Fish are dying 1 by 1 why?

A

alfieferenzo84

New member
So i got a 220 gallon tank added about 15 fish over 2mo and they got ick so i dropped salt to 1.008 and after 2 weeks no signs of ick but now every few days a fish will stop eating then start swimming funny n slowly upside down sideways heavy breathing then lay on ground and die.

All test of water are good. no ammonia or nitrites. nitrate 10, ph 8.0 holding night and day on ph probe. temp 78 24/7

Normal current power heads, canister, wet n dry.

all fish are being treated in dt together.

Can anyone help? I lost so far 2 sand gobys, 4 tangs, 3 chromes so far in just 2 wks i don't want anything else to die.

Thanks in advance really hoping someone knows what is going on. I have a video of fish swimming upside down and drifting around. Theres no signs of fighting or marks on fish so i don't get it...
 
I suspect marine velvet. That's what it's sounds like. There's a good chance you had both ich and velvet in your system. Hypo does not cure velvet. Sorry.
 
RHS-10ATC Refractometer

fish will stop eating then start swimming funny n slowly upside down sideways heavy breathing then lay on ground and die.

like disoriented, paralyzed, best i could describe it but then for a few hours fish will be perfectly fine then go back to that then die

no spots or marks on fish

the sand goby did this for a week before dying but then the naso died over night. so it seems there might be more then 1 issue?

powder blue died yesterday morning. today all fish looking good and eating.
 
There may have been a pathogen introduced. Any unusual activity in that room especially near the tank or its sump? The other possibility is that you lowered the SG too low and it is below the internal SG of the fish's osmoregulatory system. How are you topping off?
 
The last time i added anything was 26 days ago to the tank would it take weeks to show if something bad was in the tank?

I question the salt level... When i put water on the tester it reads really low 1.006-7 then after 30 sec it reads 1.008 so i did raise the salt 1 part so now it reads 1.008-1.009 right away and after sitting on tester for hours. I question if that could be my issue however this correction was done a week ago and most of the fish died in past 7 days...

Tank is in living room lil to no activity besides tv thats 15 ft away. haven't had ppl over. no cleaning, no smoking. nothing that i can think of.

oh system is 238 gal i loose about a gal a day so that little amount don't affect salt level. i top off daily.
 
Little off topic but to the salt level when i calibrate the Refractometer if i get it to 1.000 with ro/di if i let it sit a min or 2 it will read 1.002 so i am little unsure what its really at so thats why i raised the tank 1 part.

I would think this is due to atc and it needs a min or 2 to get the correct reading and that is why i calibrate it after the water has sat on it for a few min. Is that correct?
 
Why are you having the salinity that low? If it's a fish only system you should be at least at 1.016, better 1.018. For most inverts you need to stay between 1.022 to 1.026 (1.026 - 1.028 if they are from the Red Sea)
 
alfieferenzo84 said:
The last time i added anything was 26 days ago to the tank would it take weeks to show if something bad was in the tank?

26 days is well within the window that a masked parasite will show up. LA/DD runs a low level of copper so you are likely experiencing a masked velvet outbreak

oh system is 238 gal i loose about a gal a day so that little amount don't affect salt level. i top off daily.
Click to expand...

If you are "right on" the hyposalinity threshold the evaporation could push you over the true hyposalinity treatment threshold. But as noted above by ThRoewer, hyposalinity at that level will not effect velvet or brook. If you are doing it to help the fish osmoregulate, it should be higher, around 1.017
 
alfieferenzo84 said:
Little off topic but to the salt level when i calibrate the Refractometer if i get it to 1.000 with ro/di if i let it sit a min or 2 it will read 1.002 so i am little unsure what its really at so thats why i raised the tank 1 part.

I would think this is due to atc and it needs a min or 2 to get the correct reading and that is why i calibrate it after the water has sat on it for a few min. Is that correct?
Click to expand...


If what is 1.000 is reading 1.002 then your tank may have been at 1.006 not the 1.008 you were getting for a reading. Saltwater readings may increase over a short time as water evaporates to increase the SG, but RODI won't be affected by evaporation, so your reading should be stable. Your SG may have been too low for the fish to adjust to, possibly causing internal damage and the mortality you are seeing.
 
Guess i wasn't clear enough

3 weeks ago the fish where covered in ick so i started hypo treatment. now ick is gone but I'm loosing fish every few days
 
You may have lowered SG too low because you were improperly measuring SG. Ich will not kill fish as you are describing. The mortality time line is consistent with velvet.
 
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