Tank wipe-out

[maringoddess]

Here is my sad story. 9 months into this hobby, first tradegy.
Had a mandrin that started showing signs of ich (yes I have read it is rare for them to get this). Anyways, he was the first to show white specks. Two days later the bicolor angel got white spots. Not having a hospital tank, and I do have corals, I tried treating with no-Ich. (waste of $40)
Within two-three days, these fish died;
Mandrin
Bicolor Angel
Bicolor dotty back
Black blenny
Watermelon wrass
And last, my clown, who was covered in whitespecks, all around his eyes. I tried taking pictures, but it doesn't show in the picture.

Now here is the amazing part - and my confusion- I have two firefish that seemed to make it through, never got a speck on them, it has been about two weeks since the fish dying, and these two firesh are just fine. Very odd. Do you think perhaps this was something other than ich that firefish are immune to? I don't have an explanation for why these two made it when it was obvious by the clown that by 1 week there was a big infestation.

Also have a cleaner srip that is plugging along.

Tough lesson. Looking for a 75-100 gallon corner aquarium to upgrade to, and my current nano will eventually become a hospital/quart. tank.

 

[saltwaterman112]

sorry to hear that i know the feeling. Hopefully you can bounce back.

 

[mysaltyfish]

You had all of those fish in a 30 gallon nano!? They might have died from more than Ich... but the bioload alone on that tank would have added a lot of stress. Sorry to say it so bluntly, but I just want to say it in case you reconsider repeating the mistake.

 

[maringoddess]

Yes, I did have them all in that tank. I changed 5 gallons once a week. I spent an hour a day feeding and monitoring, and tested water every other day. water paramaters were alwyas perfect, or immediately adjusted to maintain the correct levels. The ph seemed to be thehardest to keep high enough, as I was always agging a ph increaser. there fish were happy and healthy for 6 months. I spent $20 a month alone keeping the mandarin well fed. I didn't think it was a bioload problem as I never saw tank paramaters show any signs of concern... but I am still new at this.

 

[Ralph ATL]

too many fish in tight quarters will be enough to stress them out to the point of death. bioload would be too much, also as in nitrates & phosphates, lack of O2, etc.

 

[screwsloose]

there has been a rash of brookenylla running around my area

 

[firereef]

Wow!! To many fish in a small tank! Bioload, ich, obviously no qt tank. Even if you would have had them in your future corner tank that would have been pushing it. I made the same mistake when I started this hobby. A lesson to learn! Good luck in the future, hope it works out;-)

 

[wooden_reefer]

Re: Tank wipe-out

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15702457#post15702457 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maringoddess
Here is my sad story. 9 months into this hobby, first tradegy.
Had a mandrin that started showing signs of ich (yes I have read it is rare for them to get this). Anyways, he was the first to show white specks. Two days later the bicolor angel got white spots. Not having a hospital tank, and I do have corals, I tried treating with no-Ich. (waste of $40)
Within two-three days, these fish died;
Mandrin
Bicolor Angel
Bicolor dotty back
Black blenny
Watermelon wrass
And last, my clown, who was covered in whitespecks, all around his eyes. I tried taking pictures, but it doesn't show in the picture.

Now here is the amazing part - and my confusion- I have two firefish that seemed to make it through, never got a speck on them, it has been about two weeks since the fish dying, and these two firesh are just fine. Very odd. Do you think perhaps this was something other than ich that firefish are immune to? I don't have an explanation for why these two made it when it was obvious by the clown that by 1 week there was a big infestation.

Also have a cleaner srip that is plugging along.

Tough lesson. Looking for a 75-100 gallon corner aquarium to upgrade to, and my current nano will eventually become a hospital/quart. tank.

Well, all the equipment is still intact.

You should not lose a single fish to ich again ever. I never did again. My story in the early 80's was different. A moron LFS owner told me that copper will destroy my nitrification bacteria. This misinfo had caused some losses. Then I still believed in the touted "nutrition-resistance" theory for a few more years and lost many more fish.

Eradication of ich is doable. To start, it requires a certain belief.

That is: ich is a disease of the tank, of geometric relation, of confinement, not of nutrition.

It requires patience, preparation, and knowledge, but not much physical work. Not expensive either. You do not need a lot of equipment as for as ich alone is concerned (for other diseases you do need some other equipment.)