Help needed.

[Carly Knight]

So I bought a lemon peel angel about 2 weeks ago and she's been amazing. Until yesterday I noticed she wasn't interested in food and her colour didn't look as bright.. This morning I've came down and found her dead.

I've tested my water;
Ammonia 0ppm
PH 8.2
NITRITE 0 PPM
NITRATE 20 PPM
PHOSPHATE 0.1
Salinity 1.024

I have 2 x clowns and a wrasse which are now not interested in food and just don't look right. The clowns dont look as bright as usual. The hermits and snails seem OK.

Anyone got any ideas of what I can do? I can't face anymore losses.

Thanks in advance

 

[fishguy242]

hi posting some pics will help when dr's get here ,lets get some expert help #reefsquad @Jay Hemdal,best wishes

 

[Dbichler]

Sorry for your loss how much did the fish eat in the 2 weeks? Do you mean the fish have a white slime coat. Just need more information to make any guesses.

 

[Carly Knight]

Probably over kill on the number I took! But here's the best I could get. I don't know if it could be ich.. Its more like they look less orange and more mottled. If that makes sense.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Carly Knight]

Sorry for your loss how much did the fish eat in the 2 weeks? Do you mean the fish have a white slime coat. Just need more information to make any guesses.

She ate lots! She ate at every feeding until yesterday . I'm not sure about the slime coat. I've posted some pics but not sure if that helps. They just look a bit odd. Not as smooth and colourful as usual. Couldn't get a picture of the wrasse.

 

[Dbichler]

Didn’t realize you said any more losses what else has passed

 

[Carly Knight]

Didn’t realize you said any more losses what else has passed

Sorry. Nothing else died.. Just the angel fish

 

[Dbichler]

The last pic is the only one that has a spot on its fins hard to tell could be sand could be lympho. Unfortunately without a pic of the deceased fish I can’t make any for certain conclusions. I personally think the clowns are stressed which is why the loss of color. The lemon peel is a hard angel to keep some have luck some not so much. Hopefully an expert with disease will chime in.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Are the clownfish breathing rapidly (you probably can't tell on the wrasse). If you can count the number of breaths a clown takes in 15 seconds and multiply by 4, that is a good diagnostic. If the number is above 120 or so, the gills are involved. At around 200, the fish is really in trouble. I see some cloudy skin in the photos and I'm worried it could by velvet/Amyloodinium. Here is the honest truth though - if it is a parasitic issue, once fish loss has occurred, it is very difficult to stop the process before more losses. Do you have a quarantine tank you can use?

Jay

 

[ScottR]

Can you provide more information about your tank? Size and age. Can you provide a full tank shot? Sometimes losses happen, it’s never fun. It may not be your fault. What was the angel’s behavior like as well?

 

[Carly Knight]

The last pic is the only one that has a spot on its fins hard to tell could be sand could be lympho. Unfortunately without a pic of the deceased fish I can’t make any for certain conclusions. I personally think the clowns are stressed which is why the loss of color. The lemon peel is a hard angel to keep some have luck some not so much. Hopefully an expert with disease will chime in.

Thanks for your response. Here is a pic of the deceased fish. Sadly its eyes were gone by the time I woke up and found it.

 

[Carly Knight]

Are the clownfish breathing rapidly (you probably can't tell on the wrasse). If you can count the number of breaths a clown takes in 15 seconds and multiply by 4, that is a good diagnostic. If the number is above 1420 or so, the gills are involved. At around 200, the fish is really in trouble. I see some cloudy skin in the photos and I'm worried it could by velvet/Amyloodinium. Here is the honest truth though - if it is a parasitic issue, once fish loss has occurred, it is very difficult to stop the process before more losses. Do you have a quarantine tank you can use?

Jay

I don't have a quarantine tank unfortunately. I counted approx 24.. So 96?

 

[Carly Knight]

Can you provide more information about your tank? Size and age. Can you provide a full tank shot? Sometimes losses happen, it’s never fun. It may not be your fault. What was the angel’s behavior like as well?

90 litre tank. Approx 4 years old. I inherited it about 4 months ago but its well established.

The angel was fine until yesterday morning when none of them were that interested in any food.. Then she took to hiding in a little cave but would come out occasionally when I was going past the tank.. Here's a pic.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I don't have a quarantine tank unfortunately. I counted approx 24.. So 96?

Good, that isn’t too elevated, just watch for any increase. Without a QT you are limited to treatment options. You could try a reef safe option like ruby reef rally pro, but that may not help once fish loss has occurred.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

These angels are hit and miss with diet and water quality and less than ideal candidate for a newer tank
The clowns appear to have brooklynella and/or velvet. As a start... a freshwater dip will help but proper treatment will put them back on course

 

[Dom]

I don't have a quarantine tank unfortunately. I counted approx 24.. So 96?

A quarantine setup can be put together for relatively little. A plastic storage bin with a heater and hang on back filter is all you need.

 

[artieg1]

My take is that you should slow down and observe other fish for now. There is little effective you can add to that tank right now that won't harm inverts and coral. If you really want to make this a long term hobby, and you really want to eliminate the possibility of introducing fish diseases through new arrivals, you've got to come up with some kind of QT protocol. Read the stickies - there are all kinds of variations. For me, I really only treat with copper to eliminate the nasty parasites; others treat for much more. For most long time hobbyists, the idea of just plopping a new fish into their DT is absolutely unimaginable. If I had another velvet wipeout, I'd get out of the hobby; I am never going through that again.

 

[Carly Knight]

My take is that you should slow down and observe other fish for now. There is little effective you can add to that tank right now that won't harm inverts and coral. If you really want to make this a long term hobby, and you really want to eliminate the possibility of introducing fish diseases through new arrivals, you've got to come up with some kind of QT protocol. Read the stickies - there are all kinds of variations. For me, I really only treat with copper to eliminate the nasty parasites; others treat for much more. For most long time hobbyists, the idea of just plopping a new fish into their DT is absolutely unimaginable. If I had another velvet wipeout, I'd get out of the hobby; I am never going through that again.

Thanks for your help, I am in the process of setting one up after all of this. I have ordered a few bits already... in terms of the treatment for brookynella which I'm almost certain is the case with the clowns - do you recommend a specific product that I can treat them with separately from the display tank?

 

[artieg1]

I would read the stickies in the disease forum and try to identify what you have, and what treats it. But I will tell you, once the fish are sick, it gets very hard to treat the lethal parasites. You may not be successful. Good luck!