Tank is sick!!! What next??

[Breto]

So in the past 2 days I have lost a Yellow Tang a Lawnmower blenny and a torch coral frag from the frag swap.

This started two Fridays ago. I cam home from work and while I was feeding I noticed my Yellow Tang had ick and it was starting to spread to my six line wrasse. Immediately I freaked out and started getting a QT up and running. Went to the LFS to buy 30gal of pre-mixed saltwater and was told that I didn't need set up a QT because that would only stress the fish out more, all I needed to do was to add some medication to the food I was feeding and all would be fine.

After a few days the Wrasse was showing no signs of ick and the Tang appeared to doing better. Then this weekend the Tang got worse and eventually died sometime between Saturday night and Monday afternoon (didn't find the dead body till Monday at lunch and last saw him Saturday night). At the same time the torch coral died and I say It Monday morning.

After all the death I did a 5gal (I have a 30gal tank) WC last night and thought everything else would be fine.

Then I woke up this morning and found my Lawnmower blenny had died overnight. At this point I had to test all my water to figure out what was going on.
Alk - 9.8
Ca - 425
Ammonia - .25ppm

So here is my opinion of what happened:
Tang had ick, medication didn't work, he died -> caused an Ammonia spike and killed coral and stressed and killed the blenny.

What should I do now?
What should I have done differently?

Thanks for the help.

 

[kegogut]

Whats your No2,No3,Po4,salinity?

I would do another water change and run some carbon for a week or two.

Do you have any other fish in the tank?

 

[Breto]

I still have a clown fish and a 6 line wrasse in the tank.

Salinity is 1.024

not sure about the others I will have to test when I get home

 

[kegogut]

Normally No3 and Po4 wont kill fish ( My tank is proof) but No2 might be a problem.

Are the clown/wrasse showing signs of ich?

Torches can be touchy at times. Ive found them to be the most sensitive of the euphyllia I've owned. The dead torch and dead fish could be unrelated also.

 

[MayoBoy]

First thing is you need to slow WAY down. A yellow tang, a six line, a blenny and a clown are too many fish too fast if your join date is about the same time that you started the tank.

Tangs of any sort don't belong in 30 gallon tanks at any point so don't plan on replacing him. How much live rock do you have in the tank? What other sorts of corals? How often are you doing water changes and how much?

 

[Breto]

Are the clown/wrasse showing signs of ich?

No the Clown is happily in his Nem and He never really showed any signs ick. Haven't seen the 6 line yet today but that's because he doesn't normally come out until the lights are on and I have been at work all day.

How much live rock do you have in the tank? What other sorts of corals? How often are you doing water changes and how much?

I have a good amount of live rock(not sure of the actual weight or anything see pic below)

I do water changes about every 2 weeks to once a month and do 5 gal at a time.

I have a rose bubble tip anemone, 2 different zoa frags, a hammer coral frag, a trumpet coral frag, and 2 sps frags (not sure what variety) and a Duncan frag.

 

[MayoBoy]

:eek2:OK, you REALLY need to slow down! :eek2:

You have a nano and they're both easier and more difficult to take care of than a "regular" tank.

I have a 27 gallon cube so I'm more or less in the same boat as you. I don't have a skimmer, auto top off, reactors, etc. It's much easier to take care of because we can accomplish all of the things that those do (except the ATO) by doing regular water changes. And by regular I mean 5 gallons every week.

That will get rid of the yucky stuff and replenish the good stuff. The downside of a nano is that when things go South, they can do so in a hurry because we don't have the large volume to "absorb" the changes.

Because we're working with such a small amount of water, rock and sand, we have to make changes slowly. That means adding a fish and letting the biofiltration (the rocks) catch up to the increased amount of waste. After a month or so, we can add another fish. For a tank your size, you can go with a couple of clowns, a wrasse/basslet/etc. a small gobi/pistol pair or any same sized combination. NEVER a tang - they get way to big for a nano, never a Catalina goby - they're cold water fish...you get the idea.

Corals can be added at just about any time but put the hardiest (zoas, GSP, xenia) etc. in first and then as the tank matures and stabilizes, you can start adding LPS and others. If you're going to do SPS, you'll need to bump up your water changes and maybe add a skimmer. The good thing about the previous listed corals is that they like "dirty" water so you don't need to worry about keeping everything perfect like you do for SPS.

An anemone should really not be added for 9 months to a year until the tank is really mature and everything runs like clockwork. They're delicate animals and need to be kept in a very stable environment.

Your tank is going to go through a mini cycle with the ammonia so just let things run their course. Run carbon as was mentioned and keep up on regular water changes. Don't add any more fish for at least a couple of months and if there's anyone near you with a large, established tank, see if they can babysit your BTA until you get things squared away.

Reefs are fun, but you have to be patient. There's a saying - nothing good happens fast and nothing bad happens slow...Don't be discouraged though, just do your research and ask, ask, ask if you're not sure.

