20+ fish in 4 days gone

[Casper01]

I've been an aquarist for a couple decades, have a 130g, 90g, and a 50g. In over a decade I never lost one fish to illness.

My 50g is kind of a misfit or quarantine tank, new arrivals live in there for a bit, plus we have some other odds and ends fish that don't fit into the larger tanks, either because they're too small, or got picked on.

Inhabitants of the tank were
1 albino bushy nose pleco
5 bloodfin tetras
5 Scissortail
10 coolie loaches
3 panda cories
2 clown loaches
1 weatherloach
1 Bluejack
2 roseline sharks - new arrivals - Apr 25
3 Tri color sharks - new arrivals - Apr 25

Most the inhabitants were permanent tank mates, been living in there for a couple years, recently put in the roseline and tri color sharks for quarantine and to grow them up a bit as they were tiny before introducing to the larger fish.

This tank is overfiltered with sponge/air filters and 2 HOT filters.

I usually keep a close eye the first few days for signs of sickness. Week had passed, looked ok, and I let my guard down and didn't inspect closely anymore.

We awoke sunday Morning to find the 3 tricolor sharks dead, stuck on the filter, as well as the 2 roseline sharks. The bluejack looked like someone had rolled him in salt he was that spotted, and the two clown loaches were very lightly spotted. One of my hated diseases, Ich.

So did as I've done before, method that worked well whenever there was an outbreak, removed all the fake plants, vacuumed the gravel, increased the temp to 86, and added aquarium salt to the water, add extra air stones.

That night, the bluejack was dead, the two clown loaches, and 2 coolie loaches.

Next morning, all the scisortails were dead, vacuumed the gravel, partial water change, replaced the salt.

tuesday morning, the coolie loaches, panda cories, and albino pleco were dead. All that is left now is a small school of bloodfin tetras and a weatherloach.

Today... all the bloodfins were dead, and weatherloach, entire tank in a few days wiped out.

I thought maybe something happened and the tank cycled, or maybe old tank syndrome with me increasing the water changes. But the tests were fine, levels where they normally are, no ammonia, nitrates, etc, ph same as the other tanks.

So thinking there has to be something else, I've never ever seen ich kill like this, and I know that most fish can handle increased heat for a few days, so long as there is adequate oxygen supply. I mean if you would have seen this bluejack, he was a pretty big boy, and there wasn't one spot on his body that didn't have a salt spec.

So that brings me to here. I mean problem is solved, all the fish are dead, so I can clout and bleach the tank, reset it back to scratch. But I would like opinions on what I may have missed.

Thanks

 

[ImACoolguy]

Not sure really one the larger fish but salt killed all your "Kuhli" (proper spelling ) , cories, weather, and pleco. They are scaleless and sensitive to salt.

And I hate to say it but you were using a community tank as a quarantine... They call it quarantine for a reason. Something was bound to happen eventually.

On the bright side you have an empty tank you can try again with.


Caleb

 

[IllusionX]

Oh.. The pleco should be totally salt free. I'll have to move our BR pleco then. Or stop using salt.

 

[coralbandit]

All those fish can tolerate salt.
They may not like it but it won't kill them in hours or days if applied properly.
OP said decades of experience( I know the feeling).
Quick kill says columanris to me 9/10 times.
Seeing such a severe ich outbreak,is rare in my experience but not impossible.
I actually like the mixed community/qt idea as often it is what is in OUR tanks that can effect/infect a new fish.
I don't use salt in any of my tanks as a prophylactic , but it has a few places in treatment plans IMO.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

There are strains of ich that have became more heat resistant.
Columnaris is a possibility but op didn't mention any of the signs. He did notice ich though and it can wipe out a tank.

 

[fishliker]

Casper, I am SO sorry about all your fish. That must be devastating! So sorry.


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[Delapool]

Sad news on your fish

It sounds like either they couldn't adjust to tank changes, the ich was too much or bacterial infection got them. Or a combination.

Did the fish handle the initial temp and salt increase ok? What was the increase?

Were the fish still flashing / eating / schooling or was the ich too much for them. Compared to previous cases was anything different for fish response to the heat treatment.

It would be hard to tell I imagine but any other symptoms on the fish? Did ich coverage / fish behaviour stay the same but fish started dying faster at high heat? Bacterial is possible and if it did that would still be lurking in the tank.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

The only thing I can think of that maybe you raised the temp to fast?


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)

 

[Bbush]

I can't imagine... That is awful.


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[candymancan]

The ich we get in this area in my pet stores... heat and salt doesn't do anything.. That's why I use Malachite or Victoria green.. Marinelands ich cure works great 3-4-5 days its gone.


Salt and heat I tried for weeks and didn't do anything..


Also Ive seen collumnaris kill off fish quickly.. but not like 10 fish overnight.. Something else happened imo

 

[threnjen]

I have no idea, but I am really sorry. How sad.

 

[NigelK8485]

How did you acclimate them? Were there any buffers in the tank that maybe you had acclimated too quickly resulting in the shock and death of the first few fish and weakening the others?

Then depending how quickly you increased heat and added salt..possibly too much too soon between the stress of a new tank, new tank mates, new water conditions, temperature changing, salinity increasing.

While the fish listed don't appreciate salt being added it wouldn't just kill them unless it was added too quickly. Very sad though.


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[Bbush]

Could anyone else added/dropped anything else into the tank... maybe a kid???


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[sinibotia]

It sounds like this ich was moving really fast. At a certain point heat is "too little too late" as a treatment option.

 

[Casper01]

On a light note, when I posted this, I thought the tank was a writeoff. I discovered the weatherloach was alive, along with a panda cory. They're still alive today.

I appreciate the comment about a strict quarantine tank, but my quarantine tank turned into a tank that no one else fit into. They got move their to recover from wounds (or fellow schoolmates got eaten). Why I called it a misfit tank, didn't fit in with the other communities. They either lived their or didn't live.

When I first got into aquaria, buying tons of fish, I fought every disease possible while I learned. When I first encountered ich, I don't remember the medicine name, but it was dark blue/green, it instantly killed 1/2 the fish in the tank. Back then, it was preached that high temp and salt was the answer. Not chemicals.

But since... I have introduced many fish using the 50g as a quarantine buffer, this is the first time this has happened.

It is quite probable it was the salt that claimed a majority, but there was something massive going on in the tank even before I started.

 

[ImACoolguy]

I think the columnaris idea is about the best one. It can infect a tank and kill very quickly.


Caleb

 

[Delapool]

[/QUOTE]It is quite probable it was the salt that claimed a majority, but there was something massive going on in the tank even before I started.

Without more details we're just throwing up educated thoughts. It will be stepping through each change in the tank, fish and disease vs deaths to find which fits best.

Another thought is did you check the gills of any fish for massive amounts of ich or bacterial infection?