Help! What am I doing wrong?

[Dan0504]

Haven't logged in since 2013, but today I need some help.

the set up

20G high softie tank
Fluval canister filter (I think it was the 306)
20 lbs live rock
Powerhead for circulation
Heater
Live sand substrate
AI Prime Hd light

Stocking
Two green chromis
Pair of designer clowns $$$
Some Zoa polyps
2 hammer corals

The problem

The tank has been set up for over 4 months. Completed a cycle, had an algae bloom, and all levels were 0 (API test kit) About 1 month ago I added 2 green chromis to the tank. I decided to use a cheaper fish before purchasing anything expensive to make sure my tank was really ready to go.

Feeding was very conservative, did not over feed. Once one month had passed with no problems I decided I was ready for my expensive clowns.

This is when everything started going wrong.

For the first few days the clowns were doing great and everyone was happy, then one of the chromis went missing. I could not find the fishes body anywhere and assumed the clowns did it.

But the next day I found the other chromis dead in the tank... this is when I kicked into high gear and started really messing with the tank. First I did 2 50% water changes 1 day apart. But tests all still showed 0.

The next day the clowns started showing clear signs of ammonia poisoning (staying on bottom, red streaks, fast breathing) Testing this time showed .25 ammonia in the system. Figuring I was experiencing a mini-cycle and I had caught it early I immediately purchased Amquel plus and did a 75% water change. I dosed the detoxifier every 24 hrs and levels looked like they were going down. I was also planning on doing another water change today. Clowns were even starting to eat again after I started using the detoxifier.

But when I woke up today everything was dead in the tank. I don't understand how this happened. I was very careful about the cycle and not adding all fish at once. I thought I caught the ammonia very early and treated for it appropriately. Yet the clowfish kept dying. The clowns bodies had no color before they died (normally black) but we're almost white before death.

What should I do? What did I do wrong? I thought maybe it could be the decaying body of the 1st chromis but I still have not found it.

 

[JUNBUG361]

Sorry about the lost, I know a person with same situation your in loosing fish able to keep corals. His phosphate nitrite or nitrate was high. He had changed out his filter Medias inside his canister filter & gave it a good cleaning. Canister filter know to trap stuff

 

[homer1475]

Did you quarantine the fish? Almost sounds like Brook or Uronema.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

Fish with either Brook or Uronema lose color very rapidly, appearing pale and “washed out”. Often there is thickening of the skin’s mucus; so much so that the fish appears to have a rough white coating . Fins may be frayed and the skin may evidence pealing. Often the scales are loosened in the infected area and may come away from the fish when it is caught in a net. The major difference between Brook and Uronema is that the lesions associated with Uronema marinum have a more defined margin between the thickened mucus and normal skin that is often red and inflamed. However, the symptoms and treatments are so similar that accurate diagnosis is not required for successful treatment.

Behavior of the fish toward the end of life includes rapid breathing, no feeding and the fish becomes listless, hanging near the surface or sitting on the bottom of the aquarium. If the fish are examined carefully during the end stages they often look thin and the skin appears to be stretched tightly over the muscle blocks. This is because the fish has lost water through the lesions caused by the parasite as it feeds on the skin, and the animals have become acutely dehydrated.
It is quite difficult to misdiagnose these infections; the most frequent disease that it can be mistaken for is marine velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum). However, fish with marine velvet do not develop such a severe mucus layer nor do the fins become brittle. Also marine velvet tends to be a sort of pale gold color unlike the white lesions of Brook and Uronema.

From your description this sounds likely.

 

[Dan0504]

Sorry about the lost, I know a person with same situation your in loosing fish able to keep corals. His phosphate nitrite or nitrate was high. He had changed out his filter Medias inside his canister filter & gave it a good cleaning. Canister filter know to trap stuff

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm going to check out the canister when I get home tonight. Maybe something is stuck in there pumping ammonia into tank.

 

[Tripod1404]

When chromis are not quarantined Uronema is a serious possibility. And when clowns are not quarantined brooklynella is a serious possibility. I am thinking one of these two is the culprit.

 

[Dan0504]

When chromis are not quarantined Uronema is a serious possibility. And when clowns are not quarantined brooklynella is a serious possibility. I am thinking one of these two is the culprit.

I will research these diseases, but if everything is dead, can they remain in the system?

 

[nereefpat]

My first thoughts were Uronema, or Brook, or velvet too.

 

[Tripod1404]

I will research these diseases, but if everything is dead, can they remain in the system?

Uronema can remain indefinitely, it is an opportunistic parasite, so it doesn't need a fish host. So unfortunately it is nearly impossible to remove Uronema without nuking the entire tank. Tought, it is somewhat possible to live with it, as it would rarely kill a healthy fish.

Brook parasites will die without a fish host in about ~6 weeks, but it will kill anything inside the tank if not treated.

 

[Dan0504]

Here is a picture of the female right before she died

I’m beginning to think this was a quarantine issue and not a bio-load one.

 

[Dan0504]

 

[Dan0504]

Sorry bad link! Here is the photo right before she died. She was obviously very black and vibrant when I got her

 

[Dan0504]