Hello R2R reefers-
I've had another mysterious death in my tank. This time my 6-month-old Copperband Butterfly fish.
Some Details:
My thoughts on cause of death:
Thoughts?
I've had another mysterious death in my tank. This time my 6-month-old Copperband Butterfly fish.
Some Details:
- The CBB was one of the best eaters in the tank and ate Mysis, Bloodworms, and enriched Brine Shrimp
- Tank parameters are all stable and ICP tests are clean. (Tank is 2 years old. Salinity 1.026ish, Alk 8ish, Ca 475ish, NO3 5-10ish, PO4 0.05-0.15ish)
- Prior to vacation, I setup an automated refrigerated frozen food feeder that I used for a couple weeks before leaving with no issues
- Went on 2-week vacation with no issues
- Was back for 2-weeks and added hand feedings again with no issues
- Went on another 1-week vacation with no issues
- Came back and everything seemed fine for the 1st 5 days with normal eating etc...
- Then on Thursday night I noticed a little aggression as I was going to sleep from the White Tail Bristletooth Tang (been in the tank for about 1-year and never showed aggression b4)
- The CBB had some minor fin damage but there was no further aggression
- The next day eating/behavior seemed off as it was having a little difficulty targeting the food and started missing its targets
- Then it started to no longer graze the tank
- By Monday morning it was dead
My thoughts on cause of death:
- Aggression caused some internal damage that created eating issues and eventually death. However, normally starvation takes more time.
- The CBB was not really eating well when I went on vacation and aggression just was the final nail in the coffin. However, until Friday it was handfeeding like normal.
- Something mysterious in the tank is causing deaths as I've similarly lost 1 Blue Striped Pipefish, 4 Orange Spotted Filefish, and a Long-Nosed Butterfly over the last 1.5 years. In each of those cases, the fish were fat and healthy, then went became lethargic and having trouble swimming to death all within a day or two of the onset of behavior/eating changes. I suspected maybe a coral in the tank that the Orange Spotted Filefish by have grazed on could cause the issue...something that the other fish might have gotten into as well. I sort of feel the fish were poisoned by something.
Thoughts?