Lost 3 chromis within a week

[antlers]

Hi everyone

I started a new 40g recently, and over the last few weeks stocked up on a few fish. I had 4 chromis and 2 clowns, all of which were doing excellently until a 4 day power failure last week.

I kept the tank temp. as warm as I could but since the weather has been cold, the temperature still went down to pretty low levels. I suspect that's what started all the problems; anyway all the fish survived and were looking good until maybe a day after the power came back on. Once the temperature went back to normal, one by one they started dying. Within a few days 3 of my chromis and one clownfish died (although the clownfish looked like he had a worm - by the time I got the QT set up he was dead). Here is a picture of the chromis that died today. All of them looked the same when I found them:

The skin turned very dark and raw, with redness around the gills. The first fish was the worst. The entire right side of his body was blotchy red. I saw another laying flat on the sand rubbing his body on it before he died. But whatever killed them literally did it overnight.

I still have one clownfish and one chromis left. I've removed them and put them in quarantine but I'm not sure what I should be treating for. I don't want to destroy any LR I have in my display tank (which also still has 1 skunk cleaner shrimp in it).

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Some thoughts: Redness around the gills is a symptom of ammonia poisoning (high ammonia basically burns their gills). So, perhaps you had some ammonia spikes when the temps dropped due to bacteria die-off in your LR. How long has this tank been setup anyway?

Another thought... sudden rise in temp is just as harmful as a sudden drop. So, when the power came back on, how fast did the temp rise from what it was to back to normal?

 

[sandwi54]

As b0bab0ey said, quick , large changes in temperature can harm fish. it is recommended not to let the temperature vary by more than 2 degrees per day. if your temperature had dropped to the 60's, and the heater brought that back into the mid 70's in one day after the power came back, that might do some serious harm to the fish.

 

[snorvich]

And remember changes happen more quickly in small "bodies of water" so the odds of it bringing the temperature up too quickly is pretty good.

 

[antlers]

My tank has been running for a couple of months. The temperature went back up over the course of a few hours. We got power back at noon. By the end of the day it was pretty warm.

So am I looking at a big water change as the solution? Should i treat for any possible infections brought on by the temp change?

Thanks so much

 

[snorvich]

My tank has been running for a couple of months. The temperature went back up over the course of a few hours. We got power back at noon. By the end of the day it was pretty warm.

So am I looking at a big water change as the solution? Should i treat for any possible infections brought on by the temp change?

Thanks so much

I would do a water change, then wait and see. If the temperature went from cold/cool (high sixties?) to warm over a few hours that could easily be the problem. Did you measure temperature at the lowest?

 

[antlers]

Lowest temp was about 65 and I normally keep it around 80 for them :/

 

[snorvich]

Lowest temp was about 65 and I normally keep it around 80 for them :/

Yes, temp came up too quickly. Sorry for your loss.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Other than some Blue Reef Chromis; I've never kept any of these fish. But am I the only one who thinks that Chromis often seem to die in bunches? I remember Fenner having a term for this, but i'm not going to look for it.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Other than some Blue Reef Chromis; I've never kept any of these fish. But am I the only one who thinks that Chromis often seem to die in bunches? I remember Fenner having a term for this, but i'm not going to look for it.

For me, this is just another example of the rules changing. Back in the day I always kept a school of Chromis in my reef tanks. In fact, I can remember cycling tanks (ducking) with just Chromis. (FYI I don't do that anymore.) Now, I can't keep the damn things alive. I've tried at least a dozen and they all die on me in QT. Makes absolutely no sense to me.