Major Tank Crash

Diminished · Nov 29, 2020

Hi guys

Brand new here, sorry I haven't been able to introduce myself but I'm desperate.

I'm new to the hobby- started my reef tank very recently. My tank cycled in early August of this year.

Until Monday things were going amazingly well but since then a fast decent into hell.

I've a 220 litre live rock and fish only tank.
Until things started to go wrong I had the following

2 ocellaris clownfish (young)
2 firefish gobies (probably fully grown)
4 Green chromis
1 algae blenny
1 juvenile angel
1 flame hawkfish

This is the order they were added to the tank

And of course a few hermits and snails as well as 3 shrimp.

First to perish last Monday was the hawkfish. He showed zero signs of any distress Sunday evening. He was happily hopping around at bedtime but dead 7 hours later when I got up on Monday morning.

The juvenile emperor angel died on Tuesday. He was fine first thing in the morning and was doing his usual flirty routine. By Tuesday lunch time he was lying down on the floor of the tank in obvious distress. I took pics of him and rushed to my local marine shop. He gave me some water treatment for bacteria.

Nothing untoward happened Wednesday. Then on Thursday two of the chromis and 1 of the firefish died in much the same way as the angel.

Friday the third chromis stated to show signs of distress and died.

Nothing bad happened yesterday.

I just happened to glance at my tank 10mins ago and the 4th chromis sank to the bottom, laid down on his side, then span wildly around the tank but has now settled back down and looks OK at the moment- I assume this is the start of the same thing happening to him though.

Friday and Saturday I took water samples to my marine guy who said he thought my dKH had dropped out. He said it was 4° out from where it should be and advised two doses of bicarb 2 days apart. I rushed home to do the bicarb and then yesterday dropped a sample in to make sure that the levels had at least started to rise. When he checked he said the level was back to where it should be, so im not convinced that was ever the issue.

The hawkfish was the last to be added and the first to die and since then the fish have pretty well died in depending order of having been put in. Could he have bought something in with him??

I have tested the water every few days as ever I did. Nitrite and amonia is always zero. Ph is tip top. Nirate is usually between 10 and 20 ppm. I do a water change every week.

The 2 clowns and the algae blenny really haven't shown any signs of issues. They are the same as ever. The inverts are all doing fine as well.

As for the others before they died they did not show any outward signs of anything, no spots or disease at all. Literally nothing.

At the end of my tether. Can anyone suggest anything?

Thanks

Rmckoy · Nov 29, 2020

Im
No expert but being a new setup .
and only 220L
What were nutrients ?
ammonia , nitrate ?
temp , salinity , ph ?

Diminished · Nov 29, 2020

Doing tests right now again

Results are

Temp 79
No ammonia
No nitrite
PH 8.2
Nitrate 20ppm

Diminished · Nov 29, 2020

Doing tests right now

Results are

Temp 79
No ammonia
No nitrite
PH 8.2
Nitrate 20ppm
Salinity 1.023 not ideal but will be fixed shortly. I did a water change 2 nights ago and broke my refractometer and had to make a guess. I only got the replacement today.

Diminished · Nov 30, 2020

I was expecting to come down this morning to a dead chromis but surprisingly he looks ok at the moment. Really odd.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 30, 2020

Diminished said:
I was expecting to come down this morning to a dead chromis but surprisingly he looks ok at the moment. Really odd.

Generally, minor issues with water quality won’t cause acute fish deaths. Moderate water quality issues will show problems, typically with the invertebrates first. Fish diseases cause fish loss, but leave the invertebrates unharmed.
The one important symptom I may have missed: were the fish breathing rapidly before they died?
Jay

Diminished · Nov 30, 2020

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I took was doubting water quality issues.

Yes. Every single one of them. No outward signs of disease though.

I was reading how even things like air freshener can get into the water and poison fish. We do use them but nowhere near my (always covered) tank. Would accidental external posioning kill inverts too?

Chromis still seems ok. Totally puzzled.

Bj’s Reef · Nov 30, 2020

Welcome to the forum. I’m sad to meet you under these circumstances. However I’m sure we will be able to help you get to the source of the problem. I think there is a build up of something killing your fish. The fish that have been in the tank have adjusted to it. However the fish that were add last haven’t had a chance to adjust. Have you tried a big water change? Often water changes fix a lot of problems.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 30, 2020

Almost all external poisoning would kill inverts as well. Not sure, but velvet can kill fish with just rapid breathing as the only symptom, but that doesn’t explain why all fish aren’t affected.
Jay

Diminished · Nov 30, 2020

Hi thanks for responses

Jay - no sign of anything on any fish still. Is it worth treating for velvet on the off chance or is that dangerous? Is there a general treatment i can use or again dangerous? Thanks for confirming regarding poisioning.

Tiger - I've done 2 water changes this week so well over 50% of water has been changed. Is it worth doing more? I waited 2 weeks between adding new fish every time and tested water parameters before to make sure there was no ammonia build up etc. It hasn't affected the algae blenny which is newer than the chromis by several weeks.

Diminished · Nov 30, 2020

This incidently was what I was sold first trip to LFS to treat possible bacterial infection after the second fish died. Its a 2 dose thing. The second dose after 10 days but have done a water change since then. Is it worth using the second dose early incase of bacterial infection?

Bj’s Reef · Nov 30, 2020

Remember nothing good happens fast in this hobby. I would slow down stop adding fish for at least a month or two. During this period do ten percent water changes every week. Then after this time you can try adding fish again. Have you thought about sending in for one of those water test? It will at least give you some lab grade numbers to work with.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 30, 2020

Diminished said:
This incidently was what I was sold first trip to LFS to treat possible bacterial infection after the second fish died. Its a 2 dose thing. The second dose after 10 days but have done a water change since then. Is it worth using the second dose early incase of bacterial infection?

Does that product list its ingredients? I’ve not seen that for sale n my area. Re: velvet, the rapid breathing prior to death is the key symptom, did you see that? If the fish weren’t gasping or breathing fast, it isn’t velvet.
Jay

Rmckoy · Nov 30, 2020

Not really implying but have you seen any aggression ?

I’ve seen chromis slowly take out others until there is only 1 left .

how were the fish acclimated ?
Does the water have a foul smell ?

laverda · Nov 30, 2020

How long before this started was the hawk added. It sounds like a disease to me.

amazongb · Dec 27, 2020

Any aggression between your fish? For what it's worth, I've never had much luck keeping chromis, not sure why, they just don't live long in my tanks. Is the angel aggressive towards any other fish. Your parameters seem fine, so I'm leaning towards stress..

Rmckoy · Dec 27, 2020

amazongb said:
Any aggression between your fish? For what it's worth, I've never had much luck keeping chromis, not sure why, they just don't live long in my tanks. Is the angel aggressive towards any other fish. Your parameters seem fine, so I'm leaning towards stress..

Every time I’ve bought chromis it’s suggested to buy odd numbers . 3,5,etc

they always end with only 1