Another fish lost, help explain why

91sbcamaro

New member
I lost a powder blue tang and 2 damsels about 2.5months ago. Checked parameters and couldn't find anything out of range. I decided to wait 6 weeks before trying out new fish just in case it was a parasite or something.

5 days ago I got in 3 damsels, wrasse and goby.

Goby died yesterday, he had been active ever since I put him in the tank, and came out to eat everytime.

Lost the wrasse today, found him at the bottom of the tank with my crabs eating him. He was always active as well. I am feeding them brine shrimp twice a day.

My damsels are still going strong and are active just as the other fish were. And all my corals are doing fine and have been since the tank was setup. Any ideas? I'm at a loss here. Could it be stray voltage?

Paramters:
Salinity - 1.025
Temp 82*
PH - 8.0
Alk - 1.6
Phosphates - .25 (a bit high)
Ammonia - 0
 
I wish I could help, but I was in the same situation about 1 yr ago. I lost 5 fish in one month, and could not figure out what was wrong. Like you said they were active, and had no sign of parasites.
I just waited 3 months without adding any fish, and have never lost any ever since. To this day I have no idea what happen.
 
look into buying fish elsewhere if you haven't yet, i would guess it's the LFS and not you if the tank sat fallow for 6 weeks.
 
What accimation did you do for the fish? Was it just temp, or did you need to drip acclimate etc. How quickly were the fish removed from the transport bag once it was opened?
 
Were the damsel,wrasse, and goby in the same tank at the LFS? Might be salinity difference that shock your fish.
 
I drip acclimated for 2 hours before putting them in. They were all ordered from the same place and shipped in. If it was salinity shock I wouldn't expect them to last 4 days before they died, and ate/acted fine.
 
Correct I had only been feeding them brine shrimp. I did pick up some algea sheets yesterday.

The goby died in 3 days and the wrasse in 4 days.
 
how long has ur tank been set up? and has the nitrogen cycle completed? u mentioned ammo but what about nitrite and nitrates. and do u have any denitrators or sulphur filters on ur tank?
 
Tank has been up for about a year now. No denitrators or sulphur filters, the sump just has a filter sock, skimmer and fuge in it.
 
Did the fish come in separate bags? If so did you check the salinity in each bag if separate bags. I am going to sound like sk8r here, but do you have or did you use a QT?
 
Did not QT the fish, and did not check salinity of the bag. I though drip acclimating them would take care of any shock.
 
Drip acclimating alone can kill them: read the sticky on procedures with new specimens at the top of this forum. The size of the fish relative to the bag can bring lethal ammonia even over a very short traveling distance. In no case should you place a fish into water you have not tested, preferably with a refractometer, and no drip should last more than 30 minutes. Plus you need to quarantine: ich can set you back 8 weeks and start you all over again.
 
Yes I am running a skimmer.

Sk8r - Just read through the sticky, I was following the instructions from the place I got the fish. They want you to do the drip acclimation. I will be setting up a QT tank for my next purchase of fish, and try your method.
 
Ok, because sometimes it can be inadequate dissolved oxygen levels. Thats what happen to me. Because your temperature is 82, it might make it harder for the fish to breathe. Try lowering your temp.
 
Damsels? what kind. damsels will stress out any fish that enters that tank. you need to keep a eye on the damsels that are in there and how they react to new fish.certain damsels are no good to keep long term.
 
Your water recieves oxygen from a gas exchange at the surface . Low water flow and or covering the top highly reduces your O2. I would guess you have improper water movement..
 
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