Scubaman99
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello,
I have not had a tank set up for about 10 years, but before that I had multiple saltwater tanks that were successful. I recently acquired a 220 gallon setup so I got it running, adjusted all the levels and added 3 triggers and a grouper to cycle the tank (triggers and groupers were the suggestion of my aquarium shop for my size tank). A few days in (~3-4), I observed something that looked like Ick so I removed the carbon and added cupramine. Things got worse from there. I have observed various "illness" that manifested as large white blotches on fins, grouper excreting a long string-like substance and fin rot. At that point, I tried Prazipro and fresh water baths to try and fix the problem. At this point 3 of the 4 fish have died and the one left has severe fin rot. He also rubs himself against the tank which indicates to me that he has some kind of parasite.
I am now at a loss for what to do. The tank was not cycling long enough for the ammonia levels to get high enough to affect all the fish. Could I have some kind of bacterial/viral or other parasite? My aquarium shop has suggested that I remove the saltwater and run freshwater for a few days through the system (kind of like a freshwater bath for the whole tank). Are there any other thoughts/suggestions on the situation?
Thanks,
Todd
I have not had a tank set up for about 10 years, but before that I had multiple saltwater tanks that were successful. I recently acquired a 220 gallon setup so I got it running, adjusted all the levels and added 3 triggers and a grouper to cycle the tank (triggers and groupers were the suggestion of my aquarium shop for my size tank). A few days in (~3-4), I observed something that looked like Ick so I removed the carbon and added cupramine. Things got worse from there. I have observed various "illness" that manifested as large white blotches on fins, grouper excreting a long string-like substance and fin rot. At that point, I tried Prazipro and fresh water baths to try and fix the problem. At this point 3 of the 4 fish have died and the one left has severe fin rot. He also rubs himself against the tank which indicates to me that he has some kind of parasite.
I am now at a loss for what to do. The tank was not cycling long enough for the ammonia levels to get high enough to affect all the fish. Could I have some kind of bacterial/viral or other parasite? My aquarium shop has suggested that I remove the saltwater and run freshwater for a few days through the system (kind of like a freshwater bath for the whole tank). Are there any other thoughts/suggestions on the situation?
Thanks,
Todd