2 dead fish this morning

[gtaudioworks]

I have a 30 gal reef/fish tank with 20 gal sump...up until yesterday everything was fine.
This morning I found a blue green chromis and a Pseudochromis Fridmani dead, my clown and cardinal are hiding and did not eat.
Some of the corals seem unaffected and some seem a bit retracted and or deflated.
Water chemistry is fine as far as I can tell with my liquid test kit...PH, ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, temp...all good...going to store today for a spin test.
The only thing I noticed was the water was a bit cloudy this morning, so I changed the carbon in my reactor.
I have been noticing a bit too much detritus in my sump lately, when I add fresh water to top the sump off it kicks up into the return pump and settles in the tank.
So I recently added a bigger filter strainer I was using the standard blue/white pad but am changing to a better finer dual density pad from Aquatic Experts.
This makes no sense..possibly some kind of contamination entered the tank or parasitic infection?
I examined the dead fish, they show no sign of parasites.
Everything was fine yesterday, everyone eating well, the corals were doing great.
Today I woke up to this.
Any ideas ?
Greg

 

[Lavey29]

Cloudy water could be a bacteria or algae bloom. Sometimes these can become toxic and remove 02 from the water. Airstone can help. You need good surface agitation. 02 levels typically drop overnight too.

 

[LeftyReefer]

how long have you had all the fish?

 

[davidcalgary29]

Anoxic conditions from an algal bloom or a chemical contaminant could do that. Do you have any dead inverts? Snails dropping off the sides of my tank was the biggest clue, along with cloudy water and shrivelled corals, that some contaminant had got into my Evo.

 

[gtaudioworks]

Cloudy water could be a bacteria or algae bloom. Sometimes these can become toxic and remove 02 from the water. Airstone can help. You need good surface agitation. 02 levels typically drop overnight too.

OK Thanks..It's not that cloudy, just noticed a bit this morning.
My surface movement is very good, water turnover rate is quite high.
I replace between 1/2 & 3/4 of a gal of water due to evap each day.
How would I know if I had a bacteria bloom and what can be done about it...alge is not an issue in this tank.

 

[Jekyl]

When was the last addition? Do you quarantine? Have some white light pics and a short video of the other fish?

 

[Lavey29]

OK Thanks..It's not that cloudy, just noticed a bit this morning.
My surface movement is very good, water turnover rate is quite high.
I replace between 1/2 & 3/4 of a gal of water due to evap each day.
How would I know if I had a bacteria bloom and what can be done about it...alge is not an issue in this tank.

Ripple looks fine. Perhaps not a bloom based on your water clarity statement now.Sometimes trochus snails cloud the water with their love spunk as a means of fertilization too. Quite common actually. How are the other fish today?

 

[gtaudioworks]

Ripple looks fine. Perhaps not a bloom based on your water clarity statement now.Sometimes trochus snails cloud the water with their love spunk as a means of fertilization too. Quite common actually. How are the other fish today?

Three down only my clown is left

 

[gtaudioworks]

When was the last addition? Do you quarantine? Have some white light pics and a short video of the other fish?

Got a couple of new frags a couple of weeks back
I only had four fish in the tank and three of them are now gone
The only fish left is my clown and I’m sorry to say he’s looking a little sluggish as well I’m gonna isolate him and do a couple of 50% water changes

 

[Gatorpa]

Got a couple of new frags a couple of weeks back
I only had four fish in the tank and three of them are now gone
The only fish left is my clown and I’m sorry to say he’s looking a little sluggish as well I’m gonna isolate him and do a couple of 50% water changes

Sure sounds like either a big O2 drop from a bloom with the water cloudy.

Did you check ammonia?

Did you dig around in the sand bed at all?

