Tank Crashing

[bryan007]

Ok here is the scenerio. I've got 30 years of experience with FOWLR and reef tanks and have never had this happen ever. I have a number of tanks and this one is a 125gl FOWLR that is a DT and a grow out tank for large fish that I purchase small to eventually place in the 300gl mixed reef and 150gl reef.

Approximately 4 weeks ago I purchased at my LFS an adult Emperor and picked up some PE Mysis shrimp. I drip acclimate all fish for 3hrs before releasing. Parms: ammonia-o, nitrites-o, nitrates-20PPM, salinity 1.024, phosphates-.03, PH-8.1 using Seachem test kits. 2 days later after getting the Emperor I see white blotches, figure probably stress as this is common with them. Continues to worsen and 4 days later after purchase dead. The tank at the time housed a Bariene, Vlamingi, Naso,Yellow, and Hippo tang. All small to mid sized and purchased within two months of each other. I also use this tank as a QT tank I should add. Permanent residents are the Hippo, Yellow tang, small zebra moray, small maroon clown, a squami anthias and a 6 line wrasse. After the Emperor died I notice all the tangs except the Yellow and Hippo and beginning to breath rapidly and very tiny almost spear shaped bumps appear on them and they all seemed to develop popeye at the same time along with the Hippo but no bumps on the Yellow or Hippo tang. The Vlamingi, Naso and Bariene tangs are all now swimming in the current created by the Koralia pumps I use to circulate the water. One by one of the next week or so they all die. I'm totally stumped. Forgot also had a saddleback butterfly that was the first to go same bumps and a tiny 2 inch Niger trigger that was to be a permanent resident. Prior to all this never any problems all fish eat like pigs and out of my hand. Last death was about 2 weeks ago. So Monday I decided to take a chance and see what happens if I put another fish in the tank, so purchased a small bicolor angel which would normally do well given all the live rock. Next day fish looks stressed day after dead. Over the weekend I do a massive water change about 70 gallons. Monday I purchase a small yellow tang. First two days just fine. Morning of the third its dead. So Tuesday night did another 32gl water change I used Tropic Marin salt. Yesterday go back to my LFS and purchase a small Coral Beauty angel. If this one dies then I've got to have the water tested for non organic toxins and nothing is going to get in my RO/DI water. Filters are less than 3 months old. This evening when I get home I see the angel is doing just fine. Oh I had sugar sand in the tank and took that out on Monday as I noticed in spots where it was about 2 inches deep a black mold growing so though crap I've got sulfur dioxide in the water and replace with about a 1/2 of crushed coral-Carib Sea. Anyway I decide to feed the fish and use a frozen mixture of 8 different types of frozen food that I make but also added some chopped up PE Mysis shrimp. All the fish eat including the new angel. Within 45 minutes I notice the angel is no longer active with caudal fin up as she moves around the tank picking algae off the rocks. Now I'm wondering if the Mysis could be bad or have some kind of toxins in it. Now the clown, hippo, six line wrasse are all fine. Anyone have an experience like this becuase I'm stumped other than now thinking there is something wrong possibly with the food yet why didn't all the others get sick and die?

Any ideas or similiar experiences are greatly appreciated.

 

[bryan007]

I should also mention I have a number of shrimp soft corals, and a Sabae anemone that the clown hosts all doing fine.

 

[Jarret]

Ok from what I read from the wall of text (does your keyboard have an Enter key?) you bought a fish from your LFS. You said you had the fish in a QT but yet the QT has permanent residents? Doesn't sound like a QT to me...

Anyways, the first fish you bought died because it obviously had something that didn't show up at the LFS. Then it killed off all your other fish. You buy 2 more fish and they die as well.

I'm thinking you shouldn't really be buying fish from wherever you are buying from or it's possible that they had a bad batch of fish.

Or maybe I'm just completely missing most of the story...

 

[bryan007]

Jarret This tank is where all new fish go and does have perminant residents as well as those that will be transfered to the other tanks. I only use natural means to deal with any outbreaks of disease.

Emperor dies after purchase four days later-no visaable signs of any disease. Eating at LFS which was in QT for 4 weeks. A few days later the niger trigger the butterfly and tangs except for the hippo and yellow begin to show popeye and rapid breathing and fins become cloudy in color along with tiny sickle shaped bumps appearing all over their bodies. Within another two days the vlamingi and naso dye. Yellow tang appears ok and is still eating with normal behavior but next morning is dead along with the niger trigger. I remove all sand except for small amounts under the live rock replace with crushed coral and do a massive water change. Next day check parms all normal as stated above. Purchase a small powder brown tang from another LFS which they've had for about a month and eating. Acclimate and is fine eats like a pig. Third morning fish is dead with no visable signs of disease or any other ailment. Thursday purchase a small Coral Beauty angel from a different LFS. Acclimate doing fine. Feed last night all remaining fish using mixture of frozen I make and chopped PE Mysis I purchased when I bought the Emperor. Within 45 minutes this fish is showing labored breathing not wandering through tank as before and caudal fin clamped. Fish survives the night and appears to be ok. Has to be the Mysis which I have thrown out. Can't possibly think of what else could have happened. As I said I've been in this hobby for 30 years and have never seen anything like this happen before.

 

[ryancmatchett]

Did you ever figure this one out? Any update?

 

[JHemdal]

The key here is that the fish died, and the invertebrates flourished. That will tell you positively, that the problem is not water quality or toxin related. I know of no toxin except rotenone, that will kill fish but leave the inverts alone.

My guess at first was that you have a bad case of Amyloodinium - it fits all of the timing and symptoms except for the exopthalmus,and the "sickle marks". However, in reading your 10/9 post - Amyloodinium wouldn't account for the rapid onset.

I have another idea - supersaturation of the aquarium water with air. This will kill the fish slow or fast, causes weird marks on the fish's skin, clamped fins, plus exopthalmus....and may not harm the inverts.

Look for an air leak at the suction side of a pump, anywhere in the system. You may or may not see bubbles in the water...hidden supersaturation can be a real menace. I once saw a dealer's system that would periodically kill off everything in certain chambers, but leave other fish alone. Turns out that the die offs ocurred when the sump got low and the too strong of a pump caught air. I also saw a case where a hose clamp was loose on the suction side of the pump....just an idea that I would rule out before the PE mysis...

Jay