all the fish are dying

[Jeff Murray]

I have had a 100 gallon tank set up for over 7 months. It is growing soft corals and inverts fine. I can not keep fish alive for more than a few weeks. All water parameters are within range. Temps are 82 and water changes are ro/di. I have a sump with live rock, filter balls and block, and a thin sand bed which I collected from the reef here in the Florida Keys. Large home made ayirstone skimmer works good. Lights are led. I catch some fish from the wild and quarantine them in another 60g tank for a month. Two months ago and more then a few dead fish later I let the display tank go fishes for a month. Before then I had some store bought blennies which wouldn't last more than two weeks. Had a clown die and also two tangs. After the fallow period I reintroduced a atlantic wild caught tang, a blue head wrasse, and a store bought clown. The fish were fine for a month. I introduced apsuedochromis and another clown. I also put in another blue tang which I had in the 60g for two months. They fought a little but were calming down and both eating well. I had an GHA breakout and added a store bought lawnmower blenny. He lasted two weeks and was eating but found dead with no other symptoms. Both tangs were fine then both died in one day. I introduced another tang which I had alone in the 60 for over two months. He was fine until this week. Found dead. lLast week pseudochromis disappeared. Today small clown gone. Larger clown not eating now but not sign of disease. Purple wrasse looks fine. Only thing left in tank is wrasse, clown, sally lightfoot, coral banded shrimp, soft corals, snails and hermits. All store bought fish were quarantined in tank change method for 12 days with 3 day interval. Wild caught were kept in 60 gal for over a month. I am at my ropes end with this. Any suggestions?

 

[Billldg]

#reefsquad

 

[ndrwater]

@Humblefish
@HotRocks

 

[Crabs McJones]

I've moved this to the disease forum to help get eyes on it for you. But at the rate the fish are dying some sort of parasite would be my best guess. Letting the tank go fallow for 78 days would be your best bet to starve out anything that could be in it. When you had the fish in quarantine were you running any meds?

 

[Big G]

Darn few things kill that fast: Velvet and Gram Negative bacterial infections can kill "without" the usual visual symptoms. Brook & Uronema usually present visual symptoms that can kill quickly. One or more of your fish are probably "carrying" the parasite/infection and will continue to until treated to remove the parasite/infection.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/#post-2177961

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

I think you’re biggest issue is your fallow period, one month is not long enough to outrun a parasites life cycle typically. Do you treat the fish during QT or are just observing? I get a feeling you are rushing to get fish in your tank and we all suffer from it but if slow down I think you’ll fare better. And welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Fishnut]

I would not rule out ammonia poisoning. Is your tank cycled? With going fallow and not feeding the tank maybe when restocking your going too fast for the filtering bacteria to catch up. Try a ammonia detection badge on the tank next time.

 

[Jeff Murray]

Thank you. I used the ammonia badge. Nothing. I even tested it with ammonia. It works. Im sure the tank has cycled as all corals are doing great. I would think that they would show stress if water was bad. I went through a short cyano period and that cleared up now have some GHA but that is clearing up also. The fish I buy from the store are quarantined in the water change method for 12 days and I usually wait a week from the time I see them in the store before I buy. Could the banded shrimp be killing the small chromis and clown at night? The small ones just disappear. The only dead fish I found were the tangs and lawnmower blenny. I had two yellow blennies that were fine for a couple weeks then would start swimming at the top of the tank. One was found dead in my overflow. The other disappeared. Now understand that all this has happened over the last 3 months. Not all of theses fish were in the tank at the same time. Ive never had more than 6 fish at once. Ive tried sharpnose puffers which are wild caught and don't last three weeks. Wrasses last forever until they get too aggressive and I return them to the reef. I have a pincushion urchin who has been in since the 2nd month and is fine. I know tangs and blennies are somewhat sensitive and maybe the wild caught ones more so. But if they had parasites when caught why did they live so long in my other fish only tank? I did use a med that the store sold me for ick in the quarantine tank ( I had a breakout in the display tank and that was when I removed all fish) and after two days all the fish died with the med in the water. Cant remember what it was but it turned the water blue and you added it every day. That a happened twice so I threw it out. I am sure that med caused problems.