 

[Lavey29]

Got a couple of new frags a couple of weeks back
I only had four fish in the tank and three of them are now gone
The only fish left is my clown and I’m sorry to say he’s looking a little sluggish as well I’m gonna isolate him and do a couple of 50% water changes

Can you post clear pic of clown please

 

[gtaudioworks]

I have a 30 gal reef/fish tank with 20 gal sump...up until yesterday everything was fine.
This morning I found a blue green chromis and a Pseudochromis Fridmani dead, my clown and cardinal are hiding and did not eat.
Some of the corals seem unaffected and some seem a bit retracted and or deflated.
Water chemistry is fine as far as I can tell with my liquid test kit...PH, ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, temp...all good...going to store today for a spin test.
The only thing I noticed was the water was a bit cloudy this morning, so I changed the carbon in my reactor.
I have been noticing a bit too much detritus in my sump lately, when I add fresh water to top the sump off it kicks up into the return pump and settles in the tank.
So I recently added a bigger filter strainer I was using the standard blue/white pad but am changing to a better finer dual density pad from Aquatic Experts.
This makes no sense..possibly some kind of contamination entered the tank or parasitic infection?
I examined the dead fish, they show no sign of parasites.
Everything was fine yesterday, everyone eating well, the corals were doing great.
Today I woke up to this.
Any ideas ?

Sure sounds like either a big O2 drop from a bloom with the water cloudy.

Did you check ammonia?

Did you dig around in the sand bed at all?

The water was only very slightly cloudy this morning...I changed the carbon in my reactor and its all but gone. I didn't disturb the sand bed, did a water change last week...They did a spin test at the fish store water chem is perfect ..they are baffled. They think most likely some toxin got into the tank but the corals are fine. I dont see how any toxin could have gotten in there.No one touches the tank but me. Doing a 50% water change today and tomorrow..I put in a poly pad to hopefully extract whatever is in there. I am isolating my clown the only fish left in some fresh water. The fish store expert asked if I had a sea star or sea cuke..evidently they can wipe a tank when they die..nope dont have either. I am thinking some kind of fast moving disease ? I brought them 2 dead fish they will examine them to see if anything turns up.
Been keeping marine fish for 37 yrs never had this happen, just started inverts last year.

 

[Gatorpa]

The water was only very slightly cloudy this morning...I changed the carbon in my reactor and its all but gone. I didn't disturb the sand bed, did a water change last week...They did a spin test at the fish store water chem is perfect ..they are baffled. They think most likely some toxin got into the tank but the corals are fine. I dont see how any toxin could have gotten in there.No one touches the tank but me. Doing a 50% water change today and tomorrow..I put in a poly pad to hopefully extract whatever is in there. I am isolating my clown the only fish left in some fresh water. The fish store expert asked if I had a sea star or sea cuke..evidently they can wipe a tank when they die..nope dont have either. I am thinking some kind of fast moving disease ? I brought them 2 dead fish they will examine them to see if anything turns up.
Been keeping marine fish for 37 yrs never had this happen, just started inverts last year.

Sometimes H2SO4 can be trapped in the sand bed, did you smell any sulfur smell when you were cleaning the rocks?

Also there may have ben an area of anoxic water in the sand bed.

Usually when mass fish die quickly it’s due to low O2 or something being realized into the system

 

[gtaudioworks]

Sometimes H2SO4 can be trapped in the sand bed, did you smell any sulfur smell when you were cleaning the rocks?

Also there may have ben an area of anoxic water in the sand bed.

Usually when mass fish die quickly it’s due to low O2 or something being realized into the system

I have very little sand maybe 1/2" on the bottom but anything is possible. no smell

 

[gtaudioworks]

Can you post clear pic of clown please

 

[vetteguy53081]

By any chance- pics of fish prior to death ? Both are susceptible to uronema and you would have seen loss of appetitie, scars or rash on body, labored breathing and lethargic behavior

 

[gtaudioworks]

By any chance- pics of fish prior to death ? Both are susceptible to uronema and you would have seen loss of appetitie, scars or rash on body, labored breathing and lethargic behavior

No pics..I took the dead ones to the fish store so they can check them out...they all were fine yesterday and ate, no scars rash etc.

 

[Lavey29]

Color looks fine so not sure what it could be. Your large water change seems like the best option and checking for unusual stuff like stray voltage, rusty magnets, air fresheners that may have floated into water, etc...

I still keep thinking about the cloudy water though and seems really odd as a telltale sign because you started losing fish at the same time.

 

[Jekyl]

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

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[gtaudioworks]

Thanks for all the help...At this point the corals seem fine and 3 of 4 fish are dead. I will isolate the surviving clown in another tank and see what the poly pad extracts if anything. Waiting for my RO to generate enough water to do a 50% change tonight and another tomorrow. We hand fed that clown from very young, he was picked on so we isolate him and cut brine shrimp in half for easier swallowing..I would hate to lose him.