Fish Suddenly Dying?

[atp0726]

Added a Watchman Goby 3-4 wks ago to my QT and a Purple Firefish 2 weeks ago. Should have held off on the Purple Firefish but it was half price and couldnt resist. Anyway the Purple Firefish was eating and active but after a week went from looking to be fine in the morning to completely dead by late afternoon. After this I closely watched the Goby for any signs of being sick. He ate normal last night. I did notice his mouth possibly looking different but cant be sure. Checked on him late this morning in the dark and looked to be sitting on the bottom as normal. Went down to feed 4-5 hours later and he was dead. Do these symptoms sound like anything others have experienced and been able to troubleshoot? I am at a loss.

Now I guess I need to decide what to do with my nicely cycled QT? I have a piece of live rock I bought to cycle QT which is now covered in corals, halimeda, sponges, fan worms (really have enjoyed watching it grow) and a snail that I am not sure what to do with if I have to sterilize. At this poin I doubt i will want to add them to my DT or sump.

 

[melypr1985]

Added a Watchman Goby 3-4 wks ago to my QT and a Purple Firefish 2 weeks ago. Should have held off on the Purple Firefish but it was half price and couldnt resist. Anyway the Purple Firefish was eating and active but after a week went from looking to be fine in the morning to completely dead by late afternoon. After this I closely watched the Goby for any signs of being sick. He ate normal last night. I did notice his mouth possibly looking different but cant be sure. Checked on him late this morning in the dark and looked to be sitting on the bottom as normal. Went down to feed 4-5 hours later and he was dead. Do these symptoms sound like anything others have experienced and been able to troubleshoot? I am at a loss.

Now I guess I need to decide what to do with my nicely cycled QT? I have a piece of live rock I bought to cycle QT which is now covered in corals, halimeda, sponges, fan worms (really have enjoyed watching it grow) and a snail that I am not sure what to do with if I have to sterilize. At this poin I doubt i will want to add them to my DT or sump.

Did you manage to get any pictures? Were the fish exhibiting any other symptoms? Did they look filmy, dusty, have white spots, red marks, white scrapes, or red streaks? Any behavioral symptoms such as heavy breathing, flashing, scratching, head twitching, yawning, swimming into the flow of the filter or powerhead, hiding a lot, lack of appetite, lethargy?

 

[melypr1985]

Now I guess I need to decide what to do with my nicely cycled QT? I have a piece of live rock I bought to cycle QT which is now covered in corals, halimeda, sponges, fan worms (really have enjoyed watching it grow) and a snail that I am not sure what to do with if I have to sterilize. At this poin I doubt i will want to add them to my DT or sump.

I wouldn't use either the rock or the snail in your display. You can simply leave the QT fallow for 76 days or ditch both of them. Be kind and warn anybody who ends up with it that you had fish die of something and that's why your getting rid of it. They should be left without fish for the full 76 days if possible before being added to a system with fish. In the future, don't keep live rock or inverts in a QT - they don't sterilize easily and won't survive most meds or treatments. The live rock will make treating difficult as well by absorbing things like copper and releasing it again later.

 

[Diesel]

Sorry to hear this my friend.
Will tag for you @melypr1985 and @Humblefish in hear they can tell you a lot more than me.

Edit........ Oh Well should have know she was stalking me :rolleyes:

 

[melypr1985]

Edit........ Oh Well should have know she was stalking me :rolleyes:

Maybe :D ... but in this case I get alerts to new threads in the disease forum. I just beat ya to it ;)

 

[Diesel]

Maybe :D ... but in this case I get alerts to new threads in the disease forum. I just beat ya to it ;)

and there you have it :p

 

[atp0726]

Did you manage to get any pictures? Were the fish exhibiting any other symptoms? Did they look filmy, dusty, have white spots, red marks, white scrapes, or red streaks? Any behavioral symptoms such as heavy breathing, flashing, scratching, head twitching, yawning, swimming into the flow of the filter or powerhead, hiding a lot, lack of appetite, lethargy?

No, that is the strange thing. The watchman was doing so well I was thinking about adding him to the dt. Both fish looked to be doing very well right up to the point of dying.

 

[melypr1985]

No, that is the strange thing. The watchman was doing so well I was thinking about adding him to the dt. Both fish looked to be doing very well right up to the point of dying.

Nothing at all? Sometimes this happens. There are still diseases out there that we know nothing about. There are also gram negative bacterial infections that can kill very quickly. Usually they look like they were scraped by a cheese grater after they die from something liek that, but not always. Gram negatives are contagious and tricky, so don't add any fish to this QT until you sterilize it. If you still have one of the bodies maybe drop it in some tap water for 5 minutes and see if any flukes fall out.

 

[atp0726]

Nothing at all? Sometimes this happens. There are still diseases out there that we know nothing about. There are also gram negative bacterial infections that can kill very quickly. Usually they look like they were scraped by a cheese grater after they die from something liek that, but not always. Gram negatives are contagious and tricky, so don't add any fish to this QT until you sterilize it. If you still have one of the bodies maybe drop it in some tap water for 5 minutes and see if any flukes fall out.

