I apologise for the long post; just trying to get it all out there.
Tank is RSR 525, SPS dominant, running about 6 years now. I track everything in APEX. Aside from salinity creep, nothing sticks out. Acros all too happy and now crowding each other out. Very stable setup for corals, and very limited fish turnover until say mid summer. Since then, I "randomly" lose a fish that otherwise seemed healthy the day before. No visible signs of illness before disappearance except for my Purple Tang as described below. I have 90 lbs of SPS overgrown rock so I rarely ever see a carcass.
Pajama cardinal (4 yrs)
Cromis 1 (3 yrs)
Cromis 2 (3 yrs)
Male clown ( 8 yrs)
Potters angel (3 yrs; but harassed in months preceding)
Purple Tang (4 yrs); fine one night, euthanized the next night. Completely covered in "molt". Heart braking. Hand fed that fish nori for years.
Algae blenny (4-5 yrs)
Replacement Female clown (6 months; male looks fine)
Current occupants:
Azure damsel(8 yrs), PBT (1 yr), Yellow tang(5 yrs), Coral Beauty(4 yrs), Marine Betta(3 yrs), 2X yellow coris(1 yr), melanurus (6 months newest fish), copious CUC.
Possible contributors:
a) I've been supplementing mysis & soaked nori with @Paul B DIY recipe. This started about 3-4 months ago after recognizing the pace of losses.
b) The tank is 2-Part dosed 144ml of ALK and Ca via APEX and this leads to gradual salinity creep... 1.026, 1.027, 1.0275 until I drain some water and let the ATO even it out. My APEX charts don't look scary and never exceed 36.6.
c) In the adjacent family room, the couches get stain treated (they are white; don't ask) a couple times a year. The guys tell me there are no VOCs. No harsh smells, but a pump sprayer is used. Distance of 30-40 feet away. Nothing immediate happens, but maybe it is something.
d) At startup, I did have in Ich outbreak. Lost only a (slightly bullied) flame angel. Tangs (some of which are now in another system) and clowns all pulled through. No fallow period. So it is in there, but have not seen any spots since the recovery.
So the purple tang is the only one I saw "sick" and she looked awful, like a 100% burn victim. Whatever it is, it kills quick and without any visible prelude. Then a month or two goes by before the next fish disappears. The last fish added was the melanurus (5-6 mos) and it looks fine. The PBT is the tank boss, but only occasionally chases the YT. No other noticeable hostilities since the Potter past. Checked for stray voltage a few times and just got the usual noise levels around 10v.
Give me some ideas beyond going fallow and QT? Or is that really the only way to "assure" resolving?
Tank is RSR 525, SPS dominant, running about 6 years now. I track everything in APEX. Aside from salinity creep, nothing sticks out. Acros all too happy and now crowding each other out. Very stable setup for corals, and very limited fish turnover until say mid summer. Since then, I "randomly" lose a fish that otherwise seemed healthy the day before. No visible signs of illness before disappearance except for my Purple Tang as described below. I have 90 lbs of SPS overgrown rock so I rarely ever see a carcass.
Pajama cardinal (4 yrs)
Cromis 1 (3 yrs)
Cromis 2 (3 yrs)
Male clown ( 8 yrs)
Potters angel (3 yrs; but harassed in months preceding)
Purple Tang (4 yrs); fine one night, euthanized the next night. Completely covered in "molt". Heart braking. Hand fed that fish nori for years.
Algae blenny (4-5 yrs)
Replacement Female clown (6 months; male looks fine)
Current occupants:
Azure damsel(8 yrs), PBT (1 yr), Yellow tang(5 yrs), Coral Beauty(4 yrs), Marine Betta(3 yrs), 2X yellow coris(1 yr), melanurus (6 months newest fish), copious CUC.
Possible contributors:
a) I've been supplementing mysis & soaked nori with @Paul B DIY recipe. This started about 3-4 months ago after recognizing the pace of losses.
b) The tank is 2-Part dosed 144ml of ALK and Ca via APEX and this leads to gradual salinity creep... 1.026, 1.027, 1.0275 until I drain some water and let the ATO even it out. My APEX charts don't look scary and never exceed 36.6.
c) In the adjacent family room, the couches get stain treated (they are white; don't ask) a couple times a year. The guys tell me there are no VOCs. No harsh smells, but a pump sprayer is used. Distance of 30-40 feet away. Nothing immediate happens, but maybe it is something.
d) At startup, I did have in Ich outbreak. Lost only a (slightly bullied) flame angel. Tangs (some of which are now in another system) and clowns all pulled through. No fallow period. So it is in there, but have not seen any spots since the recovery.
So the purple tang is the only one I saw "sick" and she looked awful, like a 100% burn victim. Whatever it is, it kills quick and without any visible prelude. Then a month or two goes by before the next fish disappears. The last fish added was the melanurus (5-6 mos) and it looks fine. The PBT is the tank boss, but only occasionally chases the YT. No other noticeable hostilities since the Potter past. Checked for stray voltage a few times and just got the usual noise levels around 10v.
Give me some ideas beyond going fallow and QT? Or is that really the only way to "assure" resolving?