Fish dying - unknown cause

[bmessy]

Hi all,

I’ve had a 15G AIO tank for about 2 months now. I’ve slowly added creatures since then without any issues until this week. I had a lawnmower Gobbie die and now my clownfish is acting weird. gasping at the surface, breathing harder, etc. I’ve also noticed some white spots appearing. I’ll try and include a picture.

I do weekly water changes. Nothing has changed to my routine that I can think of, other than I took out the rocks, and re-pasted them with super glue. In the past I used glass cleaner to clean the outside of the tank, so maybe some of that got in? I’ve since switched to water and micro fiber towels.

Tank parameters seem ok. Ph 8.0, Ammonia 0.0, Nitrites 0.0. Nitrates have always been a little higher at 20.0

Was wondering if the water is oxygen deficient so I’ve changed the angle of the return nozzle to break up the surface better.

At a loss because until this week they seemed to be doing fine.

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated

I should also add that the clownfish is no longer eating. Was eating fine until this week. Cleaner shrimp and snails seems unfazed so far

 

[Tahoe61]

Hi,

At 2 months a system has not reached it's full biological filtration potential.
A pathogen may have been introduced with the 1st fish, and other introductions are now symptomatic because the tank is not completely established.
It's VERY important to have significant surface aggitation and flow.

Long story short a 15 gallon AIO at 2 months is unstable. Let the tank age another month before further introductions.

Welcome to R2R.

:)

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Suggest to buy a small powerhead and place it close to the top and angle it upwards to get more agitation than that. My 15 gallon has 2 powerheads angled upwards plus a small hob filter. It really is that important. Sorry for your experience and good luck.

 

[bmessy]

Thank you for the responses. Any experience with air stones? Angling the return nozzle seems to already be making a small difference with some color returning to the clowny. Hoping it really is as “simple” as getting more surface agitation and oxygen.

 

[bmessy]

Hi,

At 2 months a system has not reached it's full biological filtration potential.
A pathogen may have been introduced with the 1st fish, and other introductions are now symptomatic because the tank is not completely established.
It's VERY important to have significant surface aggitation and flow.

Long story short a 15 gallon AIO at 2 months is unstable. Let the tank age another month before further introductions.

Welcome to R2R.

:)

Update that both the clownfish and blenny both died :( tested the water again and everything seems “ok.” Nitrates are a little high but always have been. Increased surface agitation and added an air stone since the original post but maybe the clownfish was already too far gone? Didn’t seem to make a big difference.

Is it possible adding the cleaner shrimp introduced a pathogen?

Now with only the shrimp and some snails would you recommend waiting a few months before trying to add another fish? Afraid to add anything to the tank now, sadly, and I’m at a loss for what caused the decline.

 

[Tahoe61]

Update that both the clownfish and blenny both died :( tested the water again and everything seems “ok.” Nitrates are a little high but always have been. Increased surface agitation and added an air stone since the original post but maybe the clownfish was already too far gone? Didn’t seem to make a big difference.

Is it possible adding the cleaner shrimp introduced a pathogen?

Now with only the shrimp and some snails would you recommend waiting a few months before trying to add another fish? Afraid to add anything to the tank now, sadly, and I’m at a loss for what caused the decline.

In all likelihood the stress of a new smaller tank and possible introduction of disease by fish caused the issues. It's very common in new tanks unfortunately. The smaller the system the greater the risk.
I would definitely wait for a month or more and focus on corals and researching water chemistry.