Losing fish possible tank crash

[JeremyDB]

I have a 7 month old tank that I have had a close eye on. I have never had ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and PH go out of whack since I have had fish in the tank. I do not do regular water changes but, ensure I keep the salinity in check by adding RO water or Salt treated RO water. I have cleaned the sand bed a few times. I recently cleaned the back wall of the Diatom build up and have started to lose fish.

Tank setup: 55 Gallon with a canister filter, duel head wave maker on one end and a single one on the other. Heater and two aerators. Nearly 100lbs of purple stone. Live sand was used on the bottom.

Fish list: Coral Bueaty, Dotty Back, Sailfin Tang, 3 Cardinals, Tail spot blenny, cleaner blenny, red fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, 3 hermit crabs, 2 Mocha Clowns, 6 line wrasse, sea anemone

Coral: Trumpet, Green star polyp, frog spawn, and leather coral type

I noticed the Dotty back and Tail spotted blenny were scraping their bodies on the rocks.
Then my Sailfin Tang decided to just lay at the sand bed of the tank. Next morning, nothing left, hermit crabs ate him.
The next day the 2 were still scraping their bodies and the clown fish appeared to be doing some weird jerking movement.
So I scrambled to get a 10 gallon to setup for quarantine and treat the 3 with some Paraguard. This appeared to clear them up after 48hrs as they were not scraping their bodies and the clown was swimming normal.
I put them back in the display tank and 3 days later they started exhibiting symptoms again. I did not want to go through and dismantle the tank to chase the dottyback around again. I was able to capture the Tail spotted blenny and this time I used MetroPlex, but he died the next day with some mold thing growing on his belly. then my Sea Anemone disappeared the next day.
The clown fish (See pic attached, Spot on this head. It cleared up though.) I put back into quarantine cleared up but died the next day. The other clownfish exhibited the same symptoms then died after putting into quarantine.
I checked the water parameters of the quarantine tank and they were the same as the display one.
The cleaner blenny was next to go and I'm at a loss as to what is going on. I've lost probably 30% of the water and had to refill it during this process as I used some of it to put in the quarantine tank.
I did buy a volt meter to check for stray voltage in the tank. That turned up with nothing.
I'm at a loss and just may give up. This is frustrating to lose so much so fast.

Link to video:

two weeks later Video:

 

[griss]

Our fish disease experts are likely to want a video, under white lighting, longer than 30 seconds and showing both sides of the fish. You can upload the video to YouTube and post a link here.

@leebca @Dr. Reef @HumbleFish

 

[Dr. Reef]

Only parasite that can cause the fish to scrape and die so fast would be velvet. Other disease can be ich or flukes but nother kill fish within days.
Like mentioned above, better pics and videos could help determine the cause and honestly none of these diseases are curable by praguard.
If it ends up being velvet or ich tank will need to be left fallow from 45-75 days. and if its flukes then tank needs to be dropped down in salinity to 1.012-13 for couple of weeks minimum or if not then dose prazipro.
Anyways first step is to get a positive id on the parasite and a good video and pics will help.

 

[leebca]

I have a 7 month old tank that I have had a close eye on. I have never had ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and PH go out of whack since I have had fish in the tank. I do not do regular water changes but, ensure I keep the salinity in check by adding RO water or Salt treated RO water. I have cleaned the sand bed a few times. I recently cleaned the back wall of the Diatom build up and have started to lose fish.

Tank setup: 55 Gallon with a canister filter, duel head wave maker on one end and a single one on the other. Heater and two aerators. Nearly 100lbs of purple stone. Live sand was used on the bottom.

