Marine fish dying for unknown reason

[Musteve]

Hi,

I am really having problems with my fish as I have lost 4 in the space of four weeks and I have no idea why!! I have a 350 litre tank, with a sump, phosphate and nitrate reactors, protein skimmer, uv steriliser and polypad. I had the following fish:

Copperband butterfly fish
Lipstick tang
Regal tang
2 x clowns
Emporer angelfish
Yellow tang
Royal gramma
Fire fish

Over the last 4 weeks I have lost the yellow tang, lipstick tang, butterfly and gutted but emporer. My water quality is virtually perfect and I top up regularly with RO water. Also starfish has just died. The fish look healthy and I'm at my teather at the mo. Any help or guidance would be great. The tank has been running since November and before that I had the same issues when running for three months. Thought I had sorted the issue but clearly not!!

 

[bang guy]

Hi,

Sorry for your losses. I know how terrible that can be.

First, we need actual numbers for your water parameters - "My water quality is virtually perfect" this does not help at all when trying to diagnose a problem.

From the information you have provided I have a few opinions:

1 - you had a severely overstocked tank.

2 - Many of your fish were not compatible with a 350 litre tank, it's just to small for these large fish. I will guess you had juvenile Tangs but they still need swimming space in order to develop properly. 2 meters of swimming space minimum.

My first guess is that you populated your system too fast and it crashed. I'm guessing you did the same thing on your first attempt.

Post your water parameters so we can determine if there's an issue there but my initial recommendation will be to select fish that do not require a lot of swimming space and to stock fish at a much slower rate. I personally only stock one fish every 6 months unless it's a bonded pair.

 

[Musteve]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My water quality is as follows:

Salinity 0.124
Nitrates 5
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 0,3
Magnesium 1320
Kh 12.5
Calcium 420

 

[Musteve]

also my tank

Hi,

Sorry for your losses. I know how terrible that can be.

First, we need actual numbers for your water parameters - "My water quality is virtually perfect" this does not help at all when trying to diagnose a problem.

From the information you have provided I have a few opinions:

1 - you had a severely overstocked tank.

2 - Many of your fish were not compatible with a 350 litre tank, it's just to small for these large fish. I will guess you had juvenile Tangs but they still need swimming space in order to develop properly. 2 meters of swimming space minimum.

My first guess is that you populated your system too fast and it crashed. I'm guessing you did the same thing on your first attempt.

Post your water parameters so we can determine if there's an issue there but my initial recommendation will be to select fish that do not require a lot of swimming space and to stock fish at a much slower rate. I personally only stock one fish every 6 months unless it's a bonded pair.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My water quality is as follows:

Salinity 0.124
Nitrates 5
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 0,3
Magnesium 1320
Kh 12.5
Calcium 420

 

[Musteve]

Hi,

Sorry for your losses. I know how terrible that can be.

First, we need actual numbers for your water parameters - "My water quality is virtually perfect" this does not help at all when trying to diagnose a problem.

From the information you have provided I have a few opinions:

1 - you had a severely overstocked tank.

2 - Many of your fish were not compatible with a 350 litre tank, it's just to small for these large fish. I will guess you had juvenile Tangs but they still need swimming space in order to develop properly. 2 meters of swimming space minimum.

My first guess is that you populated your system too fast and it crashed. I'm guessing you did the same thing on your first attempt.

Post your water parameters so we can determine if there's an issue there but my initial recommendation will be to select fish that do not require a lot of swimming space and to stock fish at a much slower rate. I personally only stock one fish every 6 months unless it's a bonded pair.

In addition to my previous comment, I also have had these fish that died for around 5-6 weeks.