What killed my dwarf flame angel?

[jayjay5531]

Yesterday, my dwarf flame angel (who was about 3.5 inches long) was swimming around and looking healthy, but this morning I found it dead wedged behind some live rock. Its eyes were gone and part of the inside of its head looked like it had been eaten (I'm guessing it died first and then the crabs got to it?)

I have a 90 gallon FOWLR, with a canister filter, protein skimmer, and HOB refugium (I'm going to be transitioning to using a sump soon). There's about 50 pounds of live rock and 3 inches of a deep sand bed.

I have:
2 firefish
1 royal gramma basslet
2 clownfish
3 blue-green chromises
1 midas blenny
1 one-spot foxface
1 matted filefish
1 banggai cardinalfish

1 electric blue hermit crab (its quite big)
2 emerald crabs (one of them is very large)
1 peppermint shrimp
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
1 sand-sifting sea star

There's been no aggression problems from anyone before, except for the chromises occasionally chasing each other (I'm told they'll eventually grow up and become very aggressive so I'll probably give away two of them soon), and the dwarf flame angel occasionally chasing the chromises.

I've heard terrible things about CBS's, but it can't be that. In a freak accident, I was trying to move the CBS between two tanks, and its main claws got caught in the net, and it flailed, and both of the main arms got ripped off . I thought he would die but he seems to be doing fine somehow?

I'm concerned about the emerald crabs, but I've only heard that they're supposed to be peaceful?

The other thing is that the pH somewhat abruptly changed from 8.2 to around 7.8 somehow after the last water change. I think this may have been because I used Instant Ocean (The regular salt) instead of Instant Ocean REEF Crystals - because that's all they had at the store.

The temperature is always around 76 degrees (plus or minus 0.4 degrees F). The specific gravity is 1.025, nitrates around 2 ppm.

 

[albano]

How long have you had the angel?

 

[McPuff]

Bobbit worm perhaps??

 

[juniorrocketdad]

Bobbit worm perhaps??

Lol no it was most likely the emerald crabs, they can actively go after fish, I would recommend getting rid of them although it is hard to say they did it for sure since an angel is a hit large for them but that is my best guess

 

[Joke]

Bobbit worm perhaps??

That would make me scream if i found one in my tank!

 

[fishchef]

How's your sea star? They usually don't do well for long. They harvest fish with cyanide and they die in your tank months later.

 

[MuShu]

My guess would be that it spooked the foxface and got jabbed.

 

[snorvich]

I have:
2 firefish will become one unless a mated pair
1 royal gramma basslet
2 clownfish species?
3 blue-green chromises how long have you had them
1 midas blenny
1 one-spot foxface
1 matted filefish
1 banggai cardinalfish

1 electric blue hermit crab (its quite big) how large?
2 emerald crabs (one of them is very large) risky
1 peppermint shrimp
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp risky once healed
1 sand-sifting sea star will deplete your sand bed, then starve

 

[marleesan]

Depending on how long you had the fish, cyanide could be an issue. I had one for 2 minutes the and one day it was fine and 20 minutes later it was dead.

 

[heathlindner25]

There's no way to answer why your fish died.

 

[Bent]

Snorvitch had a pretty exhaustive reply, but I'll add my two cents.

Answer these questions:

1: how long have you had him?
2: how long was he in QT?
3: what meds did he get in QT, did you do TTM?

My guess is that he died of disease and the CUC ate him.

 

[jayjay5531]

Thanks for the responses!

I've had the flame angel for 1.5 months with no problem till now. The clowns are oscellaris, btw.

It sounds like folks don't think the pH change was the issue, then?

Regarding the foxface, do you think that this problem will happen often enough with other fish that I should get rid of the foxface? What is y'all's experiences with foxfaces spining other fish?

Have emerald crabs really been known to ever kill fish as large as flame angels? If so, I'll get rid of them.

 

[jayjay5531]

1: how long have you had him?
2: how long was he in QT?
3: what meds did he get in QT, did you do TTM?
.

1. 1.5 months
2. 12 days
3. Cupramine, and no I just transferedhim direction from QT to main tank afer 12 days

 

[Bent]

1. 1.5 months
2. 12 days
3. Cupramine, and no I just transferedhim direction from QT to main tank afer 12 days

A few things jump out.

12 days in QT with copper is not enough to garuntee the animal is parasite and disease free. However, since you had him for almost a month and a half, the chances that he died from illness are lower. If I had to rank the risk factors of the tank In order from what was most likely to have killed him, to least likely to have killed him it would be:

1: predation from one of the crabs.
2: disease
3: water quality
4: genetic disorder of some kind

 

[jayjay5531]

Btw I just calculated it and it was 40 days (so a little less than 1.5 months)

 

[snorvich]

A few things jump out.

12 days in QT with copper is not enough to garuntee the animal is parasite and disease free. However, since you had him for almost a month and a half, the chances that he died from illness are lower. If I had to rank the risk factors of the tank In order from what was most likely to have killed him, to least likely to have killed him it would be:

1: predation from one of the crabs.
2: disease
3: water quality
4: genetic disorder of some kind

This. 12 days QT in copper is insignificant and may have masked a problem which is now showing up..