Fish keep Dying

[mac1215]

For the last two months my fish have been dying. I had 2 naso's and a yellow tang that is on his way out as we speak. I have had the water tested several times each month and there are no nitrates or phosphates in the water. I don't understand what can be doing this. 135 reef tank with only snails hermits and a blenny. What do I do?

 

[goldfish]

what are the other readings? Ph? ammonia? Nitrites? Phosphates and nitrates are not the only thing that will hurt your fish...do check the other peramiters and get back to us.

 

[galina]

How long has this tank been set up? What are the symptoms of your dying fish? Have you tested for heavy metals? How long do you acclimate? So many variables... you'll have to give some more information before we pin point the cause of death. Oh and can you post the other readings? Trites, Ammonia.. ect.
Galina

 

[mac1215]

I have a total house RO system. But I went to the LFS and they tested for all of the elements except Chlorine, everything else was normal. But, I will go to the LFS and buy a test kit with all of the things in their. And I acclimate my fish for about 30-45 minutes. Also he has been in my tank for about 3 weeks. All of the fish usually last 3 weeks. And I just finish doing a water change about 4 days ago. I just added some hermit crabs at the same time I did the water change, could this be the cause?

 

[kris walker]

What are your fish dieing of? Ich? A bacterial infection? Are the symptoms consistent? I'm in the same boat. All my fish seem to get a bacterial infection a week or so after I get them. See my earlier post the other day "I just can't keep fish". Maybe you and I are doing the same wrong thing in our tanks.
kris

 

[salty james]

Get a Q tank, and put fish in before going into main tank. I had one fish die from ich, and learnt the hard way.
Has your tank cycled ??

 

[mac1215]

I went to the LFS store and they tested my water again. EVERY WAS NORMAL. He said that I could have parasites in the tank and recommended that I by a UV. I never added a heater to my tank but I'm adding that also. Because of the slight water changes that it goes through from day/night. By the way I lost me damsel yesterday! I'm waiting on a heater I just ordered and I'm going to by a UV so that I want have to deal with this anymore. The guy at the LFS told me "that it is your choice whether to have a UV or not, but it's like driving a car with know insurance."

 

[beth]

A UV is helpful for parasites and, to a lesser extent, bacterial problems, but it is by no means a cure-all. It could be that you have some sort of internal parasite problem cycling in your tank that you can't get rid of as long as you keep adding fish. I would suggest that you go ahead and get a good UV then leave your tank devoid of fish for 2 mos.
You should be QTing your fish before placing them in your tank. If you are getting your fish from the same LFS all the time, they could be sick fish or carriers from the LFS. Most fish carry infections and parasites, and if they don't have those problems by the time they get to the LFS, then they will get it there due to the store's practice of sharing water filtration [and usually never QTing]. Doing QT before introducing your fish will help detour this problem once you get the fish home.
Also, a heater is not a cure for any diseases. You should only use a heater if you need to heat your tank water...it serves no other purpose.

 

[blondenaso1]

mac1215, What LFS do you go to? I am curious to see who said that. I have gone to many stores in Tampa.
I wouldn't say that a UV is crucial in a tank. Actually if you read up on it there are conflicting veiws on what negative effects it can have on a tank. And like Beth said, It is definately not a cure all. You need to find the root if the problem. Without the heater how much does your temp vary from day to night? This can be stressful on fish, especially those just newly introduced to a tank. I agree, set up a qt and always put the fish in there before the main tank. Good luck

 

[don-9]

I will have to agree with Beth on this one. UV or not, stop adding fish for a while. If it is a parasite problem starve them. This hobby can be extremely expensive if you are buying fish every few weeks. Another thing, if you are getting all of these fish from the same store, try a different store the next time.

 

[mac1215]

Hello everyone and thanks again for the replies. I went to the LFS Tuesday and bought a 25 UV sterlizer. I placed the sterlizer on the tank the same night. The LFS store I bought both naso's that died was the Marine Warehouse off of Hillsbourh. But I bought the UV at Pet Mart off Bush and 54th. The guy who recommended that I put a UV was the LFS owner off 60 and Dalemabry. I tested my water the same yesterday and it was;
phospate 0
metals 0
cal 600
nitrate 0
phosphate 0
Alk 1.022
Water temp vary from 80 day to 72/70 night.
Waiting on heater to come in mail; purchased 300 Visi
Fish in tank: 1 yellow tang, hermits, and snails.
The tang does have ick.
Death toll: 2 naso's & damsel
1) Should I try to get the tang out or leave him be? I have a lots of live rock so it will be pretty hard.
2) Since I have a UV should I still wait the 2 months recommended?

