Unexplained Death - any ideas

[badfish]

well yesterday i lost a Margareta snail, it looks like he fell off the glass and i didnt get him in time, is there a certain a mount of time they can live before being flipped over. But this is not what i am writing about. I lost one of my green chromis between last night and this morning. He was stuck to the powerhead of a MJ 1200. The only thing i can think of is he got too close to the powerhead, all 3 of my chromis hang out by the powerhead at night. My full stocking list is.

2 O. Clowns
3 Chomis (now 2)
1 yellow watchman
8-10 hermits (blue)
8 Margareta Snails
1 Turbo Snail
various hitchhickers

i tested two days ago and today and my readings are
ammonia - 0
nitirite - 0
Nitrate - 15
PH - 8.0 - 8.1
Salinity - 1.023

I know my PH is a little low, but it has always been this way, all the fish listed above have been together for at least 2-3 weeks. Any ideas what could be. I think its just the powerehead, but not sure. As for the snail, should i leave him in there, the hermits are feasting on him b/c i think they want his shell, should i take him out. Fish was already removed.

TIA.

- Jeff

 

[badfish]

The reason why i think its the powerhead is because where he got stuck to is around six inches below the waterline. Does this make any sense?

 

[steve-s]

A fish stuck to a powerhead like that can do a fair amount of internal damage not to mention stress the poor thing beyond the brink. I think you can be fairly certain that was the cause.

How long have you had them and what was the last fish added/how long ago?

As to the snail, they can generally last a day on their backs. More often than not it's the crabs that get to them before they die. Once righted they can also take some time to become active again.

Cheers
Steve

 

[badfish]

The last fish added was the chromis, and it was at least two weeks ago, more towards three. Im pretty sure it was the powerhead that killed him because he was fine last night, and all my Chromis hang out by the powereheads after lights out. Thanks again steve, your always there.

 

[4inchSandBed]

hmmm.... i heard this exact thing happening to a friend, and it turned out to be poor water quality. I would consider setting up a quarantine tank and carefully test your levels.
Goodluck buddy.

 

[steve-s]

Do the remaining chromis show any sign of scale loss or white "patchy" area's? If not, I would go with the original conclusion.

Cheers
Steve