My fish keep dying

[Mitch_]

Hello, this is my first time on this forum and I need help. In the last 2 months I've been setting up my 15 gallon saltwater fish tank. A few weeks back I introduced my clown fish and the majority of my CUC when all the chemistry levels in the tank were correct. A week after I introduced a cleaner shrimp and another clown fish (it was smaller than my current one and they paired almost instantly. The next week I finally finished off my tank with a chalk goby, however, that night my smallest clown died, my cleaner shrimp died and my goby died and im unsure why. I ran chemistry tests and ammonia was 0 and so was my nitrites. My salinity was at 1.23 and that's how it's been since the tank was setup. Yesterday, I bought another clown as my current one looked upset and depressed. When they finally found each other they seemed to get along, they ate together and there was no fighting. However, when I came down today in the morning my new clown died. Yet again I ran some tests and all my water was perfect. Can anyone help me with this, I've attached photos below of my clown from 5 mins ago (this clown is the from that I first got). Also I've not seen any losses with my any of my clean up crew, macro algae or corals so I don't believe my water is the problem. I feed my fish 2-3 times a day with my CUC getting algae wafers and my clowns getting a mix of pellets, flakes and frozen food.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Your tank doesn't look like water parameters are fine. What sort of filtration are you using? Do you have a wavemaker in use? Is it aimed at the surface to help with gas exchange? How often do you do water changes?

A full tank picture would help. Also listing out your water parameters will help too. Was any medication or chemicals used on the tank?

 

[Mitch_]

Your tank doesn't look like water parameters are fine. What sort of filtration are you using? Do you have a wavemaker in use? Is it aimed at the surface to help with gas exchange? How often do you do water changes?

A full tank picture would help. Also listing out your water parameters will help too. Was any medication or chemicals used on the tank?

Im currently using a hang on the back filter with the outlet nozzle pointing at the surface. I had a wave maker but my clownfish would struggle to swim with it on and I perform a 20% water change every week. I haven't used any medication but I have to use a pH buffer. My ammonia is at 0 along with my nitrite, there is a small amount of nitrates and my salinity is at 1.023

 

[LPS Bum]

Typically the things that kill fish are 1. ammonia 2. lack of oxygen, and 3. disease.

If your temp and salinity are in the acceptable ranges (and fish are fairly tolerant for both parameters), the surface of your aquarium is rippling (water is moving) and no ammonia is present in the system, my thoughts would go to disease. Crypt, Velvet, flukes, etc are rampant in this hobby, and if you're not quarantining your fish or buying quarantined fish from a reputable vendor, it can be a real problem.

 

[Should I]

what the heck is that black algae stuff on the sand never seen that b4

 

[Mitch_]

Typically the things that kill fish are 1. ammonia 2. lack of oxygen, and 3. disease.

If your temp and salinity are in the acceptable ranges (and fish are fairly tolerant for both parameters), the surface of your aquarium is rippling (water is moving) and no ammonia is present in the system, my thoughts would go to disease. Crypt, Velvet, flukes, etc are rampant in this hobby, and if you're not quarantining your fish or buying quarantined fish from a reputable vendor, it can be a real problem.

What are the best forms of medication to treat those diseases?

 

[Mitch_]

what the heck is that black algae stuff on the sand never seen that b4

Im not to sure, when I first cycled the tank I got the normal brown diatoms but then they changed to this black film algae that's on my macro algae and sand

 

[Should I]

Im not to sure, when I first cycled the tank I got the normal brown diatoms but then they changed to this black film algae that's on my macro algae and sand

i have never ever seen that b4 @Jay Hemdal

 

[jrawk1120]

Looks like you have a lot of cyano which is taking a lot of the oxygen out of the water. You need more surface agitation. Get Weaker wave maker. The hygger mini is a good option and get some more oxygen in there. The water movement will help kill off the cyano as well.

 

[Mitch_]

Looks like you have a lot of cyano which is taking a lot of the oxygen out of the water. You need more surface agitation. Get Weaker wave maker. The hygger mini is a good option and get some more oxygen in there. The water movement will help kill off the cyano as well.

Thank you!

 

[Should I]

Looks like you have a lot of cyano which is taking a lot of the oxygen out of the water. You need more surface agitation. Get Weaker wave maker. The hygger mini is a good option and get some more oxygen in there. The water movement will help kill off the cyano as well.

didn't know cyano could be black u learn something new every day lol

 

[winxp_man]

What are the best forms of medication to treat those diseases?

There is no one set of meds to cure diseases. As many as there are, each one requires a method or meds. No such thing as generalizing diseases.

It’s why pics under bright white light and for the camera to be super focused to take clear crispy pictures for a good visual, and a video at least 30 seconds long of the fish under bright white lights. Then post it to YouTube and link it here.

Third part, what do you see the fish doing. Write down how it’s acting, fast breathing, dashing across the tank, trying to scratch its sides or gills, things of this nature.

And a 20% water change a week can still mean dirty water. I have noticed, being I had some clowns pass while in QT, dirty water was the culprit to gill disease issues. They could not recover and passed away. Rapid breathing was an issue. I’m not saying your water is not clean, but just saying that if you notice rapid breathing, and nothing else is showing on the fish that it might be the case, if you feed the tank on the heavy side, or not enough oxygen possibly.

Overall many factors that can cause issues but detailed info is needed for anyone here to give good input.

 

[TheNative192]

Definitely seems like a lack of oxygenation in the water caused by Cyano & probably low PH. You want your PH 8.0+ as a higher PH allows for more oxygen to be in the water and you want it to be stable (and not shift to quickly either no more than 0.5 a day). Definitely get a wave maker ASAP I have a Nero 3 on really low settings that I love and the water is spread in all directions so it does not bother my clowns at all.. HOB filters really do not have enough flow unless they are rated for way more than the tank (100GPH on 10 Gallon tank ex) and will lead to Cyano and oxygenation issues. Also be careful to not change the water with different temperature or salinity when doing water changes as that can shock and kill the fish quickly.

 

[jrawk1120]

Looks like you have a lot of cyano which is taking a lot of the oxygen out of the water. You need more surface agitation. Get Weaker wave maker. The hygger mini is a good option and get some more oxygen in there. The water movement will help kill off the cyano as well.

didn't know cyano could be black u learn something new every day lol

As another commenter mentioned, hob isn’t really the best idea for the hobby. Just doesn’t move the water enough.

Can it be done? Yes

Should it? 9/10 times no