11 Year Old Reef Crash

[etepperman]

Hi All,

I have been running my reef tank for about 11 years with out much a problem in the last 5 years or so.

I added a new Power-Blue Tang and within a month all my fish got ick and died. In the past I have had some ick outbreaks (who hasn't), but my tank inhabitant always managed to fight it off. This time was different. I am thinking either there is something in the water stressing my fish, or this was a partially nasty version/strain of ick.

My parameters are all perfect, and my coral and inverts are doing better than I have seen them in ages.

The only thing new is my sump. Where I used what I though was safe silicon. I used GE I Clear 100% Silicon - (Blue with no mildew resistance).

Anyone else either use this silicon with success/failure or come across a case of ick like the one I described above.

In 11 years, I have never had such a die off.

Thanks,
E

 

[ChuckG]

My first thought was if there is one fish that can not fight off the parasite as well as others.. the parasite can monopolize on this and attain greater numbers in the tank than had all the fish been able to resist infestation. Then with a full blown emergence of ich it probably much harder for the normally resistant fish to fend off.

 

[pmrogers]

So sorry to hear this. I think your silicon is okay, that it was the new fish.

A few years ago we lost all of the fish in our then 10-year-old reef in similar circumstances: introduced a fish who brought in some form of velvet that killed everything, even the 13 year old tomato clown who had been through 4 tank moves. I had gotten casual about quarantining fish, coming to believe over time that the healthy established fish they would shake off anything a new tank mate was likely to bring in. Since that time I've gone back to full 6 week quarantines for new fish .

 

[unclejed2]

Hi All,

I have been running my reef tank for about 11 years with out much a problem in the last 5 years or so.

I added a new Power-Blue Tang and within a month all my fish got ick and died. In the past I have had some ick outbreaks (who hasn't), but my tank inhabitant always managed to fight it off. This time was different. I am thinking either there is something in the water stressing my fish, or this was a partially nasty version/strain of ick.

My parameters are all perfect, and my coral and inverts are doing better than I have seen them in ages.

The only thing new is my sump. Where I used what I though was safe silicon. I used GE I Clear 100% Silicon - (Blue with no mildew resistance).

Anyone else either use this silicon with success/failure or come across a case of ick like the one I described above.

In 11 years, I have never had such a die off.

Thanks,
E

Boy, I don't know how many times I've read a post like this one. Something about Powder Blue Tangs! For the future, start using Marine-Max by Tropical Science. It works. It can be used as maintenence once a month but also I add it the day before I add a new fish. All natural strains of bacteria by the way.

 

[Metal Man 1221]

Well last time i bought silicon i stayed away from the GE stuff because it said do not use on aquariums on both GE I and GE II, but i dont think that would have caused your fish to die, did anything else die? or just the fish?

 

[denash24]

Hi All,

I have been running my reef tank for about 11 years with out much a problem in the last 5 years or so.

I added a new Power-Blue Tang and within a month all my fish got ick and died. In the past I have had some ick outbreaks (who hasn't), but my tank inhabitant always managed to fight it off. This time was different. I am thinking either there is something in the water stressing my fish, or this was a partially nasty version/strain of ick.

My parameters are all perfect, and my coral and inverts are doing better than I have seen them in ages.

The only thing new is my sump. Where I used what I though was safe silicon. I used GE I Clear 100% Silicon - (Blue with no mildew resistance).

Anyone else either use this silicon with success/failure or come across a case of ick like the one I described above.

In 11 years, I have never had such a die off.

Thanks,
E

I recently had the same thing happen to me, I bought a Chevron Tang from LFS (Tong's in OC) and the fish appeared in great health so I put him in to the DT without quarantine. Within a few days it broke out with the worst case of Ich I have ever seen and within a few more days all my fish were covered with white spots, shortly after that they all started dying several tangs and one of my clown fish, in total lost 8 fish (only 2 left). I had never experienced such a bad outbreak in the past, hopefully it not some extra potent bug.

 

[john32]

Is it possible you got Brooknella? My fish where alway able to fight off ich to, but I got brooknella once and it killed almost every fish in the tank.

 

[Palting]

Man. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I, too, agree it probably is not the GE silicone, but disease that just got to overwhelming numbers. I am a firm believer in QT and hyposalinity prophylaxis. I have used GE silicone for my build with no issues.

There has been an ongoing debate and several threads at the "New to the Hobby" forum regarding QT and fish treament in QT. It would likely do a lot of people there a world of good if you posted your experience there as well.

 

[etepperman]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I never believed in QT; I was alway under the belief that the extra move and adjustments did not warrant the risk to the fist - and I got away with it for more than 10 years.

I am now willing to accepts that QT may be a good thing after all.

Always learning in this hobby, and I guess I wouldn't still be doing it if it were not for the challenge.

Thanks,
E

 

[Stuart60611]

Well, all it takes if for one fish to get heavily infested with the parasite to turn an otherwise benign ich infestation and turn it deadly. Once a fish becomes heavily infested , the number of parasites in the system generally grow substantially because they multiply more readily due to the larger number of parasites on the infested fish. The increased numbers of the parasite in the system sometimes make it impossible for the other fish to fight off the parasite. Your other fish may have been able to hold the parasite at bay before, but once the powder blue became heavily infested the parasite number in the system may have been too great for your other fish to fight off, particularlly when they were also suffering stress from the addition of a new and aggressive powder blue tang.

 

[SDguy]

I recently had the same thing happen to me, I bought a Chevron Tang from LFS (Tong's in OC) and the fish appeared in great health so I put him in to the DT without quarantine. Within a few days it broke out with the worst case of Ich I have ever seen and within a few more days all my fish were covered with white spots, shortly after that they all started dying several tangs and one of my clown fish, in total lost 8 fish (only 2 left). I had never experienced such a bad outbreak in the past, hopefully it not some extra potent bug.

I brought velvet into my QT twice from Tongs.