3 out of the 4 fish I added to my tank have died in the same way, not at the same time either. They were all in the tank for quite a while, then just suddenly stopped eating and died withing a day or two. They seemed to "want" to eat, they came out and looked around at feeding time, but wouldn't take anything. I tested the water after each death and the numbers were always slightly different, but never high enough that they should be fatal. The 3 fish that remain are so far so good. The pair of clowns have been in there the longest and nothing seems to have changed with them. Interestingly, all of these dead fish came from the same vendor. There is one left in there from that same store that is doing fine (A yellow and white wrasse). Does anybody have any idea what took these fish out? Somebody suggested internal parasites. Is there anyway to rule this in or out, short of cutting up the fish? Do you think its coincidence that they all came from the same LFS?
Dead Fish
- Thread starter joeyprice
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did you ever notice if the poop was white and stringy? that would suggest internal parasites. ever do a fw dip for flukes?
Unfortunately, we need some facts to base any statements on. Otherwise, anything would just be blind speculation.
What species were the fish? Other inhabitants in the tank?
Were there any noticeable symptoms/conditions before or after death?
What were the parameters you tested, their quantities, and method of testing? And tell us about the tank; size, age,... ?
Yes, it could be a coincidence, or not. Both are still valid and fairly probable. There is one LFS, not currently a sponsor, that myself and many other individuals have noticed has an unusually high death rate for fish, higher than for wild fish.
What species were the fish? Other inhabitants in the tank?
Were there any noticeable symptoms/conditions before or after death?
What were the parameters you tested, their quantities, and method of testing? And tell us about the tank; size, age,... ?
Yes, it could be a coincidence, or not. Both are still valid and fairly probable. There is one LFS, not currently a sponsor, that myself and many other individuals have noticed has an unusually high death rate for fish, higher than for wild fish.
Its a 100g tank that has been running since the beginning of August. It has a light load of LPS corals and softies. My testing is done with Hannah checkers and an API kit for nitrates. The always ready zero ammonia and nitrite, 10-20 nitrate and maxed at 1.5 phosphate, but that was quickly corrected down to .24-.5. Ph was always OK at 8.2 or so. The calcium has been high and alk has been low, but not CRAZY.
The fish showed no symptoms. They swam, pooped ate and slept just fine and they showed no external signs of problems. One day they'd just stop eating and drop dead withing two days or so. The dearly departed were a Foxface, Bluejaw Trigger and a Sailfin Tang. The Sailfin had been in there 3-4 months without showing any signs of distress. The fish that are left are 2 Oc. clowns and a yellow/white wrasse.
I bought these fish at a store that is not a current sponsor. My plan was start treating with Metroplex/Focus unless anybody has another suggestion.
Have you checked the physical integrity of your heater(s) and other electrical equipment? Maybe it’s a stray voltage. I wouldn’t immediately jump to disease for something that knocks out several fish quickly without any symptoms at all.
hmmm... you're right. Thats interesting.
I'm assuming you have a protein skimmer too, which will help keep the water oxygenated. So that is unlikely an issue.
I'm assuming you have a protein skimmer too, which will help keep the water oxygenated. So that is unlikely an issue.
One way to check for stray voltage is to stick your hand in the water... do you feel a tingle of electricity? Lol, it sounds silly. But that’s how many of these get diagnosed
I did this, felt nothing. I didn't mention it because I figured you guys would laugh at me.
So, did you ever witness any scratching or white stringy poop?
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Did you QT and prophylactically treat the fish before introducing to your display? I would strongly recommend developing a QT protocol that you can live with, going forward. I'd start by removing the fish you have to a hospital tank now, for their treatment. Anything that kills fish that quickly probably cannot be treated in a way that doesn't also kill inverts.
I’m just wondering if they came from the same vendor my husband bought a green mandarin from that started a string of fish deaths in our tank. You can DM me if you want. I will never add another fish to my tank without a strict QT protocol as our losses were too great. We finally used Ruby Reef Rally to the entire 125 DT and have successfully eradicated whatever it was but at the price of losing some very nice soft corals.
Even with the help of the fish disease expert on R2R we could not figure out what they had. We were able to trap one fish and put it in hospital tank and were able to save it. We started with copper then after that did a couple of water changes and treated with metroplex and kanaplex. I didn’t soak the food in it I treated the tank but it was just our small hospital tank. It stayed in there about 2 months and is back in the DT now.
I have a bottle of Rally Pro that I have not used yet, it says safe for corals on the bottle, is that not the case?
We lost a hammer we’d had for a year. Grew from 2 to 10 heads. Lost a ricordia and all the ricordia babies and our orange disco mushrooms took a real hit. Also killed two beautiful colonies of starry night. Everything else is good. We have a mixed reef, seems like those few took it the worst. I also think I may have wiped out my pod population but not sure. My ocular is clowns I’ve had from day 1 were never affected but I lost 2 really nice wrasses, 1 of 2 pj cardinals, 1 of 2 blue green chromis, Royal gramma, fire goby, Mandarin that was the first to die, I can’t remember what else but a lot of nice fish. I’m ready to add just a few back but they will go through a strict QT
If you search online I think there are enough anecdotal stories out there to conclude it's at best "partially reef safe." See below for the main ingredients from their marketing material. Aminoacridine is just an antiseptic so doesn't do anything to treat fish disease other than to prevent and treat secondary infections. Acriflavine is another very effective antiseptic...but again does not treat the disease itself. Formalin, however, is a very effective treatment for fish disease (a key component of the popular safety stop). Of course, it says it actually only contains a "minuscule" amount.
Formalin, in addition to being very harsh, has a severe impact on oxygen in the water. This is why you have to use an airstone even for short term soaking when using safety stop. I suspect that the non-reef safe component of the treatment comes from that depending on your dosing, filtration, and aeration in your tank.
Note, a lot of experts also question reef rally's effectiveness as an eradicator of fish disease. The only ingredient in it that actually treats parasites itself is formalin which is self-described as minuscule. Even if it was enough to be effective, formalin only treats external parasites that are exposed to the chemical. For example, it is not effective against ich already cysted under the skin of a fish. So you would need to keep therapeutic levels going for...months to be effective. Again that's even if you believe it is therapeutic to begin with.
Not to say it doesn't have legit merits as a treatment, it's just unlikely to eradicate on its own. I few it more as a potentially risky but somewhat effective disease management tool.
At this point I'm expecting everything will die. Expensive lesson for sure, but honestly its not the money, I feel like I've let these fish down. I guess if they DO die, I will let it run fallow for a few months and start over with the stocking. 
You only have 3 left. Why not trap them and put into a small hospital tank? It doesn’t need to be fancy it just needs to be cycled and have an hob filter. You can treat the whole tank with metro and kanaplex, I also used PraziPro. I always add an air stone when I treat to give the tank more oxygen. Keep them in there 3 months and just keep feeding your corals. Fish don’t need any fancy lighting either. I have a light you can borrow, I have a fish trap. It may be worth a try then you can save everythingAt this point I'm expecting everything will die. Expensive lesson for sure, but honestly its not the money, I feel like I've let these fish down. I guess if they DO die, I will let it run fallow for a few months and start over with the stocking.
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