sick tank unknown issue

[Simo2004]

After some help here.. I’ve either got something going on with the water or some kind of disease etc

Back ground is I’m build a 3m tank for my fish in a new house .. my fish are sat in a 4x2x2 since the house move approx. 8 months and while I build the big tank its ran off 2 external filters and the live rock out the old tank


In the tank was

Huge blue face angle
Large Naso tank
Long horn cow fish
Blue ribbon eel
dussumieri tang hover craft box fish


3 months ago, I added a small dussumieri tang that had been in the lfs 6 weeks while I set a qt tank up .. this was in observation 3 weeks no issues .. into the tank and everything is good

A hover craft box fish came up on a waiting list I was on for over 12 months so I took this only been less than 1 inch assumed be ok .. in QT for 2 weeks when the tank sprung a leak as it had no issues it went into the 4X2X2


How ever id noticed when feeding the fish, they eat like pigs mainly as only feeding once a day trying to keep the bio load down but as eating and after they were heavy breathing .. but before feeding were find did a water change but all seemed ok other than this. Checked salt and was slightly low so topped up to 35ppm


2 weeks ago I lost a blue ribbon eels what had stopped eating so assume this was down to that


Approx. a week after that fed the fish all good then within 5min the dussumieri tang was looking very stressed gasping and not swimming other fish seemed fine ..


I took the decision to catch the dussumieri tang and add to another QT id set up .. put the net in and the water was cold !! 17c checked the 2 heaters both off.. somehow something has hit the switch on the switched extension cable and nocked them off !!

I thought that’s the issue sorted turn them back on .. water was temp came up to around 26c but unfortunately the dussumieri tang went into the area of the blue face sits and got a beating and the time I got him out he was hardly moving and passed

I put the dead dussumieri tang into plane water to see if anything would come off it such as flukes but nothing

Another water change check salt 35ppm temp 26.5c

Fish still gasping . added an air stone off amazon which just seem to stress the fish and not correct any low oxygen issues if that was the problem

Today my cow fish is erratically swimming and not eating, breathing fast ! ☹


I’m going to the LTF today to see if my salt levels are ok as have no calibration fluid for the hanna checker


Here is a video of the box fish gasping while the blue face and hoover craft box fish are breathing normal

It’s as if something is jumping fish to fish

There are no visible signs of disease such as spots etc


I just need to get them through another month of the 4x2x2 then they will have 3000ltr to enjoy and typical I’m away for a week next week so will have a tank sitter ☹



I can do a 50% water change or hit with meds or both what would you suggest please

 

[Simo2004]

here are the video link i forgot to post that passed and the heavy breathing

 

[Simo2004]

I have noticed when looking at videos they have been in there 9 months and looking at the video they have always have been breathing heavy



these videos were uploaded 9 months ago so poor water or something they have had awhile

 

[Markcw]

Low in oxygen, I just added a bubble Magnus qq2 skimmer to my tank after 12 months of never having one but I feel the need now to create extra oxygen in the water, like waves crashing in the sea.

One of my damsel I lost 4 months ago and that started with rapid breathing when he died I examined him and found his gills had been eaten away. All other fish have been good. I personally no longer want loads of fish and want just Corel's and inverts.

 

[Simo2004]

Low in oxygen, I just added a bubble Magnus qq2 skimmer to my tank after 12 months of never having one but I feel the need now to create extra oxygen in the water, like waves crashing in the sea.

One of my damsel I lost 4 months ago and that started with rapid breathing when he died I examined him and found his gills had been eaten away. All other fish have been good. I personally no longer want loads of fish and want just Corel's and inverts.

Thanks for your reply .. if it was low oxygen why is the bigger blue face ok ? just trying to get my head around .. also the double air stone hasn't improved

agree with the skimmer but not a option on the temp tank

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for your reply .. if it was low oxygen why is the bigger blue face ok ? just trying to get my head around .. also the double air stone hasn't improved

agree with the skimmer but not a option on the temp tank

If it were low oxygen, all fish would be affected to some degree, and adding good aeration would have reduced the symptoms in 24 hours or less.

Can you post a complete run-down of the water chemistry? pH and nitrate especially.
How low did the tank temperature go? I don't think that was the problem, but maybe?

I'm having difficulty putting together all of the events - but in the older video, the tank looks cleaner and healthier. There was also a naso tang and a cleaner wrasse, are they still alive?

At this point, all I can say is this may be a combination of water quality issues and possible gill flukes in the boxfish. Do you have access to praziquantel?

Jay

 

[Markcw]

Thanks for your reply .. if it was low oxygen why is the bigger blue face ok ? just trying to get my head around .. also the double air stone hasn't improved

agree with the skimmer but not a option on the temp tank

Can you see any areas around the gill that look open or sore wound this will indicate a fluke inside the gill, nearing the fish end of life the breathing will get incredible rapid to the point that the fish is surviving by doing nothing other than breathing it won't swim about.

If you can rule out low oxygen and other contaminants, if other fish are good I would deffo head to a fluke which is a parasitic worm in the gill. You can possible treat this but if the damage is to late you will lightly kill the fish and the fluke.

