Sad Day

[Patti7dc]

I came home from the movies today and the Coral Beauty Angel and the Yellow Tang were both dead in the QT. Ammonia is 0, Nitrites are 5-10ppm and Nitrates are 25-50ppm.

I'm SO bummed out. :sad2:

 

[SteelMastiff]

That is a bummer... Electrical?

 

[jpjr]

Sorry Patti...I do know the feeling though. I just had a beautiful copper band butterfly die in my QT Tuesday as well.

 

[Patti7dc]

Oh no - so sorry for you too! Copperbands are beautiful!!

Everything seems fine with the tank. Not sure what happened. Just thinking they might be more sensitive to the nitrates?

 

[blanden.adam]

Unlikely, the nitrites might be an issue though.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I wouldn't rule out nitrates

I wouldn't rule out nitrates

IME Tangs do not eat properly in the presence of high nitrates.
Nitrites are another suspect here.

Suggestions: go slow. Make sure QT tests out zero for everything. QT one fish at a time.

 

[AmherstReef]

Those nitrite levels are much to low to kill marine fish

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/#6

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Those nitrite levels are much to low to kill marine fish

do we know what they peaked at?

 

[lhscouchmonster]

Those nitrite levels are much to low to kill marine fish

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/#6

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

That was a very interesting read.

Sorry for your loss patti7

 

[Patti7dc]

I don't know what they peaked at - I wasn't testing daily.

The thing is that the tang was GOBBLING up the algae off the clip. I had to give him two squares a day and he would munch on the spectrum pellets as well. The coral beauty would eat the algae when he saw the tang eating it and both of them looked great and ate great.

I talked to Tom and Tony at TRS (where I got both fish) and they said that it's possible that the fish were just more sensitive to the nitrates since they were newly imported but couldn't give me a definitive answer either.

Going slow is definitely on the menu. I've killed 3 beautiful fish and lost $150 in two weeks. I am a monster.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

well... hubby might think you're a monster after he sees the empty bank account but WE certainly don't.

Crap happens. To all of us.

You're gonna get this nailed. Hang in there.

 

[block head]

Sucks. QT did its job. At least the display doesn't have some unknown hooker virus. I doubt nitrates. The supply chain is dirty. Every fish has the potential to nuke your tank.

 

[blanden.adam]

Everyone loses livestock at times -- sometimes our fault sometimes not. You're certainly not a monster, at least no more-so than the rest of us who like to cut animals into pieces and superglue them to rocks Hang in there, you'll get this.

 

[tmz]

I don't think nitrates or nitrites are much of an issue for marine fish unless they get extremely high. Nitrite a killer is a killer in fresh wate but not in salt water due to the abundance of chloride in salt water. However, the ammonia that immediately precedes the nitrite is a serious issue partiuculary in smaller uncyled qt tanks.