Why did I lose all my fish?

[Akrite]

I've been gone for five days on vacation and this morning almost all of my fish are missing. I took out my powder blue tang before I left because I thought he had ick and put him in my QT. I lost a 2 of 4 anithias, midas blenny, six line wrasse, and a pair of true percs which were still alive last night when I got home.

Originally I thought I had ick because it showed up on the powder blue and blenny but ick can't kill fish in 5 days can it. Thinking back the big clown fish did look a little funny around the mouth which is why I now think it was a fungus or bacteria.

So what should I do? Take the 2 anithias and but them in the QT with the powder blue or what?

 

[ginger7286]

What were you water parameters before you left and what are they now? Did you have anyone look in on them while you were gone? I would definitely move the others to the QT or you could lose them all. at least move them until you figure out what happened. I don't think ich kills in 5 days but I am no expert. I would also check to see of the anithias need a difference dose of copper than the tang. If that is the case I would be very careful treating the anithias, good luck

 

[6stringpenguin]

"...but ick can't kill fish in 5 days can it."

My $.02,

I had a perfectly healthy 5" hippo tang in my QT tank for about 2 months, Ich free, feeding like a horse, gorgeous fish. I placed him in my display tank, the next day he got ich that must have already been in my display tank. In 4 days total, he was dead. Ich shows no mercy on even the healthiest fish at times. Better off preventing it so you don't have to treat it.

good luck

 

[Akrite]

All my water parameters are fine and I had my dad feeding every two days and a ehiem auto feeder feeding three times a day. I will find a way to move all my fish to a QT BUT will the ick die off if there are no fish in the tank and if so how long will it take?

 

[oct2274]

if it killed the fish that fast and your water parameters were fine, i'd be betting on Brooklynella

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10799911#post10799911 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 6stringpenguin
"...but ick can't kill fish in 5 days can it."

My $.02,

I had a perfectly healthy 5" hippo tang in my QT tank for about 2 months, Ich free, feeding like a horse, gorgeous fish. I placed him in my display tank, the next day he got ich that must have already been in my display tank. In 4 days total, he was dead. Ich shows no mercy on even the healthiest fish at times. Better off preventing it so you don't have to treat it.

good luck

Sorry to hear about such great losses.

But the point is well-made.

The fattest and healthest fish still may have little chance against ich. As I have said, ich is a disease of confinement--those five planes of glass.

I believe the only sure and sensible strategy against ich is to eradicate it. ie set out the objective to kill the very last ich organism in your tank. Allow a tank to be fallow of ALL fish for eight weeks and quarantine each nwe fish against ich by active treatment to eradicate ich, not observe to see, for ich there is little to observe. All new fish are presumed to have ich and have to be eradicated of ich.

 

[6stringpenguin]

"All new fish are presumed to have ich and have to be eradicated of ich."

This should be the number one rule for any salt water hobbiest to follow! Thank you.

 

[Akrite]

Would any of you recommend treating with copper in a separate quarantine tank? And I'll have to do some research on Brooklynella. What is Brooklynella?

 

[ginger7286]

Brooklynella is a devastating disease that can kill fish in a matter of hours/days. The mucus coat becomes thick and the fish get sick and die. Try this website. It has a lot of great info on this disease I just learned about (fortunately not the hard way) this guy is kick --- with the info.

C:\Users\The Goddess\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\U8UGVWWM\brookynella.htm