A week and a half ago I purchased a Sailfin tang a Heniochus and a coral beauty from my LFS since that time all have died taking my once healthy powder brown tang and my banggai cardinal with it. The only things left are my six line wrasse, coral banded shrimp, and one banggai Cardinal ( which it doesn't look like it's doing very good ) I have a 55 Gallon tank nitrate is 20 nitrite is 0 ph 8.2 salinity 1.023 my tank has been up and running for 9 months and prior to putting these three fish in I had my banggai cardinals six line and shrimp for the 9 months and my powder brown tang for 4 months with no problems
All my fish are dying Help !!!
- Thread starter elizabeth25
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melypr1985
totally addicted
I"m very sorry to hear about your losses. What were the physical symptoms? Twitching heads? Rubbing on substrate/rocks/powerheads? Swimming into the flow of the powerheads? White spots? Can you please provide a little more info? Also, if you have a clear picture of any of the sick fish before they died that may help as well.
I'm new to this but when I did buy these fish there was a few white spots on the Sailfin tang and the 2 girls at the store had talked back and forth about how they had done a fresh water dip on the coral beauty the day before also once getting home I did notice on the heniochus the outside of its body looked like it had been some what decaying on the black part of the fish witch made it look some what Gray-ish I take pictures of everything so I have several it came on to my powder brown over night the picture that says 3 days was the first sign of it then the outside of him started almost like sloughing off and turning hair looking but there was white spots as well
melypr1985
totally addicted
I'm so sorry. That description and the pictures are classic velvet. You'll need a QT asap to save the rest of your fish. I would suggest reading this link to learn more about how to beat this disease. I would also like to suggest that next time you buy fish, no matter what the store employees tell you, if it looks sick dont buy it..... and always QT new additions.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/defeating-marine-velvet-disease.217570/
http://reef2reef.com/threads/defeating-marine-velvet-disease.217570/
ya I have learned that in the last week just lost my other banggia Cardinal got up to look and he's on his side and not alive so I have one left what is his best chance to live what should I do and how do I treat this mess I have gotten myself and these poor fish into will my shrimp and invertebrates be safe in there or will this take them out to
melypr1985
totally addicted
Read that link I provided and you'll be fine. The short of it though, is you have to get all your fish out of the tank and into QT. Leave the display without fish (fallow) for - lets play it safe- 76 days. You'll treat your fish with copper for 30 days and observe behavior for the rest of the fallow period. All the invertebrates will be fine in the display by themselves.
melypr1985
totally addicted
Correct. It is a parasite that must be introduced to the tank. That's why we should always QT new additions.
I think it's possible you may be dealing with both velvet AND Brooklynella here. I see some spots in one of the pics where the skin appears to be sloughing off (more commonly seen in brook.) But I also see some spots that looks like classic velvet. What a nightmare! 
I highly suggest giving all surviving fish a FW dip (see below) before placing in QT. Also, does your LFS have any products that are formalin or acriflavine based?
Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.
How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.
Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.
For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.
Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.
Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.
I highly suggest giving all surviving fish a FW dip (see below) before placing in QT. Also, does your LFS have any products that are formalin or acriflavine based?
Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes, Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.
How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.
Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.
For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.
Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.
Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.
melypr1985
totally addicted
Man! I missed the brook in there! Glad we have @Humblefish around
So I'm doing lots of reading on both of these but all that I have left after my last 3 days of my fish dying is my 6 line wrasse coral banded shrimp an orange and White Sea cucumber and my invertebrates my LFS is petco witch I have probably been in there every day and have showed them these same pictures I have posted above they told me it was ich so the told me to take all my carbon out of my filters and told me to buy herbtana so I have been doing this for the last 6 days but obviously the ich isn't what I'm dealing with in all fish that have died have had several white things all over it I wouldn't necessarily call them spots witch after a couple days of the white things being on them it does look like the skin sloughing off and turns into string looking stuff in one picture of the powder brown above I Circled this where you could really see but this is what the rest of the body was doing
Most Petcos are a haven for external parasites. They are already present in the water, but poor water quality, fish not getting fed, etc. exacerbates things. A Petco that used to be close to where I lived would go days without topping off to account for evaporation, and then dump 5-10 gallons of FW into the system only when air started blowing out the return lines. I bet the SG fluctuated 2 or 3 points in just a matter of seconds.
I have actually seen this done many times and air starts pumping through all there tanks. When I bought the heniochus its was in a tank alone that said under observation they had said that they just put it in there as they had just got it in but nothing was wrong with him he was the last fish to go in my tank and the first to die in pretty sure this may have been the fish that infected my hole tank due to the way his body looked in spots specially on the Black stripes this picture was taken as he was dying
melypr1985
totally addicted
Oh God..... that poor creature
Oh my goodnessI have actually seen this done many times and air starts pumping through all there tanks. When I bought the heniochus its was in a tank alone that said under observation they had said that they just put it in there as they had just got it in but nothing was wrong with him he was the last fish to go in my tank and the first to die in pretty sure this may have been the fish that infected my hole tank due to the way his body looked in spots specially on the Black stripes this picture was taken as he was dying
that's sad
joshkirkland83
Valuable Member
That is sad. I had the same problem about two months ago. I lost my ten year old maroon clown, all over a $25 sailfin blenny that i didnt QT. I managed to save everyone else by doing EXACTLY what humblefish instructed. But you better believe i dip and QT everything that goes in my tanks. I dont care if its a rock.
Will either of these 2 things infect my sea cucumber or the coral banded shrimp I'm not even sure what kind of sea cucumber he is he showed up in one of my live rocks wen I first started my tank but he dose a great job cleaning my sand at night
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