And then there were none....

[BantyRooster97]

So in the last couple of weeks I've posted several threads about my fish in QT dying off. Well I lost the last 1 today.

Short story, bought 6 fish from fishybusinessaquatics 6 weeks ago (pyramid butterfly, 2 spot tang, 4 wrasses). 1 wrasse came in with what appeared to be a swim bladder issue & died after 3 weeks (FBA gave me a store credit for that guy, thanks). Well after a couple more weeks the butterfly & tang up and died. Only the butterfly showed any signs of an issue (dusty/patchy looking spots on him & fin deterioration). And now a week later, 1 by 1, the other 3 wrasses died. To the eye, I can see no issues with them. They all just stopped eating, stopped swimming around, started breathing heavily, and just died. From what I can gather only velvet kills this quickly & looks like this.

Anyway, my question now is... how long do I need to leave my tank fish free for whatever is in there to die off & go away?

My QT was also going to be the display for these fish (well the wrasses anyway) so it has live rock, macro in the fuge w/pods, live sand, a frogspawn, a mushroom, some snails, some crabs & a candy cane coral.

Should I scrap the entire setup & throw everything out? Or can I run what I have for several months & hope whatever killed my fish is gone?

Thx

 

[BantyRooster97]

Also, all the rock, sand, coral, macro, CUC, etc came from my other 3 tanks, so they were not the issue.

 

[Keenan]

What were Ammonia and Nitrite levels?

I would start over and this time do not add anything except some biological filtration/bacteria in a bottle until the fish are fully through QT. Rock and other substrate can absorb medication which is not ideal, and most corals cannot tolerate QT medication.

Sorry about the fish and good luck on your next go at it.

 

[AlteranX]

Personally when I QT any fish in my QT setup all I run is a sponge filter, bare bottom tank, with a HOB filter with no media (other than a sponge cutout to collect debris.

I don't use any rocks in the tank other than various PVC fittings that can be easily sterilized between QT periods, and if I have a fish which likes to burrow, I'll use a small rubbermaid storage container and put some sand in there for the fish.

I'd look at your parameters first and foremost. When the fish arrived did they look stressed or have any visible signs of illness? I usually let my fish settle in for a day before I push any sort of food. I'll then go through preventative treatments based on the fish type as well even if they appear normally healthy.

If you did use a separate tank like it's implied, break it down and just clean it good and sanitize it well (I use a ratio of 1/4c bleach with 1 gal of water to clean/scrub), then I rinse vigorously, let the system air dry repeat the rinse/dry process several times so theres no residual bleach/chlorine.

Some Wrasses do unforunately have swim bladder issues if the collectors do not properly decompress them when they're harvested from the ocean. Lineatus and Rhomboidalis wrasses are two which I've commonly seen.

 

[BantyRooster97]

Yeah, I normally QT in a separate tank like described but since these guys were going to be staying in this tank I figured I'd try it this way. I don't treat my fish in QT unless they show signs of an issue. The only thing I added to this tank was Sulfaplex when I started to see the fin issue on the butterfly. Next time they'll go in my 20L for a normal QT.

My concern now is this tank. Can I let it run fallow for a few months? Will the pathogens die off? I'm not 100% sure what killed them, though I think it was velvet.

I've probably got less than $100 in rock, sand, coral & macro in there... so I could easily toss it all.

 

[AlteranX]

I don't think you'll need to toss it per-se, but a long fallow period will more than likely be necessary. I had a crypto outbreak in my DT and I treated the fish and let it sit fallow for 3 months, then it was fine when I reintroduced the fish. Patience is key.

 

[BantyRooster97]

I have 4 tanks (with this one) in my office... no issue letting this one sit for 3 months. LOL

 

[BantyRooster97]

Does fallow mean nothing living in the tank? snails, crabs, pods, etc other than coral? Are coral ok?

If I let it sit for 3 months, I don't want to risk any more fish dying...

 

[Qasimja]

Does fallow mean nothing living in the tank? snails, crabs, pods, etc other than coral? Are coral ok?

If I let it sit for 3 months, I don't want to risk any more fish dying...

you can leave the inverts and coral just no fish

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Hi, sorry to hear of your loss, especially when you don’t know 100% what the cause was, in this game you do have to take it slow buying 6 fish in one go, I personally would have bought 2 at first, this way you can monitor them better, too many fish in one go could stress each other out. About the Sulfaplex how much were you adding, too much can stress your fish and also it’s not meant to be used if you have invertebrates and snails, if your CUC are doing fine still you were lucky! Yes like the other members have mention! You can start all over again and clean your tank out or leave your QT tank 2 to 3 months to go fallow. Good luck and don’t worry! too much! we’ve all had our problems in one way or another, but you do get your rewards and you will get there.

 

[BantyRooster97]

Yeah, I don't normally buy any more than 2-3 at a time but these were all small so I shot for the moon. I was only able to dose the Sulpha 1 time before things started dying.... so I should be fine there.

Looks like I'll just leave it fallow for 3 months or so & in the mean time set up a normal QT.