new fish all dead

[gotfish]

I am totally at a loss. I can not figure out what happened to new fish.
First things first I tested my water monday morning and everything was ok.
ammonia 0
nitrates 0
and so on.
I took the water to lfs and tested again and got same results
I purchased two tomato clowns and a blue head wrasse to go along with the rest of my tank.
Today came home and found all new fish dead and all old fish absoultly fine no troubles.
does anybody have any ideas..
by the way i went to two stores and bought clowns at one and wrasse at the other.
help please

 

[thomas712]

First thought is how did you acclimate the new fish?
Second thought is how did the dead fish look? any torn fins, red gills, anything unusual?
Thomas

 

[newreefers]

do you have any inverts in the tank?
how old is the tank?
did you ever put copper or other meds into this tank?

 

[gotfish]

i acclimated them for about 30 minutes slowly adding tank water to bag about a half cup at a time.
as far as finding them they looked fine no problems such as cuts or abraisons.
I did add about 1 week ago some melafix to help a scratch on the coral beauty he's still goin.

 

[gotfish]

oh by the way no copper ever and tank is about 5 months old

 

[thomas712]

Third thought; How long did it take you to get the fish home and how did you transport them. If New Jersey is as cold as Michigan is right now, a person could freeze there nuggys off in 5 min.
I will take a small cooler with warm bags of water to pick up a fish this time of year, as no paper and plastic bag will protect them.
I let the bag sit in the tank for at least 30 min to match temps, then start a drip method that takes 30 min or more emptying much of the water so that I do not get the lfs water in my system. Then into a quarentine tank for 30 days or so for observation it's just the safest thing to do.
Whats the salinity, ph.? and temp?
Thomas

 

[gotfish]

salt 1.023
ph 8.4
temp 79

 

[jmesmcm]

How was the water they were in? If it was significantly different you may have acclimated them too quickly. You might want to try the drip method in the future using an 1/8" airline with a not in it so it drips water into a bucket with the fish in the water from the store very slowly and gradually so the fish has time to adjust. The only thing to be careful of in this cold is that the water in the bucket and that is dripping does not get too cold. Good luck and sorry to hear about the loss.

 

[seaham358]

I use a heating pad under the bucket this time of year. I also use a smaller tupperware bowl and remove the water as it gets full. Easier to keep warm. I had a LFS keep his fish at 1.015 and I had to drip it for 2 hours. We still lost the hippo. Who knows what it is, some make it , some don't. Its a sad thing.

 

[alti]

hey gotfish,
where did you buy the fish from? i know of a couple of lfs in jersey that keep their salinity as low as 1.013. i had the same problem in a couple places and now i just know not to buy fish from them.

 

[alti]

its friggin freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[alti]

im about 20 mins from him. i was in the city on wed and any exposed piece of skin was in pain. i cant stand the cold. ive lived in so many hot places(florida,dominican rep.,mexico and colombia) and i have no idea how i was so stupid to move back here.

 

[ophiura]

I grew up in Wappingers Falls
When did the LFS get those fish in? How long did they have them and were they eating? And if I understand correctly, you got these fish from two different stores (one the wrasse and the other the clowns).
2-3 days after getting a fish shipment in is, as an FYI, about when a store will see their main losses of the fish that just too stressed. Here we have some fish that died 2-3 days after introduction. Adrenaline wears off; shock/illness/stress sets in and is a major time when fish will die. This is why it is best to get a fish that has been at the store for awhile.
How is your alk level?
Acclimation is often an issue, but fish can usually tolerate salinity changes pretty easily. Hence the freshwater dip thing...it can be an issue, for sure...but clowns, for example, are pretty tough fish.