Blue tang dead 3 days

[Envieddesigns]

Hey Guys,
Me again. After the 2 yellow tangs attempt in my 10g with good water parameters I opted to get a blue tang & skip the quarantine & dump her in my 55 DT. Today actually i just ran up to take her out & take a pic my wife called me cause the cleaner shrimp were going at her after she croaked. Again water parameters good, 2 skunk cleaners & 1 OC CLown in that DT which are doing fine. Blue tangs been eating every morning since Saturday. No sign of ick on the outside. In the picture around her eyes its sand & on her bottom belly shiny stuff just reflection of the flash from her wet body. Anyhow I know no one can tell me what it is could have been anything from stress to some infection but I give up on this LFS nothings lived that i've purchased from there. sucks that they no longer will give me credit since they did on previous 2 yellow tangs, just a bummer. I'm bummed. Grr.

 

[gonpostal]

How long has the tank been set up and what are the parameters?

 

[Envieddesigns]

Gon, Tanks been up since 5/1/2012,
Temp 78
Sal. 1.024
ph 8.0
No2/No3 0
Ammonia 0
General Hardness 180
Calcium 420
Mag 1500
Alk 9

 

[pweezy42]

im going to guess your rushing it a lil bit.

 

[Envieddesigns]

Thanks pweezy what do you suggest I do, leave it as is 1 clown 2 skunks and a hermits or stock something else?

 

[Heliman]

For a Dt that has been running for best part of 6 months and sucessfully keeping other stuff alive, I dont really think you could say he is rushing it.

After all, he only added a fairly small fish to this bio-load. Ok it was a Tang, so things get a bit more squeezy, but I dont think it should have died within 3 days, sepecially if it was eating Ok for all that time.

From the photo, there does not seem to be any obvious signs of disease, the fish looks in good nick to me

Possibly, the parameters are not what they seem, maybe getting wrong readings from test kits (old reagents ??) or possibly the stress issue is at work...that would be my guess.

Did you give this fish time to settle down (lights off for a day or so) no hands in tank, has the fish got anywhere to hide and get it's breath back...so to speak. Were you overfeeding , hoping to watch it eat ? Did you give it a reqsonable acclimation procedure ?

It just should not happen this way in a set-up that appears to be working otherwise, with some existing livestock doing OK.

ps...I noticed in one of your previous posts you were putting a flashlight onto some worms in your Tank....I HOPE you were not checking your BT with a flashlight !!!!....just about a guarantee for sudden death.....

Maybe better to try again with a tough, cheap fish. If that one keels over, then you have got to think that the problem is in your tank and that your other inhabitants are somehow acclimatised to whatever this problem is.

Other than that, your LFS is selling rubbish fish that are basically doomed whatever you do....it's very hard to tell what the real problem is !!!

 

[Empty Bottles]

He lives in the US, you read the date wrong. Not harping just clearing up any confusion

 

[FishAddict87]

Im not trying to flame you because I have a 55 and made the mistake of putting two tangs in it...before RC. But you shouldnt be putting a tang in it anyway. How much flow do you have in the tank? maybe there isnt enough oxygen exchange... did you get the blue tang from the same source you got your yellow tangs? maybe try to purchase your next fish (try to stay away from tangs) from somewhere else. do you have enough live rock or bio filtration in the tank? I know its been cycled but even lack of enough live rock may not be able to handle a slight change in bio load. and last but not least...how are you acclimating your new fishes? P.S. please dont skip QT...even if you had a bad experience with it, you should still not skip it.

 

[potterjon]

Some fish just don't make it. I wonder what your lfs water params are? Theirs are probably out of whack and yours are too good.
Blue tangs are very docile for tangs and very shy also. Clowns are not. Is it possible they just kept him in hiding and he bullied him to death. They don't have to actually fight, they can just stress them to death by not letting them out from under rocks or to feed, etc.
You can keep a tang in a 55 gallon, sort of. but it is tight.
I think you are adding too many fish way too soon. Let the bacteria build slowly. Every time you add a fish, more bacteria need to bloom. Your tank is very young and not fully cycled and mature. Just my opinion.

