fish dying

pitchpotch · 12/26/2008, 06:34 AM

Hi everyone and happy christmas from England, however at the moment i am saddened by the loss of a pair of false perculas I added only a week ago, my tank as been fish free for 2 months previous to adding the fish on the advice of my lfs due to bad outbreak of ich after purchasing a powder brown tang, before this my fish were happy and healthy. The clowns were fine for 3 days then holed up in one corner of the tank for a few days then on the sixth day i came down in the morning to find the male dead and the female swimming erratically after a few hours she was dead too. My water paramaters are checked regularly and also checked by lfs before i added the clowns, all my corals are fine, clam fine, snails fine, currentl dosing with iodine,strontium,calcium,magnesium. Do you think i need to leave my water fish free for longer or maybe add uv filter to kill any parasites that maybe causig the problem.

PH 8.1- 8.4 Elegance Coral
SG 1025 Open Brain
cal 440 mg/l Large Toadstall
mag 1100 mg/l Candy cane
nitrate 1.0 mg/l Sun coral x 2
nitrite 0 Torch coral
phos 0 Spiky Brain
DKH 8 Favia
Temp 76f-78f Yellow cup
oxygen 8 mg/l Deresa clam
Assortment of snails
25% water change every 2 weeks

wrott · 12/26/2008, 08:37 AM

Did the clowns have any visible symptoms of parasites?
If your tank has been without feeding for 2 months, could there have been a small cycle started w/ the new fish--ammonia spikes, that may have eventually stressed the fish to death?
Ammonia spikes may be only detectable a few hours after feeding.
I'm just pulling at straws, what do you think may have killed the clowns? Sorry for the loss.

billsreef · 12/26/2008, 09:52 AM

Wild caught clowns, or aquacultured?

pitchpotch · 12/26/2008, 01:49 PM

Thanks for you input guys, these were tank bred clowns according to my lfs and i studied them closely after they died and both seemed to be free from parasites, also would my corals not react to an ammonia spike?. what do you think about adding a uv filter. Also probably a stupid question but would any chemical warfare between my corals harm fish, I am currently using G.A.C in my canister however.

snorvich · 12/26/2008, 02:15 PM

UV will do nothing for you unless you are keeping multiple tanks separated using the same water system (I know lots of folks think it is great). If clowns are dieing that quickly there is something radically wrong. it is not obvious from the parameters you are stating what that is. What do you use to measure your water?

pitchpotch · 12/26/2008, 02:34 PM

I use Aqua Medic Refractometer to test S.G, all other water testing with J.B.L test kits, water temperature tested with 2 different thermometers, P.H also tested with hand held probe,recently calibrated. Top up water RO/DI, salt used for changes Tropic Marin Pro Reef.

tkeracer619 · 12/26/2008, 02:40 PM

I would make sure to QT any fish you purchase for your tank. How did you acclimate the new clowns? Sorry for your loss, sometimes these things happen and cant be explained.

It doesn't sound like it is a water issue if hey lasted a week. A UV will not do what you want, the only real solution is QT.

wrott · 12/26/2008, 02:40 PM

Inverts are usually unaffected by NH3 spikes (they would of course be effected by high NH3--cycle).
Chemical warfare will not effect fish as general rule.
UV could not hurt, I run a 18W at 100GPH when I see a sign of ich--there is much debate here--UV needs to be strong enough to kill protozoans to keep parasitic populations in check--there will still be parasites in tank, however.
I would add 2 chromis and let them seed the tank for a week or 2. Chromis are beautiful and very hardy--I have 3 now.
Clowns can be very difficult to keep alive for the first 2 weeks.
Feed sparingly every 2-3 days for 1-2 weeks.
Let us know how it turns out.

12/26/2008, 06:34 AM	#1
pitchpotch Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 35	fish dying Hi everyone and happy christmas from England, however at the moment i am saddened by the loss of a pair of false perculas I added only a week ago, my tank as been fish free for 2 months previous to adding the fish on the advice of my lfs due to bad outbreak of ich after purchasing a powder brown tang, before this my fish were happy and healthy. The clowns were fine for 3 days then holed up in one corner of the tank for a few days then on the sixth day i came down in the morning to find the male dead and the female swimming erratically after a few hours she was dead too. My water paramaters are checked regularly and also checked by lfs before i added the clowns, all my corals are fine, clam fine, snails fine, currentl dosing with iodine,strontium,calcium,magnesium. Do you think i need to leave my water fish free for longer or maybe add uv filter to kill any parasites that maybe causig the problem. PH 8.1- 8.4 Elegance Coral SG 1025 Open Brain cal 440 mg/l Large Toadstall mag 1100 mg/l Candy cane nitrate 1.0 mg/l Sun coral x 2 nitrite 0 Torch coral phos 0 Spiky Brain DKH 8 Favia Temp 76f-78f Yellow cup oxygen 8 mg/l Deresa clam Assortment of snails 25% water change every 2 weeks

12/26/2008, 08:37 AM	#2
wrott Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,912	Did the clowns have any visible symptoms of parasites? If your tank has been without feeding for 2 months, could there have been a small cycle started w/ the new fish--ammonia spikes, that may have eventually stressed the fish to death? Ammonia spikes may be only detectable a few hours after feeding. I'm just pulling at straws, what do you think may have killed the clowns? Sorry for the loss. __________________ OK, but where does the meat go! ------------------------------------------------ 120g SPS, 125g mix, 56g FOWLR, 20g qt

12/26/2008, 09:52 AM	#3
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	Wild caught clowns, or aquacultured? __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

12/26/2008, 01:49 PM	#4
pitchpotch Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 35	Thanks for you input guys, these were tank bred clowns according to my lfs and i studied them closely after they died and both seemed to be free from parasites, also would my corals not react to an ammonia spike?. what do you think about adding a uv filter. Also probably a stupid question but would any chemical warfare between my corals harm fish, I am currently using G.A.C in my canister however. __________________ Thought about quitting reef keeping for something less challenging and expensive like building my own solid gold diamond encrusted rocket and flying to the moon. Current Tank Info: Aqua medic percula 120, 150lb LR, fish and coral, Arcadia 4 series lighting 2x 150wMH 2x 38w actinics, 2x tunze Nano stream circulation pumps.

12/26/2008, 02:15 PM	#5
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	UV will do nothing for you unless you are keeping multiple tanks separated using the same water system (I know lots of folks think it is great). If clowns are dieing that quickly there is something radically wrong. it is not obvious from the parameters you are stating what that is. What do you use to measure your water? __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

12/26/2008, 02:34 PM	#6
pitchpotch Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London, England Posts: 35	I use Aqua Medic Refractometer to test S.G, all other water testing with J.B.L test kits, water temperature tested with 2 different thermometers, P.H also tested with hand held probe,recently calibrated. Top up water RO/DI, salt used for changes Tropic Marin Pro Reef. __________________ Thought about quitting reef keeping for something less challenging and expensive like building my own solid gold diamond encrusted rocket and flying to the moon. Current Tank Info: Aqua medic percula 120, 150lb LR, fish and coral, Arcadia 4 series lighting 2x 150wMH 2x 38w actinics, 2x tunze Nano stream circulation pumps.

12/26/2008, 02:40 PM	#7
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	I would make sure to QT any fish you purchase for your tank. How did you acclimate the new clowns? Sorry for your loss, sometimes these things happen and cant be explained. It doesn't sound like it is a water issue if hey lasted a week. A UV will not do what you want, the only real solution is QT. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.