 

[Simo2004]

HI all just wanted to say sorry not been back InTouch managed to look my self out of the works PC

Trying to recap on events .. I lost my fish one by one until i ended up with my last 2 fish which have been the same a looking OK


The box fish was ok then boom was missing food as if it was blind very stressed panicking and hitting glass rock work then was dead the next day .. day after the same with the other cowfish

Eat one day next day dead or diying .. think i mentioned i was going away so did over 300% water changes around 90ltr each day

I eft to go on vacation with 2 fish left and came home to 2 fish which i was supprized about

since been back I've done no water changes and send off for ICP which has come back with crazy high iron and iodine no idea where this has come from but is this my ransom fish killer rather than some kind of infecting etc

https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/icp-oes/149219

Any thoughts now I've updated you all ..

as i write this I'm thinking i have around 20 of them bio block bricks wonder if something has come from that or tmc fake live rock

 

[Simo2004]

any ideas people x

 

[Pistondog]

Describe your tank construction. Any exposed metal?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

HI all just wanted to say sorry not been back InTouch managed to look my self out of the works PC

Trying to recap on events .. I lost my fish one by one until i ended up with my last 2 fish which have been the same a looking OK


The box fish was ok then boom was missing food as if it was blind very stressed panicking and hitting glass rock work then was dead the next day .. day after the same with the other cowfish

Eat one day next day dead or diying .. think i mentioned i was going away so did over 300% water changes around 90ltr each day

I eft to go on vacation with 2 fish left and came home to 2 fish which i was supprized about

since been back I've done no water changes and send off for ICP which has come back with crazy high iron and iodine no idea where this has come from but is this my ransom fish killer rather than some kind of infecting etc

https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/icp-oes/149219

Any thoughts now I've updated you all ..

as i write this I'm thinking i have around 20 of them bio block bricks wonder if something has come from that or tmc fake live rock

I often get high iodine readings in my systems. I think that is due to ICP not being able to tell iodine from iodide. However, I never really seen iron in my seawater samples, it always seems to get sequestered out. Still, iron isn't very toxic to fish, so I doubt that is an issue.

I still think you may have had an uncontrolled disease issue - possibly flukes.

Jay

 

[Simo2004]

Describe your tank construction. Any exposed metal?

just a bare bottom tank no metal brace or anything .. lR and 2 canister filters

 

[Simo2004]

I often get high iodine readings in my systems. I think that is due to ICP not being able to tell iodine from iodide. However, I never really seen iron in my seawater samples, it always seems to get sequestered out. Still, iron isn't very toxic to fish, so I doubt that is an issue.

I still think you may have had an uncontrolled disease issue - possibly flukes.

Jay

Cheers that's what I'm worried about but why no deaths and 2 weeks .. dipped the body's in fresh water couldn't see anything and added 1 dose of fluke guard before i went on holiday

I'm kind of going to have to add another fish and see how its gets on !! as i cant add these 2 fish tot he display no way of treating of getting out

the tank is just curing and then be ready to fill in 40 days

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Cheers that's what I'm worried about but why no deaths and 2 weeks .. dipped the body's in fresh water couldn't see anything and added 1 dose of fluke guard before i went on holiday

I'm kind of going to have to add another fish and see how its gets on !! as i cant add these 2 fish tot he display no way of treating of getting out

the tank is just curing and then be ready to fill in 40 days

Unless you use a microscope, only one species of fluke (Neobendenia) will be visible in dip water with the naked eye....so not seeing anything isn't unusual.

Jay

 

[Simo2004]

Unless you use a microscope, only one species of fluke (Neobendenia) will be visible in dip water with the naked eye....so not seeing anything isn't unusual.

Jay

Are flukes able to affect some fish but not others as that's what's confusing me as these 2 look fine

my local shop had PRAZIPRO 1 OZ PARASITE TREATMENT shall I try this ?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Are flukes able to affect some fish but not others as that's what's confusing me as these 2 look fine

my local shop had PRAZIPRO 1 OZ PARASITE TREATMENT shall I try this ?

Yes - some flukes are species specific, at least to groups of fish. Flukes are NOT specific between fish of the same species though - all fish of the same species should show symptoms.

You could try prazipro, but that reduces oxygen in the water, so if the problem is with oxygen levels, it is going to harm the fish. Otherwise, just dose it with really good aeration in the tank, two times, 7 or 8 days apart.

Jay

 

[Simo2004]

Hi all jaut picking this back up.. I've still got 3 fish left..

This post most be a few months old now and I'm debating adding them to display now..

What's your thoughts

If they have lasted this long was it just poor water quality and all the water changes I did saved the stinger fish or is it some parisite that they are immune to

Just don't no what to do

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi all jaut picking this back up.. I've still got 3 fish left..

This post most be a few months old now and I'm debating adding them to display now..

What's your thoughts

If they have lasted this long was it just poor water quality and all the water changes I did saved the stinger fish or is it some parisite that they are immune to

Just don't no what to do

As a general rule, if I have fish that I've treated and they have been more than 45 days with no symptoms, I figure they are o.k. to add back to the general population. This isn't a 100% thing, but pretty safe.

Jay

 

[Simo2004]

Yes.. All I treated was fluke solve.. And then lots of water changes

Nothing added or removed since and no more fish have passed or show signed of anything

 

[Simo2004]

3000ltr system is ready for the fish

Poor fish been in a crappy holding system while been built