Heeeeelllppppp!!!

J

jackie dh

Guest
I have a well established 120, only one new fish has been added to it in nearly a year. It has a deep sand bed and about 100 pounds of live rock and a wet dry filter. The tank has been up for around three years with very few loses. This summer I lost a year+ old Purple tang that had been doing great, so I made a 30% to 40% water change. No more problems until a couple of weeks ago I noticed that my Fire shrimp was missing, then a few days ago I noticed that my coral banded shrimp was missing, then a short spine urchin died and a couple of day later my 2 year old serpent star died. Most of the inverts had been in the tank for at least a year, some of them 2years. When the urchin died, I made another water change (30% to 40%) to make sure that it didn't pollute the tank.
I still have three urchins and a few snails and hermits, but at least one urchin is barely moving. The night that I made the last water change I noticed that my blue hippo tank wasn't right, he had what looks like a fungus. It was three days before I could get meds for the tank (I live in the boonies), I got Maroxy which has worked for me in the past for fungus. I had a problem a couple of months ago that cleared up in a few days with the same stuff.
The tang looks like he's a gonner and now my Emperor Angel is covered in fungus and has stopped eating. (cry) I have a lemon peel angel, a pair of maroon clowns and a BIG Heniochus butterfly that recently recovered from the worst case of popeye I've ever seen and a royal gramma that are all healthy and eating well. What the heck is going one?????
The only thing that I have been doing different is I was feeding a medicated food for several weeks to heal the butterfly's pop eye and I recently switched back to formula one pellets which I have always used with great success and I added an aquarium ornament from pet co a few weeks ago. Could it be the stupid ornament? I noticed tonight that they were labeled for Freshwater use????? Surely that's not it is it??? I took it out as soon as I got home tonight and I will make a large water change tomorrow just in case.
I am just sick that I'm losing my fish and I don't know what to do. My tank has never been pristine but always healthy until now. I'll test my water and post what I find a little later.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
the ornament, was it made in china? there is no telling what kind of heavy metals and what not are in that thing, and yes, if it says freshwater use, and doesnt have anything about saltwater on it, its not safe for your tank, at all, it has probably leached all kinds of nasty gunk into your tank, im sorry to say.
ok, now, what we need from you is, what are your water parameters, and if you dont have a full spectrum kit, you may want to take a sample into your LFS asap to get a full spectrum water analysis run to see just what all has been leached into your tank. another thing you can look into doing is several, over the next week or so, 30-40% water changes, daily if you can, not sure on this, hopefully sep or beth will chime in on this, but, you need to get as much of that nasty stuff out as you can immediately
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
was the ornament made in china? and what are all of your water parameters right now? and do you have any pics by chance of your fish? pics are always helpful when it comes to identifying whats wrong with them for our experts.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Take the ornament out ASAP. If it was labeled for FW use only then something in it breaks down in saltwater.
I just read that you did remove it. Run fresh carbon and do a large water change with water that matches you DT.
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
Jackie, something you really need to do is have your water tested for heavy metals. Cause if the ornament you had was made in china, there is a very very good chance you've had some kind of heavy metal leach into your tank, which can be quite deadly. Now, what you should also do, is, on a daily basis, do a 30-40% water change, to try and get as much of these contaminants out of your tank as you possibly can, as quickly as possible. You can even, if you want, take that all way up to a 50% water change. Just make sure all the parameters in the new water are right, and then change it out. But, while you are doing that, please please please take your water in to either your LFS or a water treatment facility and get it tested. The water treatment facility might be your best bet, as they will be more likely to have the proper test for testing for heavy metal contamination.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
I completely agree here. Test your water to find out what is in there. Do larger water changes to dilute any possible contaminants that the tests won't measure.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
I would also get some of this and run it for a while. Expensive but have heard good things about it.

.Poly bio marine polyfilter pad removes all harmful waste materials including ammonia nitrite nitrate phosphate and dissolved organics. removes copper sulfate formalin and all antibiotics. for use in both fresh and salt water aquariums.
Highly adsorbent chemical filter media pads quickly and efficiently remove impurities medications and phosphate from aquarium water Use in conventional power filters undergravel filters the chemical filtration compartment of canister filters and wet dry filters Simply cut to any size or shape to custom fit any aquarium filter Rapidly improves water clarity and actively removes harmful organic and various inorganic waste buildup for several months Changes color to indicate the pollutants being removed and when Poly-Filter R is exhausted Will not leach pollutants upon saturation Used by researchers hospitals etc For use in freshwater or marine aquariums
 
J

jackie dh

Guest
I tested the water and it was shocking!
Ammonia is 0
Nitrites are 1. !
Nitrates are 70!
My regents are a little old but I would think that it would give low reading instead of high like this.
My Blue Tang is about to go and the Angel is looking pretty bad, so I am about to dive in and do a major water change. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it. :(
 
J

jackie dh

Guest
I forgot to mention, I live out in the boonies. There are no decent pet shops in the area even in the next good sized town. There's a Petsway but they have very little, the nearest good fish store is over 100 miles away. I have to order most of my supplies online and wait for them to arrive.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Jackie DH
http:///forum/post/2873934
I tested the water and it was shocking!
Ammonia is 0
Nitrites are 1. !
Nitrates are 70!
My regents are a little old but I would think that it would give low reading instead of high like this.
My Blue Tang is about to go and the Angel is looking pretty bad, so I am about to dive in and do a major water change. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it. :(
Definitely do a good sized water change. Check the dry goods section here. I am sure that they have what you need. You may want to pick up a new test kit while you are ordering. Amquel plus is another good "quick fix" to keep on hand for situations such as this.
 
J

jackie dh

Guest
He died as I started the water change. :( Dang, I really liked that fish. :(
I don't think it's ick, the spots are too big and the fins are clear. These fish are 5" and 6" inches long. The butterfly fish is as big as my hand and his fins are clear and there's no sign of any thing on his body, maybe a tiny bit of erosion between his eyes but no sign of fungus or ick. I'm not ruling out parasites but I don't think that it's ick.
As I was doing the water change I got a good look at the angel, his mouth is pink and there is also some inflammation in his gills.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated. If I am lucky I can get some meds online in 4 or 5 days, probably too late for my angel. A few things could be picked up in town but I won't have much to choose from. I do have coppersafe but I would hate to use it if I can help it, it would probably kill the last of my invertebrates and once you have copper in your tank, you are stuck with it.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Jackie DH
http:///forum/post/2874168
He died as I started the water change. :( Dang, I really liked that fish. :(
I don't think it's ick, the spots are too big and the fins are clear. These fish are 5" and 6" inches long. The butterfly fish is as big as my hand and his fins are clear and there's no sign of any thing on his body, maybe a tiny bit of erosion between his eyes but no sign of fungus or ick. I'm not ruling out parasites but I don't think that it's ick.
As I was doing the water change I got a good look at the angel, his mouth is pink and there is also some inflammation in his gills.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated. If I am lucky I can get some meds online in 4 or 5 days, probably too late for my angel. A few things could be picked up in town but I won't have much to choose from. I do have coppersafe but I would hate to use it if I can help it, it would probably kill the last of my invertebrates and once you have copper in your tank, you are stuck with it.
You have not set up a QT in all of this time that fish have been dieing? The pictures look like ich to me. It doesn't have to be tiny spots, nor does it have to be on the fins.
 
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