 

[volitan]

Temperature variations of up to 10 degrees daily! That is probably a huge contributor to your problem. It looks like most of the fish you lost were tangs. They are very susceptible to stress-related illness. Temp variations that wide will definitely stress your fish. HTH

 

[shootonsite]

mac1215,
I don't know how long your tanks been running, but with your parameters and the death of extremely hardy fish, I could only imagine the source as being the problem. Unfortunately, some suppliers still purchase cyanide caught fish without knowing it. This can almost guarantee death after being transfered 3 or 4 times. Ich is not a terminal disease. Fish don't die because of it. I can't say this often enough, but your dealing with salesman. Don't get suckered into impulse buying. Try researching more natural methods of filtration. Not just reef websites, but nature websites. Remember, there are no protein skimmers or UV filters in the ocean. If you went the algae filter route, you can easily attain stability with a 125.
'The mob is easily lead.'

 

[dirtybilge]

Do you have live rock and live sand if not buy some beofore more fish!

 

[shootonsite]

Volitan,
Good point, I didn't notice that. 72 degrees is too low, especially for a reef.

 

[von_rahvin]

10 degress is a crazy amount for the temp to change over tha space of one evening in a tank that large. You whould have to put it into a freezer to get that kind of drop. We just had that discussion with the "lets make a chiller" talk. it takes an enormous ammount of energy to change the temp in such a large tank. now if it was a 10 gallon it is more reasonable. but over 100!!!!!
Also the pet smart near me sold me an ick infested sailfin that killed my entire tank about 9 months ago. THey have the sickest fish out there. We don't have ***** down here so i have nothing to compare it to. FOr a LFS go find a Mom and Pop store of a single owner propeietor(SP). they will usually give you better info and take better care of their fish!

 

[pegboy]

How long has your tank been set up? Did it have time to cycle or are you trying to cycle it with Tangs? Is there any Algae for the Tangs to eat?

 

[mac1215]

My tank has been setup for 2 months, not a lot of algea for the tang to eat, and yes I did try to cycle it with one tang. Do I produce more algea by leaving the lights on longer? MH 250w 1200 10am-6pm and acentinic blue and white run 10am-9:00pm.
Shootonsite, what do you mean by algea filter route? I have never seen one of these.
I keep my house at 75 degrees all the time so the tank drops dramaically at night.
Also no one answered my questions yet in the other reply. Can you help me out?
See other questions on the last reply at the bottom.

 

[m1rodrig]

If you don't do something about the ick he will eventually die.You may wan't to post that question on the disease board.You can probably get away with lowering your salinity and this might get rid of the ick,since you only have hermits,snails and a blenny.Also your calcium at 600 is pretty high I really don't know if this could be affecting your fish any,but if I were you I wouldn't think of adding anything for a while.First you need to try and heal that Tang.

 

[shootonsite]

mac1215,
I don't know exactly what filtration method you are using now, but most reef tanks are better off without mechanical or wet/dry filtration. There are a few hobbyists who may only rely on their lr and ls for filtration possibly accompanied by a skimmer or refugium. Study a bit on how our ocean system works. You'll find that algae is responsible for waste removal. Piece together this knowledge with reef techniques and you can create an ecosystem in your home.
Leave the tang in there. There's no use taking out all of your lr just to catch him. The UV filter will decrease the ich population in your tank, but you can never truly get rid of it. Ich is always present, even in a perfect tank there will be singular numbers. The health of your fish determines the parasites success. Put a cleaner shrimp in to hunt down the ich and eggs that may be on the sand bed.
Running your UV will help, but don't lower your salinity. A low salinity will keep the ich from floating around enough to reach the UV.
Tangs are hardy, but very poor shippers. You can wait a month before adding another fish, but I think you should be more concerned with choosing healthy and strong specimens.