Sudden Fish only death

[ph2505]

Any help would be very much welcome.

This evening came down to my 14g nano and had two of my four fish dead and the other two were breathing heavy on the verge of death…

Not sure what happened in the span of 2-3hrs everyone was looking fine before the lights went out for the evening just a couple of hours ago.

Weird thing is that everything else is fine, corals looks normal, all my inverts and running around the tank still

ph: 7.9
Alk: 8.6
Ni: 2
Ph: 0.18

Not sure if this could have been my phosphates which were a little higher than I had expected measured it last week and it was at 0.12

did a immediate water change ~5g and threw in a bag of Chemi-Clean to bring the Phosphates down things looks a little better fish breathing much easier now

Does anyone have any ideas not sure what I should be doing here? Thanks

 

[Uncle99]

Something die and Ammonia spike rob the tank of oxygen? Flow stopped?

2-3 hour window deaths mainly attack or poisoning.

Cant see phosphate having any impact.
Water changes and carbon.

 

[ph2505]

Thanks for the help. Everyone was alive at 9p this evening. So I know no one was dead then.

My Ammonia levels were at 0 when I measured them tonight. Didn’t look like flow had turned off the corals and inverts were all fine. Which I think is really odd shouldnt they also show signs of stress?

Could the Zoas have poisoned the tank?

 

[zheka757]

i vote for low oxygen in a tank! 14 gallon tank with 4 fishes! lower ph (7.9) is also indication of low oxygen level in a tank.

 

[ph2505]

Is this something that happens so quickly?

I have had the tank now with 4 fish for +1yr. Wouldn’t this impact the whole tank, inverts too?

 

[Spare time]

i vote for low oxygen in a tank! 14 gallon tank with 4 fishes! lower ph (7.9) is also indication of low oxygen level in a tank.

I don't think low pH necessarily means low oxygen. It just means higher amounts of hydrogen ions.

 

[Spare time]

What does the flow/circulation look like in the tank? Does the tank have a lid? Does it have any vents or openings? Any visible symptoms other than labored breathing?

 

[ph2505]

Thanks. Flow is the same flow that I have had, yes i do have a lid have a lot of openings it is mesh.

No symptoms I can see, everyone looks good this morning.

I don’t understand how this can be so acute, and how it only can impact the fish only.

 

[Tonycass12]

Did you notice any water cloudiness? How old is your tank. It for sure wasn't P0⁴ mine sits around .6 normally and it won't affect the fish. If the water was cloudy at all that could be sign of a bacterial bloom that will deplete the O² in the water. Usually that only happens in newer systems.

 

[ph2505]

Didn’t notice any cloudiness. But as I’ve been reading I feel like something like this happened. The tank is on the newer side it has been up running for little over 1.5yrs.

I did notice a new thin film almost greasy looking floating on top of the water the past 2 days which I thought was weird. I have also noticed a white sponge starting the grow in different areas over the past month.

 

[Tonycass12]

Didn’t notice any cloudiness. But as I’ve been reading I feel like something like this happened. The tank is on the newer side it has been up running for little over 1.5yrs.

I did notice a new thin film almost greasy looking floating on top of the water the past 2 days which I thought was weird. I have also noticed a white sponge starting the grow in different areas over the past month.

Do you have any surface skimming going on. I definitely think it's more likely an 0² issue. Point a return or powerhead at the surface for more agitation and it will help dissipate the film ontop into the water where the filter can pull it out.

 

[Troylee]

Do you have any surface skimming going on. I definitely think it's more likely an 0² issue. Point a return or powerhead at the surface for more agitation and it will help dissipate the film ontop into the water where the filter can pull it out.

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