My first death... Help?

[SillyDox]

Hey guys,

So tonight my bangai cardinal passed and I'm super sad. I'm pretty sure it was just a one off, but I'd like to ask your opinions.

I got the bangai about 2 weeks ago and he hasn't been super active, I chalked it up to shyness. He has eaten frozen mysis shrimp and hasn't shown any signs of illness or lethargy. I added a few new organisms yesterday, they are as follows:

1 baby pearly jawfish
1 firefish
1 emerald crab
1 sand sifting sea star
1 Duncan coral (*more on this below*)

I didn't observe any adverse reactions from any of the existing inhabitants or newcomers, I've been lucky that so far they've all been model citizens! (except my Orchid dottyback, but they're all jerks haha he will seem to pick on newbies for a few minutes on entry then leaves them be)

My parameters are all good, I checked them before heading to the LFS yesterday and again tonight upon finding my dead fish friend.

My boyfriend is concerned about a coral dip I used yesterday, and I agree his worrying has some merit, I did all on my power to limit any ill effects. I watched a BRS video where they recommended a product by Bayer (it's actually an insecticide) as a coral dip, I prepared it as recommended and dipped the coral. The video also indicates I should rinse the coral in 2 separate buckets that contain just tank water to get the bayer off, I went overkill on this and dipped it and swirled it around in 5 different containers to ensure all of the bayer was rinsed off! The duncan has partially opened today so I'm thinking that's good?

I also don't think it was the bayer because it's been about 24 hours now at this point and the only mortality is the bangai and none of my inverts are acting strange whatsoever. I have a fire shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, the sand sifting sea star, as well as a Kenya tree coral and a sinularia coral that are both still open and appear fine.

I'm probably just over thinking this and it was probably just a sad coincidence that it happened at this time, but I'd like opinions to reassure both myself and my boyfriend.

Thanks all! I took some pics just now to share with you guys!

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[Alex114]

Yes I don't believe it had anything to do with the coral dip or the other fish that were added. I know you say he was eating but how consistent? And did he have any labored breathing or visible parasites? This happened to me awhile ago. I got one that ate the first day but was very shy and would no longer eat. After about 2 weeks he died of starvation. After much research I determined that he was caught with cyanide from the wild and that's what killed him. This is my guess as to what happened to yours. IME a healthy cardinalfish is a very aggressive eater and not shy when added to the tank.

Make sure to check the other fish though in case it wasn't cyanide. If it was a parasite it could infect the other fish so keep a close watch on them for awhile. Don't be afraid to get a replacement too. I doubt you will get another one with the same problem as I don't think it's super common to die like that. I've gotten 3 more since my first one died and each are still doing great

 

[Michael Hoaster]

No mention of quarantine. In this day and age, I now assume EVERY fish has an ailment of some kind, and goes into QT. Hopefully, your other fish don't get what the cardinal had too, but that's a real possibility.

The cost of a basic quarantine setup is cheap - less than you've already spent for fish. As you accumulate more fish over time you have more and more to lose.

 

[SillyDox]

And did he have any labored breathing or visible parasites?

Thanks for the reply!

My boyfriend and I have been very observant with visual inspections, we've been spending hours sitting near and enjoying the tank haha. None of the fish have any visible parasites, the bangai that passed too. He was beautiful and had great coloration.

The bangai that passed did have some signs of labored breaths but only in the few hours before he passed. I was at work and when I got home my boyfriend was freaking out and told me what had happened. He appeared to be fine that morning but a few hours after I left for work, he began to go down hill.

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[SillyDox]

No mention of quarantine. In this day and age, I now assume EVERY fish has an ailment of some kind, and goes into QT. Hopefully, your other fish don't get what the cardinal had too, but that's a real possibility.

The cost of a basic quarantine setup is cheap - less than you've already spent for fish. As you accumulate more fish over time you have more and more to lose.

Thank you for your response!

We are going to set up a QT tank today for the future.

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[Michael Hoaster]

Good for you!

I have found that getting quarantine right is a very satisfying element of the hobby.