appear to have algae on them. Perfectly normal in a new tank.
Any pics/videos of the fish? Firefish act off before dying? Were the fish quarantined?

Fish weren't quarantined unfortunately I am at college and don't have the room for a separate tank so just had my fingers crossed they were okay. Clowns and firefish had been in the tank at least two months at this point. Regarding the firefish-- yes he seemed fine all day and then all of the sudden he was sitting on the bottom which I had never seen him do so I was watching and in 10 minutes or so he was upside down after spazzing out and like sinking to the bottom, poor guy.

 

[hannahrauh]

tank does look like its cycling! are you testing amonia or any other parameters? Even if that is dino's on rocks which it could be that is NOT killing your fish

Yes, testing ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. Ammonia and nitrite have been consistently ~0 and nitrate around 5 ppm tested yesterday. Should I be testing anything else consistently? Thanks.

 

[Sharkbait19]

A month or two would suggest that it wasn’t likely disease (though some parasites can incubate for longer).
Did the firefish stop eatin/get thin before dying?
Anything off with water? How is oxygenation?

 

[Oldreefer44]

Most important at this point is your water chemistry. What are your parameters like Ammonia, Nitrite, KH, Calcium readings etc.?

 

[hannahrauh]

A month or two would suggest that it wasn’t likely disease (though some parasites can incubate for longer).
Did the firefish stop eatin/get thin before dying?
Anything off with water? How is oxygenation?

The only day I noticed him not eating was yesterday morning and then he was gone by night, also noticed one of my clowns hiding a lot today and not eating so slightly concerned about him as well. Firefish looked pretty normal though up until last night. I have my filter up and running and flow seems okay, should I put an addition powerhead in (for O2?) It is a relatively smaller tank and after reading a lot it sounded like I would be fine with just the pump included with the tank.

 

[hannahrauh]

Most important at this point is your water chemistry. What are your parameters like Ammonia, Nitrite, KH, Calcium readings etc.?

Ammonia and nitrite are at ~0, haven't tested KH and calcium recently. Should I be consistently checking those and any other parameters??

 

[Sharkbait19]

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity are the ones that are going to be super important for fish. If those are in check then I doubt it’s a param issue.
Increased O2 can help if it’s an oxygen issue.

 

[hannahrauh]

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity are the ones that are going to be super important for fish. If those are in check then I doubt it’s a param issue.
Increased O2 can help if it’s an oxygen issue.

Yup, all those are in check. What would u recommend for O2 increase? I have an airstone in my freshwater tank but not sure if that is a used for saltwater tanks? thank u!!

 

[rmorris_14]

Can you post a picture of the entire tank?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Yup, all those are in check. What would u recommend for O2 increase? I have an airstone in my freshwater tank but not sure if that is a used for saltwater tanks? thank u!!

Airstone works