Having issues keeping fish alive in my tank.

[Jonatan9573]

So I will try and give as much info as I can off the bat without writing a novel but in sure I will miss something first go around.

So I have had my tank up for about 9 years now. It is in my basement built into the wall. I have had ups and downs with it but within the last 9 months after kinda getting fed up with algae and issues here and there I really took control of it and got it back up to better then its ever been. Well before I didn't have much luck with a lot of coral for many reason but did have 4 to 5 fish that did very well for many years. At the low point of the tank I had one clown that has been with the tank for longer then I can remember (he's been through it all). Also at this point The tank had bubble algae, hair algae, brown algae all over the sand that would never go away, it was a disaster. I was at they point of almost taking it down but the girlfriend got me to get going on it again. Thank her for that.

Anyways that's kinda the back story of it. I have since renewed all my test kits, set up all my reminders and kept up on my maintenance. It is now doing very well. It is a mixed reef with sps, lps, mushrooms, zoas, kinda a little of everything. The little coral that survived started to do very well and started growing and splitting. I have added probably 10 different corals to the tank without issue. I also added a cleaner shrimp and two peppermint shrimp with some clean up crew odds and ends. All did well and still doing well. Well I then decided a few new fish might be nice. Well I got a sailfin tank......didn't make it through the night. So I kinda brushed it off and didn't think much off it. I went later on that week and picked up a goby of some sort, I can't remember what kind. He took very well to the tank and is still living in there. Well I eventually decided to try again and bought a carpenter wrasse........didn't make it through the night. Well then I had the lfs test my water and they said everything was good. I had seen a small lesion on its side and they thought maybe it had got picked on at the store. They gave me a credit and ordered another carpenter wrasse. This one was put in the tank and lived the next day but wAs just hiding under the rocks but looked just fine. 2 days later it was dead at the other end of the tank. [emoji17]. At this point I was so frustrated and was trying to figure out what was going on. I went back to checking everything in my tank, filters, perameters, anything that might be an issue. Everything seemed fine. Well I came to the conclusion that maybe the clown that has inhabited the tank since the beginning is attacking the new fish. So we came up with a plan to remove that clown will added a new clow, then reintroducing him back into the tAnk. Well I brought home a new clown and put him in my sump to make sure there wasn't anything that could get to him......made it a day.......!

Parameters:
Alk: 9.6
Cal: 420
Mag: 1300
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 78.9-79.1
Ph: at time of the issues (7.6-7.9)
Now it runs (7.9-8.1)
The lfs said the could be the issue with the fish so I plumbed my skimmer outside to raise the ph.

Thank you for the help in advance and sorry for the long post.


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[Reef908]

Ask your LFS if the have copper in their fish tanks. Many stores run lower level copper that masks issues until they can sell the fish. I would avoid a fish that shows lesions in the store since that could definitely be something nasty. Also, do you have a QT tank? Even a few 5 gallon buckets with a cheap heater and air stone could suffice. This way you don't introduce a desease into your tank. I have had a few fish just die a day or two after purchase from a LFS and one time whatever got that fish wiped out almost all my fish in the display. I have since always used a QT even it's just the buckets for formalin dip, TTM, a few rounds of prazipro and then into the display.

 

[jar41]

I think almost every store run copper! I only know 2 around me without one.
Also, change your LFS. They may have bad fish or bad built system... Good luck

 

[Jonatan9573]

Well as far as the lesion goes I didn't see it at the store so not sure what happened with it. The lfs is the only store and I have never had issues with the fish till recently. Been dealing with them for over 10 years now and always been really happy.

So the thought here is that it the fish and not an issue with my tank?




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[Reef908]

Ahh gotcha. Misread that before and thought the lesion was seen at the store. Maybe better question then is where they source their fish and then check on here to see if others reported similar issue. Problem could be source of the fish from the distributor. Sorry for your losses!

 

[Kremis]

Make sure you are paying close attention to the fish behavior before buying, and ask to see the fish eat - this ensures that the fish is acclimated to captivity and feels well enough to eat, will most likely live. It seems like you just purchased bad fish imo, if everything else is fine

 

[BigBlueTang]

Make sure you are paying close attention to the fish behavior before buying, and ask to see the fish eat - this ensures that the fish is acclimated to captivity and feels well enough to eat, will most likely live. It seems like you just purchased bad fish imo, if everything else is fine

Perhaps, it could just be a fluke. But if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a fish disease. OP didn't say anything about QT'ing his fish, and maybe letting his tank go fallow for 72 days and keeping a fish in QT during that time period is the best option. Obviously there is something wrong, and it may very well be the fish and not the tank, but I don't think it's a good idea to keep buying fish until maybe he's tried the fallow period and QT'ed.


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