Fish keep dying, getting ready to call it quits

[Mchava]

Looking at your picture and how you tank looks like, I’d question your “professional” tank maintenance person. It’s very obvious that something in your water quality is wrong or the testing method is. Do you test yourself or only your LFS. What water are you using to top off the tank? It maybe possible that there’s something in your water that is toxic if not using RO/DI water. I would recommend not adding anymore fish until you make sure that water quality is good and your know for sure that ro/di water is used for top off.

 

[albano]

She was even skeptical that the serpent star was a problem, but others at the LFS thought it could be hunting. either way, deaths are still occurring.

What color serpent star?

 

[exnisstech]

 

[Torps]

Looking at your picture and how you tank looks like, I’d question your “professional” tank maintenance person. It’s very obvious that something in your water quality is wrong or the testing method is. Do you test yourself or only your LFS. What water are you using to top off the tank? It maybe possible that there’s something in your water that is toxic if not using RO/DI water. I would recommend not adding anymore fish until you make sure that water quality is good and your know for sure that ro/di water is used for top off.

I’ve got an RO drinking system at home and have done quite a bit of research on it, so I know what a RO/DI system should LOOK like (heavy emphasis on “look”). They’ve got a monster setup. If they’re not actually making RO/DI, they’re going the extra mile to scam everyone.

What about my tank is a flash for you? It used to be more appealing, but I tore it up pretty good catching the shrimp. She makes rearranging look allot easier than it is. When I inherited it, the previous owner was “chemical” adverse, so there was quite a bit of red growth. That’s toned down vastly, but there’s still some rust color in the sand. That is new live sand as of a year ago when I moved the tank.

It was a plain black serpent star. His behavior definitely changed when the grama was introduced. He started “tenting” over the grama’s hiding nook.

 

[Damage12]

Where in FL are you? Who is your LFS?

 

[Subsea]

Looking at your picture and how you tank looks like, I’d question your “professional” tank maintenance person. It’s very obvious that something in your water quality is wrong or the testing method is. Do you test yourself or only your LFS. What water are you using to top off the tank? It maybe possible that there’s something in your water that is toxic if not using RO/DI water. I would recommend not adding anymore fish until you make sure that water quality is good and your know for sure that ro/di water is used for top off.

@Torps
After looking at your substrate, I don’t consider this to be professionally maintained, unless the service is very cheap. Also, I don’t think that zero nitrate is a good thing. What test kit are you using to check your phosphate ppm? Opportunistic algae, Dinoflagellates when deprived of phosphate & nitrate become toxic. Snails and other herbivores would die first.

In an earlier post, you said that you inherited “red growth”. Would that be Cyanobacteria?

“It was a plain black serpent star. His behavior definitely changed when the grama was introduced. He started “tenting” over the grama’s hiding nook.“

Green serpent star were well known for that behavior. While I never saw any capture, I did loose small fish, until I transferred him.

 

[Torps]

Where in FL are you? Who is your LFS?

I don’t want to dox them quite yet.

After looking at your substrate, I don’t consider this to be professionally maintained, unless the service is very cheap. Also, I don’t think that zero nitrate is a good thing. What test kit are you using to check your phosphate ppm? Opportunistic algae, Dinoflagellates when deprived of phosphate & nitrate become toxic. Snails and other herbivores would die first.

In an earlier post, you said that you inherited “red growth”. Would that be Cyanobacteria?

I use an API test kit. Some tests use two bottles, 5-10 drops each. Not sure of different types… thought they were all about the same. Thanks, I’ll do some reading about all this!

99.8% sure the red stuff wasn’t cyano. It was red but had no other indication. I spent tons of time reading about that.

 

[Subsea]

I don’t want to dox them quite yet.

I use an API test kit. Some tests use two bottles, 5-10 drops each. Not sure of different types… thought they were all about the same. Thanks, I’ll do some reading about all this!

99.8% sure the red stuff wasn’t cyano. It was red but had no other indication. I spent tons of time reading about that.

After 55 years as a reefer, I am the last person to evaluate test kits. I have unopened test kits with expired dates. However, as a former lab technician, shades of color to determine concentration is not very precise, especially in the low range of parts per billion which is where phosphate runs. On a wild reef, inorganic phosphate & nitrate are in the PPB and are utilized miniscully: DOC, Dissolved Organic Carbon, and POC, Particulate Organic Carbon, are food for corals.
However, in our captive reefs, depending on what we feed, measurable phosphate & nitrate are necessary.

“99.8% sure the red stuff wasn’t cyano. It was red but had no other indication. I spent tons of time reading about that”

What do you think the red stuff was? Any pictures?
I noticed that you show Florida as your location.
Have you witnessed a “Red Tide”

https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

 

[Damage12]

I don’t want to dox them quite yet.

I use an API test kit. Some tests use two bottles, 5-10 drops each. Not sure of different types… thought they were all about the same. Thanks, I’ll do some reading about all this!

99.8% sure the red stuff wasn’t cyano. It was red but had no other indication. I spent tons of time reading about that.

No, worries. I used to be in the business and wanted to give you an idea if I know them and if they are reputable.

Avoid API test kits, they’re garbage. If your LFS is picking up fish for you direct from a wholesaler and adding them to your tank, I would question the quality of fish they are choosing and would not continue doing that.

What area in FL? Maybe I can steer you toward a better store.

 

[larrysaltisfun]

Maybe buy your fish from a pre- quarantined online dealer like Dr Reef

I may have missed it in previous posts but if your LFS is keeping fish at low salinity they are potentially masking problems like ICH and velvet

I would also do an ICP on your salt water and your RODI water

 

[Mchava]

The biggest issue i see is all that green filament algae all over your rocks and back wall and what looks like some type of algae on you sandbed. You even have it growing on your overflow. This leads me to think that your water source it the issue. As other have mention you need better test kit. If your tank was set up a year ago it should not look that way unless you've had poor husbandry and upkeep.

 

[mmorrison55]

If you are in the Tampa Bay Area, I can recommend “Fish and other Ichthy stuff” as a good place to buy healthy fish. He doesn’t do a full QT,but he’s about as close to it as you will get in the area. Some nearby fish stores get their fish in and in their sell tanks the same day.

 

[mmorrison55]

Ive had good results online with dr reefs as well.

Maybe send a sample off for an icp test to see if you have high metal content.

Any magnets in the tank that could have rusted and leached into your tank? You mentioned inheriting it over a year ago, so possible some old equipment is your culprit.