On the verge of quitting..

[A Young Reefer]

That’s a shame. It would be good if you could import from here. We also get a lot of beautiful Australia corals

We get coral shipments from everywhere. For fish I know several Palestinian guys living in Palestine that are very passionate about the hobby and have many nice fish directly from the red sea and the Mediterranean, they wouldn't mind exporting to other countries if they didn't have the many problems they and the 5.3 Palestinians face everyday.
But until then, sudan and oman are soon going to start export and we should be seeing new species and nice specimens.

 

[A Young Reefer]

so OP what is your plan now?

 

[Echo2656]

I think its a mantis. I used to own a peacock and it would always click at night. I did some live crabs a few times, it would show no interest when i first put it in. But in the morning there would be crab shell and parts spread all around. The mantis could have been in a coral plug or even in the dry rock they are extremely hardy. It also might not have eaten the fish because it was too small. It could have been eating shrimp or snails, have you lost any of those? They can also go 2-3 weeks without eating.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Thanks for the advice but how is it practical for me to go fallow for that long when I have 3 fish in there? I am not a beginner to corals. The algae is not the problem. The problem is that fish (and a shrimp) die randomly for no obvious reason. Going fallow for 2 months without being sure that it is disease is kind of pointless.

I kind of disagree with your statement, i mean think about it what do you have to lose at 2 months fallow? You gain less dead fish and you can cross it off the list.

you seem knowledgeable but also your disagreement with everyone’s suggestions is suspect troll

 

[Nate Chalk]

1. Don’t quit. But if you do, don’t sell your stuff. You’ll be back down the road. (I made mistake years ago, sucks buying stuff again)

2. Check parameters & Check Equipment. To make a diagnosis you need data. Even if you don’t think it’s relevant—more data is better. Same applies in medicine—you can’t make a diagnosis without data. Maybe consider sending’s ICP test, but definitely do the basic hobbyist tests.

3. Investigate that tapping noise. Mantis shrimp was the first thing I thought of with “missing fish” but sounds unlikely with dry rock. Faulty equipment? Stray voltage in the tank? You found it relevant to mention this, but you haven’t discovered the cause. That along with skipping the testing and water changes is a fundamental error in your philosophy of reefing in my opinion, particularly when you’ve been having deaths. You could try moving out each piece of rock into a saltwater bucket to isolate if the tapping noise is equipment or invertebrate.

4. You mention “no sign of disease,” but I’m sorry that’s wrong. You have multiple deaths with undetermined cause. That’s a sign of disease.

5. Would a local fish store or hobbyist take your fish to QT them for you or hold them while you leave the tank empty to rule out disease? Make sure they are aware of the issues so you don’t sabotage someone else’s tank.

6. Don’t buy any new inhabitant until you know what’s going on. If for some reason you lose more, let tank sit fallow if you really can’t QT right now.

There are a lot of people in this thread who have way more experience than I giving feedback and suggestions—listen to them. You need a systematic approach to diagnosis of your problem, just like the profession your training to be in.

^ what this guy said

 

[FishAccordingToMe]

What is your refugium schedule?

1) A big refugium could hide waste issues by intaking everything you're checking for but not actually cleaning the tank. Also, a lot of waste can build up and hide in the macroalgae. Maybe it needs cleaning.

2) Ph swings could be stressing out the fish leaving them susceptible to disease (although I would think the corals would have more issues too). I had some freshwater tanks that dropped Ph when the plants started growing too well.

 

[DavidinGA]

HAVE YOU TESTED FOR STRAY VOLTAGE YET???

 

[maleks.reef]

Just to rule out the clicking sounds, that's coming from your snails. They shake their shell, usually when something's crawling on them. It's always the same 3 click pattern when their shell hits the glass.

Thank you. Ive always wondered what that sound was.

 

[maleks.reef]

I kind of disagree with your statement, i mean think about it what do you have to lose at 2 months fallow? You gain less dead fish and you can cross it off the list.

you seem knowledgeable but also your disagreement with everyone’s suggestions is suspect troll

I do not lose anything but my fear is that after going fallow for 2 months and then putting the fish back into the tank etc., the problem comes back. Also, when QT the remaining fish I assume I have to treat with copper right?

At this point it might very well be disease. Luckily I have a 10 gal cube laying around to use a QT.

