Big Problems, Need help!

[Bernard.a.ford]

I went to work today, everything was perfectly fine. Once I get home, three of my fish where dead. I tested the water. Everything looks fine to me. Maybe anyone can help me of steer me in the right direction. My water parameters is as follows:

Salt- 1.026
PH- 8.20
NO3- 10-20
NO2- 0
NH3/NH4- 0.2
ORP- 280
KH- 3.21 (Used Red Sea, I got lost on the results)
Temp did drop to 76.6. I left my heat off down stairs this morning.

Does anyone see anything that may be off so bad to kill the livestock? I’m also very new to reef keeping.

 

[bhodges82]

How old is the tank? Have you made any changes recently? Pics of the fish might help

 

[lmm1967]

That temp drop should not have hurt them

You have ammonia in the tank with no nitrite but some nitrate - hopefully that is from the fish that died. Test again today and see if that NH3/NH4 goes back down to zero.
What measurement value are you testing KH ? If that is dKH - that is really low. I would double check that measurement as well as salinity.

Did anyone clean house while you were gone? possible that someone sprayed window cleaner or something in the vicinity of the tank?

Like bhodges asked - what is the age of the tank, what else is in the tank (corals? they OK?) etc.

 

[bzb]

Any fish left? If so, do they have any visible signs of disease or behavior indicating such?

- spots on the fish
- flashing (scratching themselves on rocks/sand)
- swimming awkwardly, hiding
- swimming into the powerheads

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

My tank has been established for 9 months now. I don’t have any corals in their for real. Only some mushrooms. Two of the fish that died did have Ick. One was new, didn’t see him eat while I was feeding. All the other fish in now are looking pretty good. Also, nobody was home to do any cleaning. I also converted the KH to DKH. It’s 9.828! This morning I also topped off my fresh water.

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

I'm going to have to take that last statement back, I just looked in on my Anemone. He is looking pretty small, not puffed up or tentacles thick.

 

[bigd]

Two of the fish that died did have Ick. One was new

This most likely had something to do with it. How long ago did you add the "new" one?


D

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

I added that one on the 18th of November

 

[bigd]

As others have mentioned, you need to keep an eye on any fish that are still alive. I'm assuming the new one was not quarantined? What type of fish are we talking about? Tangs, clowns?


D

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

Black and white heni
Purple Queen Anthia
Blue Green Cron.

 

[bigd]

Are you sure it was ich? Where did you buy the new fish?

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

I got them from fish Bolz. When I got them they were good. The next week is when I seen it.

 

[bigd]

Sent you a PM..


D

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

Thanks

 

[Adam]

Fish may look fine in someone else's system and have a breakout of Ich once moved. The reason it pops up after moving is stress. A lot of people believe Ich is in most, if not all, reef tanks. It's very hard to completely eradicate. That's because of all the additions and changes we reefer's make to our systems. We can do everything right QT'ing fish and put healthy, parasite free, fish into our displays but when we add coral, snails, clams or anything with hard surface we have no way of knowing whether or not there are tomonts attach to them. Unless we QT all these additions in a fishless QT for 72+ days there is no way to be 100% sure that we're not reintroducing Ich. Then all it takes is some stress to the fish to weaken it's immune system and we see a full blown outbreak in our closed systems.

Every saltwater aquarist should have Seachem Focus & Metro on hand to be ready to handle an Ich outbreak. It's Reef safe and when fed to the fish, laced to the food, will kill any Ich parasites attached to them. It will give them very fast relief and limit and damage to their gills. I'm not saying there's no need to QT fish though, just not for Ich specifically. The biggest reason to QT is to identify Brook or Velvet before putting the fish in your display. There are other things to look for as well but these two are the fastest killers we routinely face and can wipe out an entire tank in a matter of days.

 

[Bernard.a.ford]

Is there anywhere in the metro area where I can get a QT for a reasonable price?

 

[Adam]

You're not going to find a full QT setup, unless you buy an "AIO" all in one tank or find a member selling theirs.

You need to following:

10-20 gallon tank.
Hang on filter sized to the tank.
Heater
Cheap powerhead.
Some 2-6" PVC elbows for caves.
A cheap light.
Possibly some screening to handle potential jumpers.

You can usually find a lot of this stuff used. Post a want to buy thread here. Also look on Craigslist, Facebook Market Place, Nextdoor or one of the other sales apps too.

 

[ActiveAngel]

You're not going to find a full QT setup, unless you buy an "AIO" all in one tank or find a member selling theirs.

You need to following:

10-20 gallon tank.
Hang on filter sized to the tank.
Heater
Cheap powerhead.
Some 2-6" PVC elbows for caves.
A cheap light.
Possibly some screening to handle potential jumpers.

You can usually find a lot of this stuff used. Post a want to buy thread here. Also look on Craigslist, Facebook Market Place, Nextdoor or one of the other sales apps too.

exactly this! Also, I just leave the room light on during the day, which is directly above my QT.

also, I’m not sure that Focus and Metro will treat ich. I believe those just help against bacterial infections and some internal parasites. The only ways I know to treat ich are with copper or by decreasing salinity.

 

[Adam]

exactly this! Also, I just leave the room light on during the day, which is directly above my QT.

also, I’m not sure that Focus and Metro will treat ich. I believe those just help against bacterial infections and some internal parasites. The only ways I know to treat ich are with copper or by decreasing salinity.

It's the Metroplex that kills the active parasites, and it does quite a good job at it too. Focus binds the Metro to the wet food for feeding. Metro also treats some bacterial infections, I forget if its gram positive or negative. But it's great to also help with the healing from the wounds left by the Ich. When fed to the fish it only kills the trophonts attached to the fish. Metro dosed at therapeutic levels to the tank water will kill not only the trophonts but the free swimming theronts as well. But it, and anything else we can use, does nothing to kill the encapsulated cyst tomonts. That's why Copper or Chloroquine are better for proper, longer term QT. To kill the theronts when they hatch. (Metro dosed correctly in the water will do the same FYI.) Metro is the only med to treat Ich in a display though, the other two will kill coral and inverts.

Kanaplex, Sulphaplex & Neoplex are the other meds for treating bacterial and fungal infections. Humblefish has great write ups over on R2R.

Hope this info help

 

[Adam]

I know I don't have any systems up and running right now. But I'm not only excited to get everything setup but to also start offering a QT service for the members here. Another FYI, many of the fish we keep can live as long as dogs and cats, some longer. The simple Blue Tang Paracanthurus hepatus has a lifespan of 8 – 20 years in captivity. Anything I can do to help with the mortality rates I'm happy to do. If I'm too far away I'll readily share what I know.