Fish list: Coral Bueaty, Dotty Back, Sailfin Tang, 3 Cardinals, Tail spot blenny, cleaner blenny, red fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, 3 hermit crabs, 2 Mocha Clowns, 6 line wrasse, sea anemone

Coral: Trumpet, Green star polyp, frog spawn, and leather coral type

I noticed the Dotty back and Tail spotted blenny were scraping their bodies on the rocks.
Then my Sailfin Tang decided to just lay at the sand bed of the tank. Next morning, nothing left, hermit crabs ate him.
The next day the 2 were still scraping their bodies and the clown fish appeared to be doing some weird jerking movement.
So I scrambled to get a 10 gallon to setup for quarantine and treat the 3 with some Paraguard. This appeared to clear them up after 48hrs as they were not scraping their bodies and the clown was swimming normal.
I put them back in the display tank and 3 days later they started exhibiting symptoms again. I did not want to go through and dismantle the tank to chase the dottyback around again. I was able to capture the Tail spotted blenny and this time I used MetroPlex, but he died the next day with some mold thing growing on his belly. then my Sea Anemone disappeared the next day.
The clown fish (See pic attached, Spot on this head. It cleared up though.) I put back into quarantine cleared up but died the next day. The other clownfish exhibited the same symptoms then died after putting into quarantine.
I checked the water parameters of the quarantine tank and they were the same as the display one.
The cleaner blenny was next to go and I'm at a loss as to what is going on. I've lost probably 30% of the water and had to refill it during this process as I used some of it to put in the quarantine tank.
I did buy a volt meter to check for stray voltage in the tank. That turned up with nothing.
I'm at a loss and just may give up. This is frustrating to lose so much so fast.

As already stated. . .A video longer than one minute under white light up close to the fish, showing both sides of the fish would be helpful. You can upload the video to YouTube then post the link to it here.

When was the last lifeform (any kind) added to the tank? What was it? Where did it come from? Do you see any spots or sheen on any of the fish? Do you quarantine life forms before putting them into the tank? A pre-quarantine and even a polylactic treatment in a QT before putting fish into the main tank is a good practice.

What size tank do you have? Give us an idea of how big your fish are.

As also stated. . A positive ID is necessary. Do you have a microscope or access to one? Some of the more-or-less common parasites and bacterial infections include:
Cryptocaryon irritans (Marine Ich)
Amyloodinium ocellatum (Marine Velvet)
Brooklynella hostilis (Brook)
Uronema marinum (Uronema)

Paraguard doesn't treat any of these conditions.

 

[griss]

As already stated. . .A video longer than one minute under white light up close to the fish, showing both sides of the fish would be helpful. You can upload the video to YouTube then post the link to it here.

Thanks for the correction Lee.

 

[leebca]

Thanks for the correction Lee.

Sorry. Didn't mean it to be a correction. Just my standard request.

 

[JeremyDB]

Only parasite that can cause the fish to scrape and die so fast would be velvet. Other disease can be ich or flukes but nother kill fish within days.
Like mentioned above, better pics and videos could help determine the cause and honestly none of these diseases are curable by praguard.
If it ends up being velvet or ich tank will need to be left fallow from 45-75 days. and if its flukes then tank needs to be dropped down in salinity to 1.012-13 for couple of weeks minimum or if not then dose prazipro.
Anyways first step is to get a positive id on the parasite and a good video and pics will help.

I wish I could get a picture of the fish that were infected and upload them but they were thrown away.

 

[JeremyDB]

As already stated. . .A video longer than one minute under white light up close to the fish, showing both sides of the fish would be helpful. You can upload the video to YouTube then post the link to it here.

When was the last lifeform (any kind) added to the tank? What was it? Where did it come from? Do you see any spots or sheen on any of the fish? Do you quarantine life forms before putting them into the tank? A pre-quarantine and even a polylactic treatment in a QT before putting fish into the main tank is a good practice.

What size tank do you have? Give us an idea of how big your fish are.

As also stated. . A positive ID is necessary. Do you have a microscope or access to one? Some of the more-or-less common parasites and bacterial infections include:
Cryptocaryon irritans (Marine Ich)
Amyloodinium ocellatum (Marine Velvet)
Brooklynella hostilis (Brook)
Uronema marinum (Uronema)

Paraguard doesn't treat any of these conditions.

No, I don't have access to this. The Tail-spotted blenny had some sort of mold on it's belly where the spot was rubbed. Unfortunately I threw that away. My goal is to figure out what is stressing them as well as fixing it.

The Coral Angel Bueaty is the largest and is about 5" long maybe. The last thing I added to the tank before it all went hay wire was the Trumpet coral.

