What killed my powder blue tang overnight? pics

[andrewkw]

I know these fish are very fragile and as I write this he is actually still alive but on his side, I don't think he will make it the hour.

purchased 9 days ago. Placed in QT but not medicated. No signs of ich if you can believe that. First day or 2 he'd bite but spit out mysis would eat brine and peck at nori, unsure if he was actually eating any.

By 3 days in he was eating pe mysis as well as nori and some smaller mysis. I was feeding him 4-5 times a day and even looked better the last few days. Today he would not come out to eat and I knew something was wrong. I grabbed him with my hand and then he proceeded to try and jump from the tank (only 8" high but 48x18 footprint). Now he's just floating around about to drop any second.

Again yesterday night colour was good and was eating pe mysis and nori.

Today this is what he looked like :

I thought for sure he'd make it, now I know better but there was really no signs of this coming. Medication regardless of appearance seems to be the only way to prevent this.

 

[andrewkw]

He died less then 12 hours ago looking good eating, now he's gone.

 

[b0bab0ey]

I can't tell anything definitive from the pics, but one thing that jumped out at me is you said you "grabbed him" with your hand. Are you sure you didn't hurt him? Fish are very delicate and don't respond well to being grabbed by anything.

 

[andrewkw]

I didn't squeeze him or anything he was on his side under a rock and I simply moved him with my hand so I could inspect him. He was already unresponsive before I touched him.

 

[Mrscribbled]

Any ammonia or nitrite present before this occurance? Have seen fish die this way with nitrite at 6 ppm

 

[b0bab0ey]

I didn't squeeze him or anything he was on his side under a rock and I simply moved him with my hand so I could inspect him. He was already unresponsive before I touched him.

Have you tested for ammonia?

Disease is, of course, very possible here. But usually you'll still see symptoms in the fish's behavior even if no visible symptoms are present. If it was parasites, you should have noticed scratching/rubbing; If it was Flukes - head twitching and stringy white poo.

Of course, those are just two of the most common ailments. Anything bacterial or fungus should have had visible symptoms. You're right, IMO, about medicating all new fish regardless of appearance.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Ammonia is my 1st thought too. What were you using to control it, what was last ammonia reading? Ammonia is a common problem in a QT.

 

[andrewkw]

I will have to test later tonight but the qt is really my frag tank hence mo medication. There is no skimmer but cheato and lots of live rock. There aren't many corals in there right now but everything seems normal. I will test as soon as I can. I was actually just preparing a water change when I noticed this. I do have a bit of a hard time believing the bioload of one fish and a couple of snails are able to cause a ammonia spike overnight.

 

[Mrscribbled]

Using a frag tank as quarantine isn't really a quarantine tank then. If the coral are fine then I suspect the eater is fine. I personally have had powder blues and brown mysteriously die. They tend to ship poorly and acquire trauma on route. Not sure what your fishes history is though.

 

[andrewkw]

Well there hasn't been another fish in it for many months not have any new corals been added in a while. I certainly can use it as a qt tank several times a year, just not a hospital. If there is a next time ill pick up a 20gl and use it strictly as a qt tank so I can put copper and or other medications in it.

 

[gbru316]

Any ammonia or nitrite present before this occurance? Have seen fish die this way with nitrite at 6 ppm

In saltwater or in fresh? Nitrite isn't exactly a huge killer in marine aquariums. To kill an ocellaris, nitrite would need to rise to over 300 ppm. Per the article below, the atlantic salmon has the lowest LC50 on the list at 146 ppm.

Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium

Ammonia, OTOH, can be toxic at about 1 ppm, and extremely stressful at any concentration.

 

[Painted skin]

Sorry to hear about the fish, you're not the only one who had the exact same issue during this week. I too have a powder blue it's been in the DT for over a month now. It was all fine swimming and eating the night before. Then next morning woke up to fine it on it side breathing heavy. All other fishes fine as usual.

So first I did took water sample and did a large water change asap. I did test the water ammonia 0 nitrate 10(which is no big deal). Like yours the is no marking of infection or parasite that I can see with the naked eye.. I took amoment to think what can it be, so then went back to tank and the other fish was picking at it. So then I thought to prevent if it was bacteria I didn't want it to spread though it might of been too late, still didn't want take chances with it being in there. QT it went, threw in melafix and methylene blue even thought not too sure what it was at this point, but just in case it was fungus or bacteria. That's all the med I had so I thought it's better than nothing.

I did notice the right eye was mess up in the QT not in the DT and some spots was de scaled, not too sure if that was from the other fishes picking at it...? Thought for sure it was a gonner and even thought about putting it out of misery. Through out the day it was still on it's side. Next day it was upright moving around and still is as of this point.

As of now I am still wondering what it is.

 

[Painted skin]

Double posted