Every fish is dieing

[inthewater]

I am losing every fish in my tank to some inexplicable disease. It started with three fish bought on this website (dead within days), then my Asfur angel, then bicolor blenny, then several damsels, then a flame angel and tiger jawfish and now just five fish left (hippo tang, maroone clown, orange skunk clown, blue damsel and spotted hawkfish)....maybe they are next. symptoms are few, as the fish either show a little blotchyness to their bodies, perhaps even a little erosion of fins, although some show no signs at all and outwardly look very healthy, perhaps a little cloudy in eyes....eventual outcome is listing and finally inability to swim, lying on ground with gills working and then dead. PH is good, nitrates low, temp fine.....i don't get it, very upsetting! Any help????

 

[beth]

What you describe sounds like bacterial infection, but bacterial infections are not contagious.
You don't notice any spots [not ich] maybe like a dusted appearance to the skin? As if the fish has been sprinkled with powder?

 

[inthewater]

a few more fish have died since yesterday, it's extremely virulent, whatever it is. I have three fish left and I don't hold much hope for them. on a couple of the fish that died I did notice a fine dusting, but not all or even most of the ones that died. most had a whitish film on eyes and the fins became a little ragged. I am thinking it's marine velvet, but not all of them have this dusting or whitish specks. They do all die lieing on ground with gills working.

 

[beth]

Immediately begin a copper treatment using Cupramine! You will need a compatible test kit to be sure that you maintain theraputic copper levels.
This sounds like Oodinium [velvet, as you said].

 

[inthewater]

I can't use copper, it's a reef tank with live rock, live sand, refugium, many shrimp and crabs, several starfish, 10 corals, 2 anemones, etc. Any other ideas? It's impossible to try to catch any of the fish...too much live rock in place. The three last fish have survived another day. Does this plague ever go away? I've lowered salinity to 1.020, where it's been for a few days now.

 

[beth]

If you are dealing with velvet, then hyposalinity just isn't going to work. If you're not going to treat the fish, then they will surely die with velvet. You will need to leave you tank fishless for at least 2 mos following velvet.