Filter death?

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Imapilot

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
6
Location
Dallas, TX
All,
I am new to saltwater tank. We have a 46 gallon bow front FOWLR. The tank cycled fine, and all parameters were very good. We bought 3 small green chromis last week to add to the tank, and nitrates never spiked anywhere near too high. However, over the past week, all three fish have been found literally sucked against the intake of the Aqueon Quietflow 75 filter (1 after 2 days, another after 5, and the last one today, 7 days later). All of the fish ate and were acting normally, no real signs of stress or issues.

All three took some effort to pry off the intake to the filter. Has anyone had any fish get stuck and die on a filter before? After 1 I thought it was a fluke, but after 3 and not one anywhere but stuck on the intake, I'm starting to worry. I want to figure it out before I buy more fish.
 
They all died from your fish in cycle and then were sucked to the filter IMO.... Fish are strong enough to avoid being sucked in.
 
Nu-Nu the eel said:
They all died from your fish in cycle and then were sucked to the filter IMO.... Fish are strong enough to avoid being sucked in.

He said the tank already cycled though...? Seems like we need a lot more information from the OP...
 
Oh yeah he did say that..is it REALLY cycled?? You should see some nitrates. Check those levels again IMO
 
Nu-Nu the eel said:
Oh yeah he did say that..is it REALLY cycled?? You should see some nitrates. Check those levels again IMO

I agree. Hopefully it cycled and didn't "cycle" lol... Wish I could tell you what I mean by that!
 
When your tank finished the cycle and you tested it before your first water change, did you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates? Also, did you test ammonia levels after the first one died?
 
Yes after the tank cycled, I did test again, and the nitrates were approx 8, while ammonia and nitrites were 0. Nothing came up out of range in any test before during or after their death.

That is what has me so confused on this one.
 
What do you have in your tank? Live rock? Dry rock? How much sand bed, how long was your cycle?
What are your parameters and temp?
 
So going on little information as far as actual readings in your tank, and assuming that the fish were not diseased or had no parasites, since you said that they were stuck to your power head or filter intake, I again will ASSUME that they were too weak to get away from it. With that being said, do you have any surface agitation? Surface agitation promotes gas exchange. In freshwater you have your bubblers I assume. In saltwater that's not needed however you do need movement of water at the top to some degree. Without salinity level readings, pH levels, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, it's really hard to say at this stage.

Being new to the hobby, I realize this is a bit discouraging as we all await the day our tank is cycled to get fish. Here are a few things that in my opinion may help you (others may agree or disagree):
1. I would look into quarantining all fish before they go into your main tank. One infected fish added to a healthy tank can wipe them all out. I would do this for 2-3 weeks...yes, that long because once you get marine ich, it's in the main tank until you take all fish out and provide it no host! Never use meds in your tank. It can kill inverts.
www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/23132-marine-ich-myths-facts.html

2. Always test your water before adding. I would test myself and then take a sample to your LFS for them to test. Some may say this is overdoing it but when you spend $70 on a fish, I feel it's a good way to ensure you are on the right track starting out.

3. Make sure you acclimate anything you put into your tank properly and slowly. Most fish stores keep salinity at .020-.022 . I'm going to say this and I know I will catch grief from someone on here but this is NOT a good level to keep your tank at. If you will research what actual salinity levels are in the ocean, you will find that many range from a .025-.027 (the red sea has a higher salinity level). Your fish will do better with higher levels in the long run.

4. Watch your fish eat before you buy them. Look for any white spots on them, lesions, swim patterns, etc. It's always best to research them then buy. We all have gone in for one thing and come back with things that looked awesome but we didn't know diddle about. Some fish are not comparable with others.

Honestly, each of us have what works for us best. If you will take your water to your LFS and have them test it that for everything, tell them what happened, that may get you some answers. Sorry for the long dissertation!!
 
I'll assume tap water? If you have a high copper content in your tap, or any high traces of other metals, it can take out your fish. What are your water levels at now?
 
Could be velvet..fish can seem normal then next thing you know there dead.
 
In my FW tank I've had numerous deaths of fish getting their fin or body stuck in the filter. However, that's not the case w/ my SW tank, being that I don't have a HOB. Anyway, I used to have 1" fish (neon tetras) in my FW tank and they would all eventually get caught in the filter and die. When I got the same kind of fish years later, I decided to cut an old fish net and wrap it around the filter intake. This helped b/c my fish never got sucked in, but a lot of the debri was not picked up and filtered. About a month later I took it off and so far none of them have gotten caught in the filter (it's been 6 months since). That might be a solution...or you could use a other larger netting from a hardware store.
 
Do what Nikki says. I would agree with her advice. And one thing I highly recommend, and once again, this is just my opinion. Use Smartstart!!! I swear by this product. I use it when setting up a tank, adding fish, and after any kind of death. Also, I would recommend doing water changes weekly. For example: with my first tank ever, 56 gallons, I would do 5 gallons every week. And I would have my water tested at least once a week by my LFS. One other thing: don't test your water after a water change, do it before. Only reason I say this, if you test water after you do a water change, it kind of is useless, because the water parameters will obviously change with fresh RO or saltwater. And you will learn better knowing how well you are maintaining a tank by doing this.
 
Ok sorry for not getting back. I have about 45 pounds of live rock, and two inches of live sand as base. The parameters are still 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ~10 nitrate and PH of 8.2. The salt water from LFS is showing up at 1.25 when i test it. These chromis were very small, less than one inch. So it certainly sounds like someone else had an issue with suction of small fish.

Maybe next fish need to be larger than one inch?
 
Imapilot said:
Ok sorry for not getting back. I have about 45 pounds of live rock, and two inches of live sand as base. The parameters are still 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, ~10 nitrate and PH of 8.2. The salt water from LFS is showing up at 1.25 when i test it. These chromis were very small, less than one inch. So it certainly sounds like someone else had an issue with suction of small fish.

Maybe next fish need to be larger than one inch?

I've had clowns that small and never had an issue. A healthy fish should be able to swim away. :(
 
Nu-Nu the eel said:
They all died from your fish in cycle and then were sucked to the filter IMO.... Fish are strong enough to avoid being sucked in.

Well my clown was alive in my filter so I disagree.. Luckily I found him in time to save him.
 
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