All my fish are dead, heartbroken.

windemerejack · May 16, 2020

Any advice on what to do about my corals? or is it a case of binning everything and starting again?

najer · May 16, 2020

So sorry to read this, can your lfs or a friend look after them, I would take them but am the wrong end of the country?

windemerejack · May 16, 2020

najer said:
So sorry to read this, can your lfs or a friend look after them, I would take them but am the wrong end of the country?

Thank you for the offer Simon, Ive got somewhere to take them but my worry is whatever killed the fish has soaked into the rock and so I want to bin all the rock, but my problem is what to do with the corals as they are all glued to the rock, so how do I get the corals off the rock?

maevepotter · May 16, 2020

windemerejack said:
Thank you for the offer Simon, Ive got somewhere to take them but my worry is whatever killed the fish has soaked into the rock and so I want to bin all the rock, but my problem is what to do with the corals as they are all glued to the rock, so how do I get the corals off the rock?

So sorry to hear this. A terrible loss.

You can just break the coral off the rock with bone cutters if it's sps. Or pull the rock out and use a Dremel to cut off the coral. I'm not sure if that is necessary, but you never know with such a weird loss. #reefsquad any ideas?

najer · May 16, 2020

windemerejack said:
Thank you for the offer Simon, Ive got somewhere to take them but my worry is whatever killed the fish has soaked into the rock and so I want to bin all the rock, but my problem is what to do with the corals as they are all glued to the rock, so how do I get the corals off the rock?

A small chisel and frag cutters, try and get as much off as you can at the base.

Nutrient_Spike · May 16, 2020

Have you tried looking at all of your wiring, heard some horror stories of some people heaters shorting, really sorry to hear about that thought man.

windemerejack · May 16, 2020

maevepotter said:
So sorry to hear this. A terrible loss.

You can just break the coral off the rock with bone cutters if it's sps. Or pull the rock out and use a Dremel to cut off the coral. I'm not sure if that is necessary, but you never know with such a weird loss. #reefsquad any ideas?

najer said:
A small chisel and frag cutters, try and get as much off as you can at the base.

And reattach to some other rock or frag plug?

Hecticdude · May 16, 2020

windemerejack said:
All my fish are dead this morning, I don't know why and I am heartbroken at my loss.
Yellow tang
Lineatus wrasse
mccoskers wrasse
one spot rabbit fish
harlequin tusk fish
flame angel
coral beauty
flame hawk
All dead, everything was fine last night, nothing added in a while, all tests show normal, temp normal, salinity normal, nothing obvious on the fish, corals have no polyp extension and looking a bit dismal.
I can't think of anything else to test for, everything just seems so normal, water is clear, skimmer is skimming normally, all pumps are working fine, im at a complete loss.
Very upset at this, particularly my flame hawk, it was the only fish left from my late fathers tank.

Sooo sorry;(

Spieg · May 16, 2020

Really sorry to hear about this. Years ago I had a small get together and had a similar die off. It turned out one of the guests was just an ****** who thought it would be cool to kill my tank (I found an empty can or roach killer in the trash a couple of days later!). It sounds like something similar must have happened in this case... there is always a cause for every effect.

Leslie Tabor · May 16, 2020

Oh my gosh this is just heartbreaking! I am so sorry for the loss of your fish. We are all here for you! Hugs!

windemerejack · May 16, 2020

Spieg said:
Really sorry to hear about this. Years ago I had a small get together and had a similar die off. It turned out one of the guests was just an ****** who thought it would be cool to kill my tank (I found an empty can or roach killer in the trash a couple of days later!). It sounds like something similar must have happened in this case... there is always a cause for every effect.

That is just awful that a human being would do that to any animal and to you as the owner of the fish.

jhall2242 · May 16, 2020

I have seen 3 prong grounded outlets that did not actually have a ground hooked up. Someone should check your breaker box and pull the cover on that outlet to make sure.

windemerejack · May 16, 2020

Im going to try and save my corals now so it looks like its going to be a long weekend.
I would like to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for the messages of support and advice you have all given me, it has been a very dark day for me but thanks to all of you who have made it a bit better.
My love and thanks to all of you.

SaltyCupcake · May 16, 2020

Oh no!

So sorry to hear about this. Truly heartbreaking. I hope that you're able to find out what happened so that you can have an answer. Big hugs and a bolstering fistbump for you from my sandy home here in the desert. ❤

butchhe · May 16, 2020

So sorry to hear about your loss. I had a friend that had a grounding plug on his tank. One night there was a power surge and it wiped out all the fish in his tank. After talking with the LFS, they said that the grounding probes can cause more problems than they solve. I have never used one so my sample is very limited.

Pablopufferfish · May 16, 2020

I’m very sorry to hear that happen to you and your tank.

Although I don’t know of anything that could of killed all of your fish. I had a similar mass die-off event in a freshwater tank when a snail died and I couldn’t find it. Everything was fine one day, then the next, everything died. So I can relate to this horrible event and I hope it never happens to you and your tank again.

Darsh · May 16, 2020

If it were me, after salvaging whatever corals possible, I'd leave the tank running until the Ammonia drops. Then add 1 fish and watch it closely for any signs of discomfort.
Maybe it will give a clue as to what happened, and it would also tell you if your rock is okay or not.

SPR1968 · May 16, 2020

I think, and as already mentioned, if it were me I would send for a triton test just to see if there‘s any contamination identified in the water that could give you a clue as to the likely cause, and maybe at least give you some piece of mind.

Presumably nothing like a very large fish could have died giving a massive ammonia spike or something prior to the ammonia level just tested?

I think someones already mentioned getting a camera, so if you haven’t got one I have 2 of these (1 actually behind one of my tanks) , there very good actually and fully rotate etc. and your in the UK same as me.

Good luck with the corals Jackie, and best wishes.

LovesDogs_CatsRokay · May 16, 2020

Did you have your windows open? Maybe a neighbor sprayed some pesticides or something and it came in through an open window

Jimbhoy13 · May 16, 2020

windemerejack said:
All my fish are dead this morning, I don't know why and I am heartbroken at my loss.
Yellow tang
Lineatus wrasse
mccoskers wrasse
one spot rabbit fish
harlequin tusk fish
flame angel
coral beauty
flame hawk
All dead, everything was fine last night, nothing added in a while, all tests show normal, temp normal, salinity normal, nothing obvious on the fish, corals have no polyp extension and looking a bit dismal.
I can't think of anything else to test for, everything just seems so normal, water is clear, skimmer is skimming normally, all pumps are working fine, im at a complete loss.
Very upset at this, particularly my flame hawk, it was the only fish left from my late fathers tank.

So sorry to hear about your loss Jack. Hope you can find a reason why before you start again.