Help! My fish are dying :(

Not an IT guy · Jul 28, 2021

Also give them a day or so before you start your treatment.

Not an IT guy · Jul 28, 2021

And for test kit. Including myself, I used the APi set. But you get mixed results. For a decent kit there’s the tropic Marin set. For nitrates the nyos is your best bet. This hobby is all about water quality and taking it slow. I rushed a lot on my tank until I had someone slap me across the face. This hobby is not a race. It’s Like a nicely aged fine wine.

BostonReefer300 · Jul 28, 2021

cwatt79 said:
@BostonReefer300 @Dj A-Ron @Not an IT guy @davidcalgary29

I can't think you guys enough for taking the time to give me some good advice. I didn't respond yesterday because I was busy setting up my quarantine tank - I had to buy & assemble a new stand, make the RO/DI water and salt water, etc.

My quarantine tank is a Fluval Spec 16 gallon peninsula-style tank with a built-in filtration chamber with a foam block, carbon insert and biomax insert. Will this be sufficient in place of a HOB filter?

I will order a sponge filter to add. I got my salinity and temperature matched to the DT and added bacteria last night and plan to move the two surviving fish over to QT tonight. My poor clown has tiny white spots all over him. I sure hope I can save him.

I started watching Reefdude's video and based on that I ordered Copper Power and Prazipro. I will order a copper tester and a Seachem ammonia alert badge this morning as well.

That tank is great for a QT. You don’t need an HOB if you have an all-in-one like that. Air pump driven sponge filter is still a good addition to both help with oxygenation (which some medicines deplete and stressed fish benefit from) and give you more surface area for bacteria. Other nice thing about a sponge filter (and that bag of biomax for that matter) is you can store both in your sump when your QT isn’t running. Then they’re ready to go whenever you need your QT. Instantly cycled with no need even for bottled bacteria. Regarding tests, I HIGHLY recommend you buy a Hanna checker for copper. It’s the only one that really works and it’s super important to get the copper level right. If you can afford it, get Hanna for Alk and ultra low Phosphorus too for your DT. I also have Hanna for Ca and NO3, but those are more nice-to-have instead of must-have. Salifert, Nyos, and Red Sea are good for those and Mg. Throw away the API tests. They’re literally garbage. We’re all pulling for you. Good luck and keep us posted!

cwatt79 · Jul 28, 2021

@BostonReefer300 I've got a sponge filter and Hanna copper checker on order for delivery by Friday. The Prazipro, Copper Power, and ammonia alert badge will all be delivered tomorrow.

I've got some PVC joints to place in the QT. What should the lighting schedule be for the QT?

I appreciate the recommendations for the testing equipment. I was already eyeing the "Randy's Select Test Kit Bundle" on Bulk Reef Supply for $175

Hanna Alkilinity Colorimeter
Hanna Phosphate Colorimeter
Red Sea Calcium test kit
Aquaforest Magnesium test kit
NYOS Nitrate test kit

Exactly the items & brands you recommended except the Aquaforest. I'll purchase this in a few weeks after I extinguish the fire that is my checking account. (I knew this hobby was expensive, but I certainly underestimated it

)

Thanks for the support!

BostonReefer300 · Jul 28, 2021

cwatt79 said:
@BostonReefer300 I've got a sponge filter and Hanna copper checker on order for delivery by Friday. The Prazipro, Copper Power, and ammonia alert badge will all be delivered tomorrow.

I've got some PVC joints to place in the QT. What should the lighting schedule be for the QT?

I appreciate the recommendations for the testing equipment. I was already eyeing the "Randy's Select Test Kit Bundle" on Bulk Reef Supply for $175

Hanna Alkilinity Colorimeter

Hanna Phosphate Colorimeter

Red Sea Calcium test kit

Aquaforest Magnesium test kit

NYOS Nitrate test kit

Exactly the items & brands you recommended except the Aquaforest. I'll purchase this in a few weeks after I extinguish the fire that is my checking account. (I knew this hobby was expensive, but I certainly underestimated it )

Thanks for the support!

I'd run the lights on the same schedule as your DT. Might as well get your new fish used to your regular light schedule.
For the tests, those all look good. I've never used the AquaForest Mg one, but I use other AF products and they are always good quality. Although not a necessity, I'd get the Hanna ULR Phosphorus (HI736) instead of the Hanna ULR Phosphate (HI774). The former has slightly better performance at low range which I find useful. However, if you're saving significant money buying a kit that includes HI774 instead, just go with that.
Regarding this hobby's costs, let's just say that I hope I never get divorced. If so, her attorney is going to have a field day calculating what I've put into my tanks.

cwatt79 · Jul 28, 2021

I got my two survivors in the QT! They seem to be doing well. However, after a couple hours there’s some debris on the floor of the tank.. can anyone help me identify this? Don’t judge me if it’s obvious! (It definitely wasn’t there when I put the fish in and it seems like way to much to be poop.

I’ve also attached some pictures of my clown. Hopefully you guys can help me diagnose his illness so I can treat it properly. I can’t see anything visible on the Benny like I do the clown.

BostonReefer300 · Jul 29, 2021

To me it appears the clown has ich. Suggest you read up on it in the disease forum sticky thread. Don’t worry about the junk on the bottom. Siphon it out if it’s bothering you

1Meshy · Oct 17, 2021

I know this is an old thread, but how'd quarantine go? Hope your tank is doing better now! :]

muggle0981 · Oct 17, 2021

Would concur clown looks to have ich

cwatt79 · Oct 17, 2021

1Meshy said:
I know this is an old thread, but how'd quarantine go? Hope your tank is doing better now! :]

It went really well! I just moved the two survivors back into the display tank a week ago, and they’re doing great! It’s so nice to have fish in the DT again!

