I found my kole tang dead yesterday. The day before he was happy, healthy and swimming around. It's the third fish I have lost in three months. No fourth. First was coral beauty, sixline, yellow tang, and now kole. Have no idea why. Did a water change yesterday after testing water. Everything test okay except ammonia was .25 and calcium was 520. Did a water change of 12 gallons on my 55. My partner called me a " a fish killer" which I feel like I am. All fish were recent addition to the tank which has a maroon clown, a lawnmower blenny, and green Chromis. By the way, anyone want a maroon clown (lol). Suggestions on some really hardy fish, I guess those are what I need. I wanted to go with wrasses, love their look, but not if they are going to die off.
DEAD Fish....HELP
- Thread starter karenvas2
- Start date
More info you give will receive better answers, as how old the system is very important.
Water changes might be abit much to me tho I've done that much at the early stages.
Is the mixed water at least a few days old before changing?
What do you use to test salinity, I had horrible incorrect readings with the arm ones, Refractometers strongly suggest as quite accurate. This is the easiest thing to control.
Your salinity reading?
Using filtered water?
Aged system usually several weeks to a few months, then even longer.
Ammonia level should be zero if fully cycled.
Move slowly, anything done differently or added recently?
Water changes might be abit much to me tho I've done that much at the early stages.
Is the mixed water at least a few days old before changing?
What do you use to test salinity, I had horrible incorrect readings with the arm ones, Refractometers strongly suggest as quite accurate. This is the easiest thing to control.
Your salinity reading?
Using filtered water?
Aged system usually several weeks to a few months, then even longer.
Ammonia level should be zero if fully cycled.
Move slowly, anything done differently or added recently?
Last edited:
Own hardy fish Damsels and Clowns hard to beat. Especially Damsels can be aggressive and removed when you upgrade to other entry's.
I've found my Clown, Dotty, and a Cherub to be rather hardy in my small system.
But check to see what improvements or your issue is before advancing.
I've found my Clown, Dotty, and a Cherub to be rather hardy in my small system.
But check to see what improvements or your issue is before advancing.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
+1 No stocked tank should ever have any ammonia. Who knows how high it got a day before you tested it? Many fish can also die well after exposure to ammonia. Time to go back to square 1 and find out why your bio-filter isn't processing ammonia very well. Often, this is due to overstocking a newer tank or adding too many fish too soon.
EDIT: I looked at your public profile. Your tank has only been set up for three months or so? If that's right, you have too many fish in a smallish tank too soon. The presence of ammonia points that way. A tank can take 2 months to cycle. A 55 is too small for a yellow tang, Imo, and it sounds like he went in way too soon.
Last edited:
Okay, I have had other say the same about yellow tang, that was a suggestion from a local LFS. Since I am new to this I went with them. The fish died before and after water change. The sixline was after a change and the kole tang was two days before. This is the first time that amonmnia showed anything but 0. I test regularly and salinity is 1.026 with refractor. I have a tank to set up as a qt but have not done o as of yet. No meds in water.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
I know what you mean by the maroon clown. Beautiful fish; but maybe the most territorial (as opposed to aggressive) fish we keep. Don't add another clown, ever, unless its a smaller male maroon. And get some help before you proceed.
Back to your problem. What are you using for new water after a change? Many folks think of a QT as just a ich-catcher. There are many reasons to quarantine all fish, always. We can ID many parasites and conditions, and that still amazes me. However, fish must have a lot of parasite, bacterial & viral conditions that we can't diagnose. Almost all of these unknown conditions will appear in the QT and we at least have a shot at curing them. If the fish dies, and they do, of something unknown; at least it hasn't carried whatever killed him into the DT. It is not impossible that there is a deadly parasite/ bacteria, whatever, in your tank. If the fish have shown no signs of the stuff we can identify (white spots, not eating, heavy breathing, peeling skin, rubbing itself on rock/ substrate, etc. etc. ) and water conditions seem OK (I'm still concerned about the ammonia, a tank with fish should never have ammonia) ; then you may never know what killed these fish. It is not unusual for new hobbyists to lose some fish at first and I sure wouldn't add any new fish until your QT is ready and you've waited at least a month. I would also worm your fish with Prazi-Pro, a very safe med that can be used in your DT. There are countless internal and external worms that can be fatal and PP will take care of them. Get some Prime, or similar ammonia neutralizer and keep it on hand. Its cheap. Test ammonia daily; if it climbs again, let us know. FWIW; a LFS used to be a great source of info on our hobby. Sadly, this is no longer the case. Read a couple good books on the hobby (they still exist) and ask all the questions you have on our forum. We have a lot of folks who really know their stuff Nobody can cure everything; but RC is a great place to learn, and ask BEFORE you buy.
Back to your problem. What are you using for new water after a change? Many folks think of a QT as just a ich-catcher. There are many reasons to quarantine all fish, always. We can ID many parasites and conditions, and that still amazes me. However, fish must have a lot of parasite, bacterial & viral conditions that we can't diagnose. Almost all of these unknown conditions will appear in the QT and we at least have a shot at curing them. If the fish dies, and they do, of something unknown; at least it hasn't carried whatever killed him into the DT. It is not impossible that there is a deadly parasite/ bacteria, whatever, in your tank. If the fish have shown no signs of the stuff we can identify (white spots, not eating, heavy breathing, peeling skin, rubbing itself on rock/ substrate, etc. etc. ) and water conditions seem OK (I'm still concerned about the ammonia, a tank with fish should never have ammonia) ; then you may never know what killed these fish. It is not unusual for new hobbyists to lose some fish at first and I sure wouldn't add any new fish until your QT is ready and you've waited at least a month. I would also worm your fish with Prazi-Pro, a very safe med that can be used in your DT. There are countless internal and external worms that can be fatal and PP will take care of them. Get some Prime, or similar ammonia neutralizer and keep it on hand. Its cheap. Test ammonia daily; if it climbs again, let us know. FWIW; a LFS used to be a great source of info on our hobby. Sadly, this is no longer the case. Read a couple good books on the hobby (they still exist) and ask all the questions you have on our forum. We have a lot of folks who really know their stuff Nobody can cure everything; but RC is a great place to learn, and ask BEFORE you buy.
To continue...
Perhaps leave things fishless for couple months and monitor for any spikes. Some parasites require a host for survival.
Might try shrimp or invert of your choice, as fish parasites will not bother them. Course other things might be going on.
Go slow, add things slowly. Quarantine safest route.
Do the research as mentioned, loads of excellent info already posted.
Perhaps leave things fishless for couple months and monitor for any spikes. Some parasites require a host for survival.
Might try shrimp or invert of your choice, as fish parasites will not bother them. Course other things might be going on.
Go slow, add things slowly. Quarantine safest route.
Do the research as mentioned, loads of excellent info already posted.
