Dead--now what?

[Capri]

I've had 2 clownfish for a week which died this morning and I don't know why, other than maybe they were sick when I got them. I have no quarantine tank but there were no other fish in the tank. They were fine last night.

Ammonia was 0, Nitrite was 0, Nitrate was 10, salinity was 1.023, temperature 76. I have a 20 gallon high with Koralia 425 powerhead, 25lbs aragonite, 20 lbs live rock, about 45 snails (I ordered 8) and the fish were eating both Mysis shrimp & NLF .5mm pellets.

My question: Other than a water change, is there anything I should do before getting other fish?

 

[mr_X]

They both died at the same time? You have to figure out what killed them, or you will be repeating it.

 

[Scelzin1]

Was your tank properly cycled?

 

[Capri]

Yes, it was.

 

[TheTodd]

They both died at the same time? You have to figure out what killed them, or you will be repeating it.

Agreed.

Were there any signs of disease? If there is something in there (which given the circumstances, it seems there is), then it needs to be taken care of or your future additions could meet the same fate. A water change will not eliminate disease/ parasites and many can live for 6-8 weeks without a host fish.

 

[mr_X]

But perfectly healthy clowns one day and both dead the next sounds like it was something other than disease or parasite.

 

[alco1]

maybe the testing kit is outdated?

 

[TheTodd]

But perfectly healthy clowns one day and both dead the next sounds like it was something other than disease or parasite.

Agreed, unless it was Velvet, which is hard to notice and kills fast.

Could there have been contamination somehow? Air fresheners, cleaners, something on your hands?

How are the snails doing ?

 

[Scelzin1]

Agreed. Could be velvet. Research that and see if it sounds like what your clowns looked like

 

[mr_X]

Velvet takes a week to mature before killing the host? That's assuming they got it the day he bought them. The circumstances don't add up.

 

[Capri]

Re dead fish

Testing kit not out of date.
No symptoms matching velvet (no symptoms at all).
Fish were 4 days in transit due to a postal delay but appeared to acclimate well. Could shipping trauma have caused delayed reaction?

Snails are fine - By the way, should I be feeding them until I get another fish? And would a month be long enough to wait?

Thanks, everyone, for your help.

 

[TheTodd]

Shipping trauma could have something to do with it, but I would imagine it would have to do with being in a little bag with higher ammonia levels and lower oxygen levels . That could cause gil damage, but with no signs of illness (rapid breathing), I'm not so sure.

Is there any chance it was contamination? Did you do any cleaning with aerosols or do any work in the tank where something might have been on your hands or arms?