Multiple new fish have died in newer tank.

[xandrew245x]

I set up a 16 gallon biocube back in the beginning of August. I seeded it with live rock from the established tank, and about 4 weeks after starting the cycle, it was ready.

We bought a blue clown goby and 2 hermits, drip acclimated them and added them. Everything was good for 3 weeks, hermits and the goby were happy, were eating and seemed happy. One day the goby disappeared and I never did find its body. Tested the parameters when I noticed he was missing and there was an ammonia spike, so I removed the hermits.

I added a bottle of dr tims bacteria, and waited 3 more weeks. Added some ammonia and tested, it was processed into nitrates within 24 hours. On 10/25 I tested all my parameters and were as followed: temp 79, salinity: 1.025, ammonia:0, nitrites:0, nitrates between 2-3. I did a water change (little less than 50%), then we bought a clown and 2 new hermits. Drip acclimated and added to the tank. Clown seemed happy and wasn't showing signs of stress other than a little bit of glass pacing. However by the next morning he was dead.

Check my parameters again and nothing had changed. Hermits were still doing fine and weren't showing signs of stress. I wrote it off as the clown just not surviving the journey, I know it can happen.

Yeaterday I did another water change, tested parameters, they were still about the same as the week prior. I drip acclimated a new clown and added him to the tank. He seemed fine at first, but then I noticed he was breathing heavily. I have an ammonia badge of my tank and it was reading 0, and my ammonia test also read zero. It looked like he was struggling to get oxygen so I added another power head to agitate the surface and I opened a window. The return on the tank is already pointed at the surface so there is a fair bit of surface agitation.

The water was slightly cloudy, but I had done a water change earlier and stirred some sand up, but I turned on my uv light just in case it was the start of a bacteria bloom. The clown did appear to be doing a bit better by the time I went to bed, but he was gone by morning. I didn't have time to test parameters but my ammonia badge was still showing 0.

I really am at a bit of a loss here, I have had my other tank running since March of this year without issue, I have an ro/di setup that I get my water from and I check the tds of every batch. What could possibly be going on?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I set up a 16 gallon biocube back in the beginning of August. I seeded it with live rock from the established tank, and about 4 weeks after starting the cycle, it was ready.

We bought a blue clown goby and 2 hermits, drip acclimated them and added them. Everything was good for 3 weeks, hermits and the goby were happy, were eating and seemed happy. One day the goby disappeared and I never did find its body. Tested the parameters when I noticed he was missing and there was an ammonia spike, so I removed the hermits.

I added a bottle of dr tims bacteria, and waited 3 more weeks. Added some ammonia and tested, it was processed into nitrates within 24 hours. On 10/25 I tested all my parameters and were as followed: temp 79, salinity: 1.025, ammonia:0, nitrites:0, nitrates between 2-3. I did a water change (little less than 50%), then we bought a clown and 2 new hermits. Drip acclimated and added to the tank. Clown seemed happy and wasn't showing signs of stress other than a little bit of glass pacing. However by the next morning he was dead.

Check my parameters again and nothing had changed. Hermits were still doing fine and weren't showing signs of stress. I wrote it off as the clown just not surviving the journey, I know it can happen.

Yeaterday I did another water change, tested parameters, they were still about the same as the week prior. I drip acclimated a new clown and added him to the tank. He seemed fine at first, but then I noticed he was breathing heavily. I have an ammonia badge of my tank and it was reading 0, and my ammonia test also read zero. It looked like he was struggling to get oxygen so I added another power head to agitate the surface and I opened a window. The return on the tank is already pointed at the surface so there is a fair bit of surface agitation.

The water was slightly cloudy, but I had done a water change earlier and stirred some sand up, but I turned on my uv light just in case it was the start of a bacteria bloom. The clown did appear to be doing a bit better by the time I went to bed, but he was gone by morning. I didn't have time to test parameters but my ammonia badge was still showing 0.

I really am at a bit of a loss here, I have had my other tank running since March of this year without issue, I have an ro/di setup that I get my water from and I check the tds of every batch. What could possibly be going on?

What are your parameters and was fish found with mouth open?
Any heavy breathing?

 

[xandrew245x]

What are your parameters and was fish found with mouth open?
Any heavy breathing?

Parameters before I put him in were temp:79, salinity: 1.025, ammonia:0, nitrite: 0, nitrates :<5.

The clown yesterday was showing signs of heavy breathing, but after adding the power head it seemed to subside, but was still not what I would considered normal. The first clownfish I didn't observe any out of the norm behavior. I don't believe his mouth was open when I removed him from the tank this morning.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Are you testing the LFS water salinity and matching it to your tank salinity before adding the fish? Many LFS's keep a lower salinity.

 

[xandrew245x]

Are you testing the LFS water salinity and matching it to your tank salinity before adding the fish? Many LFS's keep a lower salinity.

Yes, I always do a bag float for temp followed by a drip acclimation

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Perhaps a picture of your tank may generate more idea's....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I set up a 16 gallon biocube back in the beginning of August. I seeded it with live rock from the established tank, and about 4 weeks after starting the cycle, it was ready.

We bought a blue clown goby and 2 hermits, drip acclimated them and added them. Everything was good for 3 weeks, hermits and the goby were happy, were eating and seemed happy. One day the goby disappeared and I never did find its body. Tested the parameters when I noticed he was missing and there was an ammonia spike, so I removed the hermits.

I added a bottle of dr tims bacteria, and waited 3 more weeks. Added some ammonia and tested, it was processed into nitrates within 24 hours. On 10/25 I tested all my parameters and were as followed: temp 79, salinity: 1.025, ammonia:0, nitrites:0, nitrates between 2-3. I did a water change (little less than 50%), then we bought a clown and 2 new hermits. Drip acclimated and added to the tank. Clown seemed happy and wasn't showing signs of stress other than a little bit of glass pacing. However by the next morning he was dead.

