3 died in the last 4 days ???

Reefkeeper · 02/27/2006, 09:03 AM

Over the last week I have seen the decline in health and loss of 3 fish.
Emperior, flame angle and a perc clown. All these fish I've had for more then 4 years, the perc I've had more then seven. Part of a mated pair.
I have a 200gal tank, 250lbs of LR, 100gal refuge with over 7 inches of LS, a 40gal sump, and a rather large protien skimmer. The tank has a veriaty of soft and leather coals as well as many star fish and clean up critters.
Its been up for more the 5 years with no major problems.
All tank levels read good.
sal 2.022
ph 8.1
am 0
trates .1
trites 0
Im about to do a 50gal water change but it dawned on me that maybe
the water comming from my kent rodi unit might be bad. And if this is the case, then no test I have will be able to test that.

Any Ideas?

reverendmaynard · 02/27/2006, 09:12 AM

I hope that salinity is 1.022!

Any other fish in the tank? Any new additions? What were the symptoms before death?

Sounds like a disease/parasite, as inverts are usually the first to die from poor water quality.

If you can't figure out the cause, a series of large water changes to reduce any possible pollutants, followed by a 6-8 week period of no fish to kill off any parasites, would be recommended before adding any new fish.

LOTUS50GOD · 02/27/2006, 09:20 AM

Double check your nitrite/ nitrate levels (with a different test kit).... Do you do maintenance on your DSB? Also what is the TDS coming out of your RO unit? When was the last time you changed your cartridges?

The reason why I ask is.....In my 260 I have trouble keeping my nitates down because of the bioload that is in the tank..With a large angel and clowns the bioload on tank can be rather high.... I change 135 gallons a week (3x45 gallon changes)
on my 400 to keep the nitrates in check.

Reefkeeper · 02/27/2006, 09:56 AM

1.022 sorry.
I have another perc, white band around tail is darkening, a clark's clown, has a film over him, 2 yellow tangs, fine, and 2 blue tangs, also fine, a blue carpet anemone, the clark's home.
The emperior started to get faded blotches, the perc had no problem visable. The flame angle showed no signs.
No new fish or corals, but about a month and a half ago I swapped the LFS a butt load of green star polyp for about 35lbs of live rock.
If it was the LR wouldn't I see a nitrate spike?

reverendmaynard · 02/27/2006, 10:07 AM

Not if it's a parasite or bacterial infection brought in on the lr.

Even LR should be QT'd. Here's a link to a good article; link .
Ammonia from uncured lr can kill fish, but is just as likely to kill inverts, and you say it tests 0, so that's unlikely to be the problem. IMO, all water quality problems are likely to affect corals first, so I don't think it's a contaminant.

I think the only 100% sure way to make sure you don't have some kind of fish killer in your tank, without waiting for all the fish to die, is to put all the fish in a hospital tank and observe/treat them. Let the display go fishless for 6-8 weeks. That'll kill off anything that requires a fish host to survive. Replace surviving fish and hope for the best.

02/27/2006, 09:03 AM	#1
Reefkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: St. Louis Posts: 283	3 died in the last 4 days ??? Over the last week I have seen the decline in health and loss of 3 fish. Emperior, flame angle and a perc clown. All these fish I've had for more then 4 years, the perc I've had more then seven. Part of a mated pair. I have a 200gal tank, 250lbs of LR, 100gal refuge with over 7 inches of LS, a 40gal sump, and a rather large protien skimmer. The tank has a veriaty of soft and leather coals as well as many star fish and clean up critters. Its been up for more the 5 years with no major problems. All tank levels read good. sal 2.022 ph 8.1 am 0 trates .1 trites 0 Im about to do a 50gal water change but it dawned on me that maybe the water comming from my kent rodi unit might be bad. And if this is the case, then no test I have will be able to test that. Any Ideas? __________________ Reefer

02/27/2006, 09:12 AM	#2
reverendmaynard Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: RI Posts: 1,490	I hope that salinity is 1.022! Any other fish in the tank? Any new additions? What were the symptoms before death? Sounds like a disease/parasite, as inverts are usually the first to die from poor water quality. If you can't figure out the cause, a series of large water changes to reduce any possible pollutants, followed by a 6-8 week period of no fish to kill off any parasites, would be recommended before adding any new fish. __________________ Think for yourself. Question authority. Current Tank Info: 125 gal AGA, setup on 1/1/06; 29 gal seahorse tank, setup 10/21/06

02/27/2006, 09:20 AM	#3
LOTUS50GOD Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 3,210	Double check your nitrite/ nitrate levels (with a different test kit).... Do you do maintenance on your DSB? Also what is the TDS coming out of your RO unit? When was the last time you changed your cartridges? The reason why I ask is.....In my 260 I have trouble keeping my nitates down because of the bioload that is in the tank..With a large angel and clowns the bioload on tank can be rather high.... I change 135 gallons a week (3x45 gallon changes) on my 400 to keep the nitrates in check. __________________ Vertex Alpha 300 Skimmer, AI SOL Blue, Neptune Apex Controlled 360 gallon Reef Current Tank Info: born 6/26/2008- 340 reef + 100 fuge, 300lbs of figi LR

02/27/2006, 09:56 AM	#4
Reefkeeper Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: St. Louis Posts: 283	1.022 sorry. I have another perc, white band around tail is darkening, a clark's clown, has a film over him, 2 yellow tangs, fine, and 2 blue tangs, also fine, a blue carpet anemone, the clark's home. The emperior started to get faded blotches, the perc had no problem visable. The flame angle showed no signs. No new fish or corals, but about a month and a half ago I swapped the LFS a butt load of green star polyp for about 35lbs of live rock. If it was the LR wouldn't I see a nitrate spike? __________________ Reefer

02/27/2006, 10:07 AM	#5
reverendmaynard Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: RI Posts: 1,490	Not if it's a parasite or bacterial infection brought in on the lr. Even LR should be QT'd. Here's a link to a good article; link . Ammonia from uncured lr can kill fish, but is just as likely to kill inverts, and you say it tests 0, so that's unlikely to be the problem. IMO, all water quality problems are likely to affect corals first, so I don't think it's a contaminant. I think the only 100% sure way to make sure you don't have some kind of fish killer in your tank, without waiting for all the fish to die, is to put all the fish in a hospital tank and observe/treat them. Let the display go fishless for 6-8 weeks. That'll kill off anything that requires a fish host to survive. Replace surviving fish and hope for the best.