The last action I took before it went south was scraping the diatoms off the back. It was there for some time. I never scraped it since setting it up.

 

[JeremyDB]

As already stated. . .A video longer than one minute under white light up close to the fish, showing both sides of the fish would be helpful. You can upload the video to YouTube then post the link to it here.

When was the last lifeform (any kind) added to the tank? What was it? Where did it come from? Do you see any spots or sheen on any of the fish? Do you quarantine life forms before putting them into the tank? A pre-quarantine and even a polylactic treatment in a QT before putting fish into the main tank is a good practice.

What size tank do you have? Give us an idea of how big your fish are.

As also stated. . A positive ID is necessary. Do you have a microscope or access to one? Some of the more-or-less common parasites and bacterial infections include:
Cryptocaryon irritans (Marine Ich)
Amyloodinium ocellatum (Marine Velvet)
Brooklynella hostilis (Brook)
Uronema marinum (Uronema)

Paraguard doesn't treat any of these conditions.

When was the last lifeform (any kind) added to the tank? About a month ago
What was it? The trumpet coral
Where did it come from? The Fish Room in Cary N.C.
Do you see any spots or sheen on any of the fish? The cleaner blenny had some slime coating before I removed it to quarantine. No spots
Do you quarantine life forms before putting them into the tank? I did not have a tank to setup at the time. I did Dip Coral. Will do so in the future.
A pre-quarantine and even a polylactic treatment in a QT before putting fish into the main tank is a good practice.

 

[griss]

Sorry. Didn't mean it to be a correction. Just my standard request.

No apologies needed at all Lee. I was being genuine in thanking you for reminding my over a minute not, over 30 seconds

 

[leebca]

When was the last lifeform (any kind) added to the tank? About a month ago
What was it? The trumpet coral
Where did it come from? The Fish Room in Cary N.C.
Do you see any spots or sheen on any of the fish? The cleaner blenny had some slime coating before I removed it to quarantine. No spots
Do you quarantine life forms before putting them into the tank? I did not have a tank to setup at the time. I did Dip Coral. Will do so in the future.
A pre-quarantine and even a polylactic treatment in a QT before putting fish into the main tank is a good practice.

I'd lean towards a breakout of Brooklynella hostilis (Brook). But difficult to guess on the info provided. I'm more of a fish person, so I'm unsure if the coral dip would kill fish parasites.

The scraping of the diatoms in of itself isn't a problem. However, the fact that diatoms are there may be a concern. Normally, after some time, diatoms have depleted the excess silica in a new aquarium and go away.

You didn't mention the size of your aquarium. Is it made of glass or plastic?

 

[JeremyDB]

I'd lean towards a breakout of Brooklynella hostilis (Brook). But difficult to guess on the info provided. I'm more of a fish person, so I'm unsure if the coral dip would kill fish parasites.

The scraping of the diatoms in of itself isn't a problem. However, the fact that diatoms are there may be a concern. Normally, after some time, diatoms have depleted the excess silica in a new aquarium and go away.

You didn't mention the size of your aquarium. Is it made of glass or plastic?

Tank setup: I think it's glass, 55 Gallon with a canister filter, duel head wave maker on one end and a single one on the other. Heater and two aerators. Nearly 100lbs of purple stone. Live sand was used on the bottom.

 

[JeremyDB]

Tank setup: I think it's glass, 55 Gallon with a canister filter, duel head wave maker on one end and a single one on the other. Heater and two aerators. Nearly 100lbs of purple stone. Live sand was used on the bottom.

I'd lean towards a breakout of Brooklynella hostilis (Brook). But difficult to guess on the info provided. I'm more of a fish person, so I'm unsure if the coral dip would kill fish parasites.

The scraping of the diatoms in of itself isn't a problem. However, the fact that diatoms are there may be a concern. Normally, after some time, diatoms have depleted the excess silica in a new aquarium and go away.

You didn't mention the size of your aquarium. Is it made of glass or plastic?

