Help I've just lost almost all of my fish

[BCReefer]

In the last 3 days almost all of my fish died. I have had my tank going for about 3 months. I had a yellow tang, flame angel, bicolour blenny, rocky blenny and a maroon clown fish. They are all dead except for the clown. I have no corals or vertebrates except for about 8 – 10 blue-legged hermit grabs. I have only tested for Ammonia which is 0, nitrite which is about 0.1 or 0.2 and my Ph is about 8.2. the temperature is about 78 degrees and the gravity is about 0.018 which is a little low and I am correcting as we speak..

What else should I test for? I have no skimmer or mechanical filtration. I have a 27G tank with about 20lbs of life rock and 2 301 power heads for aeration and I do a 10% water change each week. We have excellent water here with no copper.

I have not added any new fish for about 1 month. The seemed very happy until bang they just died, my maroon seems to be in a daze. Please help. What should I test for next?

 

[Rich-n-poor]

your specific gravity is what ????? you must mean 1.018 but that is too low it should be 1.021 minimum to 1.024 but with the hermits i would recommemnd a little higher like 1.025

what type of test kit do you have have you tested for nitrate (this is different than nitite)

the water changes are a good idea if you cant figure out the problem but increase the salinity of your water but not too quickly

without a skimmer or filter(except the rock) I woulld guess you have a build up of nitrates thats a heavy bioload with all those fish for a system with no filter and only 10 hermits


Do you have an algea problem this would be a sure sign of higher nitrates ?

_________________
BMW 247 engine

 

[ZeroMaintenance]

Do you have a Cuke (sea cucumber), Nudibranch, or Sea Apple? They can kill every thing if they die or get sucked into a pump/overflow. Have your levels been stable? Do you have a temp swing from day/night? Does your PH swing at night too. The water change is in order asap.

 

[BCReefer]

Sorry meant 1.018. No I have no cucumber or anything else and my water has been pretty stable. I had a fresh water tank for 3 years and I never had a PH problem. I have only a little algae as the tang and rocky blenny would feed on it. I havenot tested for Nitrates but I will p/u a tester tonight. Any other ideas. The weather has not been a factor as my water tempature is fairly constant. There is no direct sunlight nor is the tank close to any heat vents or such things.

There looked to be no special marking or disease on the fish nor does the clown look like it gasping for air.

Other than a Nitrate test any other ideas?

 

[Danny B]

BCReefer,

I would suggest a good book before you buy any thing else living. "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Fenner would be a good start. Read it cover to cover. Until that time I would get your one remaining fish out of your tank or do some water changes as suggested. Good luck.

Dan

 

[danmhippo]

How do you do your water change? Do you mix tap with salt? Could it be chlorine? Did you dose any additives right before? Could it be other chemical poisoning? Did you use any insect fogger? Do you have friends/kids that may have dumped something into the tank? Do you have a cat?

 

[Emperator]

What can a cat do to kill fish, other than catch and eat them.

For that size tank, I really don't think you have sufficient filtration to keep all those fish, especially since it is only 3 months old. You should think seriously about getting a skimmer.

 

[dbman]

Hmm... I'm seeing 5 medium-sized fish added to a brand new 27 gallon tank within the first two months. I'm honestly quite surprised they lasted until the 3rd month. That is probably too many fish to have in that tank ever, but certainly by the 2nd month you shouldn't have added more than a couple of fish, especially to a relatively small tank. I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, but you need to fight the urge to stock your new aquarium so quickly. I know, I went through it when i was setting up my first 55.

 

[slimy]

Without a fliter, or a skimmer, how are you getting oxygen into the water?

 

[BCReefer]

For water changes I use the same bucket each time. It is only used for water that is going into the tank. I will add the water and the salt the night before and use a airstone. Then I check the gravity to ensure that it is correct. I have no other animals and my son is too small to reach the height of the tank. I use no cleaner near the tank nor do I use any cleaner when cleaning the top and other equipment. I always add chlorine remover before adding the water. I have checked everything around my system to see if something could have fallen in but no.

Danny B,

I agree! I am reading more books and I am on this site everyday to read what people are saying. I have read 2 books so far, front to back about 3 – 4 times each. Actually I read one before I ever started. I have tried to find the book mentioned before around here but I have not been lucky so far. When I go out tonight I will try again, if no luck then I will look for the book on line. Although I might not have read as many books as I like, do you think that I have done something wrong?

 

[BCReefer]

Just to add. I am not using a skimmer based upon the size of my tank. I have researched as much as I could on the Net about skimmers and read with interest, comments on this forum and others. It seems to be some people say it is necessary others say no. When I first purchased some of the equipment I was surprised when I was told I did not need the skimmer as the books that I had read to date, indicated that I needed one. I do not have a mechanical filter as I am using live rock. Believe me if the problems that occurred had anything to do with lack of equipment I will go out tonight to buy what ever was needed and set it up. Money is not really a problem. I am just surprised that I have been doing the same thing everyday with the same equipment and I had no problems.

I am really baffled?????

 

[BCReefer]

I was busy writing my last 2 replies and I did not read what others were saying.

So I put to many fish in the tank to soon. I’m disappointed with myself now that I think about it. What did I read in the book?? Not to put to many fish in to soon. Damn, and I did it, bloody hell.

Regarding oxygen, the 301 power heads that I have adds the oxygen and I have 2 of them each made for a 30 G tank. I clean them every week to ensure that they work properly.

So what I am going to do is add a skimmer this weekend and get some different test kits. Run the tank for the next month, WITH OUT ADDING ANY MORE FISH. If my Maroon looks healthy and seems to be having no problem I will add 1 fish. I will ad just a total of 3 fish and keep it at that. Plus I will be reading many more books and start attending a local Marine Reefers club.

