My first fatalities

zoboo2

zoboo2

Member
Well I lost both of my perc clowns this AM. They were fine last night, eating and all. I thought the smaller one looked slightly "cloudy" but no dots to speak of. This morning they were cleaning crew food.
So here are my perameters with a couple of questions.
125 gallon LR LS
Hermits, and 3 types of snails all doing well
pH 8.2 was 8.3 not sure why it is lower
sal 1.025
Amm .25
trite .05 (was 0 not sure why it is higher)
trate 5
Alk is right between low and normal 1.6-1.7
phos 0
Calc 420
These are all the tests I have. Question 1) My ammonia has been .25 for awhile I have an RO/DI and even right out of the unit it is .25 so I bought the Kent Ammonia Detox and used it in the latest batch of water and now it is testing 0, I was going to do a water change tonight with that new water. Why am I getting amm. right out fo the RO unit? and can I add the Amm detox directly to the tank?
2) Any idea what the cloudiness on the fish was? I am doing a 20% water change tonight anything else I should do?
3) Can you add purple up to the tank when you have fish in it? This was the only addative I was using.
I am not getting more fish for atleast another month.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
As far as the ammonia, what brand test kit are you using?
What does yout test kit measure alk in? Does it measure it in meq/l? If so, that is a low alk, whether it is 1.6 or 1.7. You want your alk to be at least 2.8.
Take a glance at the disease pictures on the disease forum. Tell me if it looked like brooklynella. How long have you had these clowns?
Purple Up is okay when fish are in the tank. I highly doubt that did them in unless you really overdosed it.
 
zoboo2

zoboo2

Member
OK for ammonia I have been testing with Red Sea kit which gives .25 and Aqua Pharm gives .25 and My Salifert test gives just plain cloudy result so I assume this is 0 on the color chart but that test is hard for me to read. (Yes I have 3 ammonia tests, I am weird!)
Can I put the Ammonia Detox directly in the tank? The directions don't say.
Alk is measured in milli equaivalents per liter so how do I raise this?
Brooklynella looks possible except they weren't as cloudy as the pics, just a light fog that only showed up last night and then they were dead. So is this parasite present in the water now or did it come in on the fish? How long should I leave the tank fishless after my levels improve to kill off the parasite? Will the inverts that I still have in there carry the parasite?
If this happens again do I do the formalin (spelling?) bath in a qt tank and leave them in there? or do the bath and return them to the main tank?
Thanks for all the help!
 
blue00si

blue00si

Member
Don't feel bad I just had my firt also. All levels where normal. I lost my Black and White clown and my Royal Gramma. I had a feeling about the Gramma but got surprised by the clown.
 
zoboo2

zoboo2

Member
Lion- I forgot to add that I had the clowns 3 weeks and never noticed any kind of problem until last night. Any advice?
 
zeroc

zeroc

Member
Yeah, I had a lost this week too, but it was only a snail and a 40cent cleaner clam. All my levels are fine,
am and no2 are 0,
alk 2.6,
no3 5,
ph 8.2,
sg 1.024.
no idea why they died. everyone else is doing fine.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
Originally Posted by zoboo2
Can I put the Ammonia Detox directly in the tank? The directions don't say.)
Yes you can add it right to the tank. Water changes will also help you bring it down.
Originally Posted by zoboo2
Alk is measured in milli equaivalents per liter so how do I raise this?
Use a buffer. I like Kent Marine's Super dkH Buffer. Add this to your water when you do water changes. You need to figure out where the low alk is coming from. Make up a fresh batch of new saltwater, let it sit for 24 hours and aerate it with a powerhead, heat it to the right temp and make the salinity the same as your main tank and test the alk in this water after 24 hours of heating and aerating.
Originally Posted by zoboo2
So is this parasite present in the water now or did it come in on the fish? How long should I leave the tank fishless after my levels improve to kill off the parasite? Will the inverts that I still have in there carry the parasite?
If this happens again do I do the formalin (spelling?) bath in a qt tank and leave them in there? or do the bath and return them to the main tank?
Thanks for all the help!
The parasite was brought in by one of the fish. Inverts cannot get parasites, so that is fine. Leave them in there and leave the tank fishless for 4-6 weeks.
When doing a formalin beth, never do it in the QT tank. Always do it in a separate bucket and follow Beth's instructions to the letter.
 
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