Mysterious grouper death

[fish042099]

I had a coney grouper, chain eel, and sergeant major damsel. I fed them all really well Sunday, and when I looked today my eel was dried up on the floor(that's not important) and my grouper was dead. Why? My damsel was ok, so it probably wasn't feeding.

 

[crobattt]

Well we need more info..

 

[fish042099]

Like what

 

[fish042099]

My water quality is good.....

 

[nanoreefer1000]

Like what

As much as you can provide, I can't find the answer with out information and questions.

 

[fish042099]

Was it my feeding?

 

[namxas]

"My water is good" gives us no info...did you test it? If so, what are the numbers?
You didn't say WHAT/HOW MUCH you fed the fish.
Since the eel ended up on the floor, I'm guessing the tank wasn't covered?
What did the fish look like physically? Spots, lesions, cuts, tears, etc.
How long have you had the fish?
How long has the tank been up?
Anything new with the tank (equipment, fish, rock)?
Did this come on the heels of a water change?

You get the idea..."why did my fish die?" needs a lot more info, otherwise it's time to bust out the crystal ball (assuming somebody has one).

It's not that peeps don't want to help, but help them help you...

 

[fish042099]

The ammonia and nitrates are close to 0, the fish looked perfect, I put it in a bag and closely examined it. It did have blotchy closing, but I figured it was because he was dead. He was also half buried in sand. I've had the fish since early September. Tanks been up for 2 years and has an established sand bed. There was an ich outbreak that killed a porcupine puffer in early October. The puffer added in late September was the last added fish. I last fed the fish Sunday and didn't touch it since. I thought it was feeding, but groupers can go a long time without food.

 

[nanoreefer1000]

The ammonia and nitrates are close to 0, the fish looked perfect, I put it in a bag and closely examined it. It did have blotchy closing, but I figured it was because he was dead. He was also half buried in sand. I've had the fish since early September. Tanks been up for 2 years and has an established sand bed. There was an ich outbreak that killed a porcupine puffer in early October. The puffer added in late September was the last added fish. I last fed the fish Sunday and didn't touch it since. I thought it was feeding, but groupers can go a long time without food.

:uhoh2:So your ammonia was "close to zero"? Trust me there's a difference between close to zero and zero....

 

[Sk8r]

If you will try to hit the parameters in my sig line, or as close to as makes no nevermind, your fish will be happier. My nitrates are usually zero and my ammonia is zero.
If you are going for the larger carnivores---it's sometimes useful to have a remote deep sandbed that runs the way it runs in a reef, so that processing of waste has a permanent operation no matter how you may clean your other filter(s). When you clean a filter-only filter you knock down the bacteria as well as the waste, so your tank goes through endless cycles of up and down, which puts the system off kilter. If you can use an RDSB (a fuge in the sump, etc) to keep processing going on no matter what, you run a more stable tank---and the fish have less skin irritation, ergo less opportunity for parasites and disease to take hold.

 

[fish042099]

My ammonia and nitrates are zero than, because my tank is very clean.

 

[Stumped]

My ammonia and nitrates are zero than, because my tank is very clean.

The appearance of a clean tank doesn't mean anything. A crystal clear tank can have nitrates or ammonia at extremely high levels. Unless you're testing with actual test kits, there is no point discussing parameters. If you want help you should go back and answer some of the questions namxas asked you. That way people can offer advice as to what may have happened.

 

[fish042099]

I had a sergeant major about 5". Think he was nipping at him and stressed him?