Deadly Weekend

coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
This was a great weekend for me and the family.... We relaxed around the pool enjoyed some great Bar-B-Q.
But....
In the fish tank, now that's another sory.
Yellow Tang
Royal Gramma
Sand Sifter Goby
Peppermint Shrimp
All Dead:
The Tang was wedged between rocks yesterday morning.
The Royal Gramma was missing for 3 days, today parts of the body appeared.
The Goby I found dismantled this morning.
The Shrimp was eaten whole by the CBS.
Its been an eventful weekend. I got a sinking feeling the Blue Hippo Tang will die today. Its been swimming at the bottom of the tank and is covered in Ick. Unfortuantly I couldn't get him out. AT ALL. Without taking my tank apart.
I'm at work now, I'll do a water test when I get home around noon. And the sad part is that I did 2 water changes this weekend and the tank conditions were pristine, except for the Nitrate issue I have, due to Over-Stocking.
I guess I won't be having that problem anymore.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
do you have a predatory shrimp (mantis!) in there or something? is there any way something toxic got in your tank that wouldnt show up on test kits? Like DRAINO(dont ask me how this would happen)? Geez this really sucks.
How long has your tank been up? have you had the critters a while? What about your corals/inverts? are they ok? sounds like a mini-crash.
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Originally Posted by Coolguy818
The Corals Are fine. Ummmm I don't think Draino got into it.
No Mantis

I was kidding about the Draino

But maybe some sort of toxin got into there? Like did you spray for bugs or something?
 
porthosandjazz

porthosandjazz

Member
Originally Posted by Coolguy818
This was a great weekend for me and the family.... We relaxed around the pool enjoyed some great Bar-B-Q.
But....
In the fish tank, now that's another sory.
Yellow Tang
Royal Gramma
Sand Sifter Goby
Peppermint Shrimp
All Dead:
The Tang was wedged between rocks yesterday morning.
The Royal Gramma was missing for 3 days, today parts of the body appeared.
The Goby I found dismantled this morning.
The Shrimp was eaten whole by the CBS.
Its been an eventful weekend. I got a sinking feeling the Blue Hippo Tang will die today. Its been swimming at the bottom of the tank and is covered in Ick. Unfortuantly I couldn't get him out. AT ALL. Without taking my tank apart.
I'm at work now, I'll do a water test when I get home around noon. And the sad part is that I did 2 water changes this weekend and the tank conditions were pristine, except for the Nitrate issue I have, due to Over-Stocking.
I guess I won't be having that problem anymore.

Oh god, that's like my worst night mare!!!!
How do you think that the The Royal Gramma and Goby were... torn apart?
 
ladifysh

ladifysh

New Member
That statement that you did two water changes over the week-end raises a red flag to me....was the salt mixed properly, could something have comtaminated the salt, was the water the right temperature (cold water will throw most fish into an ich mode) Do you use R/O water or tap? Got kids, my friend found out her kids were throwing pennies into the wishing well...aka the sump...took her 4 or 5 weeks to track down the problem but she lost a lot of stuff in the mean time.She tested her water but didn't check for copper because she knew that none had been added to her tank. (by HER that is) As for the stuff that's being devoured, it sounds like your clean up crew is doing their jobs. Sorry you had such a sucky week-end...hope you find out what the problems is.
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
Originally Posted by Ladifysh
That statement that you did two water changes over the week-end raises a red flag to me....was the salt mixed properly,Overnight, Oceanic Salt, Heater, Powerhead.. could something have comtaminated the salt, was the water the right temperature (cold water will throw most fish into an ich mode) Do you use R/O water or tap?R/O Got kids, my friend found out her kids were throwing pennies into the wishing well...aka the sump...took her 4 or 5 weeks to track down the problem but she lost a lot of stuff in the mean time.She tested her water but didn't check for copper because she knew that none had been added to her tank. (by HER that is) As for the stuff that's being devoured, it sounds like your clean up crew is doing their jobs. Sorry you had such a sucky week-end...hope you find out what the problems is.