 

[maleks.reef]

HAVE YOU TESTED FOR STRAY VOLTAGE YET???

I found a multimeter. I just need to figure out how to do it now. I have a rough idea but i do not understand the "good ground" part. I will look into it.

 

[Snyderman3]

I have a diy fuge in the back chamber of my AIO tank. I had a HOB skimmer but it died so i removed it. I usually have a bag of carbon and filter wool in the back but carbon finished a couple of weeks ago.
As for parameters I haven't tested in a while. But no matter how skewed my parameters might be, fish should not be affected. Only thing that can kill fish or shrimp is ammonia, which I obviously do not have any of.

If you don’t have a skimmer then there is no gas’s exchange possible that you don’t have enough oxygen in the water

 

[Jeffcb]

Very unlikely that it is a mantis shrimp because 1) tank is too small 2) i started with dry everything 3) the clicking sound is closer to a door creaking than the mantis shrimp sounds Ive heard on youtube.

Snails will also click on the glass. Big turbos will.

 

[maleks.reef]

If you don’t have a skimmer then there is no gas’s exchange possible that you don’t have enough oxygen in the water

It is a possibility however with the amount of surface agitation, I would say it is pretty slim. Plus, the skimmer has been off only very recently + no fish ever showed any signs of oxygen deprivation.

 

[i cant think]

Just because I did not quarantine does not mean that I have a disease. Sure it is more probable but again, the way these fish have died do not point to disease, especially when ive never seen any type of mark on them. I cannot go fallow because I still have 3 fish left. I do not have the space or time to set up a separate quarantine tank for those 3 fish. Lets put disease to the side for a bit, what else might it be? Keep in mind that my fire shrimp died with no trace as well, while the cleaner has been doing good for more than a year.

Tank pic:

I know the tank is quite a bit dirty, there is bubble algae and turf algae everywhere but this is only recently due to lack of WCs because ive been too busy.

You show many corals that are known to bring in pests. If it’s a mantis, it will have hitchhiked from this. Dip all coral unless you KNOW they’ve been through several dips already.

 

[maleks.reef]

You show many corals that are known to bring in pests. If it’s a mantis, it will have hitchhiked from this. Dip all coral unless you KNOW they’ve been through several dips already.

Other than ich, what pests can be on coral that would kill fish? Also we eliminated the possibility of a mantis shrimp.

 

[i cant think]

Other than ich, what pests can be on coral that would kill fish? Also we eliminated the possibility of a mantis shrimp.

Personally, I wouldn’t eliminate the possibility of anything just yet (Obviously this is from reading through the first page or so of this thread). I eliminated the possibility of a worm being a bobbitworm, next thing I knew I found a worm that was identical to the one I saw just smaller and it was a Eunicid species. If I remember correctly, most diseases (Parasites) can lay dormant on coral. So can many worm, isopod and shrimp species - Flatworms, Bobbitworms/Eunice Species, Mantis Shrimps, Pericilienems (Anemone Shrimp) and many others.

 

[Sharkbait19]

It is a possibility however with the amount of surface agitation, I would say it is pretty slim. Plus, the skimmer has been off only very recently + no fish ever showed any signs of oxygen deprivation.

With o2, fish start to get listless and move around like they are drunk. Next thing you know, they are belly up and dead.

 

[BirdFish5000]

Other than ich, what pests can be on coral that would kill fish? Also we eliminated the possibility of a mantis shrimp.

Velvet. Any parasites or diseases that have an encysted stage.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

Your picture of the gill looks like gill flukes inside that dead clown. It's pretty easy to rule out. Give each remaining fish a freshwater dip and see of you get flukes in the water.

If you do, you need to quarantine the fish you have and treat with prazipro. You could do it in your display but it would kill any coral you have. While you are at it, I would treat with copper too to ensure your tank is free from ich

 

[Sharkbait19]

Your picture of the gill looks like gill flukes inside that dead clown. It's pretty easy to rule out. Give each remaining fish a freshwater dip and see of you get flukes in the water.

If you do, you need to quarantine the fish you have and treat with prazipro. You could do it in your display but it would kill any coral you have. While you are at it, I would treat with copper too to ensure your tank is free from ich

Just to clarify - no copper in the dt.
That will kill inverts and corals.