Everything in tank was Dead by Morning

[wbwarnerb]

I'm trying to see where I went wrong. I'm a new hobbyst here. I've had a salt water tank for about 6 months. Everything was ok, well i had my growing pains in the first month, till last night.
For the last 3 months I've had: Coral, 5 clown fish, 2 adolescent columnbian sharks (brakish), star fish, shrimp, clams, crabs, snails...
The tank is a 65 gallon reef tank set up:
- Wave maker
- Protein Skimmer
- Canister Filtration
I have had the live rock in there for 6 months, the fish in there for about 3-4 months. I've watched the water quality and made sure i had the right lighting (metal halide + PC bulbs) - i've had an occasional death (like a yellow tang) but for the most part, no real catastrophe.
Last night they seemed fine. I turned off the main lights, like I normally do. Everything was swimming like normal.
In the morning the sharks were floating at the top, all the clownfish (except 2) were dead. The remaining two were on the bottom looking like it was hard for them to breathe. the shrimp was definately dead. About half the snails looked dead. I couldn't find a crab, so perhaps they were dead as well.
One 1 fish remains swimming, two others are struggling at the bottom. The star fish survived, and the 2 of the 3 coral (so far) looks ok.
Since this was an immediate reaction I wasn't sure what could cause it. I made my mental check list and here is what happened on Saturday with the tank:
- I added the three adatives I add to the tank weekly (reef starter, ph balance, and a calcuium additive.)
- the only other thing was my wife was using a Rug Dr. Steam Cleaner all night on the carpets. I'm not sure if that could have caused something to enter the water.
Levels:
I checked the Nitrates, nitrates, PH, Alkalinity, etc... All came back in the normal to ideal range.
What I did to compensate the damage:
to try and save any remaining fish I did a large water change... about 50%... i know it's a lot but considering the damage done, i figured i had to remove a lot. I added some more salt to the water mixed in.
When fish die immediately within 6 - 8 hours... what's the most likely cause?

 

[markeo99]

was water hot i'm guessin heater stuck on or electricution

 

[imurnamine]

...I don't know, but your list of inhabitants are a disaster. 5 clowns are WAY too many for such a small tank. I don't know anything about brackish fish, particularly sharks. But I DO know that for saltwater sharks, a 65 is WAYYYYY too small...
Is anything in there poisonous? I know one time somebody got their anemone sucked up into a filter, it released a toxin, and BOOM! Everything was dead.
That is SO weird, though... everything dying at once.
There was no sign of aggression at all?

 

[wbwarnerb]

Originally Posted by markeo99
http:///forum/post/2603401
was water hot i'm guessin heater stuck on or electricution
no water was 79F in the morning... yeah i thought that too... but i dont have a heater. The only electric object in the water is the Wave Maker. It was still opperating in the morning.

 

[wbwarnerb]

Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
http:///forum/post/2603410
...I don't know, but your list of inhabitants are a disaster. 5 clowns are WAY too many for such a small tank. I don't know anything about brackish fish, particularly sharks. But I DO know that for saltwater sharks, a 65 is WAYYYYY too small...
Is anything in there poisonous? I know one time somebody got their anemone sucked up into a filter, it released a toxin, and BOOM! Everything was dead.
That is SO weird, though... everything dying at once.
There was no sign of aggression at all?
Small tank? 5 clowns are too small for a 65 gallon tank? I've seen 6 raised for 20+ years in a 50 gallon.... so not sure what that's about. Maybe someone who's rich and can afford a nice 200 gallon would snub their nose at a 65, but I fail to see the point, consdiering it obviously has nothing to do with the cause of death here and the purpose of this post. This was an immediate change in roughly 6 hours. Overcrowding was not the issue here. The sharks aren't your bull sharks - columbian sharks at their stage were brakish but not true sharks. They are more catfish. Quite small at this stage. Again no overcrowding... moot point.
please keep this on topic - I would like to know why a whole colony of animal life died in under 8 hours. I came here thinking i'd get answers and not frustrating comments on how small my tank is.
If you want to make cracks about the size of the tank - just write me privately. I want real answers on this thread.

