Fish Died - What to do now?

[PeterG]

I have a fairly new 90 gal mixed reef tank; started up in August. Lost a couple of fish along the way but everything doing well for the most part. In the past 2 days I’ve had two Tangs, a Kole and a Powder Grey, die within 24 hrs of each other. I purchased them less than 2 two weeks ago from a lfs other than my go-to guy. This store came highly recommended by a good friend who has worked with them for some 30 yrs. I did not put the new additions into QT. I noticed the Kole in distress on Sat. morning and removed him to a small tank where he died while I was trying to ID what was ailing him using the Fish Disease Index Pictorial Guide here on R2R. I could find nothing out of the ordinary. No spots, no torn fins or missing scales, no bruising or swelling or discoloration. Nothing. Prior to Saturday, his behavior was normal, he was a bit shy but came out at feeding time.
The Powder Grey was acting normally on Saturday, mingling with the other fish, swimming around and eating. On Sunday morning he was in deep distress, swimming irregularly and floundering before sinking to the bottom. By the time I netted him, he was gone. I examined him for some sign of illness or injury and again nothing.

Everyone else in the tank is behaving normally and show no signs of anything being wrong. My questions: First of all any ideas as to what might have affected these two? Secondly should I do anything in the tank preemptively? Dose some medication? If so what?

I know I should QT all new fish. I’m new to the hobby and have not gotten around to buying a second setup to act as a QT tank. All water readings and live-stock population are listed below. I appreciate any & all input.

Water parameters:

pH - 8.2; Salinity - 1.023; Nitrates - < 2ppm; Nitrites - 0ppm; Ammonia - <.2; Alkalinity - 8.3dKH; Calcium - 425ppm; Magnesium - 1240; Phosphates - <.03ppm

CURRENT FISH POPULATION:
2 – Banggai Cardinals
1 Serpent Star Fish
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
2 Orbic (Pajama) Cardinals
2 Firefish
2 Ocellaris Clown Fish
1 Purple Firefish
1 Six Line Wrasse
1 Coral Beauty Angel
1 Kole Tang (Yellow Eyed Tang)
1 Powder Grey Tang

20 Assorted Snails
15 Reg Leg Hermit Crabs
6 Tiger Sand Conch

CURRENT CORAL POPULATION:

Cespitularia Soft Coral
Discosoma Mushroom
Hairy Mushroom
Green Star Polyp
Frogspawn
Nuclear Green Grande Palythoa
Meteor Shower Cyphastrea (SPS)
Stylopora (SPS)
Zonanthid (Soft)
Favites Pentagona “War Coral” (LPS)
Duncan Coral (LPS)
Trumpet Coral (LPS)
Montipora (SPS)
Acropora – Green Slimer (SPS)

 

[sfin52]

They may have been bullied to death. I’m assuming that your stock list is what you have left.

 

[PeterG]

They may have been bullied to death. I’m assuming that your stock list is what you have left.

Correct, everyone listed is still there except for the tangs. Guess I should remove them from that list. I did not observe any bullying behavior from anyone else in the tank. The only territorial fish are the clowns and they seem to prefer a corner of the tank where they play in the sand. Everyone else gives them room.

 

[sfin52]

Ya the rest tend to be peaceful. Were they eating? Did you obseve them eating at the lfs? How long were they at the lfs?

 

[KMench]

That seems like a lot of fish for a 90. Maybe their was some aggression among them. Tangs are notorious for ich. It could have been a combination of the stress from being crowded along with a sub clinical level of ich. It often harbors inside the gills without being seen and is only visible on the exterior of the fish when the condition worsens.

 

[Brew12]

Did you see any signs of white stringy poo that would indicate an internal parasite?

 

[sfin52]

I agree loads of fish for that system. But a lot of those fish are on the smaller side. You can have more if on the smaller side.

 

[PeterG]

Ya the rest tend to be peaceful. Were they eating? Did you obseve them eating at the lfs? How long were they at the lfs?

I agree loads of fish for that system. But a lot of those fish are on the smaller side. You can have more if on the smaller side.

Everyone was eating including the tangs. did not see them eating at lfs. I was in there on a Sat with my friend and the tangs were not there. She asked the guy if had any and he said he was getting some on Mon. I went in on Tues and picked these up.
The tangs were the largest fish in the tank. Wasn't aware that the tank was already overloaded.

Did you see any signs of white stringy poo that would indicate an internal parasite?

