What would kill a . . .

[200 gallon reef]

What would kill a . . . Scooter blenny, and 2 sand sifting starfish.

after 2 years my scooter just starved and died. Then my sand sifting starfish started to detiriarate (lose arms). Now a second sand sifter is starting to detiriarate. Give you a hint, something with the sand. I will give more details after a few unbaised guesses.

Thank you

 

[Gboy66]

It this a guessing game? Well, IMO the poor Scooter died due to a lack of pods for him to eat. And the stars could be dying due to a lack of nutrients in the sandbed for them to feed on..

 

[MacDracor]

Blennies and dragonets often die from lack of pods. Sand sifting stars usually starve in the sand beds. Frankly, I don't know why these are even still sold. They kill everything in the sand that you want living there, then die of starvation. Usually buried in the sand creating a huge nutrient problem.
Well, that's my guess. Can't say how unbiased it is though.

 

[200 gallon reef]

Thank you very much for the inputs. My scooter who I had for 2 years was always fat and happy. Everytime I would clean out the socks I would find 5-10 pods in each. When the lights are off I can use a strong flashlight and see a crap ton of pods throughout the tank.

Here is what I kept from the original post. . . I have a massive diatom bloom that I cant get rid of. (i think it is diatoms) it is reddish brown in color and covers the entire sand bed. I do a 20 gallon water change every week. (200 gallon tank). I didn't think diatoms would kill my fish, but thats what it looks like.

Does anyone know a aquarium enthusiast in Florida who wants to make some extra money? I am to the point that I need to bring someone over and look and assist me.

Thanks

 

[MacDracor]

Well it's possible the blenny was simply old then. But without god-like powers that would make me absolutely correct, I would still wager that diatoms didn't kill anything. They are always present in some quantity so sand sifting organisms have to be able to deal with them. I stand by my original assessment of the stars. As cool as they are, they usually die young in aquariums. Are these the only deaths you've had?
The new information doesn't really change anything...

 

[200 gallon reef]

No, I have also lost a diamond goby. All three rely on the sand quality. I could be wrong, it could be something else but I have tried red slime remover and that wasnt it.

What else could kill a goby, scooter, and make 2 sand sifting starfish start falling apart?

 

[Leonardo7689]

Nutrient build up perhaps? What was the tank parameters? Diatoms and cyano thrives on nutrient rich waters. Could it be possible that you had a spike in your tank? I also agree with probably old age on the Benny. We can't really determine the exact age of the fish the time we purchase them. Starfish has to have prestine water to thrive as well. Don't get me wrong, I love sand sifting starfish as well. I have a 75 gallon reef tank and I have two of them in there. Had them for a year now and they have grown quite big (twice their original size from when I got them) so I'm pretty sure they're not starving. I tend to over feed my tank. But to compensate for that, I have a skimmer rated for 150g tank and do water changes every couple of weeks.

 

[200 gallon reef]

To give u an idea. This is what it looks like 1 day after cleaning the sand. I do a 20 gallon water change a week. It is a 200 gallon tank.

 

[Ziggy953]

Based on those pics and the volume of water change I would say you do have an issue with nutrients in your system. 10% PWC isn't going to impact levels very much.

When you say you 'clean' the sand what exactly do you mean? I've had SW tanks for years and never really 'clean' the sand. What are you doing for flow and filtration in your tank?