Check my parameters again and nothing had changed. Hermits were still doing fine and weren't showing signs of stress. I wrote it off as the clown just not surviving the journey, I know it can happen.

Yeaterday I did another water change, tested parameters, they were still about the same as the week prior. I drip acclimated a new clown and added him to the tank. He seemed fine at first, but then I noticed he was breathing heavily. I have an ammonia badge of my tank and it was reading 0, and my ammonia test also read zero. It looked like he was struggling to get oxygen so I added another power head to agitate the surface and I opened a window. The return on the tank is already pointed at the surface so there is a fair bit of surface agitation.

The water was slightly cloudy, but I had done a water change earlier and stirred some sand up, but I turned on my uv light just in case it was the start of a bacteria bloom. The clown did appear to be doing a bit better by the time I went to bed, but he was gone by morning. I didn't have time to test parameters but my ammonia badge was still showing 0.

I really am at a bit of a loss here, I have had my other tank running since March of this year without issue, I have an ro/di setup that I get my water from and I check the tds of every batch. What could possibly be going on?

The losses may not have been related, but I saw “drip acclimation” as a possible common theme. That is a difficult process to do correctly. It may have played a part in fish losses within 24 hours. Here is my article on proper fish acclimation:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/acclimation-methods.903/

 

[xandrew245x]

The losses may not have been related, but I saw “drip acclimation” as a possible common theme. That is a difficult process to do correctly. It may have played a part in fish losses within 24 hours. Here is my article on proper fish acclimation:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/acclimation-methods.903/

Its possible, however I have acclimated all my fish using this process and never experienced a loss until now. Om 10/24 when I bought thr first clown, I also bought an urchin for my other tank. They were acclimated for the same time using the same process and the urchin is doing great.

 

[Uncle99]

Could your tank be infected with velvet?

 

[xandrew245x]

Could your tank be infected with velvet?

I mean, I guess it could ne possible? The only thing that has ever been in it before the clowns were 2 hermits and a blue clown goby. The goby never showed any signs of illness.

 

[Uncle99]

I mean, I guess it could ne possible? The only thing that has ever been in it before the clowns were 2 hermits and a blue clown goby. The goby never showed any signs of illness.

Parasite infection does not always show itself.
The only reason I mentioned that is the repeated death and relatively fast.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Its possible, however I have acclimated all my fish using this process and never experienced a loss until now. Om 10/24 when I bought thr first clown, I also bought an urchin for my other tank. They were acclimated for the same time using the same process and the urchin is doing great.

Did the urchin and clown come from the same system at the LFS? If so, they were at full strength seawater. Often though, fish at the LFS are housed at a lower specific gravity. It is VERY stressful to try and acclimate them up to full salinity by drip acclimating.

 

[xandrew245x]

Parasite infection does not always show itself.
The only reason I mentioned that is the repeated death and relatively fast.

How would I even be able to tell, or what could I even do at this point? The clownfish yesterday was breathing heavily very shortly after putting him in the tank.

 

[xandrew245x]

Did the urchin and clown come from the same system at the LFS? If so, they were at full strength seawater. Often, fish at the LFS are housed at a lower specific gravity. It is VERY stressful to try and acclimate them up to full salinity by drip acclimating.

They did, they are kept at 1.021. I've never had an issue doing drip acclimation before.

 

[Uncle99]

They did, they are kept at 1.021. I've never had an issue doing drip acclimation before.

Acclimation time varies between fish and shipper.
I find that from 1.021 to 1.025 in less than say 6 hours can be fatal IMM, or at least, very hard on fish. 6 hours may be overkill, but for sure, the slower the better.

Shipping stress, new environments and moving to higher salinity all at once can easily cause death through shock.

When we receive shipped fish, they are first put in only .001 higher than container for a few hours, then up .001 every 6 hours until target 1.026 is reached. Only then they are transferred with virtually 100% success.

I know this is not very possible for most unless they are going to QT. Of course in the case we put in the exact same salinity and only move it up, 7 days before the transfer to DT, moving .001 per day.

While I understand the potential benefit of holding and shipping at low salinity, I must wonder if there’s a real benefit. My LFS holds and ships at 1.026 for every fish shipped in the last decade.

In this case, only a 15 minute float in the bag and in they go. What I notice is they are up and running as soon as they hit the water, in contrast to lethargic type and/or heavy breathing behaviour even after a couple of hours of drip.

While infection is always possible, I’d lean more to shock. Why I say that is your description of put him in and started breathing heavy right away. Velvet is a fast killer but that seems way way too fast. Ammonia spike also is a minor consideration but fish tend to “pop” at the surface with high Ammonia.

Shock again varies widely between fish, retailer, shipping and salinity. Whereas one fish may not have as much stress, another may. What’s true among all is slower is always better.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Parameters before I put him in were temp:79, salinity: 1.025, ammonia:0, nitrite: 0, nitrates :<5.

The clown yesterday was showing signs of heavy breathing, but after adding the power head it seemed to subside, but was still not what I would considered normal. The first clownfish I didn't observe any out of the norm behavior. I don't believe his mouth was open when I removed him from the tank this morning.

How are you testing? I hope its not API tests?? I suspect low oxygen lvels

 

[xandrew245x]

How are you testing? I hope its not API tests?? I suspect low oxygen lvels

Red sea and hanna

 

[vetteguy53081]

Red sea and hanna

Disregard Nitrites which are freshwater specific