Help! Fish losses!

sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
I just did a routine water change (10 gallons for my 60 gallon tank) like I always do weekly. I woke up at 3 am and checked my tank...found one of my wrasses jumped out, my flame angelfish dead on the bottom, and now one my my skunk cleaner shrimp dead. Help! I don't know what is wrong!
parameters are: T=80F, SG 1.028, pH 8.4, Amm 0ppm, Nitrite 0.25 ppm, Nitrate 20 ppm, Phos 1 ppm, KH 11, Ca around 500 ppm
Nothing has changed except I opened a new salt container to mix the water for the change. It's the same brand I've been using (Oceanic) since my tank was set up. My tank has been set up since January.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
The guessing game will be if you are getting these reading now that you had dead fish in your tank, or your levels were always this high, but your nitrite levels are unusually high. 0.1ppm is enough to be deadly to the shrimp. 0.25ppm I wouldn't say if enough to kill a healthy flame angel outright though from prolonged exposure is...
Continue to do water changes. What's left in the tank? Fish/coral? Phos of 1ppm isn't phenomenal too. Check the water your doing changes with.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Oh, and lower your salinity a touch, down to 1.025 for now, and then get it down to 1.023 or so tomorrow night. This will help make the water less toxic.
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
I have checked the water I'm doing changes with...no phosphate or nitrate or nitrite. I know the nitrite and phosphate are high, but they've been high for the last 2 or 3 checks, so not a new sudden change. Last check before this one (about 2 weeks ago) was Phos 0.5 and nitrite 0.25.
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
Oh, and what I have left: foxface rabbitfish, blue hippo tang, scopas tang, lawnmower blenny, longfin fairy wrasse, purple firefish, 2 ocellaris clowns, 3 blue-green chromis, 2 pajama cardinals, several corals (mostly soft corals), 2 condy anemones, 2 bubble anemones, several crabs, snails, peppermint shrimp, coral banded and another skunk cleaner shrimp, derasa/maxima/squamosa clams, brittle and serpent starfish.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
How long could the flame have sat dead in the tank? Chalk the wrasse up to a random jump, they will do that, a covered aquarium is needed with these guys. The flame died from prolonged nitrite exposure, you got a mini-spike and it took the shrimp.
And wow, yea, with that seriously high of bioload, I don't think 10gals a week is cutting it. Also unfortunately, the Foxface, Scopas, and Blue Hippo are really too active of fish for a 60gal. The Blue Hippo more so then the others, but depending on his size, him and the other two definitely could use a larger tank.
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
Flame could only have been dead for 4 hours at the most. I have a covered tank...there is just one small gap in the backstrip of one cover...that's where the wrasse jumped.
Guess I should just sell all of my livestock and drain the tank. I'm an idiot, I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't have room for a bigger tank.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Sounds like a seriously stocked tank IMO as well and I hope this sudden death of a few things doesn't deter you from the hobby but see it as a chance to learn.
Now as far as possibilities... could be water conditions, could be territory fights, could be just bad coincidence. I assume your fish are disease free though as well.
I keep looking at your stock list and just surprised something like that hasn't happened sooner.
What kind of filtration do you have running other than water changes?
The bad part of the hobby is that the fish are soo spectacular compared to freshwater that we tend to put more in that we should and unfortunately when it comes to the fish less is more.
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
I have a hang-on-back refugium, power filter, canister filter, and about 90 lbs live rock + live sand bed. Would like to have a sump, but have no room.
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
Oh, and as far as my tank being overstocked, I'm not arguing with you (I agree, I overstocked my tank). I have a friend who has a 55 gallon with more livestock in it than in mine....hers is doing fine, and it's over a year old.
I also have a protein skimmer...forgot to mention that above.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by sldrdvm
http:///forum/post/3130221
I just did a routine water change (10 gallons for my 60 gallon tank) like I always do weekly. I woke up at 3 am and checked my tank...found one of my wrasses jumped out, my flame angelfish dead on the bottom, and now one my my skunk cleaner shrimp dead. Help! I don't know what is wrong!
parameters are: T=80F, SG 1.028, pH 8.4, Amm 0ppm, Nitrite 0.25 ppm, Nitrate 20 ppm, Phos 1 ppm, KH 11, Ca around 500 ppm
Nothing has changed except I opened a new salt container to mix the water for the change. It's the same brand I've been using (Oceanic) since my tank was set up. My tank has been set up since January.

Sorry to hear of problems...SG should not be higher than 1.026 you say yours is at 1.028
 
sldrdvm

sldrdvm

Member
So, let's see...I overstocked my tank, I'm not doing enough water changes, my nitrate, phosphate and nitrite are too high and my specific gravity is too high. Funny, I have successfully kept my tank up and running this long.
Still thinking about draining the tank. Maybe I wasn't meant to be a saltwater aquarist.
 
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