Another unexplained death

[Adamski]

A few months ago I had to clowns that died out of the blue. As they were my only two occupants and I couldn't explain the death I decided to re cycle the tank (unorthodox maybe)

I got two chromis 10 days ago and the first one was died very quickly. The bigger of the two was chasing him around almost from the beginning and hassled him in to a corner where he died. I have just come home from work and the remaining Chromis is dead. I'm pretty close to giving up and selling everything on eBay

My parameters are
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Salinity - 1.024
PH - 8.2
Temp - 78.8




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[Sniperhank]

How big is the tank? Just sounds like stress deaths from aggression.

 

[Adamski]

40g/180 litre. The shrimp and crabs are happy enough. I know there's beginners luck but this is getting silly


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[Sniperhank]

No other fish in the tank?

 

[Adamski]

No hank, now have nothing else apart from inverts. I used salifert tests as the API ammonia went blue once


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[TheTodd]

I'm not sure I would give up yet. Clowns are fairly hardy, so that is a mystery. Chromis are hit and miss, so I'm not surprised with them. Did any if these fish show any signs of disease/problems?


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[Adamski]

It probably sounds a bit childish on my part but I really am puzzled. No, the first chromis looked pale but if fish are like dead people, that's probably expected!


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[Mebbid]

Did you quarantine the clowns before adding them into the tank?

 

[Adamski]

I didn't as I don't have any space for a QT tank. If I bought another tank my girlfriend would kick me out. The LFS keep several QT tanks and keep them in there on customers behalf


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[treemanone2003]

I didn't as I don't have any space for a QT tank. If I bought another tank my girlfriend would kick me out. The LFS keep several QT tanks and keep them in there on customers behalf


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Whether or not they or you QT may or may not be of any significance. How did you acclimate may be a more important question in order to get to the bottom of this.


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[Olliefowler]

Dont trust a lfs quarantine process!
Buy a cheap fish to start and see how it goes. Add slowly.
A second opinion on teats might be an idea also!
Keep at it. And keep us update!
Good luck


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[Mebbid]

Whether or not they or you QT may or may not be of any significance. How did you acclimate may be a more important question in order to get to the bottom of this.


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I'm actually thinking along the lines of velvet actually. It can be hard to see on some fish so that might be a culprit.

 

[Animal-Chin]

I just had velvet wipe out my tank and only 2 fish showed real signs. The rest were eating one day, dead the next. Worst thing ever. Not saying that's whats happening here but I wouldn't be surprised.

Did you ever see any spots on any of the fish that died?

 

[treemanone2003]

I'm actually thinking along the lines of velvet actually. It can be hard to see on some fish so that might be a culprit.

I understand totally where you're headed but just trying to rule out some things that we sometimes overlook. For instance as in this case QT and acclimation as the op was very quick to point out QT and being dubious of the LFS (post 7) here, http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/to-quarantine-or-not-to-quarantine-328713.html and the possibility of still being a tank in cycle.


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[carey]

I wouldnt give up just yet,

I know it seems mean and heartless but sometimes fish die with no apparent reason. You know why the first chromi died so no mystery there, and the second one, well chromis just dont last sometimes, it's just how it goes.
As for the clowns, again, stuff happens that you cant actually place the blame on one thing or another.
Just try again, get a small fish, acclimate him well and over a good amount of time. Check your parameters before adding him and after a few days. I think and believe you just caught some bad luck. I'd be embarassed to say how many fish I have had die on me. Some were my fault and some were not.

 

[Adamski]

Thanks Carey, I think you're right. I have always drip acclimated everything. I use salifert and API for my tests. There has never been a mark on them which of course makes things more difficult. Any advice on what I should add next?


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[Adamski]

Just re tested an ammonia is up to 0.25 and nitrate is 5.0 ppm. I think Mr chromis was probably dead for between 14-20 hours. Is this usual?


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[carey]

I would say the dead fish shouldnt have had any impact on ammonia so quickly. Think back to cycling, if you used a dead shrimp from the supermarket, how long did it take to start to rot and generate ammonia? A few days at least.

I tried to read up and didnt notice any mention of how and when you cycled the tank. Perhaps you didnt get fully through the cycle? Once a tank is cycled it shouldnt read ammonia pretty much ever again. I;ve had large, and I mean large fish die and had no parameter issues at all. I've had fish that never showed up again and still, even after testing had no ammonia.

 

[Sniperhank]

That is totally normal in a tank where there isn't a bacteria base built up from a cycle. Your fish dying basically became the ammonia source towards that. That is why you are seeing detectable levels. This is also most likely why your fish have continued to die off since ammonia and nitrite are toxic.
My suggestion would be to either:
a. return any current livestock if able to cycle the tank
b. daily testing and water changes to keep up with making the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0 to prevent further deaths

 

[Adamski]

I just tested with salifert and everything is 0. I used shrimp and left it in until it disappeared.


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