5 dead fish within 24 hours. WHAT IS HAPPENING????

[shred5]

Have you tested for ammonia like someone said? Ammonia is toxic and will cause gill irritation. You said they were breathing heavy.. It could be some toxins got in your tank in which case run some carbon and poly filters. Low oxygen can also cause a fish to breath heavily. Low oxygen can happen very quickly in a bacteria driven system (carbon) .


You are finding the fish so I doubt it’s your golden dwarf eel. It may bite on them when dead or weak but you state the fish are breathing heavy so something is wrong.

Dave Polzin

 

[RZ5T]

Lack of oxygen maybe?

 

[secretreefer]

i didn't check for ammonia. maybe some of that lysol did get into the system? idk it wouldn't be hard since I have a open top .....I wonder if my 22 month old had anything to do with this.....hahahah!

 

[Captain Nemo]

maybe this was it, test the ammonia. hope you find out the cause brother. Sorry for your loss. ......:too_sad:

 

[secretreefer]

maybe this was it, test the ammonia. hope you find out the cause brother. Sorry for your loss. ......:too_sad:

thanks bro. i'll do that as soon as i get home. but if it was ammonia wouldn't have all the fish have been affected?

 

[mdb_talon]

thanks bro. i'll do that as soon as i get home. but if it was ammonia wouldn't have all the fish have been affected?

Some would be affected more than others or quicker than others. In an established aquarium though ammonia should not last long without seeing a subsequent spike in nitrite/nitrate though.

 

[drainbamage]

thanks bro. i'll do that as soon as i get home. but if it was ammonia wouldn't have all the fish have been affected?

In a family with six kids, one tends to get sick first- we all have different tolerances of conditions.


If it was an ammonia spike, by now it probably has cycled through so you won't be able to detect it :squigglemouth:

 

[secretreefer]

In a family with six kids, one tends to get sick first- we all have different tolerances of conditions.


If it was an ammonia spike, by now it probably has cycled through so you won't be able to detect it :squigglemouth:

yeah. i hear that. got 2 kiddies of my own. argh. just bummed i lost my rhomboid and my flame wrasse. they were doing so well the day they passed!

 

[secretreefer]

were the eyes clear or fogged over when you pulled them out? Did you by chance inspect the gill cavities to note any inflammation? I know you were probably more bummed than anything and didn't think to do a brief autopsy, but any info off the corpses can shine a lot of light. Being stiff just means you found them before they began to decompose, so not a lot of info there sadly.

yeah the eyes were clear, i looked over the bodies but not in the gill plates. was seriously too bummed about doing an autopsy. i panicked this morning when i couldn't find 1 of my black aussie clowns then relief when he was hiding behind my colony of frogspawn.

 

[drainbamage]

yeah the eyes were clear, i looked over the bodies but not in the gill plates. was seriously too bummed about doing an autopsy. i panicked this morning when i couldn't find 1 of my black aussie clowns then relief when he was hiding behind my colony of frogspawn.

Clear eyes is good news in a way- not a waste spike. Heavily leans towards a chemical contaminant of some sort- time to change the carbon a little more often!

 

[secretreefer]

Clear eyes is good news in a way- not a waste spike. Heavily leans towards a chemical contaminant of some sort- time to change the carbon a little more often!

haha yes i'm guilty of letting my large bag of carbon go 2 1/2 months! haven't had this problem before tho.

 

[SeeingGreen]

Also, on the lysol, what hands prior to reefing? I know I lost a couple things (coral not fish) this way when i first started out. Got home as saw something knocked over or a filter looked plugged, and in went the hand. Never thought about the containments I could be bringing in. Not really likely that it would knock em out, but its plausible.

 

[secretreefer]

Also, on the lysol, what hands prior to reefing? I know I lost a couple things (coral not fish) this way when i first started out. Got home as saw something knocked over or a filter looked plugged, and in went the hand. Never thought about the containments I could be bringing in. Not really likely that it would knock em out, but its plausible.

that's also possible. i did wash my hands with antibacterial soap. but i always make sure to rinse my hands/up my arms everytime i use soap.

 

[Kbra]

What are you using to check your salinity? Hydrometer or refractometer? Calibrated lately?

 

[shred5]

Do you carbon dose? Vodka, vinegar, sugar, bio pellets etc?
Its does explain why not all died. Low dissolved oxygen.
Dave Polzin

 

[secretreefer]

my salinity is good, i checked with 2 different ones
i don't carbon dose. just basic A+B additives with brightwell vit-c, aminos.