Help fish are dying and i have no ideo why

[brent23]

Hey guys, in the span of about 2 months i have lost a total of 4 fish and i just recently lost the 4th last night. The four that have died are a coral beauty angelfish, firefish goby, lawnmower blenny and a royal gamma (he died last night) Well i've tested the water and parameters everytime one has died and everything is fine everytime one has died. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, pH 8.0, temperature a steady 79-80 degrees, salinity a steady 1.23. This really sucks because i just recently purchased a Glo T5 hood and bulbs to begin my journey into coral keeping (right now i have a FOWLR) and now i don't know if i should start the corals until i figure out whats going on with my fish. I have a 36 gallon bow front aquarium and all i have left now are a tomato clownfish and a kupang damselfish along with 2 peppermint shrimp, some hermits and snails. Any ideas what could be going? Thanks guys

 

[meowzer]

a couple things
1. How long have you had them before they die?
2. How do you acclimate them?
3. You mention a damsel

maybe the damsel is killing them

 

[brent23]

I usually have the fish for a few months or more (the firefish goby was my first fish and ive had the tank for a year now so he was around for over 10 months at least) before they die except for the lawnmower blenny he died after about 3 weeks of being in the tank. I usually acclimate them for about 30-45 minutes before putting them into the main tank. I have noticed that the day before they die they start acting lethargic but they still try to eat during feeding time. Also, the damsel hasn't been a problem at all he leaves the other fish alone completely, but i might have a problem with the tomato clown he does like to rule the tank and does chase the other fish around sometimes so maybe he's the reason. Not sure though it doesn't really make any sense, maybe i'll have to get rid of the tomato clown?

 

[flower]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0 ????
How old are your test kits? A tank as young as your should have some kind of nitrate reading anyway, below 40 is good for a reef and inverts but fish can stand it much higher. I just question it because 0 is unusual.
Anyway...also check phosphates, calcium, and Alkalinity too
Do you run a skimmer and where do you get your water from?
Do you have live rock and what kind, and how many power heads?
How often do you do water changes?
Lots of things affect the water quality, not just the 3 tests you did. The angelfish are the most sensitive of the dead list, they require really good water quality. However the Royal Gramma, lawnmower blenny and firefish are quite hardy..