HELP. WOKE UP TO ALL OF MY FISH DEAD

[justingraham]

Wouldn't there be amonia now because of all the fish loss?

 

[4FordFamily]

It was velvet and ammonia. One by itself would be deadly but this was definitely both, IMO

 

[4FordFamily]

Wouldn't there be amonia now because of all the fish loss?

Only if they were left in the tank to rot, by and large no.

When fish die and you never find them ammonia may noticeably rise depending on water volume, how well the nitrogen cycle is functioning, etc.

 

[mr fixit]

Temperature possibly a bad heater stuck on ?

 

[justingraham]

Only if they were left in the tank to rot, by and large no.

When fish die and you never find them ammonia may noticeably rise depending on water volume, how well the nitrogen cycle is functioning, etc.

Thanks for the info
So with him doing the water change it should have had no amonia correct unless the water he was putting in had it correct

 

[Brew12]

Thanks for the info
So with him doing the water change it should have had no amonia correct unless the water he was putting in had it correct

It should have read zero even without the water change. The fact that he should have at least some bacteria built up breaking down the ammonia, on top of a 25% water change, and still having .25ppm this late in the day is very alarming.

 

[justingraham]

It should have read zero even without the water change. The fact that he should have at least some bacteria built up breaking down the ammonia, on top of a 25% water change, and still having .25ppm this late in the day is very alarming.

That's true but how come his corals are ok?

 

[Fishboy96]

Only if they were left in the tank to rot, by and large no.

When fish die and you never find them ammonia may noticeably rise depending on water volume, how well the nitrogen cycle is functioning, etc.

It could be possible that the ammonia came from the fish dying. Like I said I woke up to it and it could of happened at any time last night so who knows how long they were actually dead in the tank for. But I will do another change and pick up a bottle of bacteria. Or should I throw some water in from my other tank. I tested that one too and there is no ammonia at all I did it three times to make sure

 

[JamesPettus]

Did your fish have ich? I just lost 10 fish to ich... they have it for like 3 weeks before they died tho

 

[Brew12]

It could be possible that the ammonia came from the fish dying. Like I said I woke up to it and it could of happened at any time last night so who knows how long they were actually dead in the tank for. But I will do another change and pick up a bottle of bacteria. Or should I throw some water in from my other tank. I tested that one too and there is no ammonia at all I did it three times to make sure

Take your time. You don't need to rush anything since your tank is basically empty. You have had a bad day. Best advice I can give you right now is take a break. You cannot undo what happened. There is no need to rush. You have plenty of time to read up on how to cycle a tank properly before you even think about getting new fish. You really need to let it sit for at least 6 weeks before you even think about putting fish in it.

 

[Fishboy96]

That's true but how come his corals are ok?

That's what I was just thinking

 

[Geno]

Sorry for your setback. Where did you purchase your fish and how many did you have that died?

 

[Brew12]

That's what I was just thinking

See how they look tomorrow. I really hope they are ok. Some coral are going to be much more sensitive to ammonia than others. If all your coral survive that would definitely make velvet the most likely cause.

Edited to include a quote from Randy Holmes-Farley "I've not seen specific numbers for ammonia tox data for corals. I would not assume they are resistant to it, but they may not be as sensitive as fish. I'd try to keep the ammonia below about 0.25 ppm."

 

[Fishboy96]

See how they look tomorrow. I really hope they are ok. Some coral are going to be much more sensitive to ammonia than others. If all your coral survive that would definitely make velvet the most likely cause.

Edited to include a quote from Randy Holmes-Farley "I've not seen specific numbers for ammonia tox data for corals. I would not assume they are resistant to it, but they may not be as sensitive as fish. I'd try to keep the ammonia below about 0.25 ppm."

My coral all have great polyp extension so I starting to think it was velvet.

 

[Fishboy96]

Did your fish have ich? I just lost 10 fish to ich... they have it for like 3 weeks before they died tho

No they didn't have ich. I'm sorry for your loss too. What kind of fish where they. My cousin and I are looking to add to a different tank

 

[Brew12]

My coral all have great polyp extension so I starting to think it was velvet.

Unfortunately, it will be impossible to rule velvet out so I would definitely go with a 6 week fallow period.
You should have at least some bacteria in the tank that are working to lower your ammonia levels. I would check it again in a few hours and see if it is going down. If it is, you should be fine. If it is still elevated or climbing, I would probably put in a bottle of bacteria like Bio-Spira (available at Petco)

 

[Wesley Knutsen]

So sorry this happened. Are those the only 2 fish in the tank? What size is the tank? How much rock is in there?

Like others, I think ammonia is a possibility. Depending how much you're feeding and how many fish you have in the tank, it may be that your tank did cycle, but that it wasn't prepared for the added bioload which caused an ammonia spike (that's just a speculation). My other theory is like @4FordFamily said, something like velvet which moves quickly through fish in a tank. Did you quarantine the fish before adding them? I literally lost 16 fish in less than 2 weeks to velvet before...now I QT everything!

Slot if people are saying ammonia. There's a acro next to that dead tang that looks fine. High ammonia would melt it. Has to be some sort if infection

 

[StephO]

I woke up this morning to find this in my tank. Why are all of my fish dead

What's your water temperature? Has it moved up or down? Same happened to me once but my tank got too warm.

 

[Brew12]

A quote from Randy Holmes-Farley "I've not seen specific numbers for ammonia tox data for corals. I would not assume they are resistant to it, but they may not be as sensitive as fish. I'd try to keep the ammonia below about 0.25 ppm."

Slot if people are saying ammonia. There's a acro next to that dead tang that looks fine. High ammonia would melt it. Has to be some sort if infection

@Randy Holmes-Farley Any chance you can confirm that a level of ammonia that could kill fish would also kill Acro's or other coral?

 

[Joey waid]

Yes the ammonia is high, but the corals would be the canarie in the coal mine. Corals are usually the first thing to show stress with ammonia. Like most are saying it's most likely velvet and with the ammonia it was the perfect storm for the fish. I am very sorry for your loss. Just take a deep breath and push forward with the new knowledge.