Something wrong with Fish in Tank

CT Reefer · 06-29-2006, 07:53 PM

Came home today and my Blue Hippo was laying under a rock, I took him out and put him in my QT tank and he died there, also my Royal gramma is missing and I put a yellow goby and red fire shrimp in 2 days ago and they are mia as well and my Stripped puffer seems to be breathing heavily and is hiding under a corner rock, my ammonia is 0.0 PH is 8.4 close to 8.6 temp is 81 degrees nitrites and nitrates are 0.0 can't understand what is happening, my clown, damsel LTA feather dusters, hammer coral gonipora are all fine and open, I did add more rock 2 days ago from that I got from online, but it was in QT tank for a week, it was already cured when it came, I smelled it cleaned it in saltwater and brushed before putting in tank. any suggestions where to check next?

zxcv123 · 06-29-2006, 08:46 PM

You probably killed him by throwing him the qt. That is normal for hippos and mine used to sleep like that or hide like that.

CT Reefer · 06-29-2006, 08:50 PM

I have had him 1 month now this the first time he was like this really bad, okay now that I am the blame:-) any real advice on what I should check

dobejazz · 06-29-2006, 08:52 PM

How long had did you have the Tang? Was he a new addition? Is there plenty of surface movement of the water to allow oxygen into the tank?

zxcv123 · 06-29-2006, 08:52 PM

did you say the ph is 8.6 what size is your tank

Wiskey · 06-29-2006, 10:08 PM

Zxcv123 Telling him he killed it is NOT COOL! You don't have enough information to jump to conclusions like that.

I think it was a good idea to move it to QT, if I feel a fish is ill and I have a setup (running) Q tank that is always my first move.

Hippos do tend to shove themselves between rocks when sleeping, they then expand their fins to hold themselves in place. This is usually done with their head sticking out, they will even back into their "cave" if it can't be accessed from the back. They don't lay on their side though, they are upright, or at no more than a 45 deg angle IME.

Honestly if you lost a fire shrimp I would bet ammonia, possibly a spike from adding the rock, shrimp seem to be far more susceptible to that then fish.

On the Puffer breathing hard, could be ammonia too, or the after effects/stress from a spike.

I would double check your ammonia kit, if you are anything like me you probably have a very old kit because you don't use it much. Try taking some of your water to an LFS for verification, or use another kit to verify your readings.

Here is the questions I have:

How big is your tank?
How much rock did you have before the new addition?
How much did you add?
What other bio-filter type media do you have (Hob filters, wet/dry, sand etc)?
Do you have a skimmer? How much does it pull?
How long has the tank been setup?
How long have you had your other fish?
How long did you wait between adding fish?

Thanks,
Whiskey

CT Reefer · 06-30-2006, 05:57 AM

Tank size 125, before new addition of rock 150-175lbs added 40lbs, wet dry filter with mag12, css 220 skimmer tank has been up 1 1/2 months, most of first rock came from previous tank that was setup for 1 year, and some purchased from 3 yr tank, been 2 weeks since last fish was added, kit used forgot name but not that old and was expensive, uses 2 pack powder to check for ammonia, with calibrated plastic readers, also refractometer. I did a 15% water change last night, I will take some water to LFS tomorrow if I see the puffer breathing normally, other wise I will do it today, as tonight is the Fireworks and plan on putting my Boat in water finally, been spending all my time at home and neglecting my boat.

Hardhead Cat · 06-30-2006, 08:00 AM

You might try taking your water in to the LFS and having your phosphate level tested (unless you have a test kit for it). I had mysterious things going on in my 135-gallon and phosphates were to blame - - so sorry for your loss! Hippos are very cool.

HHC

Wiskey · 06-30-2006, 08:49 AM

Okay, good. I would think that your existing 150+ LBS + wet dry would be plenty enough capacity to deal with the incoming 40 LBS of new. Though it might have taken a few hours to catch up, any ammonia spike would have been small IMO.

2 weeks is plenty long enough to wait between fish in a tank with all that rock and the wet-dry.

You seem to have all your ducks in a row here, and this is not your first tank. The deaths and problems could be attributed to a number of things, but I would be willing to bet it has something to do with the new tank.

It is also possible that your tank has some kind of dease. Do you see any symptoms of anything? Any abnormal behavior?

Here's what I recommend, leave things alone for a bit, don't move rock around, add any more fish, or generally mess with anything. Let things just be stable for a month or two, and if you don't have any more problems then consider getting a fish, and wait 2-3 weeks between additions.

Let us know if your test kits were reading right, and keep us updated with any developments.

Thanks,
Whiskey

zxcv123 · 06-30-2006, 10:03 AM

when tangs are stressed out they lay like that.
the addition of more rock could have cause a mini cycle
I got a bad piece of rock one time that caused ammonia for a few weeks.

CT Reefer · 06-30-2006, 02:59 PM

I was reading another thread about cucumbers wehen they die they let out toxics in the water, I happen to have two of them that I have had almost a year in my previous tank, but 1 has not moved for the last week, I grabbed him today he was shrunken and hard, seems like he kicked the bucket, the other was almost as hard and did not move when I took him out, maybe this was the culprit? anyway they are out of the tank and as suggested I plan on leaving the tank alone for a month or two besides weekly water changes, I have a purple tang and flame hawkfish in the QT tank they have only been there for 3 days, the tang seems okay buit the flame since day one has been acting wierd, he just stays in one place and seems like he is cripple and his eyes seem bigger than usual maybe I am just not used to their behavior, but they both are eating when I put mysis in the tank so that is a good sign, and the puffer in the show tank came out to eat today, but my gramma goby and fire shrimp are still mia, I have a LTA that in the past used to eat my inhabitants maybe he is up to his old tricks, if he is he is outta here.

Wiskey · 07-01-2006, 12:40 AM

Good work on looking into those cucumbers! You are right, they sure can release a toxin, I see some water changes and a bunch of carbon in your future

. (if you are already using carbon, replace it with new carbon)

I would keep a very close eye on that flame if I were you, even extending the quarantine period if you feel that it is not acting normal. They are normally very active fish. Do you have the tang and flame in the same Q? The tang may be attacking the flame in the confined space, do you have plenty of large PVC fittings in there for the fish to hide?

I too had an anemone that ate fish, a Condy, so I would not say that is out of the question. My friend has a Seabea that eats green chromis damsels.

Sounds like you are on the right track!

Whiskey