 

[michaelr]

it could be cyanide but thats hard to tell. just throwing it out there

 

[Heliman]

He lives in the US, you read the date wrong. Not harping just clearing up any confusion

OOPS !!....so sorry, my mistake:worried:

 

[hobbby3]

Sounds like acclimation issues. Do you know the LFS water conditions? Perhaps they run 1.021 SG. Acclimation up to 1.024 would be a long process best suited for a quarantine tank.

 

[Empty Bottles]

What would a flashlight do to a fish? This may be something I need to know before I get some in my tank.

 

[cincyjim]

What would a flashlight do to a fish? This may be something I need to know before I get some in my tank.

I would like to know this too. I use a flashlight at night to check things out. I won't do that anymore if it causes issues for the fish and all.

 

[SPotter]

slow and steady is the key to success. I cant remember from the yellow tang thread but tells us more about the tank and set up itself.

how much live rock, sand, filtration equipment, how did you cycle it etc.

 

[Envieddesigns]

Hey Guys,
Thanks all for the comments, Regarding the 2 yellow tangs, I didnt get them both at one time. I bought 1 at a time & put in my 10g Quarantine. Anyhow, My DT started up on 5/1/12, 40 lbs live sand 45 lbs live rock. 2 hang on carbon filters & a circulator all rated at 70g. I have my log, I just left everything running & i didnt start testing until 5/13/12 at which there was no Ammonia/N02/No3. Meanwhile I already had 2 clowns & a damsel in the QT tank. The LFS where I bought the tangs from is where I was getting my info. After the 2 weeks i took my water there & they checked it & said parameters fine ok to put some live stuff in so i bought snails & hermits. The snails died because either the hermits got them or a hitchhicker crab that came in one of the live rocks. Anyhow the hermits are still there. after another week I woke to find one of my clowns in QT not doing good kind of pale barely swimming. I did a water change using water from my DT per LFS instructions. He didnt make it. So LFS said it might be Mr. damsel picking at him & since i had them 3 fish in my 5g QT for few weeks now might have been too long & i should have put the two clowns in my DT already since water was good. So i took the 1 clown I put him in my DT didnt even acclimate him since I was in a frenzy (in the zone) wondering WTH was going on. Anyhow thats the 1 clown which is still living today in my DT. The Damsel I gave away to a LFS because I heard they are not good to put in DT. So that's how it all started. After I had the 1 clown in my DT i then got the 2 cleaner shrimp. & thus I keep checking my water parameters & everything is good no spikes.

 

[Envieddesigns]

Also the blue tang, i acllimated by putting the bag in my DT clipped to my hood light. Every 10 min. put 1/4 cup of DT water in the bag did that 3 times then 1/2 cup of DT water every 10 min, 2 times. Then neted her out & put her in. LFS said not to do the drip acclimation in the bucket because the water could get cold being i dont have a spare heater & that my house is central air cooled the water could get fairly cold & stress it out more.

 

[pootiethetang]

12 days is really fast for a complete cycle. I'm a bit suspicious.

Few questions;

How was the rock and sand orginally added to the tank? was it bought as cured LR then kept in water and added to the tank?

Also, do you have any powerheads in there?

Are you using RO/DI water?

Have you been putting any chemical additives or anything in there?

And I would highly suggest you dump one of the carbon filters and replace with a hang on skimmer.

 

[rgauvin]

Honestly, with the tank only being up for 6 weeks, and with tangs being harder to keep then other fish, maybe try a dwarf angel or something that is hardier and cheaper then a tang?

 

[Envieddesigns]

The tank was started with de-chlorinated tap water. Then Rock was put down & Sand after. The live rock was bought from the same lfs i got the fish from. They put the rock in a bin with news paper soaked in its own tank water. I brought home & laid it down. No power heads. Yes I use Ro/DI water to top off & I get the salt water from the lsf as well. I've been dosing calcium nothing else. I have a skimmer but havent put it up as it was super bulky & would have to move the tank away from the wall. Also read that people havent seen much difference with or without a skimmer?