Ahh...3 fish in the past month!!!Help!

[bluegirl]

Ok so first my clown goes missing, I'm scratching my head over that one as we speak. Then I was so excited cause my cleaner shrimp molted, only to find my psuedochromis dead in pieces in the corner of the tank. This morning I get up and what's left of my rainford goby is being eaten by the cleaner shrimp. What the hell is going on in my tank???

Water conditions have been steady for the past two months.
SG 1.026
ph 8.4
nitrites 0
nitrates0
ammonia 0
Today nitrates are at 20 and ammonia at 0.50, I'm assuming due to the rainford goby being dead in the tank. I did a water change and I haven't retested yet. I'm scared that my watchman goby is next, he's the only fish I have left. It's a 9 gal tank, I have a cleaner shrimp, feather duster, 4 brownleg hermits, 2 blue leg hermits, 1 astrea snail, 1 nassurius snail, and about 8 stomatellas. I'm wonder if bristleworms are getting my fish?? I don't know I've run out of options, I don't want to get another fish until I know whats happening to the ones I have. They also were eating fine, swimming fine, and had no signs of disease or sickness. They got along well as far as I know, I've never seen any of them pick on one another. I would think if I had a mantis shrimp in my little tank that I would have seen it by now. What's happening to my poor fishys?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mystic7]

I'm no expert by any means and I'm sure you'll get a more authoritative answer soon, but was that a typo or is it really a 9 gallon tank? Seems to me with a tank that size, even the slightest overnight change in ph or temp could be catastrophic.

 

[bluegirl]

Bump...plz if you guys have any ideas...I'm desperate here. I don't want my watchman goby, Clyde, to be next.

 

[bluegirl]

Originally Posted by mystic7
I'm no expert by any means and I'm sure you'll get a more authoritative answer soon, but was that a typo or is it really a 9 gallon tank? Seems to me with a tank that size, even the slightest overnight change in ph or temp could be catastrophic.
It's a 9 gal, and I'm very careful with it. I'm constantly checking temp and ph. The temp stays at about 79.5 and ph is at 8.4 every time I test it. I test my water every 3 days, excessive probably, but i'm anal about it. Well, that's what everyone tells me.

 

[ezee]

bluegirl,
A 9 gallon also seems a little small for four fish. Could have contributed. How long has the tank been up?
E

 

[bluegirl]

Since mid november, I had only the clown and psuedochromis in there at first. Clown disappeared and I added the 2 gobys within 3 days the psuedochromis was gone (I found the psuedochromis torn to pieces and the hermits or shrimp couldn't get to him where he was at in the tank, he must have been attacked and swim into that nook and died), and today the rainford goby was gone. The most I had in the tank at one time was 3 small fish, so I don't think that contributed but I don't know. I'm really thinking something is attacking my fish.

3 small fish is the max that I will put into my tank, and as far as the bioload goes that was fine. My parameters didn't fluctuate from it. The two gobies hung out on opposite sides of the tank under rocks, and the psuedochromis was a mid-level swimmer.

 

[lion_crazz]

I would not suspect bristleworms. They are not that aggressive unless you have really huge ones. You would see them come out at night time though. You don't have any really big hermit crabs, do you? It could be possible that you have a mantis. I am assuming you have a lot of live rock with that large of a clean-up crew.
Have you ever taken your water to the LFS to double check your test kits and make sure they are accurate? Does your pH fluctuate a lot, maybe from the result of an alkilinity problem? What are you using to test your SG? If it is a hydrometer, have you ever calibrated or checked it with someone else to make sure that is accurate? I am just trying to think of all different possibilities...

 

[tizzo]

They were all fine, then they just up and died?? Is that right?? Don't rull out mantis if you hve LR, plenty hobbiests have had them for a solid year without even realizing it. Also at night with a flashlight, look for and bugs on the actual fish, specifically a cirolanid isopod. Looks like a potato bug or rolly polly they call them here in the south. They can kill a fish rather quickly...

 

[bluegirl]

I've never taken my water to my lfs, I need to I guess. I'm using RO/DI water only, no tap. I'm using a AP saltwater test kit. I have 10lbs. of lr. I'm just discouraged, because I spent months researching before I even got a tank and now i'm losing fish for no apparent reason. Do I have to much clean up crew? The stomatellas were hitchhikers, I only bought the nassiurus and astera snail, I picked out small ones. I have a total of 6 hermits, and they are tiny. My cleaner shrimp, Jaques, he cleans up and he eats plenty at feeding time. I feed frozen marine blend food and my hermits, nass. snail, shrimp, and fish all eat. I've never seen a mantis, and I like to watch my tank at night. I don't know, I thought my tank was flourishing. I have a green star polyp that hitchhiked on my live rock that's growing beautifully. I have coralline starting to pop up everywhere. My shrimp molted, and my stomatellas mated. All my parameters have been normal since the cycle ended, I feel like I'm beating my head up against a wall.

