Oxygen deprivation?

[b0bab0ey]

I have a 58g reef that is driving me nuts. Corals are doing great, inverts (shrimp, crabs, snails, GBTA) all seem fine but... every fish I put in this tank dies. Some fish don't even last 24-48 hrs. At first I chalked it all up to a Flukes infection. So I left the tank fallow for two solid months. My remaining three fish were in QT for three months. So, after two months, I decided to re-add two of the fish: a Chromis Damsel and Maroon Clown. Both were fine until yesterday. The Chromis was breathing heavy and staying behind the rocks. He disappeared completely today. The Clown seems OK in his GBTA but sometimes seems to be breathing heavy as well.

The important part of this whole equation is that my tank is sumpless, so no gas exchange via a sump. BUT I have a HOB protein skimmer, an AquaClear Power filter that breaks the water surface and two Koralia 1050s for circulation, with one pointed at the surface. I constantly test my water and everything is always perfect. The one test kit I don't have is for oxygen. Does anyone here think my fish could be suffocating to death? :headwallblue:

 

[greenbean36191]

No. Reef fish are tolerant of extremely low oxygen levels, and Chromis are among the best in that regard. The only times oxygen will ever get dangerously low in a reef tank are during bacterial blooms, mass spawning, power outages, or conditions of extreme overcrowding.

Fast breathing is an indication of poor health, but it's a non-specific symptom. It can be caused by damage to the gills from ammonia or parasites such as ich, general stress, exposure to cyanide or other chemicals, etc. We'll need to know more about the history of the fish, how you treated them in QT, and the exact parameters of your system to even begin to guess what's going on.

 

[gooberz]

^Agree^ Check your water parameters as well.. Amonia being present will cause this. Keep us posted

Cheers,
Henry

 

[greech]

Definitely check ammonia. Did you feed the tank at all for the 2 month period? If not the bacteria population may have diminished and now you have the potential for spikes with fish back in the tank. Just a thought.

 

[Bilk]

With ammonia poisoning, the symptoms could be visible red spots on the sides of the fish.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Thanks for the responses. Here's my water parameters, taken just last night:

pH: 8.2
Alkalinity: 8 dKH (I'm constantly having to dose baking soda lately to keep it at this)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Phosphate: 0
Calcium: 450
Mag: 1350
SG: 1.0264
Temp: 79-81
Copper: 0

That's everything I can test for. Over two months ago, my last fish died from what I suspected was Flukes. So I decided to leave the tank fallow for two months. I have a lot of hermit crabs, snails, shrimp, etc. in the tank so I kept feeding them regularly. Every few days I would feed raw shrimp or mysis or algae pellets, and every other day I would feed flake. I figured this would also keep my bacteria population in-tact.

My QT is a 29g w/an u/g filter and I kept 3 fish in there for 3 months, figuring someday they could go into my DT. The Chromis and Clown are a bit of a story. Basically, some guy online said he was going to flush them unless someone wanted them. So I took them but when I got them they were almost dead from ammonia poisoning. They both developed bacterial infections, so I medicated them w/ Maracyn 1 & 2 for that. Also, in the QT with them is a tang I saved from my DT and he got 4 rounds of Prazi to kick the Flukes. I stopped medicating everyone about 2-3 weeks ago. I did numerous WCs on my QT to take all the medication out and ran carbon. So after 2 months of being fallow, I decided to add the Chromis and Clown to my DT. The tang is still in QT. The Chromis died after a few days (heavy breathing behind the rocks)... The Clown is still alive and seems fine (so far), although I have seen him breathe heavy a few times. But he might just be excited and is defending his GBTA. I've also include a pic of my tank in case someone sees something visibly that I'm doing wrong. TIA

 

[pmrossetti]

gosh, that's a beautiful tank. sorry you're having such problems. could it be electricity in the water?

the only time i've had fish breath hard it was ammonia spike.

 

[b0bab0ey]

gosh, that's a beautiful tank. sorry you're having such problems. could it be electricity in the water?

the only time i've had fish breath hard it was ammonia spike.

Got a ground probe for the electricity and one of those hanging ammonia tabs. And I constantly test for ammonia, nothing. It's frustrating because I have no problems with the corals/inverts... and yet can't keep one single fish alive in this tank long-term. I'm just hoping the clown breaks that cycle.

 

[gooberz]

Only other thing i can think of is that you have a bad Critter ( Mantis shrimp or such) that is freaking them out and stressing them to death.

 

[mm949]

it could be osmotic shock.....do you run hypo in your QT?

 

[alanbates12]

Just a guess but without a sump and know way to do reverse lighting do you think it could be your ph drooping at night? If not Id start looking for a mantis or some other critter, like gooberz said.....

 

[Sever0n]

I was just going to mention the low ph at night, and also you mentioned an undergravel in your sump?? how does your skimmate smell?? maybe you're getting some low level sulfide build up under there.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I was just going to mention the low ph at night, and also you mentioned an undergravel in your sump?? how does your skimmate smell?? maybe you're getting some low level sulfide build up under there.

No, I use an undergravel in my QT. My DT has no undergravel and is completely sumpless. Interesting theory about the pH... I'll start testing it at night to see if it drops.

 

[b0bab0ey]

it could be osmotic shock.....do you run hypo in your QT?

Nope, I've never done hypo. All my tanks are maintained at 1.0264, same temps, same pH just in case I need to do a quick transfer.

 

[aquaman67]

Just spit balling here.

Do you have a top on your tank?

If so, I would remove it.

Why not try an air stone. You don't have to make micro bubbles, but you could use bigger bubbles, just to ensure gas exchange.

It's weird because usually corals are less hardy than fish, in my experiences.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Just spit balling here.

Do you have a top on your tank?

If so, I would remove it.

Why not try an air stone. You don't have to make micro bubbles, but you could use bigger bubbles, just to ensure gas exchange.

It's weird because usually corals are less hardy than fish, in my experiences.

I have an open top w/a wooden canopy that's open in the back.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I was just going to mention the low ph at night...

Tested my pH yesterday evening while the lights were still on, 8.2

Tested my pH early this AM, lights were still off and had been off for about 8 hours, 8.1

 

[NaClH20reeffish]

Where are you getting your fish?

Are they all from the same place or have you tried different places?

If you're getting all your fish from the same place, try some from somewhere else, even online.

I've had good luck with liveaquaria.com they offer a 14 day guarantee too.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I've tried a few different places. I def plan on giving liveaquaria a shot soon. I haven't seen the Chromis for two days now, I assume he's dead. The Maroon Clown seems OK (fingers crossed). I'm gonna wait 2-3 more weeks and then try the Tang. He's my real litmus test. He will have been in QT for four solid months by the time he goes in the DT! If he dies, my reef will just become "Damsel City" and I'll focus entirely on the corals/inverts.