Newish Tank, both Clownfish died... please help

[nickbinsb]

I cycled my tank for two months, and saw it producing nitrate so I figured it was ok to put in two small Ocellaris clownfish. My water is/was : 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 1-5 nitrate, 1.024, 76-77 degrees, ph 7.8-8. The tank has a few pieces of coral, a couple of snails and a shrimp that I added a little after the clownfish. Well after adding the clownfish last week they did not eat, and hung out in one spot. I thought that was normal, but yesterday I woke up and the tank was cloudier than it had been, and one fish was hiding under a rock breathing heavy. That fish died shortly thereafter, while the other fish looked normal. Well today the other fish died too, after spasming around the tank for ten minutes. I feel just terrible because I thought I did a good job cycling the tank, had adequate water movement, rock, etc. What did I do wrong? These were captive bred clownfish... Thank you so much.

 

[Saltine]

How did you acclimate them?

 

[nickbinsb]

Let unopened bags sit in tank for over ten minutes, then added small amounts tank of water every so often, while removing some bag water, for about a half hour.

 

[nickbinsb]

Also it is a 20 gallon long.

 

[chimmike]

why did the water get cloudy?

may want to up the salinity, and double check your ammonia test kit

 

[gone fishin]

Kind of tough to say with the info given and no pic. Some thoughts are cloudy tank was an algae bloom, if so then you could have got into a low oxygen situation. Maybe an illness.

 

[stingeragent]

Few things come to mind on a new tank. How did you check the salinity? Refracto or hydrometer? Secondly, what brand is the ammonia kit? I would go check your water again now and see what the levels are. When crazy stuff like this happens, I will typically check it twice at the same time. (just fill up 2 vials instead of 1), just to make sure the reading is coherent and that you didn't mess something up when putting drops in. As to the flow, what are the placement of the powerheads in the tank? can you see the water surface being disturbed by them? Also, a few other things. Did you dump the contents of the bag( water and all) into your tank? If you did, that may not solve anything but never do it again. You always want to net/ scoop the fish out. Lastly, did you measure the salinity of the water in the bag before you started adding tank water to it? This is a crucial step. I run my tank at 1.026. I dont' add fish often over the last 18 months, and the last fish I got , I checked the bag salinity and it was at 1.020. I'm assuming you added the fish directly to the DT. I'd advise setting up even a small QT tank, and then you can better control the salinity level. For my last example, I lowered the salinity to 1.022, and added water to the bag the same as you. You want there to be as little of a jump as possible. Moving a fish from 1.020 to 1.026 within 30 mins to an hour is way too fast. I know in your example your tank is at 1.024 , but unless you tested the bag it came in, there is no way to tell how big of a salinity jump the fish went through. Unless they were on there last leg before you put them in your tank, I would rule out any sort of disease, infection, etc killing the fish within 1-2 days. Post as much as you can about your tank and I'll try to offer additional guidance as best I can. Did you use RO/DI water for the tank initially, etc.

Edit: Additionally, 1-5 nitrate on a newly cycled tank seems unusually low to me. My 125g which was an upgrade for 2 tanks into 1 with live rock established for over a year got up to 60 nitrate within a few weeks.

 

[nickbinsb]

1) I use a refractometer.
2) I use an API kit. I tested multiple times throughout the cycle, saw nitrate get up to 40 or so, then changed water pretty often to get it back down because I put in an SPS coral.
3) I just checked my water and no real change besides after the water changes.
4) I have a wave maker powerhead and a continuous powerhead that disturb the surface, plus a HOB filter that also disturbs the surface.
5) I did not dump the contents of the bag, I scooped the fish out with a net.
6) It took about a week for the fish to die. They were not eating during the first week, but they were breathing normally.
7) I use distilled water, and I checked the Sparkletts website and they test 0 for copper, and everything else.

The only things I can think of are: I have the fish tank in my room, and sometimes I have my door closed. I have a glass top, but there is still room for air to get in. But PH is stable day/night

I am working on a net top if I decide to try fish again. Perhaps you are right about the salinity change... I did not test the bag water.

 

[stingeragent]

Wasn't trying to come off being harsh. There is unfortunately 10000 different things that can have affect. I personally would get rid of the glass top. I'm sure there is someone on here that will say it's fine but my understanding is the consenus is not to use them. Screen is really the way to go. It is possible the clownfish could have starved after a week of not eating. I'm not a clownfish biologist, but I'd guess that is possible, but I'd also assume something was stressing them out the caused them not to eat. What type of foods were you feeding? The first clownfish I got was a very picky eater at first. I have an entire shelf in my freezer of different types of frozen fish food, and it would only eat 1 or 2 of them. Somehow, over a year later the same fish will eat anything I drop in the tank. I originally approached my LFS about this, and they suggested cyclopeeze ( no longer available ), which I used with success. Not sure what happened but a month or two later the same fish would eat just about anything.

Edit: It can be depressing when you lose fish, especially starting out, as the dream and hopes of a magnificent salt water tank can be easily crushed when things like this happens. Persevere my friend.

Edit 2: In the future, if you think this is a hobby you want to stick with, I would reccomend getting an ro/di unit. They can be had for 150 or less off bulk reef supply. It seems expensive at first, but if you are dedicated to this hobby, they will pay for them selves in the end.

 

[nickbinsb]

I also tried several foods. New Life Spectrum, freeze dried brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, and another pellet food I picked up. The fish that died second might have eaten a couple of small pieces of food towards the end, but not enough... I had been phantom feeding my tank before introducing the fish, so I don't know why I would have a bacterial/algae bloom. sigh...

 

[gone fishin]

your not doing any type of carbon dosing by chance, for example vodka?

 

[stingeragent]

The tank has been up for 2 months? You were topping off with non saltwater right?

 

[nickbinsb]

No carbon dosing. Topping off with fresh water.

 

[gone fishin]

running a fuge with caulpera? change in lighting?

I am trying to figure out the cloudiness.

Did the fish have any marks on them, excess slime, scratching, cloudy eyes?

 

[seamonster124]

Have you re-tested nitrites?

 

[nickbinsb]

I do not have a fuge. This is a pretty simple set up. I did not see anything on the fish. Their behavior was very sad and bizarre toward the end. The fish that died first would swim under the live rock and hide himself. He was breathing heavily and pretty lethargic and it took about three hours for him to pass. The second fish lasted another day, seemingly healthy, but she also began to hide herself toward the end. Then she began to spasm violently for several minutes, thrashing around the tank, before she died. Her passing was much more rapid of a change.

I think you are right about the cloudiness... that seems key. Are bacterial blooms normal in tanks that have low nutrients? Do you think a skimmer would prevent this from happening in the future? Thank you all so much for listening and trying to help.

 

[nickbinsb]

Yes, I retested everything today, and nitrates were nearly undetectable.

 

[gone fishin]

A skimmer would help with aeration. IME to get a sudden algae bloom you would need excess nutrients, like overdosing vodka. the quick blooms can deplete oxygen surprisingly fast.

In another direction how about cleaners, scented aerosols. I have heard of those plug in air fresheners causing issues.

 

[nickbinsb]

No chemicals/air fresheners, etc in my room. In fact, only air filters because of my allergies.

 

[gone fishin]

Well I am about out of thoughts. If it was just the one I would say maybe it was just their time but, both so close I am inclined to think something caused it.