'2 of my Fish and snails suddenly passed away in my tank'

[ClownfishAnemone]

I have a tank with 2 clownfish, and a goby with snails and coral.... well i did. Im extremely upset right now as i dont know what happened at all. Yesterday i went to my local pet store and got a Dr Tims Aquatics waste away, 3 new frags of Pulsing Xenia, a mushroom frag, and a coral i unfortunately forgot the name of. I introduced everything as normal by acclimating them to the water and i waited 30 minutes before releasing them. I woke up this morning at 11, looked at the tank which is literally above my bed, everything was normal i saw both clowns swimming near the heater, the goby im assuming was under a rock like normal because he had built 2 homes for himself. I turn lights on at 12 and leave them on till 8, so as i go to turn the light on i notice both clowns at the bottom of the water, the female breathing which i now have in a bowl with saltwater not from the tank and shes still breather and even seems to be getting some life back to her. The male was dead and i looked for the goby to save it too and unfortunately it had also passed, i just noticed a snail or two has now passed too at the bottom of the tank. Im going to be doing testing now and attaching some pictures in just a few moments. The corals and anemones all have their normal colors and dont seem to be affected. Im heart broken i thought i was doing everything right, biweekly 50% water changes, i was taking care of my phosphate and nitrate problem with the waste away, i have an ammonia monitor constantly in the tank which is still below 0.02ppm. As im typing this im watching the female slowly get better, i can only think it was an issue with my water but i dont understand how that could happen as i dont trust myself to mix properly yet, so i buy 5 gallon jugs of water from my local owned pet store. I do have a refractometer and the gravity seems to be in range from my ability to tell. I did mess with the calibration screw i think but it does seem to be around the same gravity as the water i just put the female in and shes very obviously recovering at least slightly in front of my eyes, slightly swimming in the bowl and no longer laying down on her side.

 

[Billldg]

It could have been several things that could have caused this. To help others help you, what are the parameters of the tank and how old is the tank. If the salinity is correct, then that is not a issue as I QT fish in 1.019 saltwater. I feel it may be something else. We will help you get thru this.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

It could have been several things that could have caused this. To help others help you, what are the parameters of the tank and how old is the tank. If the salinity is correct, then that is not a issue as I QT fish in 1.019 saltwater. I feel it may be something else. We will help you get thru this.

the tank is relatively new, past the cycle though. I believe about 2 months old now. Sorry for the title my keyboard decided to start glitching out as i was typing it and it posted itself.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

I don’t understand as the coral seem to be fine… but it’s only after i added those new things that this happened, i’ve never had an issue besides algae….

 

[Billldg]

With such a young tank it could have been a ammonia spike. I would look into getting some better test kits as well to help you out.

 

[pap2]

i keep my salinity at least 1,126 did you put the water that came with your purchases in your tank?

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

i keep my salinity at least 1,126 did you put the water that came with your purchases in your tank?

yes i did because it’s the exact same water i buy in the 5 gallon jugs i’ve been using

 

[pap2]

it doesn't matter if it came from the same place. and why are you using Dr Tims? I think you need to do a water change and get your salinity higher.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

it doesn't matter if it came from the same place. and why are you using Dr Tims? I think you need to do a water change and get your salinity higher.

Because after my cycle small amounts of cyano with dinos had spawned in the tank, i was told that is my best option i had asked originally if a refugium was worth it but he said it wouldnt be worth the cost

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

it doesn't matter if it came from the same place. and why are you using Dr Tims? I think you need to do a water change and get your salinity higher.

I dont understand how it wouldnt matter, they use water from the exact same tanks that that they give to me that has been working fine the last 2 months

 

[Billldg]

yes i did because it’s the exact same water i buy in the 5 gallon jugs i’ve been using

I would recommend never dumping the water that any fish or coral came in into your tank. The salinity is fine at 1.019, though I would slowly bump it up to 1.024-1.026 in a tank that has corals in it. Have you calibrated your refractometer?

If you have Dinos in your tank them the best option would be to elevate your N03 and P04 to aid algae in defeating Dinos. Cyano can create gas which shows up in the form of bubbles. What is your N03 and P04 at?

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

I would recommend never dumping the water that any fish or coral came in into your tank. The salinity is fine at 1.019, though I would slowly bump it up to 1.024-1.026 in a tank that has corals in it. Have you calibrated your refractometer?

If you have Dinos in your tank them the best option would be to elevate your N03 and P04 to aid algae in defeating Dinos. Cyano can create gas which shows up in the form of bubbles. What is your N03 and P04 at?

PO4 is attached, N03 seems to be at or around 40ppm

 

[ying yang]

.

 

[Billldg]

PO4 is attached, N03 seems to be at or around 40ppm

I would look at getting some better test kits, Red Sea test kits are good. I used them in the past. I would also aim a powerhead at the surface to help with gas transfer.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

just did a full water change; new salinity attached

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

I would look at getting some better test kits, Red Sea test kits are good. I used them in the past. I would also aim a powerhead at the surface to help with gas transfer.

my powerhead was breaking the surface for the entire life of the tank till just yesterday not even 12 hours ago yet when i moved the powerhead so the pulsing xenia i got could have the higher flow they like

 

[undermind]

It would probably be a good idea to tell him/her WHY it's not a good idea to dump the water from the bag into the tank, instead of just repeatedly saying not to do it.

When a fish or coral is captured and put in the bag, it can release stress-induced toxins, poop, etc. All that stuff is concentrated in the bag and you don't want it in your tank.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

It would probably be a good idea to tell him/her WHY it's not a good idea to dump the water from the bag into the tank, instead of just repeatedly saying not to do it.

When a fish or coral is captured and put in the bag, it can release stress-induced toxins, poop, etc. All that stuff is concentrated in the bag and you don't want it in your tank.

that makes a ton more sense, do all coral possibly release toxin when captured? im well aware of polytoxin but i guess i didnt realize others did it as well.

 

[ClownfishAnemone]

Since ive now done a 100% water change is it safe to put the clown fish back in the tank? Im assuming i should retest water parameters to make sure? I took the pulsing xenia out of the tank after the fish. Ive also just taken out my smaller bubble tip of the two as its dead as well it seems.

 

[pap2]

YOUR USING THE WRONG TEST KIT!!! IT SAYS FRESHWATER.