 

[wbwarnerb]

I have one theory but I am not sure about it... When my wife was cleaning the rugs, the windows in the house steamed up. The tank itself has no hood and is in the living room. Could cleaner solution reside in the water molecules that was comming off the machine to fog the windows? if so, it might have entry into the water itself.
But what level of toxicity would be required to kill all life in a 65 G tank overnight and could that level be injected via evaporated water from a rug/steam cleaner?
I can't see any other interaction with the tank... no aenome's or poisonous creatures ... they acted as though they couldn't breathe.

 

[briand7878]

I steam clean my rugs periodically with no problems. I think I would try sticking a volt meter in the water to test for voltage. I have also killed fish by having a broken heater in the tank. I knew it right away though when i stuck my hand in and got zapped.

 

[imurnamine]

Excuse me, I wasn't 'cracking' on your tank.
99% of the time, it isn't a grand idea to keep more than one pair of clowns in a tank. Ask anyone on this board.
I'm just trying to help you, so don't bite my head off. I simply asked if there were any signs of aggression on your fish carcasses. Something may have happened that way.
Don't post a help topic if you're going to harass people who try to help you. Ungrateful.

 

[rebelprettyboy]

hahaha 5 clownfish is def to much in a 65 gal tank. Did they make everything no. What type of lights do you have? Do you have any anenmones? and what kidn of clams do you?

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by ImUrNamine
http:///forum/post/2603562
Excuse me, I wasn't 'cracking' on your tank.
99% of the time, it isn't a grand idea to keep more than one pair of clowns in a tank. Ask anyone on this board.
I'm just trying to help you, so don't bite my head off. I simply asked if there were any signs of aggression on your fish carcasses. Something may have happened that way.
Don't post a help topic if you're going to harass people who try to help you. Ungrateful.
+1 you seemed like you were trying to help, i too was thinking the stock list was a bit strange and that i would think that the amount of clowns in there would of had aggression, although if the person that made this thread is telling the truth and everything died overnight, it prob wasnt aggression that killed them all, but maybe something that was part of it
I dont really like when you talk online that you dont know how to interpret how the other person is talking... to me ImUrNamine was trying to be helpful and it seemed like you got offended and didnt want to give their concerns on your stock of fish that could have been a factor of their death, where instead you seemed to be acting very rude and immature and started yelling.
Anyways i too am puzzled at what all killed your fish, can you post some pics of it? maybe we could spot a problem if it has anything to do with anything in the tank
otherwise im thinkin some sort of chemical is in there, when you said your parameters came back down to all normal levels, what were they before and what are they now?
also it could have been electricution or since i think i read that u didnt have a heater maybe you had a huge temp fluctuation

 

[imurnamine]

If it were a power surge or temperature issue, wouldn't the corals be the first things to go?
They're pretty delicate with water temperature and whatnot...

 

[gmann1139]