1Meshy · Oct 17, 2021

cwatt79 said:
It went really well! I just moved the two survivors back into the display tank a week ago, and they’re doing great! It’s so nice to have fish in the DT again!

That's great!! How're your corals, anemone and whatnot? Good too?

cwatt79 · Oct 18, 2021

1Meshy said:
That's great!! How're your corals, anemone and whatnot? Good too?

Yep, everything else is good. I lost a few more snails but I replaced those. All the hermit crabs survived. The anemone and zoanthids are thriving, as is the shrimp. I got the nitrates down to around 5 through weekly water changes, so hopefully the fish have a healthy environment now.

1Meshy · Oct 18, 2021

cwatt79 said:
Yep, everything else is good. I lost a few more snails but I replaced those. All the hermit crabs survived. The anemone and zoanthids are thriving, as is the shrimp. I got the nitrates down to around 5 through weekly water changes, so hopefully the fish have a healthy environment now.

Nice, nice. If you get the chance you should post a pic of your tank now :]. Would be nice to see!

premiumreef · Oct 18, 2021

cwatt79 said:
Hi fellow reefers. I hate that I'm introducing myself like this.. Been lurking for several months and joined the hobby with my first saltwater tank 8 weeks ago. I've been pretty much exclusively relying on my LFS owner for guidance through this process, but I'm starting to lose confidence in him.

I've got a 36 gallon bowfront reef tank with an Aquaclear 70 HOB filter and two Kessil A80s. It's been running for 8 weeks and I believe it was fully cycled. I watched my Ammonia and Nitrites come down to zero and my Nitrates drop to around 20. Sg is 1.25. I've got around 30 lbs of live rock, most of which came from my LFS, 4 turbo snails (started with 6) and 12 dwarf hermit crabs. After about 4 weeks when the tank was cycled, I started slowly adding fish and coral. First was a clown and a lawnmower blenny, then some zoanthids, then an anemone and tiger watchman goby, then an urchin and purple dottyback and sailfin tang (I now know my tank is not suitable for this guy), then a shrimp.

A couple weeks ago I had a green algae bloom that has not really subsided yet. The urchin is doing his best to eat it, and it's not growing back where he is eating it, but he's only made it to two out of five rocks.

The first problem I had was losing two turbo snails. I had the heater set to 80 degrees, so we think it was too warm for the snails. Now at 78, the remaining snails seems happy.

I am feeding flake food, pellet food, and an occasional block of frozen shrimp.

When I added the dottyback and sailfin tang, I never saw the watchman goby out again. He stayed in his hole under a rock permanently. Previously, he stayed there a lot but you'd see him out and sand sifting regularly. After 10 days of him not emerging, he finally came out one day and looked awful. He was half his prior size and was behaving erratically. The next morning, he was dead. Later that day, the purple dottyback was dead. This was unexpected - I hadn't noticed anything off with him. Yesterday I noticed the tang acting weird. He was a lot less active. This morning he was stuck to the filter intake. I thought he was dead, but when I nudged him away from the intake he swam a little. I expect him to be dead when I get home from work. All the coral seem healthy.

I tested the water when the two fish died on Saturday. For the first time in 5 weeks, the test appeared to reveal an ammonia level; I'm guessing around 0.25. Zero nitrites and Nitrates were up to around 40 ppm. I have the API test kit so these are all I am testing (plus salinity with a refractometer). My LFS owner recommended that I add a protein skimmer at 3 months and do the first water change at 6 months. He's only open Tues-Fri, so I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him about my fish dying. My gut is telling me to do a big water change, but I wanted to check with you guys. I will stop by my LFS after work for advice from him too.

I thought I was doing things right and I thought my tank was fully cycled. Obviously now I'm second guessing that. I really hate that these guys are dying. I would greatly appreciate any help and advice - I desperately want to know what I am doing wrong! I am really enjoying this hobby so far but this is rather discouraging.

Could be that your tank is not cycled completely and that you need to allow more time for this process to take place. Many times fish cannot withstand the ammonia levels within a brand new cycling tank but it will not affect coral.

premiumreef · Oct 18, 2021

BostonReefer300 said:
Regarding cycling, if you use a suitable bottled bacteria and have a good size sponge filter in there (and hopefully are using a little HOB filter too), you will be instantly cycled. Most pet stores that have fish will carry biospira which is the cheapest bacteria product but will work fine. Buy a small bottle of that and dump it in.

Agreed. But, do not over do it. If you put too much of the bacteria in the bottle in your tank youll have a serious bacteria bloom. Slime and all sorts of other problems can stem if you do not stick to the recommended amount.

hurleypro6 · Dec 12, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Generally, in an aquarium where the fish are dying, but the invertebrates are fine, the problem traces back to a fish disease. In looking at your tank, I don’t see many delicate corals, so I can’t rule out water issues 100%, but my guess it is a fish disease (the two dying snails isn’t all that unusual).
As far as what disease it could be, I can’t say without knowing symptoms. We’re any of The fish breathing rapidly or did they go off food before dying?
Quarantine of new fish is the best way to go. Let’s say there is a 10% chance of bringing a disease in with a fish. If you add 5 fish at different times, you could be at a 50% risk of having a disease outbreak!
Jay

I have the same issue and my fish were breathing rapidly before they died. But it generally happens like overnight without much symptoms... But all my shrimp and coral are fine