Fish dieing need some help!

[joemiskojr]

I am not exactly new to this i have had my 55 gallon saltwater tank up and running for over a year now with no problems. About 2 weeks ago i noticed that my large domino dansel has started turning white instead of its normal black color . When i kill the lights on the tank and just leave the mood lights on he starts to turn dark again . Not sure why he is doing this! Also i just lost 2 smaller fish in the past 24 hrs. The 1 i have had since i set up the tank , the other one i have had for about 3 months. Everything has been fine and all fish are eating well . Not sure what happened to these 2 fish . I have done my usual water changes and testing is normal no high levels . I have treated the water with the floating med tablets for ich and bacteria . I dont want to loose anymore fish , does anybody have any suggestions on where to start from here? Thanks for any help.

 

[geoj]

Post all the things you test for.
Do the fish have ICH?

 

[joemiskojr]

I am not exactly sure what ich looks like . I have read that fish get white spots on them but i only have the one fish that turned completely white, not spots.
I test weekly for ph , nitrates, nitrites and amonia levels and also salinity of the water . Last water change all levels where ok except salinity it was low . Over the course of the few days afrerwards i added saltwater and now salinity is fine . Is there a way to check for ich?

 

[geoj]

Early signs of fish ich disease can include having your fish rubbing or scraping itself against rocks or other surfaces. In more advanced stages, your fish may become lethargic (or lazy), spending most of its time on the bottom of the tank. The white spots, can be seen on the exterior surfaces of your fish. They look like raised white spots about the size of a sugar granules.
I guess you must know whether or not any thing you did to the tank would have killed the fish or not, because without the numbers or more information as to what you did I could not tell you if you killed them or some disease.

 

[joemiskojr]

I just ran another test which are higher then normal which is weird cause i just ran test on monday and all levels were normal. Only thing i did was a partial water change , and add instant ocean lifeguard tablets , to be on the safe side incase of ich or bacteria presence.
Salinity on hydrometer is 1.02, Ph is 8.2 , ammonia is 0.50 , nitrite is 0 , and nitrate is 5.0 . Any recomendations on what to do . Should i do another partial water change imediatly . thanks for your help.

 

[btldreef]

If you have ammonia, you need to get rid of it asap, another water change!
STOP treating your DT. If you're going to treat your fish, you need to setup a QT. It sounds like your fish are stressed out and whatever you treated with killed off the good bacteria in your tank, causing the ammonia to spike.

 

[joemiskojr]

Thanks for your help i am doing the water change asap

 

[flower]

Welcome to the site...sorry for your troubles.
I think the floating tabs for ich is a freshwater remedy...I have never seen that type for saltwater fish. If you have ammonia, you may have nitrite as well...so test for that. Your SG should be 1.022 to 1.026 ...if you have 1.002 as you seem to have posted, you are almost doing hypo.
I agree to never trate the display thank. Never treat any medicine until you know what disease if any is present.

 

[btldreef]

If there are no corals or inverts in the tank, he can go all the way down to 1.019 without really harming anything. Hypo is 1.009. We keep reef tanks higher, but for fish only, there really is no reason to, the slightly lower salinity is actually easier on most fish.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/390671/fish-dieing-need-some-help#post_3461143
If there are no corals or inverts in the tank, he can go all the way down to 1.019 without really harming anything. Hypo is 1.009. We keep reef tanks higher, but for fish only, there really is no reason to, the slightly lower salinity is actually easier on most fish.
Okay, that's a new one...every single book I have ever read says 1.022 to 1.026 inside that pocket is called the safe zone, and the hydrometers are even marked there. I know stability is the key to keep the fish healthy, so whatever SG...keep it there.
I'm not doubting what you day....I learn new stuff never found in books on this site all the time. But I have to wonder if all books say the above, how you discovered that lower SG is less stress on the fish? Basically, how do you guys find out this stuff? I admit I haven't cracked a SW book in a while, is it new stuff that has been found out?

 

[btldreef]

Just learned over time really. I actually start my fish in QT at 1.020 if they're showing signs of stress/heavy breathing or have ich. I also start new fish at this salinity when beginning hypo. Higher salinity is actually harsher on their gills. This usually isn't an issue if the fish is healthy, etc. But many stores will keep their tanks that don't hold inverts at 1.019-1.021. Many of them do it just to save money on salt mix, but it's also done for acclimating purposes, etc. If there are no inverts present, you can safely run a fish only tank as low as 1.019 without killing beneficial bacteria.

 

[geoj]

Experience, people that right books need to wright in line with the consensus. If they don't there competitors will attack them publicly just as you have. If they can't then change the consensus they may lose respect and there next book may not get published. So the numbers you read in books are conservative. People that post in forums do so with more freedom.