Here is the most chilling part. I can home from work today, and found my Flame Angel Dead...........
Had to take the entire tank apart to fish him out. Now I stirred up all kinds of stuff, from the bottom of the tank. And off the rocks.
What do I do now?
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
Here is the Water Test Info..........
Temp - 79.2
PH - 8.0-8.4
dKH - 10
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20ppm (actually went down??)
Phosphate - 0
Calcium - 400
Specific Gravity - 1.025
I'm very confused......... What would cause 4 fish to die within 24 hours???
Should I be worried about my Corals?
Should I make new Saltwater for a water change?
I need some help.
 
me-n-my-fish

me-n-my-fish

Member
You said the tang was covered in ink? any of the other fish have signs of ick? It really is not that fast of a killer, imo, tho. I would look for signs of contamination.
Sorry bout your loss's
hth
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
Originally Posted by me-n-my-fish
You said the tang was covered in ink? any of the other fish have signs of ick? It really is not that fast of a killer, imo, tho. I would look for signs of contamination.
Sorry bout your loss's
hth
No other fish are covered in ick.
 
porthosandjazz

porthosandjazz

Member
Originally Posted by Coolguy818
No other fish are covered in ick.
Dude, I wish I could help, but I have no idea. Try thinking outside the box? Did someone pour beer in your tank, maybe? It's happened before.
Ummm.... Maybe someone is right... maybe mantis shrimp?
Maybe someone else is right and the water change was too drastic?
I sooo wish I could help. I wish someone here could help. There seem to be a lot of knowledgeable people on here...
 
mr. green

mr. green

Member
Just a thought, you said the family was around. Was anyone at the house that is usually not there, a kid maybe. Any chance someone could have tossed something into the tank????
Just throwing the old dart against the wall and eliminating everything to drill down.
 
rebelprettyboy

rebelprettyboy

Active Member
What size tank is this?
Do you have a Qt tank?
I am very sorry to hear your about your losses... I hope everything else does ok
 
murph

murph

Active Member
Sounds to me like your run of the mill parasite (ich) problem especially when it was evident on one of the fish.
Ich kills when it infects the gills of he fish. FME this can come after it has attacked the skin of the fish and is obvious to the hobbyist or can be the first area of attack killing the fish without much warning for the hobbyist other than a loss of appetite and laboured breathing for the fish.
Good thing is if all the fish in the tank have died there is nothing you have to do except not introduce any new fish for six weeks. During that time perform your regular maintenance and feed your inverts.
Also take this time to setup a quarantine tank and get it well cycled.
Next find a good LFS and inquire about his holding tank procedures. Due to the constant influx of new fish it is impossible for LFS to avoid the introduction of parasites. This is why many LFS will attempt to maintain a therapeutic level of copper in there fish only holding tanks.
Your questions for the LFS when shopping for new fish should be.
Do you use copper in your FO holding tanks. If his answer to this is yes its ok and IMO preferable. If the answer is no you can still buy the fish there but be prepared to treat the fish in your QT after purchase. There is a high likely hood it is carrying parasites even if it looks clean and healthy.
If the answer to the first question was yes ask if they test the copper levels daily and how much they dose. If the answer to this is yes and the dose is from .15 to .20 copper or 15 to 20 chealted copper this is fine. If the answer is no or ambiguous in any way the LFS might just be pouring copper in the holding tanks when he sees parasites which means he cold be overdosing or not keeping the parasites life cycle properly interrupted which is no better than not dosing the tank at all.
Next ask how long the fish has been at the store and if its eating. Copper exposure can be problematic for certain species (tangs) so if the fish has been exposed to copper at the LFS for more than a month you may want to avoid this fish. Do not buy a fish that you have not seen eat.
Non of this guarantees the general health of the fish however so place all new arrivals in you QT tank for at least a few weeks and observe for signs of diseases and be prepared to treat the fish.
It is vary difficult to find an LFS that is completely diligent about its holding tank procedures. These days it is best to assume the fish is facing health issues when you buy it which means the QT is all the more important and is the area where a fish can be nursed back to the health, given the proper diet, and acclimated to aquarium life in an aggression free environment.
 
coolguy818

coolguy818

Member
Today the True Percula Clown Died........... But the sick Tang is still swimming.
There are 2 more fish left...
Blue Hippo Tang
3 Stripe Damsel
And I guess only time will tell....
 
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