sick tank

joker

joker

Member
55 gal
wet dry filter w/ bio balls
FOLR
40# substrate ( crushed coral, LS, Aragonite )
50# LR
temp -78
salinity - 1.024
Amm - .25
Trite - .5
Trate - 20 low
ph - 8.2
Yellowtail damsels (2) 1.5 inch each
Chromis Damsel (1) 1 inch
False Percula Clowns (2) 2 inch each
Mandarin Dragonette (1) 2.5 inch
Jeweled Goby (1) 3-3.5 inch
Yellow Tang (1) 3 inch
Longnose butterfly (1) 5 inch
Regal (hippo) Tang 2.5 inch DECEASED
Purple Lobster (1) 2 inch
Condi Anemone (2)
food:
1) Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 pellets with Spirulina and Garlic.
2) Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 with Gel Binder
3) San Francisco Bay Brand Frozen Brine Shrimp
Did 10 gal water change 24 hours ago, with aged, aerated water.
Tank has been fine. up since April this year. have not had any problems whatsoever with this setup. Feed species specific diet - do not over feed - once morning and once evening.
Noticed night before last, fish stopped eating, and became lethargic - suddenly. Fast breathing, and stayed hidden in rocks. Yesterday afternoon, Regal was dead on bottom, no marks on body. Did a 10 gal water change with aged, aerated water. This Am, fish were out more and more active. Came home from work today, Butterfly was swimming upside down. Her fins are ragged and shredded. She is lying on a piece of LR, motionless and breathing rapidly. Tried to get her to swim and she will only flee and crash. She is about dead, I am afraid.
I am increasing aeration to tank. My QT is housing mantis shrimp and copepods, so I cannot use it. I am leaving to get a 30 gal as a QT. am going to QT all fish, and do daily water changes. Am getting Maracyn 2 and treat them also.
leaving in 30 -45 minutes, so if you have any recomendations, post asap.
Thanks
 
joker

joker

Member
also his eyes are cloudy and appear to be severly messed up. he has not been attacked by any other fish, or lobster.
 
kreach

kreach

Active Member
Well, your ammonia, nitrates and nitrites should all be at 0. And if the readings you gave were taken after you did the 20% water change, then they were even higher before that.
It sounds to me like you may have overstocked your tank. Have any of your fish been added recently?
 
joker

joker

Member
they are all dying. thanks for the reply, since i was on when you read the post that was posted after mine
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
The ammonia and the nitrite is the problem....big problem in fact. The question is why are now having this spike? Anything die in the tank recently? What are you using for water movement in that tank?? Any powerheads? Is the water moving at the surface water? If not it should be. Clean any filters recently, replace media?? This could have caused the spike if so. Is the only water movement coming from the Wet-Dry?
I don't think QT is the answer, as your QT is not going to be cycled either. Give some info about water movement in the tank. I would keep doing major water changes at this point until the spike problem can be IDed and fixed.
 
joker

joker

Member
nothing has died in the tank up until this point. I have had a problem with a single redleg attempting to get a turbosnail out of his shell. I went through the rockwork today and have found nothing dead.
water movement is coming from a powerhead and the wet/dry, which is pumped fom the sump.
I did change the filter media the day the crash started happening, now that you made me think about it. I did replace activated carbon and media.
can I use use AMMO Lock 2?? I did purchase some this evening.
I will do a 20 gal water change right now.
please delete my post that i sent to catch your attention, I am upset, and am running around in circles trying to fix this.
THANK YOU
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, when tank relies on a highly efficient filtration system such as the W/D it gets real use to it. Thus, when media is changed or filters cleaned, a crash is very likely. In this case, what you want to do, is not chean out the whole thing at once. Anyway, hindsight!
Yes, add the ammolock. Do the water changes. Is that PH running the wet dry and is that the only PH in the tank? Check out my post in the other thread. If you lower the pH...do it slow slow slow.
 
joker

joker

Member
ok
I have checked ph all around
the ph in tank, the wet/dry, and my tank with waterchange water are all 8.2.
I will do a 20 gallon change right now and then add the ammo lock.
I cant think - how do I lower ph?? oh yeah, i got a bottle of buffering agent with my red sea test kit
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
DON'T add the buffer. That increases pH. Just don't add any buffers if you have been when doing water changes.
 
joker

joker

Member
the only thing that I am using is instant ocean and water. I am adding nothing else to water change water
 
joker

joker

Member
20 Gals changed out. added Ammo lock as per instructions. Added another PH to increase flow.
The fish seem tired and are hiding around rocks. My yellow tang is pretty much history, but with the increased water flow, he appears to have the will to live. I guess I will know in the morning.
I hate to say it, but I am not as upset about the butterfly dying as much as I am the regal Tang. The butterfly was really a pain in the a** in the tank. Most unfortunately, it was my 9yo sons fish, and he was upset for awhile.
Beth, sorry about getting cross in my post, but I was distraught, please accept my apology. :(
 
joker

joker

Member
well My yellow tang didnt make it. I was out of salt and didnt have any made up, and I have no other water ready since I used it up in the 20 gal change last night. I lost a clown this afternoon, and the other is bad too. I am transferring all that is left to my 15 mantis tank, bye bye mr. Mantis, it's septic tank heaven for you, just a hitchhiker on my lr, but you were sorta cool. I have lost a yellowtail damsel, so I think it is dead in the rockwork somewhere.
DAMN THIS IS DEPRESSING
I have someone wanting me to take her 55 and 30 gal tanks from her (empty), and the 30 gal will become my backup tank for such emergencies.
IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW
Thanks for the assist Beth
Steve
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Hold the mantis and see if you can give it to the LFS. Some people pay money for those and will want it.
Sorry for the bad luck. We have ALL been there so you're not alone.
 
joker

joker

Member
yeah, i cant kill it. I could kill a human easier than an animal. That is why I am so depressed.
I have moved every rock in the tank, and havent found anything else dead. I tried taking a Trite reading, and the AmmoLock has got it messed up.
I am moving all fish to 10 gal for overnight, and picking up another 10 tomorrow, then I will have 2 QT's on hand at all times, plus the 29 I bought last night and the 55 and 30 I will get from wifes friend. I will have all running and cycled in case I have this (or something similar) happen again.
As much money as I am paying for medications to deal with ADHD Manic Depressive bipolar disorder, the fish keep me calmer than the meds. Guess I better prpare for higher electrical bills, hehehe.
OH, BTW, since I added the Ammolock and Melafix, all my stars (brittles and serpents) have either died or gone totally stoned.
 
tyr-sog

tyr-sog

Member
Yeah, sorry to hear your troubles. Although under different circumstances I been there about a month ago. Lost all my fish to brooknyella. Goodluck.
 
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