Fish Problems

[samschwitz]

Hey guys... I just dealt with ICH in my aquarium and now my yellow tang has red spots on its side and is turning a little darker? I don't really know whats going on with him any help would be great... I just put some mushrooms in my tank and I have noticed they are secreting something... Is this bad for the fish? I am pretty new to this so any help would be great... I lost several fish due to ICH and I really don't want to use anymore... Could it be something bacterial? I also put some xenia in my aquarium and it has died... The nitrate and nitrate levels were high as well and phosphates and ammonia. I did a half water change because it went into a mini cycle... I also used Prime to get the levels safe, right now all the levels are tons better with barely visible nitrate and nitrite levels... Any suggestions would be great!

 

[saltwater junky]

nitrite will slowly kill your fish,doanother water change till you reach zero. i think your tang might have a secondary infection.

 

[ralph atl]

Get some Nori sheets from a publix that sells sushi and soak them with a few drops of Selcon. Also, you can add a little garlic (fresh or Kent's). You need to get your water quality in shape & your Tang needs added boost to it's diet. as right now your Tang will continue to deteriorate and die.

 

[skriz]

what size tank? Do you have a skimmer?

 

[FutureInterest]

Sounds like an internal bacterial infection... g'luck man.

 

[samschwitz]

I do have a protein skimmer and my tank that is infected is a 75 gallon...

 

[skriz]

which skimmer?

Something caused your water to become toxic. We'll need to figure out what. Post complete details of your setup and maintenance regimen. Also, how long has the system been running and what have you been adding?

 

[samschwitz]

I have 125 pounds of live rock, mushrooms, a ton of polyps, kenya trees, and thats about it.. My fish include a yellow tang, a damsel, and a small trigger.. I used kick ich which is safe for reef systems and all types of fish from my LFS. The tank has been set up for a month and a half, I have done water changes every 2 weeks, and I have a sea clone 100 protein skimmer.. My other terminator 2 skimmer was crushed during a recent move... I used API melafix an antibacterial fish remedy after the ich treatment because I had a harlequin with fin rot (hes now in fishy heaven) I use all Kent Marine products such as pro buffer, cora vite, liquid calcium, stronium & molybdenum, essential elements after carbon use and water changes, and mocrovert. I also give them some seaweed salad every now and then for a treat... It seems like since I got this tank it has been the tank of death! I also use carbon one week out of the month... I haven't the slightest clue whats going on! The fish seem to be breathing hard and I have 3 power heads and a Rena Cannister filter that I only use for the carbon and water movement... I could post some pics but I am not sure how to!

Sam~

 

[samschwitz]

I also forgot to say that my xenia just died and I pulled it all of the rock scrubbed it under hot water and placed it back in my tank... Any help would be great!!

 

[samschwitz]

I just had another Damsel die tonight!!! My trate and trite levels are now 0

 

[skriz]

First of all the skimmer is insufficient. Buy a better skimmer to aid in water quality.

Secondly, it seems as though you have added a lot of bioload in a very very short period of time. This will have a detrimental affect on your system, especially with lack of life support.

Adding tons of meds to the display was the wrong move. You generally want to do that in a med tank.

Seaweed is not a treat for a tang, it's their diet.

Your water change regimen is great. This is probably the only reason that your fish have survived this long. Keep that up. Don't add any more fish until your tank has stabilized. I would do a couple of large water changes and make sure that you change the carbon very week or 2 weeks. I would think you will probably lose more fish until the tank has stabilized.

Are you getting surface agitation with any of the powerheads? Make sure you do; this will ensure you are getting the proper air exchange that you need.

Triggers and harlequin tusks are very messy fish. They will add a LOT to your bio load and that waste will need to be exported efficiently. There are only 2 ways to really do that: frequent water changes or a powerful protein skimmer. Obviously, the combination of the two is the best.

 

[skriz]

hot water just probably killed your live rock and reduced your filtration capabilities. Looks like I was right about more fish dieing

 

[samschwitz]

Okay I appreciate the info... The hot water was only used on a very small rock in the tank with the xenia on it.. I thought that removing the xenia from the small frag would help from the high trate and trite levels since it was dying off... The 125 pounds of live rock wasnt touched... I definitely wouldn't scrub all of my live rock with hot water lol! I will definitely need to get my 20 gallon out and start using it as a hospital tank! And I will stop buying fish from Petco! All of the fish had ich or fin and tail rot! All of the power heads are going to the top for maximum air quality in the tank... Any more suggestions would be great! I am out of salt mixture for my tank so it doesn't look like I will be doing any water changes anytime soon... Half of the water was changed over a week period just ending yesterday.. I won't be adding any chemicals for quite sometime I am just going to let it sit... What would be the best chemical dosage days for calcium, purple up or anything like that? And if all of my fish die do I need to disinfect my tank??

 

[skriz]

If you have a total tank wipeout, I would just let your tank go fallow for a while, while you get things in order.

A calcium dosage cannot be determined without knowing what level you currently have. BUT, being that you don't have a high Ca demand, you don't need to dose anything. The water changes will maintain everything you need. I would keep all chemicals out of the equation for now.

First thing you need to buy is salt. Second, a skimmer.

 

[samschwitz]

Thanks for all of the help guys!