What Went Wrong???

alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
So i have been doing this for a very long time and i am blown away by what happin today.
First off i checked my water everything is good nitrates are a little high around 50ppm everything else zero, ph 8.3, 1.021 salt temp 78.5 - 78.9
72 gallon bow, 4x54 ho t5, 2 ph 750gph ea, remora skimmer, about 75lb of live rock, 2 in sand bed.
few crabs and snails
Now to the fish
2 clown fish
1 hippo tang about 4 in
1 yellow clown
1 eibli angel
1 midas blenny
1 diamond goby
I have had all these fish for over 2yrs most plus 4 yrs.
So first the midas died, then the diamond goby, after that a week went by no problems. Then i woke up to find the angel with a red spot around his gills and was acting as if it was blind, His eyes where clear. Then found 1 of my clowns dead. Then the hippo was breathing hard and discolored. So i tested the water everything good as i said above. I did a 50% water change with ro/di water. The angel died before water was changed. I found my hippo died about 3hrs later.
I am at total lost on what is going on.
So now i just have 1 clown fish and 1 yellow clown. I did notice the eibli angel picking on the clown fish and the hippo swimming by to break it up the past few mo. So i dont know if they all got into a fight? Funny thing is the only fish with nipped fins is the clown fish that is still alive.
Any thought or anything would be great as i dont understand and dont want to buy more fish to have more problems.
The only thing that changed on the tank was i added the 4x54watt light. Before there was 4x39watts so its not like it was that much difference.
They have been moved around alot over the years but have been in this tank for about 6 mo.
Help please.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Your tank is too small for tangs. It may be aggression. I don't like the fact that your nitrates are that high. High nitrates means poor export of waste from you system.
Have you added anything new? How is your tank set up?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator

Your tank is too small for tangs. It may be aggression. I don't like the fact that your nitrates are that high. High nitrates means poor export of waste from you system.

Have you added anything new? How is your tank set up?
+1
Also, what test kits are you using and how old are they?
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
This is a fowlr tank correct? Still i dont think ur trates should be that high! I know a reef system should have it at least 20ppm but preferably under that.
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
Yes fowlr
Nitrates are always high have been from the start about 10 years ago.
1 4in tang in a 72 should be okay for a while. Didnt plan to keep it in there forever.
My test kits where pretty old so i went out and bought a new amnoina and nitrates just to make sure
No i didnt add anything.
So you think it was just unseen aggression ?
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
No. If in fact the Ebili's gills were red, and 'acting blind,' that's definitely an indication of something else.
Any chance you stuck your hands into the tank with something on them? Or anyone else in your house?
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaKnight http:///forum/thread/385172/what-went-wrong#post_3377058
No. If in fact the Ebili's gills were red, and 'acting blind,' that's definitely an indication of something else.
Any chance you stuck your hands into the tank with something on them? Or anyone else in your house?
I really dont think so i try to be clean... No one else lives with me and my gf would never put her hand in there
I dont understand this at all. not to happy either alot of money and these where older fish
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Is it an open top? Air freshner and perfume/body spray/cologne are sneaky culprits that people overlook.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Isn't red gills a symptom of ammonia poisoning?
Here any of these other things familiar....

  • Fish gasp for breath at the water surface

  • Purple or red gills

  • Fish is lethargic
    Loss of appetite
    Fish lays at the bottom of the tank
    Red streaking on the fins or body
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///forum/thread/385172/what-went-wrong#post_3377088
Isn't red gills a symptom of ammonia poisoning?
Here any of these other things familiar....

  • Fish gasp for breath at the water surface

  • Purple or red gills

  • Fish is lethargic
    Loss of appetite
    Fish lays at the bottom of the tank
    Red streaking on the fins or body
gasping but not at top of tank
red gills on angel none others.
confussion on angel none others
fish lays at bottom. They all did that...
I tested for ammonia with 2 different test kits both came back to zero so i dont think so but im not rulling it out yet.
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
Bought a

Salifert test kits for ammonia and nitrates and i got <.25 for amno guessing that zero its the lowest one. For nitrates i got 25ppm
I used a volt meter to test for voltage in water not sure how well that works did it for about 10 min gounding to a outlet.
The 2 fish i got left are doing great. All my snails, crabs are doing great. So i am at a total loss as to what happin....
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
Beth kinda hit on this earlier. You did answer no, but have you added ANYTHING from someone elses tank like live foods/macro alage/a crab r snail/anything at all from another system in the last 6 weeks?
Very long ago when i first started and didn't have ro/di unit I'd goto lfs to buy premixed saltwater. one time they screwed my by seling me their "used" crappy sale display tank system water, and I had a massive parasite outbreak with in 2 weeks and lost all my fish.
just a thought
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Sounds like a toxin to me. Think about anythung that might have been possible, sprays, pesticides, etc. Could something have gotten in your change water?
Heck, I heard about someone crashing their tank when they were sick and used puffs with lotion.
I never remeber the name, but they make filter pads that remove many toxins. They even make ones that change colors and can help determine what the problem might be.
Any good lfs should have them and know what you need.
Sorry for your loss.
 
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