cowfish nuked entire tank :(
- Thread starter josh24360
- Start date
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Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Well how much flow do you have? Surface agitation? Skimmer? Ph? Do you have a lid?
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
What size tank? And thats not very specific information to say you have a problem. I think you need to test your water and check your equipment
Maybe, may be the problem here. Sound like your taking alot of your tanks parameters for granted.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Yes but levels can change daily. Especially after adding 3 fish. Ph also drop with lowered oxygen. Usually after or during a major problem testing is the first thing you do.
I still dont know what your full current test results are.
Temp
Salinity
Ph
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Equipment
I honestly didn't check we were in a panic getting put the survivors and into a bucket and cleaning the tank so they would have somewhere to go other than a bucket... in hindsight I shoulda tested but the shock of all the money and fish gone mind was blank. I guess ...
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Well all is not lost, current test results could give some clues still.
I am assuming you have a proper filter for oxygenation purposes so that aside...No offense but if you have water parameters drastically change due to 3 fish additions such as the OP's, you shouldn't have a tank.Testing after a large death toll or event is pointless because all parameters will be out of whack as the bacteria blooms and corpses fester, of which the milky glaze is normal and often precedes eventual disintegration of the epidermal. Cowfish are known for their quick release of toxicity and I've seen tanks succumb in hours you can count on your hands. Sorry for the loss, but I think water parameter speculation might be stretching it here.
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Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
Innovator said:I wouldn't be surprised
Im not saying that is the cause it could a combination of many thing assuming it was the cowfish after adding three new fish, and assuming it was the cowfish is not a good idea.
Mass death has more causes then cow fish im sorry to say. Saying it way the cowfish just because you had one in the tank makes no sense, especially when nothing else was checked for.
I dont make such assumptions.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
Innovator said:
Things can still be tested for and information gained. If you make assumptions then you dont know. 3 fish can do alot to a tank im not sure how you can argue that. Im not talking bioload necessarily either. Any change causes change. This is not rocket science.
It could have been the cowfish just as likely as it could have been anything else.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Oxygen, ph, hydrogen sulfate, stray current, temp, ammonia spike right off the top of my head are a few. Depending on your setup theres probably more.
Do a google search on reef tank mass death and whole bunch of thing you may never knew about come up.
There are many ways a tank can crash.
I've Ben reading but haven't seen anything as sudden and out of the blue like my situation ... not sure I grew up with aquariums and have a established freshwater but the financial loss on these saltwater fish are making me shy that it may happen again :/
He stated the Nh3 prior to intro was 0, 3 fish aren't going to affect this negatively. pH supposedly around 8.4 so assuming above 7.8 and below .8.4 is acceptable. The tank would have to be rather stagnant for a low enough oxygen reading to actually decimate a tank overnight, especially if there were prior inhabitants (relates to hydro sulfide as well). Unless, of course, the pumps failed (even a single airstone would provide enough stability). Not to say there aren't other possibilities, but if what the OP says is true, which is all we can go by, then we are merely stretching for answers. Either way, one death of a toxic animal can easily chainlink others. At this point, to suffice, all the OP can do is massive water changes and post tank specs/hardware to those questioning
J33ps
Aquarium Advice Freak
I had a cow fish and bought a clown fish and the clown fish chased the cow fish around the tank and gave it so much stress that it poisoned my hole tank I can see it happening killer everything but the lion fish over night then he died short time later because I was an moron and didn't realize what had happen and there was no marks on the cow fish at all
