arrggg...venting - fish loss...so confusing

[Djbetterly]

What do you think is worse, the idea of losing the fish or not knowing what the hell is wrong??

Three fish in about four days - 2 reef chromis and a carpenters ferry wrasse.

Nitrates - 2.5
PO4 - .072
Calc - 430
Alk - 8
Mag - 1450
Temp - 78.5
pH - 7.88
SG - 35.6 on my Apex (Re-Calibrated yesterday)

 

[Waleedwale1]

Did you check around the tank? The wrasse could have jumped

 

[Djbetterly]

No...found him floating

 

[Clink51]

did u spill anything into the tank accidentally? check for stray voltage too

 

[Djbetterly]

no spills that I'm aware of...

I have a grounding probe so i don't think stray voltage should be an issue.

About a week ago I put a new return pump in, but thats it.

The fish didn't look healthy though either, thats what was weird to me. They were always eating right up until about a day before they died.

I'm going to let things sit for a bit, see what happens. I'll do my maintenance, but not going to add anything new.

All coral looks healthy as ever.

 

[jcdeng]

are those that died all of your fish in the tank or you have survivors?

 

[Djbetterly]

Still have two clowns, a tail spot blenny, melanarus wrasse and a pink bar goby.

 

[jcdeng]

ok, then at least you can rule out velvet.

 

[Djbetterly]

what are signs/symptoms of velvet?

 

[jcdeng]

sugar like coating covering the fish body (white-yellowish film)

 

[Djbetterly]

So are you saying I can rule it out because I still have survivors? Does it kill fast?

 

[jcdeng]

Yes, most of the time if you have velvet your tank will be fishless in a week

 

[Djbetterly]

well, I'll give it a week and pray thats not it. If it were the case, how do you treat the tank?

 

[jcdeng]

if u have corals and inverts, just don't put fish in for 10 weeks. Otherwise you will have to bleach everything if you want to be sure and you can't wait the 10 weeks.

 

[Djbetterly]

Hmmmm....this really has me thinking about velvet now. Doesn't seem completely impossible based on what I've experienced with this tank so far. Unfortunately because I live in an apartment I have no space for a QT tank. Either way, I started with two Wyoming clowns....all white, not sure I'd see velvet on them or they could be a carrier. Next I added a flame back, it died within a few weeks...turned whitish, hid in the rocks and died. Next I added a few reef Chromis, all dead within three weeks. Again, hid in the rocks never to be seen again. Lastly the wrasse. So I have four fish in the tank right now. Let's say they do survive, from what I gather that doesn't mean one of those fish isn't a carrier. Now of course I have no QT tank, what do I do? Ugh...very frustrating.