Sudden Death

[Jayded]

I just wanted to come and vent about our recent and very puzzling discovery. I woke to find our Port Jackson Shark and Fu Man Chu Lionfish dead this morning. They were fine last night. Both ate well as usual. This morning I find my shark on her side with her head in a "cave" and the lionfish behind the same rock up the top also dead. They are not trapped there was no rock collapse or anything so its very unusual for one to lose 2 at the same time when there was nothing obviously wrong with either and for 2 nothing appears to have happened to cause this. Checked the levels this morning as well - all fine, nothing unusual to report. My Snow Flake Eel and Picasso Trigger are also in the tank and both fine. my partner is on his way home to remove the lion and shark from the tank.
We are quite upset and completely at a loss as to what caused this. The shark we have had for about 5 months and the Lionfish around a year.

 

[JustinReef]

Wow..Im so sorry to hear this

I had my Stars and Stripes Puffer for a few years almost and a few months ago I woke up to find him dead...I know how it feels. I was really attached to that fish! It really sucks when you have no idea what happened. My Puffer seemed healthy and happy and to this day I have no idea what happened. Everything tested fine, all other fish lived, ect. Same sort of situation...

Again, sorry to hear this...

 

[Lrgclasper]

I once had a horn shark with a lionfish. One morning I found the shark dead and the lion with torn fins. Upon inspection, I found puncture wounds on the shark from the lion. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened. After keeping sharks for a while, I have come to the conclusion that venomous fish should not be kept with them. Anything big enough to bite, they will give it a try. They are also clumsy and will run into things, which may be a resting lionfish.

 

[Jayded]

Finally got them both removed. Still puzzled as to what happened because there are no physical wounds to either. She looked like she always did just not moving. The lion on the other hand had his mouth opened wider than his head. Looked like he died of shock but again no evidence as to what it was exactly.

 

[lendz]

Maybe he gave the shark a bite? He tried to swallowed the shark but choked?

This is just my guess. Sorry to here this jayded.

 

[LisaD]

Any chance oxygen levels might be a factor?

I wonder if you had night time shift in pH or something that the shark and lion were more sensitive to than the other fish.

I had a whole tank of seahorses die one night. They were all apparently healthy before that. I didn't add or change anything. I had a heavily planted tank, and made the guess that there was an overnight drop in pH that caused their deaths.

 

[Jayded]

The pH tested ok when I tested all the levels after I had found them. There are two filters (one at each end) and a weak "current" thing which we have in a spot that doesnt upset any of them and the water seems to circulate well and there seems to be alot of "airbubbles" and the points where the filters are.
But who knows - its possible there was some small thing that just happened to affect them. I am dreading looking out there this morning in case its something the last two fall victim to.
The Eel is pretty tough, but I dont know how sensitive the Trigger is.

 

[Lrgclasper]

It seems unlikely to be a water issue given that your other critters are fine and you tested the water. Something in the water that was stong enough to knock off your lion and shark would likely affect your trigger. Sounds like a shark lion incident to me.

 

[krj-1168]

Yeah - tend to agree sounds like the Port Jackson's and the Lion killed each other.

 

[FishyMel]

I suspect that someone tried to eat someone and it didn't work out well. I have gone through the sudden death overnight due to the plants either going sexual or a ph drop and sudden oxygen deprivation due to there being too many plants. This all happened at night. It killed all my seahorses. It did not kill my baby bamboo shark that lived with the seahorses but she was on her side and appeared dead. I was able to revivie her. Some types of bottom dwelling sharks can go without oxygen for longer periods of time than fish and that is why my shark made it. But, since you had a trigger live through it, I doubt it was oxygen deprivation. I hate sudden deaths. It is always so shocking and upsetting.