I can’t believe how I feel. I thought I knew what I was doing, but how could I with only 3 months of having a marine tank.

 

[kevjtomy]

I'm not a stocking expert by any means, but from what I've read you might not want to get another tang in that size tank. Sorry for your loss and good luck.

 

[Danny B]

BCReefer,

Don't beat yourself up. Believe me, I've done almost everything you can do wrong in this hobby and lived to tell about it. Unfortunately not everything lived along the way. Some animals die for unexplained reasons and others do not. Some people learn from their mistakes and others do not. Fortunately, I have learned from many of newbie mistakes but still make some believing I "know what I'm doing." I have a small tank (20 gal.) as well and water quality becomes very important. I would definitely get a skimmer (BakPak or Aqua C Remora) and double the amount of liverock. I have no experience with the fish you kept but I do know that Tangs should not be kept in a tank that small. I would work on getting my water quality up to snuff before adding anything else. Get the specific gravity up to 1.025 or so. Start skimming and add more CURED liverock. I would wait a couple of months (at least) before attempting anything else doing regualar water changes. While your doing all that you can order the book on Amazon.com. The biggest temptation and the one hardest to resist is to plop a bunch of pretty fish (they are pretty) and hope for the best. I would ask questions on this board before doing something I'll regret later. I was told early on (not like I'm an "old pro" now or anything) is to have patience. You'll definitely be rewarded. And don't forget, have fun!

Dan

 

[Anemone]

Not to beat a dead horse, but yes, your tank was overstocked (one of my tanks is a 40 gallon reef, and I wouldn't put all those fish in that tank). Your nitrites are toxic (anything over 0 is bad), but maroon clowns are pretty tough fish. I'd do some daily partial water changes to try and get the nitrite down. It might fall off pretty quickly if you've removed all the dead fish.

Did your first fish (or several of them) die over night? I ask, because in an overstocked system like yours, if one fish dies, the bacterial explosion involving the decomposition of the fish quickly uses up an incredible amount of the oxygen available in the water. This is compounded at night, when the algae (and it coats every surface in the tank, whether you can see it or not) isn't photosynthesizing, and is instead an oxygen consumer. One weak fish dying can quickly cause a situation where other fish die from loack of oxygen, and even your biological filter (which is bacteria, requiring oxygen to survive) takes a beating (and may be a reason for your elevated nitrite readings).

Using a skimmer can help - not only does it remove organics before they can become a drag on the biological filter, but it also highly oxygenates the water. You say you have two 301 powerheads for water movement - hopefully these are pointed toward the surface, providing a really good surface turnover? If not, angle them toward the surface so you get good agitation.

Good luck,

Kevin

 

[dbman]

I think more live rock is an excellent idea... you didn't mention what kind of sand bed or substrate you're using, but it sounds like 20 lbs. of live rock is the only biological filtration you've got going, and you may have been increasing the bioload of the tank faster than the bacteria on that relatively small amount of rock could catch up to it; you finally reached saturation, and overnight you've suddenly got nitrites in your tank and your fish go belly-up. It hurts like crazy, all you can do is live and learn though. If you do add more live rock, be CERTAIN it is well-cured or the die-off might create a "one step forward - two steps back" situation. Protein skimmer is also a good idea because it will give you some more margin for error by keeping your tank aerated and removing extra dissolved organics. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[Colin Smith]

Just wondering, do you have a ground probe? Maybe you have a voltage leak in a heater or powerhead.

HTH,

--Colin

 

[Mouse]

Hmmmmm, no skimmer, no natural nutrient export, no external filtration. You then overstock too soon and dont test for nitrates. Your salinity is also way too low.
Did you do ANY reading before you started this tank/abertoir, i think not. Your lucky i didn't read this a couple of weeks back. I have recently decided not to flame people for blind ignorance, so im just going to count to ten, very slowly, back away from the key board...... and kick the living sh@t out of the nearest inanomate object.

 

[Anemone]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mouse:
<STRONG>Hmmmmm, no skimmer, no natural nutrient export, no external filtration. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A 10% water change per week is nutrient export, and external filtration is not necessary.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mouse:
<STRONG>You then overstock too soon and dont test for nitrates. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think the stocking too soon/overstocking issue has been covered, and testing for nitrates is nice if you have an algae problem or are keeping corals, but really not an issue in a FOWLR tank. High nitrates certainly didn't kill these fish.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mouse:
<STRONG>Your salinity is also way too low. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Again, this is a fish only (with a few hermits) tank, so a 1.018 S.G. is not "way too low." Many long-time hobbyists recommend keeping salinity at that level in fish only tanks. I keep my tanks at 1.025-1.027, but I have reef tanks, and that's a completely different proposition.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mouse:
<STRONG>Your lucky i didn't read this a couple of weeks back. I have recently decided not to flame people for blind ignorance, so im just going to count to ten, very slowly, back away from the key board...... and kick the living sh@t out of the nearest inanomate object. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


I see, so this time you're offering some constructive criticism? Sorry, must have missed it. All the "issues" you brought up were covered by others. The only new "information" offered were insults and generally demeaning comments. I'm sure BCReefer was getting the point without the condescending, sneering attitude. So, if you can't say something nice (or at least constructive.....

Kevin

 

[Lefty1]

Mouse,

He was already berated several times, why berate him again? He made a mistake, admitted it, and hopefully won't make the same one again. That is way good. This thread has been the kind of constructive, useful discussion that the people here want and that the hobby needs.

Lets remember to be helpful. We were all beginners, and we all make mistakes.

RR