That's a stumper for sure.
On the "copper" thing. 1) It's a myth that having used copper in a tank that has been stripped and emptied will kill blah blah blah. 2) If it wasn't a myth, the corals and inverts would be the ones dying, not the fish. Copper in therapeutic doses, kills parasites (invertebrates) and it will kill all the clean up critters and such.
That sort of kind of rules out most toxins too - usually corals/inverts are the canaries in the proverbial coal mine. However... are there any air fresheners in the vicinity of the tank? Esp. the scented oil kind? They can wipe fish out fast.
How near is your other tank or tanks, to the tank-o-death?
Other than the tailspot blenny, what other fishes have you tried?
How long have those fishes been in the store before you buy them? Do you see them eat before you bring them home? Do you quarantine first?
Given that the tank is the common denominator it's quite possible that there's something amiss with the tank itself, but before you rip everything apart... let's see if we can determine what it is.
Do you run carbon? If the tank is packed with corals, I'm wondering if coral toxins may have something to do with it? It's kind of a long shot... but it's worth asking. Carbon helps remove some of those toxins.
Also 100 snails seems super excessive for a 29. So does 35-40 lbs of rock. I wonder what your actual water volume is with all that displacement? Between all the displacement and more concentrated coral toxins, I wonder if that and/or perhaps low dissolved oxygen might be the issue?
Jenn
On the "copper" thing. 1) It's a myth that having used copper in a tank that has been stripped and emptied will kill blah blah blah. 2) If it wasn't a myth, the corals and inverts would be the ones dying, not the fish. Copper in therapeutic doses, kills parasites (invertebrates) and it will kill all the clean up critters and such.
That sort of kind of rules out most toxins too - usually corals/inverts are the canaries in the proverbial coal mine. However... are there any air fresheners in the vicinity of the tank? Esp. the scented oil kind? They can wipe fish out fast.
How near is your other tank or tanks, to the tank-o-death?
Other than the tailspot blenny, what other fishes have you tried?
How long have those fishes been in the store before you buy them? Do you see them eat before you bring them home? Do you quarantine first?
Given that the tank is the common denominator it's quite possible that there's something amiss with the tank itself, but before you rip everything apart... let's see if we can determine what it is.
Do you run carbon? If the tank is packed with corals, I'm wondering if coral toxins may have something to do with it? It's kind of a long shot... but it's worth asking. Carbon helps remove some of those toxins.
Also 100 snails seems super excessive for a 29. So does 35-40 lbs of rock. I wonder what your actual water volume is with all that displacement? Between all the displacement and more concentrated coral toxins, I wonder if that and/or perhaps low dissolved oxygen might be the issue?
Jenn
" Does your wife get herself together in that room? As in hairspray or perfume?"
