What's killing my fish :(

[nim6us]

So not sure what's going on. About 10 days ago my Starry Blenny started acting weird, even for a Blenny. He was biting at his tail, he'd spend most of the day holed up in a rock, then randomly come out and thrash about. He would still eat at feeding time, just not as voraciously as he normally would. I looked for physical signs something was wrong but Starry Blenny's are covered in white spots so I couldn't make out anything of note except that his whole body looked more pale than usual.

Conversely we had a little Orchid Dottyback, normally he'd spend all day in the rocks and we'd barely seem him, but all the sudden he was out all the time. No erratic behavior, so I didn't think anything of it, I thought maybe he was just concerned for the Blenny.

Cut to 4 days ago we find the Dottyback has jumped out of the tank in the middle of the night. We'd only had him 2 months and it was sad, but it also made me order a mesh top

However this morning we found our Blenny had jumped too! We'd had him for 2 years and he's never done anything like that. I was shocked, but I knew he'd been in pain for quite a while, and it was horrible just watching him fade away. I'd put it down to old age and that maybe it was just his time. I inspected him further once he was dead I didn't see anything more than his normal white spots, but I did see a big green discolored spot on his tail that he'd been biting at. Still not sure what that was but I'm guessing it drove him to thrash his way out of the tank.

Now even more concerning I notice my Magnificent Foxface has got little bumps all over him. He's still acting normal, eating and swimming, but obviously this is not good. The only fish left in the tank is him and a Flame Angel, the Flame Angel has no visible signs of disease.

I don't know enough about fish disease. In fact in the 2 years I've been doing this, I've never lost a fish to disease. So I'm really at a loss. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on what's going on before I lose my last two fish.

The Dottyback was the last fish I added, and as I said that was 2 months ago and there's been no issue up until now. The only new change I made was I added an anemone and 4 micromussa frags. I dipped the frags in CoralRX before adding them. Could some disease come in off these corals?

Below are some pics and video of the Foxface, the video isn't perfect, but if you crank the quality to 1080p in the last 15 seconds you can really see the bumps I'm talking about.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

looks like mild case of ich. i would pull all remaining fish out of the tank and place them in qt. ID the parasite for sure and start treatment.
If its ich or velvet main tank will need to stay fallow for 10-12 weeks.
Post more pics once you have the fish out into qt for better more positive id.

 

[HotRocks]

Can you catch the mag? I would do a 5 min FW dip and see if any flukes come off.

It could be ich. This was likely introduced with new coral. Dips do not remove fish pathogens.

 

[Maritimer]

+1

The blenny biting at his tail would be consistent with ich as well - they'll nip at themselves where other fish might flash against rock or sand.

~Bruce

 

[nim6us]

Thanks guys for the info. It’s really devastating. A) Because we had the Blenny for so long, he was our very first fish. He was such a hearty little trooper full of personality. But B) Because the tank had been doing so good! The build is about 8 months old everything was alive and thriving. Now 2 fish dead with a 3rd infected... it sucks ... sorry just venting.

I’ll see if I can catch the Foxface. Again I’m a new to the disease side of things. When you say if “flukes come off” does that mean they’re flukes and not ich/velvet is that different all together?

 

[Maritimer]

Flukes are different from ich. Flukes are small flatworms, ich is a protozoan parasite.

If you perform a freshwater dip in a dark container, flukes that fall off will look a bit like pale sesame seeds - ich is too small for you (and especially me!) to see without a microscope. The spots you see on the fish are the fish's reaction to the parasites - sort of like zits.

Unfortunately, it's very possible to have both flukes and ich in your system.

~Bruce

 

[HotRocks]

Yes, there is a difference. If flukes come off you will see what looks like little sesame seeds. I will include some links.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/flukes-–-general-guidelines.224423/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

+1 on all info provided above

I cant positively say if its flukes or ich but i am leaning toward ich.
Best is to test for flukes and then over to qt for better and more positive id.

 

[nim6us]

So how do I setup QT tank quickly, doesn’t it need to cycle?

I have MarinePure media in my sump, can I use that or will it be harboring ich?

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Fritz turbostart 900 will cycle a qt in 2 days. Personally i dont like to move anything between tanks specially qt and main.

 

[nim6us]

I kinda new you were going to say that.

I have a horrible feeling all my fish are going die to teach me the lesson of QT’ing everything first.

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like I have some work to do.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

i am really sorry, we have all been there time or 2.
I know this is a very hot and debated subject to QT or Not to qt. As you see its Russian Roulette. You can play few times but that last time will put you out. There are many resources here including few guides i wrote regarding setting up a qt.
I would read and get ready and treat all fish before introducing to main.
Good luck and happy reefing

 

[nim6us]

Thanks doc

 

[seaplane]

Aside from the spots on the Foxface, their behavior reminds me of when I had stray voltage in the tank. Might want to check that too.

