Two fish die within hours of each other.

[tcorriveau]

Last night when I went to bed, all seemed fine with all my fin friends. When I woke up this morning and gave them breakfast, everyone was accounted for and enjoying some Mysis shrimp. Approximately two hours later, my roommate called and stated two of my fish were dead. I asked him to test the water for me just to make sure it wasn't the water and the results are below:

1.025 SG
Calcium 525
Carbonate = 12dkh
High range PH = 8.2
Ammonia = .25
Phosphate = 0
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0

To be safe, I plan to purchase the materials to conduct a TTM and treat for ich and infections after work, but I am curious as to why two fish that seemed perfectly healthy died in the matter of a couple of hours. I asked my roommate if he noticed if they were in distress before passing, he stated the Kole Eye Tang was laying on the sand bed and appeared to be gasping for air, but the yellow head jaw fish did not appear to be in distress and was in the process of moving his den location. My roommate was also nice enough to take some water to the LFS and their tests results were similar. Any ideas?

The flow in my tank consists of three power heads, one causes water to flow behind all the live rock, one is at the top of the tank moving water in a downward motion and the other is located at the bottom moving water to the top. I also have a Reef Octopus BH100 skimmer and a mechanical filter large enough for a 100g tank.

The other inhabitants in the tanks consist of several snails, two peppermint shrimp, a fire shrimp, two emerald crabs, green hammer coral, green star polyp, two Duncan corals, a waving hand coral, two ocellaris clownfish, two fire fish, two Kaudern's cardinals, a Fiji blue devil damsel, a lawnmower blenny, yellow head jaw fish, and a brittle star.

Oh and on a side note, the two fish that died were from live aquaria and all the other inhabitants were purchased from the LFS. I have included a picture of the tang for viewing and all the white dots are sand that washed off before I disposed of the fish. Also, I posted this same question in the New to Hobby section before I was referred here. A lot of my tank specs are in the original thread, but I am happy to re-answer any questions pertaining to that. I am leaving work now and heading to the LFS for supplies. One person mentioned velvet due to the coloration around the stomach area behind the gills.

 

[Deinonych]

0.25 Ammonia is cause for alarm, for starters. A few question to help with diagnosis:

1. How long have you had the fish which just died?
2. Were these fish quarantined? If so, how?
3. When was the last fish/coral/etc. added to the aquarium?
4. How long has the aquarium been running? Is is fully cycled?

 

[tcorriveau]

0.25 Ammonia is cause for alarm, for starters. A few question to help with diagnosis:

1. How long have you had the fish which just died?
2. Were these fish quarantined? If so, how?
3. When was the last fish/coral/etc. added to the aquarium?
4. How long has the aquarium been running? Is is fully cycled?

The fish were purchased at the beginning of June and were quarantined up until July 20th when they were added to the DT. They were in a hospital tank and were treat with erythromycin.

They were the last two fish added to the tank and the tank has been up and running for 6 months.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Why were you treating with erythromycin? How long ago did the tank finish its cycle? Chris is correct, ammonia is cause for alarm. There should be no ammonia in a cycled tank. You have added way too much livestock (including corals) in that short period of time and have overwhelmed the biological filter. This can be corrected by 1. Reducing the amount of livestock 2. Adding bacteria like biospira 3. Adding an ammonia detoxifier.
Patience is key in this hobby.

 

[tcorriveau]

The erythromycin was used because when they arrived, the yellow head's tail appeared to be shredded and I was informed that the erythromycin would treat for fin rot in the even that is what caused the shredded tail. I have moved the fish to several different tanks to accommodate the ammonia and added Ammo Lock to prevent any further damage. When I woke up this morning, the Fiji Blue Devil Damsil was dead and covered in white blotches all over its body.

 

[BuzzPion]

"the yellow head jaw fish did not appear to be in distress and was in the process of moving his den location"

Maybe it stirred up some nasty stuff in the sand and caused an ammonia spike. That with the big bio load may have pushed it over the edge.

 

[tcorriveau]

"the yellow head jaw fish did not appear to be in distress and was in the process of moving his den location"

Maybe it stirred up some nasty stuff in the sand and caused an ammonia spike. That with the big bio load may have pushed it over the edge.

While conducting the water change last night I did come across a dead snail that smelled horrid. Other than the initial cycle, that's the highest I have seen the ammonia in my tank. Will a dead snail cause a spike?

 

[juniorrocketdad]

It looks to me like ammonia poisoning. And no a dead snail would not cause a spoke especially if you have a cuc which you Do

 

[Newsmyrna80]

While conducting the water change last night I did come across a dead snail that smelled horrid. Other than the initial cycle, that's the highest I have seen the ammonia in my tank. Will a dead snail cause a spike?

Depends on the size of your tank. How big is your tank?
The white blotches on the damsel is concerning. That can be indicative of Brook or velvet.

 

[tcorriveau]

Depends on the size of your tank. How big is your tank?
The white blotches on the damsel is concerning. That can be indicative of Brook or velvet.

I have a 65 gallon. Now that all the fish have been removed from the display tank, what is my course of action to help save the remaining ones? Do I proceed with tank-to-tank transfers out just place in a tank with prime and watch their behavior and water conditions?