 

[STRATNEST6769]

Whats the Temp range ? from what to where?

 

[Breto]

I have a 27 gallon cube so I'm more or less in the same boat as you. I don't have a skimmer, auto top off, reactors, etc. It's much easier to take care of because we can accomplish all of the things that those do (except the ATO) by doing regular water changes. And by regular I mean 5 gallons every week.

I have a HOB skimmer and a ATO to try and keep the water level stable. I appreciate the advice Thanks.

Whats the Temp range ? from what to where?

I was holding my temp at 76-78 but when the Tang developed ick I bumped it up to 80.

 

[STRATNEST6769]

How old is the tank?

 

[Breto]

How old is the tank?

little over 2 months

 

[LauraBay]

The posts telling you to slow down are dead on! I know that's not what anyone wants to hear but it seems that maybe this is simply a side effect of too much livestock too soon...not to mention a fish that's not going to ever be happy enough 30. I'd watch your anemone closely because it wouldn't be a surprise to see it go next and it could take everybody else down with it.

 

[Tonblogna]

Upping your tank temp supposedly speeds up ich's life cycle which means your remaining fish will be getting fed on more frequently as new eggs hatch and look for a host (they are a parasite). I don't think you want this unless the fish are in an environment where new hatchlings cannot survive such as hyposalinity. Furthermore you will never be rid of ich, even if the signs come and go, until you run your tank fallow and treat all new comers to be sure they are not infected. When the ich appears to be "gone" the parasites have simply dropped off because they were done feeding. There are many myths and folklore about ich. Take some time to read scientific facts about this nuisance and you can be rid of it.

 

[zephryn100]

Holy heck man! Here is what you should do when you are starting a new tank. First find a group like this and talk to them on how to set up a tank correctly. Second is after you have it up and running (nothing in the tank but sand and rock) you let it run for 2 months that way. Then at about the 8th week you can then can talk on the forum on which fish you like the most and what they suggest you should buy first. Third thing is to setup a quarantine tank of the 10 gallon size to put the fish you will buy in it for a month. Then you can go to the LFS and buy 1 or 2 fish. Then you take them home and into the quarantine tank they go for a month. After the month you can transfer them to the display tank. Also any corals you want you MUST dip them and quarantine them also just to make sure you do not get hitch hikers. Then every month or two you can add another fish till you get to the point you like. Just do not overstock your tank as that will kill your fish also. Truthfully the best thing to do is to get hooked up into a group like SLASH. They will do their best to not steer you in the wrong direction.

 

[xcorallusx]

whats the name of your local fish store?

 

[mpgrant77]

unfortunately you can never know what really caused the loses or if they were even related. Did you test before you did the water change? I ask because you were .25ppm after water change which means it was higher previous to it. Second I am assuming that the .25ppm result is your total Ammonia. To really understand this number you must also take into consideration temperature and ph. This is a very in depth subject but in a nut shell the poisonous side of ammonia rises with relation to increase temperature and ph. Without know things like your ph, and nitrites especially before your water change your other tests don't mean a whole lot. I am a firm believer in over testing with a newer setup. I started my tank around the same time you did although this is not my first go around. I test a minimum of every other day until I am positive that things have stabilized then I still test about twice a week for another month or two. That includes everything ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, ph, and alkalinity. Once I have a good handle on these and can predict what they are going to be then add fish 1 or 2 at a time keeping a close eye on all my tests as I change my bioload. Once everything restabilizes or if the system remains stable start on the corals. Once the corals go in it is time to start overtesting the next set of parameters alkalinity, calcium, magnesium. Get these stable and I figure out what my dosing requirements are. Start with easier corals like softies and work into more and more difficult corals. Just my thoughts take them for what there worth. That plus 15 bucks will buy you a starbucks coffee. Oh an patience.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Breto, everyone here is giving very good advice and yes at some point, for many of us here, including myself, did make very similar mistakes and learned from them. I started my first salt tank in the early nineties and made plenty of mistakes then. It's okay. Go slow and keep your head up. Tank looks good for just a couple of months by the way!

 

[Mr D smack]

Alk and cal readings are useless without mag. Mag is your base. Get your mag stable first and that's for corals. I just scanned through this and seen you raised temp and thats bad in your situation.

Like others stated slow down

 

[Aqua Man 07]

I killed way more than that I was in the hobby for a year before I found slash.

 

[Mr D smack]

Tangs of any sort don't belong in 30 gallon tanks

Tell that to your lfs. And with a statement of such you either have a 150 or so for qt or you don't qt. Either way its wrong to give said advise. Now long term is a total different subject, that's still out for debate :deadhorse1:

Here's a white tail I kept in a 30 for qt or was that wrong?

White tail: https://youtu.be/d2pLMM5DebM