Most of my fish died

[jallard]

So I had a pair of flurry clowns that had been living in my tank for a couple months with no issue. I put in three new fish which I ordered from live aquaria. Within 2 week. After adding the fish... 2 out of the 3 new fish order from LiveAquaria died. I did not observe any heavy breathing sores or heavy breathing. They were all eating and seem to be swimming normally. The last 2 to go where my clownfish once again looked healthy swimming and eating each of those clownfish died within 24 hours of each other. The only surviving fish is my red hawkfish who is now currently in a quarantine tank. I'm not really sure what to do with my display tank. I thought keeping it fishless for six to eight weeks was probably my best bet. I am also aware that i should have put them in qt first but made a huge mistake by not doing so .

Thoughts about what i should do ? Is there anything i cant treat my tank with? Or is going fallow the best idea.

 

[HotRocks]

I would definitely keep your display fallow for 76 days.

Do you plan to treat the hawk in QT?

My recommendation would be to treat QT with copper (I prefer copper power). I also deworm (in water and food) and treat with Metroplex prophylactically. This covers most things you don't want to introduce into your display.

It sounds like you may have introduced velvet with your new purchase.

Sorry to hear of your troubles

 

[jallard]

is it syrange that the hawk survived several days after all the others died ... while i was waitjng for my qt to cycle?

 

[HotRocks]

is it syrange that the hawk survived several days after all the others died ... while i was waitjng for my qt to cycle?

Not necessarily. Hawks tend to be very hardy and somewhat parasite resistant, there is still a good chance that the fish is being afflicted by whatever it was that took your other fish. Just not in high enough numbers to overwhelm it.

 

[jallard]

so treating the qt tank with copper is still the best corse if action with my hawk in it?
Can he still be a carrier if he goes untreated

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

so treating the qt tank with copper is still the best corse if action with my hawk in it?
Can he still be a carrier if he goes untreated

Yes, if you don’t treat the fish there is a realistic possibility that any fish housed with him will become ill even if he never shows symptoms. It’s the same as how a wrasse can be a Typhoid Mary.

 

[jallard]

Thanks for the advice! I have started the copper treatment and am counting down days as my DT remains fallow.

 

[Victor Bowman]

When your fallow period is complete and you start introducing fish, you could look into installing a U.V. sterilizer. It wont solve every problem but gives the fish a chance to fight against parasites naturally by reducing the parasites ability to multiply. The fact is that the ocean is full of parasites, worms, viruses and everything else bad. The water volume and fish count in the ocean is so big the fish can just deal with these illnesses naturally. In a closed loop system like a fish tank the baddies can multiply out of control and overwhelm the fish's natural defenses. U.V. sterilizers prevent this with the added benefit of making your water crystal clear! Its one of the best investments I ever made and I wish someone told me about it when I started. I also learned to buy my fish from a Local store. The owner and I talk about what I want and he gets it for me if he doesn't have it already. The store treats with copper and or Hypo salinity. Usually the first question I ask is how long has the fish been in. This way I know if it is safe to take home or if it needs a couple weeks. All this information is my own personal experience and lessons learned. I do not own a QT tank and do not have a space for tanks large enough anyway, so I had to adjust. I hope this helps in some way as being patient and gaining experience is key to having a large happy reef population. I was a ghost on these forums for a year and went through the same thing you are experiencing in the beginning. It just takes time.. -$- And then there is coral -$- Once you start collecting coral you will never worry about the fish and all this will seem like ancient history...