No signs of white poo or anything else.

That seems like a lot of fish for a 90. Maybe their was some aggression among them. Tangs are notorious for ich. It could have been a combination of the stress from being crowded along with a sub clinical level of ich. It often harbors inside the gills without being seen and is only visible on the exterior of the fish when the condition worsens.

Have not witness any aggression among any of them. If there was Ich, is there anything I should do to the tank now to keep it from spreading to others?

 

[Maritimer]

If you introduced fish with ich, velvet, brooklynella or flukes into your display, it's unfortunately a safe bet that it was transmitted to the rest of the tank. Ich can sometimes be "managed" in the display tank, but can only be eradicated in a quarantine tank. Humblefish wrote an article on ich eradication vs. ich management here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/#post-2171424

Velvet, by the way, is unlikely to be "manageable" in any way.

~Bruce

 

[PeterG]

If you introduced fish with ich, velvet, brooklynella or flukes into your display, it's unfortunately a safe bet that it was transmitted to the rest of the tank. Ich can sometimes be "managed" in the display tank, but can only be eradicated in a quarantine tank. Humblefish wrote an article on ich eradication vs. ich management here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/#post-2171424

Velvet, by the way, is unlikely to be "manageable" in any way.

~Bruce

Thanks for your input and the link. Just read Humblefish's article and plan to follow up with his "management" tips. What's troubling is that I did not observe any symptoms on either of the fish

 

[Danny N]

Stress could’ve been a factor. Bounced around from shipping, to fish store, to your system over the course of just a few days. That’s a lot of scenery changes is very short span of time.

 

[Swoody]

Stress could’ve been a factor. Bounced around from shipping, to fish store, to your system over the course of just a few days. That’s a lot of scenery changes is very short span of time.

^^^This....My thoughts exactly, Those fish had no chance to un-stress from what they had just been through...and really who knows what and how long and what the bag water quality was like upon arrival at your LFS....Plus they are both too big for a 90G tank (if they had survived).....

 

[PeterG]

Stress could’ve been a factor. Bounced around from shipping, to fish store, to your system over the course of just a few days. That’s a lot of scenery changes is very short span of time.

^^^This....My thoughts exactly, Those fish had no chance to un-stress from what they had just been through...and really who knows what and how long and what the bag water quality was like upon arrival at your LFS....Plus they are both too big for a 90G tank (if they had survived).....

Makes sense, but wouldn't they have shown signs of stress immediately? I mean both were eating up until their last day. Granted the Kole was somewhat reclusive but the Powder Grey was very active and visible up until the end.

 

[Swoody]

Obviously we probably wont ever know. Just what occurred to me as well while reading your post...Hopefully there was nothing transferred to your tank and all other fish continue to thrive!!

 

[Danny N]

I didn’t realize the powder grey is also know as the gold rim tang. I had one for 1 day. He died his first day in qt. His quarantine tank was on the bar in my basement, I had an outdoor party that day, but people kept walking past, looking at him and what not. I really think the stress from something that small killed him. He was the only inhabitant in a fully cycled 20 gallon tank with plenty of hiding places, but he just freaked out with all the attention. It’s crazy just how delicate some of these fish are.

 

[PeterG]

I didn’t realize the powder grey is also know as the gold rim tang. I had one for 1 day. He died his first day in qt. His quarantine tank was on the bar in my basement, I had an outdoor party that day, but people kept walking past, looking at him and what not. I really think the stress from something that small killed him. He was the only inhabitant in a fully cycled 20 gallon tank with plenty of hiding places, but he just freaked out with all the attention. It’s crazy just how delicate some of these fish are.

Sorry to hear about your Gold Rim Tang. Some confusion on the proper name of the fish I lost; he might have been powder brown vs a powder grey. Guess these tangs are a lot more delicate then their size & stature would suggest.

 

[PeterG]

Thanks all for your comments and suggestions. As Swoody states " We probably won't ever know" for sure.
It least I've learned a couple of things, most importantly that I've reached the limits on how many fish I can safely house in a 90gal tank and that my experience here is not not unique to newbies to the hobby. Also, going to add vitamins to the diet of my livestock to boost immunity and give them the best chance for a long and disease free life.

Based on the photos of other setups I've seen here it seems that I can safely continue to add corals providing I provide the necessary water & light conditions for them to thrive.

Now if I can only stop Googling " How to migrate to a larger tank?" until my knowledge catches up with my enthusiasm.