Fish Deaths in TTM tanks - Please help

[dedvalson]

Hi,

I am in the midst of transferring all of my livestock from an established 90 gallon reef to a new 180.

Because there had been ich (Cryptocaryon) in the 90 in the past, I transferred all of the non-fish directly to the new tank but decided to take the fish through the TTM method, then move them to a quarantine tank while the new tank went fallow for 72 days.

So Sunday I moved everyone.

The TTM tanks are new 10 gallon aquariums with some PVC pipe fittings on the bottom, a heater and an airstone. I mixed up 100 gallons of new salt water and let it mix for 5 days prior to filling the TTM tanks.

I put the fish (6 of them) all in the first tank. Salinity and temperature matched the tank they had been in, pH was slightly lower (7.7 vs 7.9). The first night in the transfer tank, my Flame Angel and Foxface both died. The rest made it through the second day, but last night my Watchman Goby died and my small maroon clown fish won't live long. All that is left is my large Maroon clown fish and a Green Wrasse, and they aren't eating.

The water parameters seem perfect -

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
pH 7.6
Temperature 77.6
S/G 1.023

I can't see any sign of any disease on the fish. They look perfectly healthy, then they die.

These fish were perfectly healthy, eating well, and all had been in my 90 gallon tank over a year. They showed no sign of Ich, but because it had been seen in the tank I wanted to use the TTM to make sure.

I would like to save what I have left but even more important is that I need to be able to implement the TTM for future purchases (especially now that my fish population is so depleted).

Can anyone think of what i might have missed? I am open to any ideas.

Thanks,

Don

 

[Dmorty217]

What test kit are you using? You put all 6 fish in the 10g tank?

 

[dedvalson]

I am using two different test kits to verify my results. A new Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit and an older LaMotte test kit. They both measure the same.

S/G is measured with a Milwaukee Electronic S/G meter. pH and temperature with a Hanna pH probe.

Yes, I put all 6 in the 10 gallon tank. The largest of the 6 was 3", the rest were under 2".

Don

 

[Spar]

even 6 2-3" fish in a 10g is going to put a lot of undue stress on them. not a whole lot of space, especially considering they were used to 9x the space. most people will do 1 or 2 max fish in a 10g. i have used 30g's for TTM before due to having 6 fish at once (was a major pain...).

ammonia likely wouldn't have been the culprit given just a single night.

what was/is the alkalinity? i doubt that was the issue though...

 

[Dmorty217]

You may never know the answer to this question but I would suspect that the 10g had something to do with it. If you keep losing fish then velvet comes to mind given the rapid deaths

 

[dedvalson]

even 6 2-3" fish in a 10g is going to put a lot of undue stress on them. not a whole lot of space, especially considering they were used to 9x the space. most people will do 1 or 2 max fish in a 10g. i have used 30g's for TTM before due to having 6 fish at once (was a major pain...).

ammonia likely wouldn't have been the culprit given just a single night.

what was/is the alkalinity? i doubt that was the issue though...

Alakalinity is 8.34 DKH.

I figured the tank size would be OK for a short period of time. I guess I was wrong. :sad2:

 

[Dmorty217]

I have used trio of 11g tanks that I have for TTM before but it involved a 2" Achilles tang and no other fish

 

[Spar]

If you keep losing fish then velvet comes to mind given the rapid deaths

he had the fish for over a year though per his post.

OP, were any new fish introduced recently?

 

[Dmorty217]

he had the fish for over a year though per his post.

OP, were any new fish introduced recently?

Ah well then not velvet

 

[dedvalson]

he had the fish for over a year though per his post.

OP, were any new fish introduced recently?

No, no new fish for over a year. I did add some frags on plugs about 6 weeks ago, but that is it.

Don

 

[biomek]

could the "large" maroon clown be the culprit? seems to me 6 fish including him in a 10g is just asking for issues. Not bashing the OP on this, i just wonder if the size and an aggressive clown could push the stress beyond recovery for the others.

 

[dedvalson]

could the "large" maroon clown be the culprit? seems to me 6 fish including him in a 10g is just asking for issues. Not bashing the OP on this, i just wonder if the size and an aggressive clown could push the stress beyond recovery for the others.

The maroon was (and still is) the biggest fish in the tank, but I never saw her bother anyone. In the TTM tank she just stayed in the corner and left everyone alone.

But I suspect you are all right about using too small of a tank. I think I am going to pick up a couple of 30 gallons and move to one with the next water change. I am down to 2 fish now, but I plan to be using TTM on a powder blue tang in the future and I think he would be happier in 30 gallons.

Don

 

[Spar]

The maroon was (and still is) the biggest fish in the tank, but I never saw her bother anyone. In the TTM tank she just stayed in the corner and left everyone alone.

But I suspect you are all right about using too small of a tank. I think I am going to pick up a couple of 30 gallons and move to one with the next water change. I am down to 2 fish now, but I plan to be using TTM on a powder blue tang in the future and I think he would be happier in 30 gallons.

Don

i qt'ed a melanurus wrasse with 10 bangaii cardinalfish in a 75g once. the cardinalfish started dieing one after another over a few day period. all looked like they had been attacked, but i never saw any violence. the wrasse mostly just rested toward the bottom when i was in the room. i ended up setting a webcam to watch what was going on... and go figure when i left the room the bullying started right away. i lost 7 of them before figuring that out...

never hurts to have multiple sized tanks on-hand if you have somewhere to stash them. I have 2 10's, 2 20's and 2 30's, just so that I am ready if I make an impulse buy(s).

 

[julie180]

I would be suspect of low oxygen in that small of a tank with that many fish.