I'm guessing that one of the deaths died first, and nuked the tank.
With your... unique... stocklist, its hard to know whether one fish finally turned on another and killed it. With a 65, I have to believe there haven't been several... encounters... before now.
If something died, the sharks, which are sensitive to conditions, probably would have gone next. That's a lot of death, so its no surprise that other fish and inverts would die afterwards.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by wbwarnerb
http:///forum/post/2603380
I'm trying to see where I went wrong. I'm a new hobbyst here. I've had a salt water tank for about 6 months. Everything was ok, well i had my growing pains in the first month, till last night.
For the last 3 months I've had: Coral, 5 clown fish, 2 adolescent columnbian sharks (brakish), star fish, shrimp, clams, crabs, snails...
The tank is a 65 gallon reef tank set up:
- Wave maker
- Protein Skimmer
- Canister Filtration
I have had the live rock in there for 6 months, the fish in there for about 3-4 months. I've watched the water quality and made sure i had the right lighting (metal halide + PC bulbs) - i've had an occasional death (like a yellow tang) but for the most part, no real catastrophe.
Last night they seemed fine. I turned off the main lights, like I normally do. Everything was swimming like normal.
In the morning the sharks were floating at the top, all the clownfish (except 2) were dead. The remaining two were on the bottom looking like it was hard for them to breathe. the shrimp was definately dead. About half the snails looked dead. I couldn't find a crab, so perhaps they were dead as well.
One 1 fish remains swimming, two others are struggling at the bottom. The star fish survived, and the 2 of the 3 coral (so far) looks ok.
Since this was an immediate reaction I wasn't sure what could cause it. I made my mental check list and here is what happened on Saturday with the tank:
- I added the three adatives I add to the tank weekly (reef starter, ph balance, and a calcuium additive.)
- the only other thing was my wife was using a Rug Dr. Steam Cleaner all night on the carpets. I'm not sure if that could have caused something to enter the water.
Levels:
I checked the Nitrates, nitrates, PH, Alkalinity, etc... All came back in the normal to ideal range.
What I did to compensate the damage:
to try and save any remaining fish I did a large water change... about 50%... i know it's a lot but considering the damage done, i figured i had to remove a lot. I added some more salt to the water mixed in.
When fish die immediately within 6 - 8 hours... what's the most likely cause?
It could certainly be tank contamination. It has happened before. I am sure that you wife didn't know that she would hurt your tank. Was it a spray of some sort? If it was a foam that stayed on the carpet, then that would not have hurt the tanks. Run some carbon in your display. I am so sorry for your losses.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by gmann1139
http:///forum/post/2603687
I'm guessing that one of the deaths died first, and nuked the tank.
With your... unique... stocklist, its hard to know whether one fish finally turned on another and killed it. With a 65, I have to believe there haven't been several... encounters... before now.
If something died, the sharks, which are sensitive to conditions, probably would have gone next. That's a lot of death, so its no surprise that other fish and inverts would die afterwards.
Just so that everyone knows, these "sharks" are Columbian sharks, which are actually catfish. They grow to a foot, if you are lucky. They top out at around 9" commonly. They are brackish water fish that migrate into SW at times. They breed in FW, so are sold as such. They are not sensitive to anything but medication. Naturally, as with any fish, poor water quality would be a problem. Here is a picture of one. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. This is one that I acclimated to salt a few years ago. He is about two and a half inches here.

 

[mr.clownfish]

that is the coolest thing i have seen!

 

[rabbit_72]

It does sound like some sort of contamination issue, but from the Rug Dr.? I don't think so unless your wife was shampooing the tank, which I am sure she wasn't. I shampoo my carpets all the time... I have kids and dogs... and never, ever a problem and mine's a Hoover and the Rug Dr. has more suction. How about somethingv sprayed into the air? Do you have any kids who might have put something into the tank? Cats?
Of course sometimes, things just happen. I know of someone's tank where all the fish died and yet the corals survived. It is not always easy to pinpoint why things in our tanks happen. That's why people here ask the questions they do, to get the best idea of your tank and it's inhabitants.
I say, run the carbon in your tank and keep an eye on your remaining livestock.

 

[kaliman33]

I had a tank years ago, a55 gallon, my wife decided to clean the glass with windex, the mist must have been sucked in or something., wiped out my tank in hours, it could be a chemical issue.
Now i dont even spray dusting stuff on the table by the tank, i spray it away on a cloth, then clean.
that really sucks, good luck

 

[dragonzim]

Did any of the fish look like they had been attacked or were they all just dead with no signs of a fight? 5 clowns together could DEFINITELY lead to a major aggression problem. Most recommendations call for only 2 to be kept together.

 

[renogaw]

very doubtful one death would nuke the tank.
gotta be something else. why do you buffer your ph? your additives would be what i would look at first.

 

[prime311]

While I agree that stock list is an immediate problem. The clown aggression aside, any fish(much less 2) that grows to 9" is going to put too much bioload on a tank that size. That being said, I don't see how that could be your issue here, especially if you're Ammonia and Nitrite levels came back at 0. Although I'm a bit surprised your Ammonia was registering 0 when you had that many dead things in your tank. My bet is on the chemicals from the steam cleaner as you are surmising yourself.