 

[bluegirl]

Originally Posted by Tizzo
They were all fine, then they just up and died?? Is that right?? Don't rull out mantis if you hve LR, plenty hobbiests have had them for a solid year without even realizing it. Also at night with a flashlight, look for and bugs on the actual fish, specifically a cirolanid isopod. Looks like a potato bug or rolly polly they call them here in the south. They can kill a fish rather quickly...
Yep that's what's happening. I'll look really carefully tonight, thanks for the heads up on the cirolanid isopod, I thought I'd be able to see them during the day, maybe not. I do have some pretty big bristleworms, but they just come out a little ways and dig thru the sand. Yes, they psuedochromis looked like it had been attacked. The rainford goby, I don't know about because the shrimp got to him before I did. Thanks!

 

[lion_crazz]

I didn't say you had too much, you just had a lot, so I knew you had live rock. I wasn't criticizing you, as it is always good to have a nice-sized clean-up crew, especially for smalller tanks.
I recommend you take your water to the LFS and see if they get the same readings that you do for your water. That way you will know if your test is accurate, or if it is faulty.
I would definitely suspect either something is wrong with your test kit, hydrometer, or you have some kind of nasty hitchhiker, like a mantis, coming out at night time.

 

[bluegirl]

Thank you! I wasn't trying to be defensive, sorry. I just am very particular about my tank and if it's too much of a clean up crew I was going to be very worried and probably wind up thinning it out. LOL I'll get my water tested. How do I do the hydrometer calabration? I'm using IO salt and an IO hydrometer. I didn't know that I needed to do that. I assumed that it would be correct, my stupidity there I guess. Thanks!

 

[petieaztec]

I am going to say you had too much, a clown, a goby, a shrimp,live rock, and somthing else in a 9 gal. i have a 30 gal and 4 fish and that seems crowded. you have to give them places to hide sleep and to defend. those shrimp are very territorial. we had a shrimp, a goby and a damsel in a 10 gal and the shrimp attacked everthing. learn from expirience or things can get expensive!

 

[tizzo]

You cannot calbrate a hydrometer... You can compare the results to a refactometer and remember to adjust accordingly. For example if your hydrometer says 1.023 and the LFS's refracto says 1.024 then you have to remember to add one when cheching it. But the fact that they showed no signs of illness then died through the night dos not exactly point towards parameters, although in this hobby, you can't permanantly rull out anything...

 

[bluegirl]

the shrimp attacked? i've seen him cleaning the fish, but i've never seen him attack the fish. he was in with the psuedochromis a month or more and it was never scared of the shrimp. She'd swim right up and wait to be cleaned. Hmm...thanks for the info!

 

[tizzo]

I have a coral banded that attacks. Mean little bugger, I wanna pull his whiskers off. But a cleaner, no way. I ain't believin' it.

 

[lion_crazz]

yes, that is what I meant Tizzo, thanks for clearing that up for bluegirl. I use a refractometer because back when I was so inexperienced, I used IO hydrometers and mine was off by .10. It was reading 1.022 and it was really closer to 1.012... It's not stupid at all. Many people do not know how inaccurate most of them are, and that you should replace them every 6-8 months for them to be the most accurate.
Also, petieaztec, we are already ruling out her bioload because that would show up on a test kit. If you have 0 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, your bioload is perfectly fine. That is also why I told her to get her test kit checked out though by taking a sample of her water. If the LFS reads the same thing, it will just reassure what she already knew. If the LFS gets something different, she might indeed have a water quality issue without knowing it due to a bad test kit.

 

[bluegirl]

I'm off to the lfs to get my water tested. Thanks guys, let you know what they say.

 

[phoenixfla]

I would find 0 nitrates unusual with 3 fish in a 9 gallon tank. Even with routine water changes I would expect SOME nitrates. Also - how often do you top off? If it is not often then adding 1/2 gallon of water can change the salinity dramatically. In addition, if it is a 9 gallon tank, the live rock probably takes up at least a gallon of tank space.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by PhoenixFla
I would find 0 nitrates unusual with 3 fish in a 9 gallon tank. Even with routine water changes I would expect SOME nitrates. Also - how often do you top off? If it is not often then adding 1/2 gallon of water can change the salinity dramatically. In addition, if it is a 9 gallon tank, the live rock probably takes up at least a gallon of tank space.
I would not find 0 nitrates to be unusal even in that size tank due to the fact that she said she is very anal about her water quality and the clean-up crew that she has is a good size. However, again, she is getting her water checked at the LFS today so we will see if she has a faulty test kit.
The evaporation issue is a good suggesttion though as to a possible cause for the fish to be shocked by fluctuating water quality.