My fish are all dying

[Tamberav]

I will work on getting a qt tank going to treat the 3 fish I have left. What should I do with the main tank? A different lfs told me to put peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp in to clean the tank?? And leave the fish in there but that sounded weird. I want to do this the right way for the long term and fix this issue. I don't want to reintroduce fish and have them sick again.

Stop asking your LFS for advice because they have told you a lot of stupid ****. lol Peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp are not going to save your fish. Also it is clear whatever LFS you used that says they QT, does not do it correctly or lied.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Many fish stores only run a low level of copper in their systems and say that is qt. Well, it will not help velvet, brook or uronema. So, those fish will still be ill.

Now, in the wild, the shrimp will pick parasites off of fish. But, unlike in the wild, the fish we get have been through what can only be said as hell. Plus the shrimp cannot get the ones inside the fish intestinal tract. They do not go around eating parasitic cysts from the sand/rock and the parasites do not get hosted by shrimp, so they will not clean the tank.

To rid the system of any parasites you have to qt everything. I mean everything. To keep it managed, that is different. Because I have captive bred fish and wild, I have qt'd everything (except my maxi mini carpets and rock flower anemones). This includes all other inverts, all corals, all rock.

Managing ich in systems can be done. I did it for over 13 yrs. Good healthy diet and stable system most healthy animals can handle it. I have only noticed in the last few years how bad fish come in now. Just seems more important than ever to qt and save the fish you get AND the fish you have.

Get to a qt seller and get the guarantee they provide.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Starting with acclimation/introduction- How did you acclimate and for how long by what method?
What was salinity at the LFS or bag with fish?
What test kits are you using ?
Age of tank?

What is your:
Ammonia
ph
nitrate
salinity
temperature
Type of water you are using (RODI or tap from the faucet)

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I see on Sunday you posted that you were having massive algae issues. Covering everything and the water looked like pea soup. The pic posted above looks like a newly setup tank it is so clean. What has happened over the past 5 days?

This is key - it is possible that if the tank had an algae bloom, that at night, the O2 will drop and the CO 2 will rise, that is something that could kill fish but leave the inverts alive.
Jay

 

[GHOSTLY]

I assume it is a parasite. A complete genocide in your tank. Check the bodies for shedding slime or spots cause that's a indication for disease

 

[BigAquaBob]

This is key - it is possible that if the tank had an algae bloom, that at night, the O2 will drop and the CO 2 will rise, that is something that could kill fish but leave the inverts alive.
Jay

When I woke up it looked normal. I leave the light off when I sleep.

 

[BigAquaBob]

This is key - it is possible that if the tank had an algae bloom, that at night, the O2 will drop and the CO 2 will rise, that is something that could kill fish but leave the inverts alive.
Jay

When I woke up it looked normal. I leave the light off when I sleep

Starting with acclimation/introduction- How did you acclimate and for how long by what method?
What was salinity at the LFS or bag with fish?
What test kits are you using ?
Age of tank?

What is your:
Ammonia
ph
nitrate
salinity
temperature
Type of water you are using (RODI or tap from the faucet)

4 month old tank. No amonia. Salinity 1.025 temp is 78 rodi water nitrate 20. Acclimated for 1 hour

 

[vetteguy53081]

When I woke up it looked normal. I leave the light off when I sleep

4 month old tank. No amonia. Salinity 1.025 temp is 78 rodi water nitrate 20. Acclimated for 1 hour

Nitrate a bit high.
How did you acclimate?
What test kits are you using ?

 

[1guydude]

Your tank looks new. No skimmer. Might be getting nitrate spikes and anmonia spikes.
You cycled your aquarium? How long?
D

 

[JCM]

This is key - it is possible that if the tank had an algae bloom, that at night, the O2 will drop and the CO 2 will rise, that is something that could kill fish but leave the inverts alive.
Jay

A number of people here seem to be looking over the fact that inverts/corals are still alive. Fully agreed with your comments here. Possibly lack of oxygen, most likely a diseased Anthias.

 

[Greg P]

Certainly could have been a low O2 situation, but I don't think so as most of the fish would have succumbed pretty close together, and the sliming points to an infection.

I had a similar incident back about 2016. I put an Anthias through QT and due to his reaction I rushed transferring him to my DT. My bad and should have thought better.
I lost 11 of my 15 DT fish due to Brook within 4 days of the introduction.

Some just up and died, some showed discoloration/pale see-through effects.
Most stopped eating right before death, and most did death spirals at the end. Very heart-breaking.
Never again did I rush a fish through QT, although it was the beginning of the end of my tank as my Wife couldn't stand to lose another beloved fish and stopped watching the tank.

 

[YaboiNathan]

New tank like yours, fish dying is very normal

 

[Greg P]

New tank like yours, fish dying is very normal

Not sure what you are trying to say exactly ...

So everyone with a new tank is going to lose fish?

 

[YaboiNathan]

I don’t know how long u been in the hobby, but u should know his system still have nitrite plus the amount of fishes he keep adding, things dying is very normal. Fishes at lfs are already stressed, in that new tank with nitrite how can they live and potential disease will show up that a certain thing

 

[1guydude]

The op picture on the 1st page of this thread shows the tank basically empty of livestock... that picture is what im going off of.
D

 

[YaboiNathan]

Rock is pretty much brand new in the picture that he showed

 

[Greg P]

I don’t know how long u been in the hobby, but u should know his system still have nitrite plus the amount of fishes he keep adding, things dying is very normal. Fishes at lfs are already stressed, in that new tank with nitrite how can they live and potential disease will show up that a certain thing

Yup, new tanks are brutal for new reefers, and many lose fish without proper knowledge.
But stating they should expect to have deaths because they are new to the hobby is bad advice.

 

[YaboiNathan]

Can you read English? I said new tank like his, fish dying is just very normal.

 

[1guydude]

Yes id rather the op understood cycle and filtration and water parameters. Lol
D

 

[1guydude]

Maybe he or she does. We wait.
D