I guess the Goby may have seemed a bit lethargic the day before he died but that is about it. I am thinking it may have been flukes. Good idea about dropping in some freshwater, unfortunately, its to late.

I did drop some SPS frags in the QT earlier in the week because I didn't want to put them in my DT without dipping (go figure) and I didnt have time when I got home with them. Retrospectively, given what has happened that may have been a bad idea. I did pop the plugs off the frags, dipped and them in Revive for 10 min so hopefully that killed anything that may have attached.

I do usually keep the QT free of anything. Picked up the rock to help with the nitrifying bacteria pop. Didnt expect the corals that looked dead to completely come back to life. So, I hate having to trash it for that reason.

Thanks for the responses!

 

[melypr1985]

I did pop the plugs off the frags, dipped and them in Revive for 10 min so hopefully that killed anything that may have attached.

The coral dips won't kill any fish parasites such as ick or velvet, but will take care of coral pests. So you could have inadvertently introduced a parasite to your QT via the frags. I'm sorry for your loss hun :(

 

[atp0726]

The coral dips won't kill any fish parasites such as ick or velvet, but will take care of coral pests. So you could have inadvertently introduced a parasite to your QT via the frags. I'm sorry for your loss hun :(

Well, hopefully the Revive and intermittent turkey basting during the dip was enough to blow anything off that may have attached. Its a new tank and I only have a pair of fancy snowflakes and some inverts so far. I will keep a close eye on the clowns, however, somewhat nervewracking as the others didn't display any obvious symptoms.

I am pretty sure the firefish introduced the parasite/disease since it was introduced around 2 wks after the goby and was the first to die. Interestingly, I stopped by the lfs where I bought the fish and they still had firefish that came in with the same shipment of the one I purchased. They run copper in their fish systems and I am wondering if what ever my firefish had could have been cured by the copper? It was only at the lfs for a couple days before I purchased it, which was probably not enough time to be effective.

 

[melypr1985]

Well, hopefully the Revive and intermittent turkey basting during the dip was enough to blow anything off that may have attached.

Most likely not. The tomont stage is so small we can't see it with our eyes. You might, maybe, be able to brush it off a plug, but it only takes one getting by to infect the tank. Just for future reference.

They run copper in their fish systems and I am wondering if what ever my firefish had could have been cured by the copper? It was only at the lfs for a couple days before I purchased it, which was probably not enough time to be effective.

Assuming their copper is at therapeutic levels at all times, then yes... it would have cured ick and velvet - for the most part. This isn't fool proof of course because new fish are added every week, most likely bring in new things each time a new fish is introduced. Buying a fish only days after it was brought in means that the copper had little to no time to help the fish. Since the ick/velvet has to drop off the fish for the copper to help them not be reinfected, purchasing a fish days after arrival means that they could still have ick/velvet attached to them when you bring the fish home. I hope that makes sense. I really feel like I'm rambling today. :confused:

It's best if you are prepped to QT prophylactically when you bring them home. That way it doesnt much matter what's clinging to their body when you do.... you can protect against it. Either that, or trust that their tanks are always kept at therapeutic levels and hope the fish is there for the full 30 days. I would still QT myself even if that happened. :)

 

[atp0726]

Most likely not. The tomont stage is so small we can't see it with our eyes. You might, maybe, be able to brush it off a plug, but it only takes one getting by to infect the tank. Just for future reference.



Assuming their copper is at therapeutic levels at all times, then yes... it would have cured ick and velvet - for the most part. This isn't fool proof of course because new fish are added every week, most likely bring in new things each time a new fish is introduced. Buying a fish only days after it was brought in means that the copper had little to no time to help the fish. Since the ick/velvet has to drop off the fish for the copper to help them not be reinfected, purchasing a fish days after arrival means that they could still have ick/velvet attached to them when you bring the fish home. I hope that makes sense. I really feel like I'm rambling today. :confused:

It's best if you are prepped to QT prophylactically when you bring them home. That way it doesnt much matter what's clinging to their body when you do.... you can protect against it. Either that, or trust that their tanks are always kept at therapeutic levels and hope the fish is there for the full 30 days. I would still QT myself even if that happened. :)

So treat the fish even if they arent exhibiting any symptoms? What is the recommendation?

 

[melypr1985]

So treat the fish even if they arent exhibiting any symptoms? What is the recommendation?

Exactly that. I suggest always treating for the diseases that are difficult to spot or easy to hide. TTM is a chemical free way to treat for ick. You can add prazipro to that and keep exposure to that down to 24 hours. It's not a harsh med, so no matter what you're good to go on that. 12 days and your fish is flukes and ick free. Watch them for another two weeks to be sure any infections pop up they can be treated quickly and safely. Then you're done.