 

[Salt1972]

I kinda new you were going to say that.

I have a horrible feeling all my fish are going die to teach me the lesson of QT’ing everything first.

Thanks for all the advice, sounds like I have some work to do.

That lesson sucks. My daughter and I made it 5 years without QT before it caught up with us. We started earlier this year. Even the process of QT is daunting. I thought I could get away without the Fritz Turbostart and BATTLED ammonia the whole way through. Good luck with treatment. Hotrocks, Brew, Dr Reef, Humblefish, etc. have all been very kind and generous with their time and guidance on all fronts.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Start with a simple 10 gal tank, get a HOB filter and remove the filter cartridge as they almost everyone carry carbon in it. nothing in the tank except ceramic rings or ceramic media also some loose rings in HOB and maybe a small ball size piece of filter floss in HOB. keep sg 1.018-1.025 and temp 76-78F. Dose fritz turbo start 900 and you can use up to 5 times the recommended dose but even with regular dose it will cycle in 2-3 days.

 

[Big G]

+1 on this ^^^ Also consider painting the outside of the back, ends and bottom of the QT in either black or dark blue. In creating a "cave like" environment, often fish will relax a bit more in the smaller tank as this eliminates the fish seeing sudden movement from the room . Plus it eliminates the mirroring where fish sometimes bite at their own image. Just make sure to let it air out and dry before using indoors near your fish. Beautiful Foxface.

 

[nim6us]

Hey guys, an update.

So while I'm waiting for the QT tank to cycle I lost my Flame Angel. The weird part is, he was doing great and had been doing well through the whole ordeal. No white spots or bumps, no strange behavior, he was just happily swimming around and eating like a champ. In fact I thought he may be immune to whatever has hit my tank, I checked on him this morning and all was well. Then my wife calls me at work, he's dead at the bottom of the tank! She pulled him out, after fighting a gang of nassarius snails, and said no spots or any odd cuts or tears, nothing.

My Magnificent Foxface is all I have left, I imagine he's lasted the longest because he's the biggest. I was under the impression I was dealing with ich or maybe velvet, even flukes had been suggested, but from what I've read you'll see physical spots on all of them. But my Flame Angel looked great. I'll test for ammonia in the main tank, that's the only thing I can think of that I haven't tested for. But pH is good, salinity, alk, calc, mag, all good. I run dual gyres close to the surface that really oxygenate the water.

Anyone have any ideas on what this is? It feels like my tank has the plague!! Fish jumping to their death, covered in spots, and now just dropping dead. And the worst part is, the tank looks great, the corals and rocks and sand are picturesque. So frustrating..

 

[Maritimer]

Physical symptoms of disease are often as described ... but not always. In the not-so-distant past, we've seen fish die of velvet without displaying symptoms, or only behavioral symptoms, such as swimming into the flow, or hiding from light. We've also recently seen a bacterial infection that may or may not display symptoms, and often kills within 24 hours of the first onset of symptoms. In some of the fish in my last order, the only symptom was not showing up for breakfast ... followed by a dead fish on the bottom of the QT when I got home from work.

QT - is the first step.

~Bruce

 

[4FordFamily]

Physical symptoms of disease are often as described ... but not always. In the not-so-distant past, we've seen fish die of velvet without displaying symptoms, or only behavioral symptoms, such as swimming into the flow, or hiding from light. We've also recently seen a bacterial infection that may or may not display symptoms, and often kills within 24 hours of the first onset of symptoms. In some of the fish in my last order, the only symptom was not showing up for breakfast ... followed by a dead fish on the bottom of the QT when I got home from work.

QT - is the first step.

~Bruce

Sorry for your losses. I have first-hand experience with velvet on two occasions that didn’t show spots or “dustings” on any fish for a good month or more before I figured out what it was. Fooled me twice. In any event, it harmed the gills long before any fish showed spots on their bodies.

I have to add that in today’s distribution system a quarantine is a must. It’s riskier than ever to skip. I did not QT for years with limited success but I fell flat on my face on several tanks about 3.5 years ago and finally learned my lesson. A lot of fish died unnecessarily before I got it through my skull. I’m not proud of it. But that’s in the past.

You can do this!

Also, foxface have very thick slime coats so it’s no surprise that it’s the last “man” standing. Unfortunately, their gills are still vulnerable and as they weaken, their slimecoat does the same.

Angels were what I kept killing with that “sneaky velvet”. Fast-killer, ruthless with angels, IME. Good luck with the Maggie!