Something is murdering and eating my fish.

Gavin Automata · Jul 2, 2019

So i recently made a post on my blenny disappearing, I still never found a body but just now my firefish turned up missing, approximately 30 minutes ago I checked on the tank, everyone was healthy and good, ready to be fed for the night, I went to finish some other stuff and came back to feed and didn't see my firefish, I panicked and lifted a live rock up and discovered his fresh body completely dead and his lower front completely eaten. Attaching a photo but I am absolutely panicking for a good reason, the day after my blenny died I had the water tested and it came back nearly perfect:
pH:8.2
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Salinity: 0.025

Obviously wasn't the water, so what killed him? I have reason to believe it was either my very large tiger pistol shrimp, or some kind of hitchhiker that lives on the underside of the rock (bristle/serpent star? idk anything else that could be where I can't see it). Is it possible a tiger pistol went crazy and killed a blenny and a firefish?? His lair is under the rock where the firefish died, but I've never heard of them doing anything of the sort besides maybe to some snails. I really don't know what to do, I have a baby mandarin I'm raising in there and would lose my mind if anything happened to that little guy.

xxkenny90xx · Jul 2, 2019

Have you added any live rock or anything lately? I'd check under rocks for a hitchhiker (I'm guessing some kind of crab)

Joshua2598 · Jul 2, 2019

Probably a crab

KJ · Jul 2, 2019

Look like Ammonia: 0.25 and CUC doing his job!

Gavin Automata · Jul 2, 2019

xxkenny90xx said:
Have you added any live rock or anything lately? I'd check under rocks for a hitchhiker (I'm guessing some kind of crab)

Nope. All rock has been here since I started the tank. I'll have to do something with that piece of rock maybe.

Gavin Automata · Jul 2, 2019

KJ said:
Look like Ammonia: 0.25 and CUC doing his job!

Yea man. That very high level of dangerous and toxic ammonia right there. How did I overlook that.

xxkenny90xx · Jul 2, 2019

I'd check on it at night with a flashlight, maybe it'll be out and about

KJ · Jul 2, 2019

@HotRocks @Big G @4FordFamily

jelazar · Jul 2, 2019

Ammonia is way too high.

HotRocks · Jul 2, 2019

Ammonia is likely the culprit.

The crab was probably working on the fish after death.

Gavin Automata · Jul 2, 2019

Ya'll seriously telling me the tiny bit of ammonia that appeared AFTER the fish died is the culprit. Ok lol.

Also i'd like to add, I work at a fish store and the ammonia test we have is what i use, and the API bottles we use are known for false positives, I've tested over 50 people's saltwater and never get 0, I get 0.25 but for fresh it works fine. Not sure the deal with that, but apparently I'm not the only one I found with a google search. Please don't bother replying if you're going to continue putting the blame on that from here on.

4FordFamily · Jul 2, 2019

Gavin Automata said:
Ya'll seriously telling me the tiny bit of ammonia that appeared AFTER the fish died is the culprit. Ok lol.

Also i'd like to add, I work at a fish store and the ammonia test we have is what i use, and the API bottles we use are known for false positives, I've tested over 50 people's saltwater and never get 0, I get 0.25 but for fresh it works fine. Not sure the deal with that, but apparently I'm not the only one I found with a google search. Please don't bother replying if you're going to continue putting the blame on that from here on.

Gavin, if your tank didn’t process ammonia quick enough that it registered afterward, it indicates a relatively new tank or a weak nitrogen cycle.

No need to get upset with us, you came here asking for help and we are happy to help. The truth is that even minute amounts of ammonia can and are often fatal for fish.

Do you quarantine fish?

I am sorry for the loss of your fish.

Gavin Automata · Jul 2, 2019

4FordFamily said:
Gavin, if your tank didn’t process ammonia quick enough that it registered afterward, it indicates a relatively new tank or a weak nitrogen cycle.

No need to get upset with us, you came here asking for help and we are happy to help. The truth is that even minute amounts of ammonia can and are often fatal for fish.

Do you quarantine fish?

I am sorry for the loss of your fish.