You know, you may have something there. In the video you can see the cleaner shrimp digging into the Coral Beauty's gills. This has been happing. The only fish that I see that is having odd behavior now is the Dotty back still scrapes on the coral. I have not seen any noticeable change in scale color though (ie white spots).

 

[JeremyDB]

I have coral in the display tank. If I have Brook then how do I treat that? I have Seachems ParaGuard, and the Metroplex. I also have shrimp in the tank.
I have no idea how to get rid of it from the display tank. I can quarantine the fish and treat them but it could be on the coral, rocks and shrimp?

 

[leebca]

I have coral in the display tank. If I have Brook then how do I treat that? I have Seachems ParaGuard, and the Metroplex. I also have shrimp in the tank.
I have no idea how to get rid of it from the display tank. I can quarantine the fish and treat them but it could be on the coral, rocks and shrimp?

IF it is Brook, then fish need to be treated outside of the main aquarium. Metronidazole has worked to kill surface parasites like Brook. A bath treatment, with some added to food is recommended.
Concentrated bath treatment: 25ppm concentration for 24 hours. Internal eating treatment for 3 weeks (at 0.50% by weight in food). Feeding it is difficult as quantity that gets into the fish can't be easily controlled. QT treatment: Dosage is 25 mg/gal every 48 hours (or every 24 hours for severe problems) with a 25% water change before each treatment. Treat for 10-14 days.

Formalin has been used too, but it is hazardous to human health and a challenge to handle properly.

Speaking in generalities, the tank seems to possibly be over crowded.

 

[JeremyDB]

IF it is Brook, then fish need to be treated outside of the main aquarium. Metronidazole has worked to kill surface parasites like Brook. A bath treatment, with some added to food is recommended.
Concentrated bath treatment: 25ppm concentration for 24 hours. Internal eating treatment for 3 weeks (at 0.50% by weight in food). Feeding it is difficult as quantity that gets into the fish can't be easily controlled. QT treatment: Dosage is 25 mg/gal every 48 hours (or every 24 hours for severe problems) with a 25% water change before each treatment. Treat for 10-14 days.

Formalin has been used too, but it is hazardous to human health and a challenge to handle properly.

Speaking in generalities, the tank seems to possibly be over crowded.

Thanks for the help. So how do I treat the display tank? Empty it completely?

 

[leebca]

After ALL fish have been removed from the display tank, let the tank go fishless for 6 weeks. I would encourage cleaning rocks and substrate by hitting it with a stream of salt water, like from a pump at the beginning of this fallow period.

IF it is in fact Brooklynella hostilis (Brook), then there is no need to remove any non-fish marine life from the display tank during this fallow time.

 

[JeremyDB]

Good news, no other fish have died. The Dotty Back has stopped rubbing on the rocks and looks way better. Here is a list of things that I have done that I think is a lesson learned.
- Cleaned the pipping for the canister filter. It had some white slime build up in the pipes.
- replaced the filter media and rinsed any that I reused.
- replaced the ceramic filter media with new ones.
- replaced the carbon filter
- I soaked medication into the food and fed the fish it.

So now I believe the water is good to go.
I have concerns with the diatom issue cause I still do get some Diatoms on the back wall and front wall. I also have some Nitrates but I was told that you need some for Coral.

 

[leebca]

Good news, no other fish have died. The Dotty Back has stopped rubbing on the rocks and looks way better. Here is a list of things that I have done that I think is a lesson learned.
- Cleaned the pipping for the canister filter. It had some white slime build up in the pipes.
- replaced the filter media and rinsed any that I reused.
- replaced the ceramic filter media with new ones.
- replaced the carbon filter
- I soaked medication into the food and fed the fish it.

So now I believe the water is good to go.
I have concerns with the diatom issue cause I still do get some Diatoms on the back wall and front wall. I also have some Nitrates but I was told that you need some for Coral.

Corals that have a symbiotic relationship with algae do need nitrates. Nitrates feed the algae. Still, it needs to be kept under control. Exporting excess nitrates is important.
The diatoms are getting silica from somewhere. They need a silica source to reproduce and create their silica shell. Usually, an aged aquarium depletes itself of available silica, eventually.