My fish keep dying...please...help

S

scfishkeeper

New member
Okay so I had a freshwater tank for years, went from general fish to more fancy and finally to cichlids. Never had a problem from the time I set it up until I decided to convert to saltwater. Probably had it running for 5 plus years, never had any sickness including ick, my fish were always clean, happy and healthy.

I turned my 55 gallon to saltwater about 9 months ago, I set it up with 100 lbs of live rock, 350 magnum filter, additional hang on back filter, Coralife 125 gallon protein skimmer, magnum 900 powerhead, 2 inch sandbed. I went bigger with everything because I knew I was going to get a bigger tank. I check water quality, salt and test twice a week, everything is always looking good, right where it should be, crystal clear water, good flow, no algae or diatoms.

The only fish that would not die within a week were my six-line wrasse and a green chromis that I have had since I set it up and they are still alive now. I just upgraded a month ago to the 120 tall that I am currently running with the sump and wet/dry filter, I eliminated the hang on back, and I still have a problem keeping fish alive. They are not sick, they are eating, they are swimming and I wake up to dead fish! I am currently feeding brine shrimp mixed with fish medicine and garlic guard re-frozen.

Salt is 1.022
no ammonia
no nitrites
water changes keep nitrates down - very low
temp - 76.9
Ph 8.2

I add c-balance once a week
25% water changes every week
like I said, I test twice weekly, both the liquid kits and the strips

I don't know what to do! The inverts and corals are doing fantastic, there is nothing wrong with them, there is no reason my fish should be dying but they are, none of them last more than a few days. I have lost several hundreds of dollars on fish that keep dying....I'm really ready to give up :(

I'll post pics of the tank if I can, but I really need help.
 
Additional info...I have taken water samples several times to two separate fish stores for testing and they keep telling me all the conditions and qualities of the sample are perfect and there's no reason fish should be dying...the dead fish have no signs of discoloration, disease, injuries, they are not beat up by tank mates, they are just dead. I have lost butterflyfish, dwarf angels, damsels, chromis, clownfish, tangs, triggers, blennies and gobies. Wrasses seem to do really well I have a six-line and a hoevens that are doing fine and are not dying, just everything else is.
 
I would quit adding C-balance. Everything you should need is in your reef salt. I'm not familiar with it CB but I've been told excess Ca can kill your fish. What kind of coral do you have? If its all softies with no huge demand your levels should stay pretty stable without adding anything especially with 25% per week. Was your calcium tested? I'm no brain yet rather a newb. If I'm wrong then I'm sure someone will correct me and give you the proper info. Just my opinion. I add nothing to my tank. Good luck
 
Also, the 2 original fish are the only ones that live. That also is suspect. They would have gradually adjusted to any spike of a chemical(s). Whereas new fish from the LFS it would be fatal. I've read this can also happen with high nitrates. Original fish still alive newb's die.
 
What's your acclimation process and do you place new fish in QT?Do you rearrange rockwork?


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How are you acclimating your fish? Are you using a QT or right in to the DT.

Sabob was posting while I was sorry for the double questions.
 
I have no chemical spikes and my nitrates are low due to weekly water changes. I do not quarantine, the store where I get my fish quarantines all their fish for two weeks before selling. I drip acclimate anything that's not a clown, damsel or chromis. I've had the six-line since I started but the hoevens is only three weeks in there and he is fine. I do not rearrange rockwork unless it slips or the sand gets dug out under it.

I can try qting but I'm not sure how much help it will be with the two week quarantine at the store...will a ten gallon work as a quarantine and how long should I keep them in qt?
 
a 10gal. should work for smaller fish. It is recommended to QT at least 4 weeks. I would suspect your LFS does not do a true Qt. I am sure all the water is on the same loop and fish will get added into the tank. I am not saying the fish are sick or infected you have been getting. But, in QT you may be able to see some symptoms or conditions not noticed in the DT. It is also recommended on here to to have your fish out of the bag and into your tank no later than a half hour after opening the bag. Good luck I understand your frustrations.
 
What kind of "fish medicine" are you mixing with the food? Why are you medicating?

Are you putting garlic with all food? Why?

You say you adding c-balance. What is your Ca and Alk?

Are the fish disappearing, or are you finding dead fish? How long are they in your tank before they are dead? (A day or two? A few weeks? more than a month?) Are the fish eating before they die?
 
Two weeks of quarantine is at least four weeks too few and there are unknowns regarding a LFS quarantine. For instance, is that two weeks interrupted by the addition of new fish? In a home quarantine, that would mean the QT period begins all over again. Does the LFS use copper in their quarantine regimen? I strongly recommend you start a quarantine tank of your own and observe new fish for a minimum of six weeks. A ten gallon tank is adequate and you can use one of your existing filters, because you don't need them (or the wet/dry system) in saltwater. Will the HOB filter fit on a ten gallon? You can put the media for that filter in your sump to populate bacteria to use in QT. Your salinity is low. Try raising it slowly to 1.025 or 1.026. The best way to do this is to add saltwater instead of freshwater for daily top-off. Do you have rolling water movement at the surface? It's important to keep the water oxygenated. A word about your selection of food; brine shrimp has little nutritional value. It's fine for an occasional treat, but not a steady diet. Look into something like Spectrum Pellets or more nutritious frozen foods. Well fish don't need any kind of medication, so I'm not sure why you are feeding anything with "fish medicine". Could you explain more about that? I hope we can help you get to the bottom of this, but I remember losing fish when I first started too and I was never able to explain why. I think sometimes it's just a mysterious "new tank syndrome".
 
A qt is a must for fish weather your lfs "qt's" the fish or not. Not only is it a good place to make sure the fish is not sick it is a good quite place for the fish to get settled in. You are able to find out what the fish eats and make sure the fish gets fat and healthy before it goes in the main tank. I also always use Prozi pro with any new fish I get. A 10 gallon will work though if you get a bigger fish for your tank it makes it hard. Check out craigslist and pick up a cheap 29gal or even a 55gal they are better for a qt. I always keep my fish qt'ed for at least 4 months if the fish ends up sick I start the 4 weeks over after the fish has been treated. I would start with qt'ing I think that will hep you out a lot. Hope that helps and welcome to RC there is a lot of good people that should be able to help you out.
 
What is your pH? What is "low" with nitrates? Is this a fish only tank? Do you have a sump with an opposite light cycle to keep the pH up at night? I agree on stopping the C-balance if you are doing regular water changes, it shouldn't be necessary & could be messing up your alk & other parameters.

Scoots, I've never heard of high calcium killing fish, is this some new thing that has popped up in the hobby recently? How does it kill them, by knocking other parameters out of whack or what? How high is high?
 
Yes, low pH at night is a common killer of fish, especially ones that are newer to the tank as they're not used to the swings.
 
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