Need Help - Fish and Coral Struggling

[emream]

So, I am a newbie and have a new salt water tank set up. I will go over tank specifics after I explain the situation. Everything in my tank was doing great until just a few days ago when I introduced new coral, which I think may have been the problem. I have been getting mixed answers when I search online, so I am hoping for more clarity from posting here.

Tank specifics:
Tank age is about 5 weeks old
40 gallon tank
~20 lbs of live rock
~20 pounds of live sand
Fully cycled tank, to my knowledge, as my tests are now reading as follows:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
Phosphate: Nearly 0
Magnesium: 1350
SG: 1.025

Previous fish and CUC: 2 ocellaris clownfish, 1 banggai cardinalfish, 1 pajama cardinalfish, 1 watchman goby, 1 pistol shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 emerald crab, 1 pompom crab, 1 turbo snail, 2 trochus snails, 2 nassarius snails, 2 cerith snails, 5 blue legged hermits, 3 scarlet hermits.
Previous coral: 2 zoas, 1 xenia, 1 green star polyp, 1 torch tip, 1 hammer, 1 clove polyp, 1 chalice, 2 (what I think) is palythoa.

The palythoa is what was added that I think completely disrupted the peace of my tank. I was under the impression it was a zoanthid, so I think nothing of it. But after adding them to my tank, I have now lost 1 of my clownfish, pajama cardinal, turbo snail, torch tip, hammer, and chalice. They died almost instantly after adding the palythoas. I have now removed the palythoas from the tank and did a thorough water change, but I just need to know why this happened. I was reading that they are toxic to both humans and fish, but some sources disagree. I just feel hopeless and want to prevent any more loss if possible.

 

[BlueNem]

Hi

Run some activated carbon, it prevents a chemical war among the corals. Palys aren't the only ones who can release toxins as their natural behavior. Mostly, every coral could potentially release toxins. Palytoxin is the most common one release by palys.


Regards,

 

[emream]

Thank you for your reply! We do have activated carbon in our filter currently.

Hi

Run some activated carbon, it prevents a chemical war among the corals. Palys aren't the only ones who can release toxins as their natural behavior. Mostly, every coral could potentially release toxins. Palytoxin is the most common one release by palys.


Regards,

Thank you for your reply! We have activated carbon in the filter currently. Things have started to look up since removing the paly, but I will keep the potential toxins in mind for the future.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I think it’s coincidence, we all have pallys in our tanks. Most pallys are harmless anyway, but there is a lot of misinformation and fear mongering about them. There is no possible way adding a pally will kill off your livestock. IMO.

I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but fish inverts and corals dying usually points to poor water quality. At 5 weeks old, you have to much stock in your tank, you are going way too fast. I don’t even add my first fish into a new tank until about 3-4 weeks in, then I add 1-2 and wait a month to add more. To me it sounds like a case of “too much too fast” which is very common with brand new hobbyists. I would not add anything else to the tank for a few weeks, let it stabilize and catch up to the bio load.

 

[emream]

Personally I think it’s coincidence, we all have pallys in our tanks. Most pallys are harmless anyway, but there is a lot of misinformation and fear mongering about them. There is no possible way adding a pally will kill off your livestock. IMO.

I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but fish inverts and corals dying usually points to poor water quality. At 5 weeks old, you have to much stock in your tank, you are going way too fast. I don’t even add my first fish into a new tank until about 3-4 weeks in, then I add 1-2 and wait a month to add more. To me it sounds like a case of “too much too fast” which is very common with brand new hobbyists. I would not add anything else to the tank for a few weeks, let it stabilize and catch up to the bio load.

I really appreciate the insight! I think you're probably right about going a bit too quick. We were also thinking it couldn't just be palys. Since removing the palys, we have just left the tank alone to not cause any further stress and everything seems to be doing alright now. I will take your advice and wait before adding anything else. Thank you!