Lost my first fish...

[JustinSmi86]

Lost a white clownfish today. Just got him last weekend. All other fish and coral doing fine and water paremeters are all good. Guess it was his time to go...

 

[Zos4me]

Sorry that sucks

 

[Redfoxtang]

Did you QT?

 

[Redfoxtang]

Welcome to R2R also!!

 

[JustinSmi86]

I didn’t QT because all of my live rock, corals, and fish came from same established tank and purchased at same time.

 

[W1ngz]

That sucks but...

Guess it was his time to go...

This is rarely the case, unless it was a fully grown fish that was several years old. I would be paying close attention to the other fish for signs of disease, it's much more likely there was a specific cause other than just his time to go.

water paremeters are all good.

What are they? With more information the hive mind here can help you work out possible reasons for fish death.

 

[Katrina71]

I'm sorry for your loss

 

[JustinSmi86]

That sucks but...

This is rarely the case, unless it was a fully grown fish that was several years old. I would be paying close attention to the other fish for signs of disease, it's much more likely there was a specific cause other than just his time to go.


What are they? With more information the hive mind here can help you work out possible reasons for fish death.

0 ammonia
0nitrites
Maybe 10 nitrate. Was in between 0-10 colors
Ph 8.2
Salinity 1.024ish

 

[JustinSmi86]

Did you QT?

I do have a foxface, Midas bllenny, yellow tang, and imperator angel in qt now. Due to go into display Tuesday.

 

[W1ngz]

Ouch, that's an awful lot of large fish for a 75 gal tank that's been set up for a week, regardless of the fact the rock came from a running system.

I would leave them in qt until you see how the other fish already in the display do for the next 2 or 3 weeks. I'd hate to see you have a wipeout of that many fish if there's something in the tank.

 

[JustinSmi86]

Ouch, that's an awful lot of large fish for a 75 gal tank that's been set up for a week, regardless of the fact the rock came from a running system.

I would leave them in qt until you see how the other fish already in the display do for the next 2 or 3 weeks. I'd hate to see you have a wipeout of that many fish if there's something in the tank.

Agreed. Been watching tank non stop since. I will be building a custom tank in the very near future... just deciding exactly how I want it. Will convert this tank into something else for the master bedroom. Thinking something like in this picture

 

[W1ngz]

Peninsula room divider tank, very nice! So much nicer than a rectangle backed up to a wall.

 

[JustinSmi86]

So any ideas on the cause of death? He was swimming around normally then all of sudden he basically sat down on sand then about 30 seconds later was having difficulty breathing it seemed then 30 seconds later gone. Anyone see any obvious signs of illness?

 

[W1ngz]

Most diseases manifest in white flecks, patches and stuff. Really hard to see on a white fish. Your blue tang be the canary you want to watch.

 

[Sako338]

Sorry for your loss, losing pets is tough.

 

[JustinSmi86]

Peninsula room divider tank, very nice! So much nicer than a rectangle backed up to a wall.

I’m thinking it would be awesome to see from living dining and entrance. Will need to be very tall tho

 

[JustinSmi86]

Most diseases manifest in white flecks, patches and stuff. Really hard to see on a white fish. Your blue tang be the canary you want to watch.

Tang looks great... however I will keep a close eye. Thanks!

 

[JustinSmi86]

Ok this morning one of my mated pair of cleaner shrimp was dead. Two deaths in two days... just bad luck? Retested all parameters and everything is inline... I don’t understand.... one min everything is good and then one falls out. Any advice?

 

[Redfoxtang]

So I’m no expect by any means. But I think by looking at the clownfish he had some sort of bacteria disease. He might also may of had flukes. This does not explain the death of the shrimp though. I’m sorry for the loss!

 

[W1ngz]

It's a long shot by any means but is there any chance it's just a moult? Maybe? Trying to find the least alarming possibilities, because the alternative *if* the two deaths are related (they might not be, and it's just bad timing) is chemical contaminants in the tank. I'm unaware of any diseases that kill both fish and shrimp.

Another option if these deaths are happening overnight, is oxygen depletion. What filtration and surface water movement do you have? I can just make out what looks like a HOB filter in your pics, is that all that's breaking the surface in a 75gal tank? It may be insufficient. Keep in mind that, a few week or two after transplanting rock and/or sand from another system, some existing bacteria will have died off and is now repopulating. Bacteria also consume oxygen.

If you have an LFS nearby I would get over there and pick up some polyfilter chemical filtration pads. They'll remove a lot of contaminants from the water and change colour to indicate certain contaminants.

Have some carbon on hand in a reactor ready to go also. If the aeration is insufficient, a bigger filter, a hang on skimmer or an air pump and airstone.