You can preach all you want, but I know how the test kits we have work, they even provide a sheet along with them to hand to the customer and because it has a margin of error, it claims a reading of 0.25 to be non-toxic. You're entitled to that opinion, but I'm inclined to disagree due to the fact of our testers, and that all my coral, including softies, and my other fish are extremely healthy and show no signs of stress from the water.

And I have never had a quarantine process because I've had all my fish from when I started the tank.

KJ · Jul 2, 2019

I only would ask experts for opinions about your fish died. I am sorry

4FordFamily · Jul 2, 2019

Gavin Automata said:
You can preach all you want, but I know how the test kits we have work, they even provide a sheet along with them to hand to the customer and because it has a margin of error, it claims a reading of 0.25 to be non-toxic. You're entitled to that opinion, but I'm inclined to disagree due to the fact of our testers, and that all my coral, including softies, and my other fish are extremely healthy and show no signs of stress from the water.

And I have never had a quarantine process because I've had all my fish from when I started the tank.

Alright then.

HotRocks · Jul 2, 2019

Gavin Automata said:
You can preach all you want, but I know how the test kits we have work, they even provide a sheet along with them to hand to the customer and because it has a margin of error, it claims a reading of 0.25 to be non-toxic. You're entitled to that opinion, but I'm inclined to disagree due to the fact of our testers, and that all my coral, including softies, and my other fish are extremely healthy and show no signs of stress from the water.

And I have never had a quarantine process because I've had all my fish from when I started the tank.

You might consider a better test kit than the junk API.

Even an ammonia badge would be more accurate.

If you truly are exposing your livestock to .25ppm it's not good. If you work in a fish store you should know that. Anyway just trying to be helpful.

How long has your tank been running?

LesPoissons · Jul 2, 2019

Um, I've used API test kits and I NEVER got a reading above 0 on my reef tank, except when it cycled and ammonia was present. Did you consider that it's entirely possible that the test kit is accurate and the people that are bringing you in their water to test also have high ammonia which is why they are testing- because they have are having problems with their tanks too? If you don't trust the test kit, it's a really easy fix. Get a better quality test kit and recheck your numbers. If its the ammonia, like everyone is indicating, then your problem is solved. If it's something else, then you can keep looking for other possibilities. Why not rule out the simplest and most obvious thing?

Oxygen deprivation is also a killer. Are you providing oxygen via a protein skimmer, surface turbulence, showerheads etc?
If you dont qt (no judgement) how long have you had fish? Any new recent additions?

Gavin Automata · Jul 3, 2019

Maya Ybry-Yagy said:
Um, I've used API test kits and I NEVER got a reading above 0 on my reef tank, except when it cycled and ammonia was present. Did you consider that it's entirely possible that the test kit is accurate and the people that are bringing you in their water to test also have high ammonia which is why they are testing- because they have are having problems with their tanks too? If you don't trust the test kit, it's a really easy fix. Get a better quality test kit and recheck your numbers. If its the ammonia, like everyone is indicating, then your problem is solved. If it's something else, then you can keep looking for other possibilities. Why not rule out the simplest and most obvious thing?

Oxygen deprivation is also a killer. Are you providing oxygen via a protein skimmer, surface turbulence, showerheads etc?
If you dont qt (no judgement) how long have you had fish? Any new recent additions?

It’s a test kit provided by API, it’s probably lower quality than the one you buy for $40 because it’s given for us just being a fish store to my knowledge, or might be from the test tubes having been used like 10000 times, not sure, but regular APIs will usually test 0 for what ours shows 0.25. We all know this and just tell people there’s no issue. I have a skimmer and a return pump running, oxygen should he fine? As for these fish, it’s been almost 3 1/3 months, as for any fish, it’s been since i was like 5. Most recent edition was the firefish, I added him the day after everybody else because I didn’t want to overload the tank in one day. Everything’s been fine, had 0 deaths until now, i water change every single week on the dot. Only other thing i added was a new coral (clove polyp) and a few tiny fragzone rocks to stick the clove on and move my zoas onto. I don’t really think a coral hosted a parasite or disease that can affect fish, only other thing I can think of is me moving the rocks stirred up some bad stuff in the sand, but the test was the next morning after I had done so, so not sure.