Help Nobody Has A Clue
- Thread starter MRICKEN1012
- Start date
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Somebody needs to make the distinction between nitrite and nitrate here. They are not the same 
The chloride ion blocks the nitrite from being adsorbed into the blood via the gills, and our SW tanks have an abundance of chloride ions.BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Thanks bill... you did that much better than I would have (you know how I can be long winded sometimes).
lesleybird
New member
I used something by Kent Marine called Osmo Prep Marine that killed my fish overnight. Did not know that is what it was until I used it a couple of months later and the same thing happened. Took my water to the fish store the next day for testing as my tests all showed up fine and they said the water was fine and that there must be some type of contaminant in the water. I know what it is but cannot prove it. I think Kent Marine got some type of contaminant in their batch. Lesley
Cantonesefish
with active cooling
It could be that you get extremely low oxygen levels at night, killing off the fish (who need more oxygen) while leaving the inverts alive. If there was a toxin in the water I would expect the inverts to be more sensitive than the piscine livestock. That would also explain why the trigger was breathing heavily on the substrate when you found him, but was fine after being adjusted to a different tank.
Peter Eichler
New member
I would suspect a PH crash in addition to possible toxins. However, the toxin from perfumes and cleaners is blamed for lots of unexplained tank crashes that I don't always buy it, especially when it's usually only fish that die. There was an "expert" in Chicago notorious for it, his thing was he's always ask the poor guy with a wiped out tank if he or his girlfriend wore perfume/cologne... Anyhow, with his alkalinity only being 2.5 meq/l and PH 8.0 after a 50% water change I'd suspect a PH crash due to lack of buffering capacity and a little carbon dioxide building up. Mricken, do you add buffer to your tank to keep alkalinity up? Also, do you have a good amount of surface aggitation in your tank? Lastly, what brand of alkalinity test was used?
Nitroq2
New member
Another thing to check and this is only cause it just happened to me hours ago, luckily I had a GFCI outlet. During the day your heater would not have had to kick on, at night it would have and if it was bleeding out into the water it would have been at night when it really dumped the current. Maybe check with a voltmeter to see how much stray voltage is in the tank. If you had a GFCI plug and grounding probe then forget I mentioned it. Just something else to think about.
ScarabRa
Member
Ok i did not see anyone else metion this, nor was it confirmed not to be true......
DID YOU HAVE A PUFFER OR BOX FISH IN THE TANK??
If so, maby it was stressed or died first??
The toxins from the box fish /puffer would not show up on water tests, OR really kill off corals. But it would essentially Nuke the other fish. A Penny, or copper screw would casue toxins too, but would nuke coral as well correct??
Otherwise, all things that i think it may be, have been covered, or reviewed above.
IT HAS to be some toxin, as when he moved the fish, to the hospital tank, its fine.
Maby you cleaned the tank decorations before/during the transfer? Hand lotion/soap on hands or your perfume on hands.
I would recommend 100% water change, and investigate the tank rock and items before re adding water. Maby even replace the substrate, it you believe something was droppped in it, and you couldent find it.
Buy a NEW bag of salt, or get the water from a diff store, if your using pre mixed /sea water.
PLEASE TRY A FISH ON ITS OWN, and watch it, dont let it die.
If it is lathargic, or breathes with gaping mouth, pull it out, as the problem still exists.
DID YOU HAVE A PUFFER OR BOX FISH IN THE TANK??
If so, maby it was stressed or died first??
The toxins from the box fish /puffer would not show up on water tests, OR really kill off corals. But it would essentially Nuke the other fish. A Penny, or copper screw would casue toxins too, but would nuke coral as well correct??
Otherwise, all things that i think it may be, have been covered, or reviewed above.
IT HAS to be some toxin, as when he moved the fish, to the hospital tank, its fine.
Maby you cleaned the tank decorations before/during the transfer? Hand lotion/soap on hands or your perfume on hands.
I would recommend 100% water change, and investigate the tank rock and items before re adding water. Maby even replace the substrate, it you believe something was droppped in it, and you couldent find it.
Buy a NEW bag of salt, or get the water from a diff store, if your using pre mixed /sea water.
PLEASE TRY A FISH ON ITS OWN, and watch it, dont let it die.
If it is lathargic, or breathes with gaping mouth, pull it out, as the problem still exists.
While boxfish can and do secrete toxins into the water when stressed, puffers don't. The toxins in puffers are bound in their tissues and not released into the environment. You have to eat the puffer to get the toxic effects. Even when a puffer dies, the toxin will rapidly degrade along with the decay of the carcass and not release the toxin into the water.
