Tank getting Wiped out one fish at a time

[TLTGF]

Okay, so some background - Approximately one week ago I started having fish die. First was a flame angel, then a royal gramma, and today a green chromis.

The flame was looking great and swimming around, eating well, then one day he disappeared completely. I looked everywhere around the tank, under the tank, in the sump, etc. Assuming he had jumped out and become a snack for my cat, I thought nothing more about it.

Next day, gramma starts acting weird, no weird look though other than swimming funny, no spots, no patches, no torn fins, etc.

I QT'd him for 24 hours - next day he is swimming well. I put him back into the DT only for him to float upside down to the bottom of the tank. He then twitched, swam away and hid. One hour later half of his body came floating from behind the rocks - the crabs already feasting.

Finally, I though I had a preggo chromis - it was getting very fat, had an orange spot on bottom rear of belly, heavy breathing and swimming slowly. It also was constantly hiding behind the overflow.

Today, I woke to find it stuck in a hole in the LR - I dislodged and it swam away. Three hours later, I go in to find it laying sideways on a piece of LR. I netted it, and placed it in QT tank.

Here is an attached pic - It looks like some pink / red coloration on its body.

 

[Kio707]

Have you checked your parameters?

 

[Unicorn]

did u ever find the dead flame?! maybe his body is decomposing somewhere you havent looked. Also, with all the dead fish and crabs eating, your Ammonia (and therefore nitrite + nitrate) may be high now

 

[TLTGF]

Yup - other than a 1.022 salinity at one point, all the params have been spot on. Ammo -0 Trites - 0 Trates -20. Trates could be lower, but it was the same the day before I did a pwc, so I'll do another one this friday and that will be lower.

I honestly have to believe that it was something that came in on a fish.

I have a build thread going, that I explained that when going to QT, my QT tank cracked and leaked about 5 gallons of water everywhere!

So i bucked up - drip acclimated and crossed my fingers - My LFS told me that they QT for a week as well before selling... Not 100% on that one.

 

[TLTGF]

PS - I have since purchased a new QT.

 

[Kio707]

What about your pH levels?

 

[carey]

That really really stinks. If they had been in a qt you could have caught it earlier probably. I would have to agree that it was something that came in on the fish, but what? Doesnt sound like ich or velvet....

When I had my outbreak the fish almost had a burned look to them, like they had burned themselves on the heater which of course they couldnt have.

When did you buy the fish? Have you contacted the store yet? Maybe they can do something for you if you bring in a water sample to show you didn't do anything worng...

 

[TLTGF]

Well, I purchased my latest fish the weekend before last. I'm planning to go to the lfs tomorrow and find out if they can do anything for me. I've spent $300 in the last month there, and I'm on a 1st name basis, so I hope they can at least help me with something. I always bring my water there as an additional water test, so they know I'm good to go there too.

I'm going to cross my fingers, and hope my Diamond goby, sixline, and 3 other chromis hang on for dear life.

 

[TLTGF]

Kio, I don't have a test for pH though when I took water last week to lfs, they did the "Big" test with all sorts of fun stuff, and claimed that my water was good for fish and corals.

 

[Krista]

You should test your pH. We had the same thing happen (a fish dying every day after hiding and not eating the day before), and it turned out our pH had dropped to 7.4! We finally got it under control, and now no one is dying (after 4 weeks, it is up to 7.8, and things seem better). I would check on it.

 

[TLTGF]

What did you do to get yours under control? I am going to get tests and check in about (2) hours.

 

[Krista]

We are using a buffer called Seachem, and it slowly increases your pH. We also opened our sump up so that more air could circulate and get some of the CO2 out. Do you have a skimmer? A skimmer can also help oxygenate the water, and it can help keep your pH right (although it didn't help us, since we had it already before the pH drop).
Let us know how things go, if it's pH, at least it is a relatively easy fix. good luck!

 

[TLTGF]

Here is what I have found / been told:

Ammo - 0
Trites - 0
Trates - 20

PH - 7.8 (taken 1st thing before lights kicked on) Testing again tonight.
Alk - 273

Salinity - 1.023

Temp - 80F

Went to LFS and spoke with owner - extremely knowledgable about everything I've ever asked.

He stated that my pH is on the low side, but he would expect a small swing 8.2-7.8 during the night when the corals and algae start making their own food and using oxygen and producing CO2... I'll buy that.

However he did say that my alk was just outside the range on the low side, so he recommended seachem buffer, which I got and dosed.

I also picked up a API Master kit, so I actually had my own pH kit.

Furthermore, he stated that the signs, symptoms that I was facing in his opinion would not be caused by anything to do with any readings that he got from the water. He did state however that it sounded like a bacterial infection commonly found in Green Chromis. He also stated that USUALLY it doesn't transfer to other fish, however, it is possible.

He also stated that there could have been factors that led to stress which caused the infections to show up more quickly.

His advice was to monitor all the fish very carefully for anything out of the ordinary. Act accordingly. He also stated that he wanted me to test my pH tonight after a full day of lights on, and ensure that it is up to 8.2. He stated to call him if not, and we would look to a plan of action.

Any thoughts?

 

[Krista]

I don't know much about any kind of bacterial infections, but it is a good idea to keep an eye on your pH. Our's was around 7.8 when our fish started dying too, and the LFS didn't think it was the cause until we went in the next time and it had dropped to 7.4. Sometimes the test kits that you get don;t give accurate readings. Ours always tests about .3 higher than it actually is according to the store's more reliable test. Maybe you could bring in another sample to the store instead of doing it yourself tonight once the lights have been on.
They don't like to put you on an arteficial buffer since it is difficult to get off of it once your tank is being dosed with it. That is why he is not trying to get you right on one after one reading being low. My LFS said that the low pH has been a chronic problem in our town all summer. almost everyone is coming in with low pH because the city water has become a bit acidic this summer. Even his display tank in the store suffered. The good news is that if that is all it is, it is fairly easy to fix. If it is the bacteria afterall, then I am sure your LFS will know what to recommend. Good luck, and let us know how things go!

 

[redsea]

Sorry to hear about your losses....

 

[TLTGF]

Krista, thanks for the input and it looks like you may have pointed me in the right direction.

Red - Thank you, I was really feeling like crap for a while, thinking that I'd done something horribly wrong. I don't know if I should, but I do feel better knowing that it probably wasn't me.

I will definitely keep posting as I know more - someone else may encounter this same issue.

 

[huma-huma]

I wouldnt dose yet, low alk doesnt really harm fish nearly as much as coral. Id just watch the fish closely and monitor levels

 

[TLTGF]

Yup - thats the plan!

As soon as I go home, I'll test for pH again and hopefully we'll see.