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1K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  Rick O 
#1 ·
Okay this may take a bit but here it goes.
over the holidays I left my tank in the care of a friend to feed.
Well after my 4 day trip I returned to most of my fish being dead.All but my scooter blennie,yellow gobi,4 brittle stars,1 red star,1 blue star,3 featherdusters and a pink-tip everything else was dead angles,tangs,damsels,clowns.
Since this happened I have been doing 15 gal.water changes twice a week.
I checked my water upon my return and all seemed fine.(cal. was low 300)even with my changes it seems nothing new will live in my tank.
I tried a tomato clown,it lasted a week.
My LFS has also been checking my water and haven't found anything wrong.
I'm at my witts end.
any idea's.
 
#2 ·
Hey kruss2ca, is there any chance your friends might have unplugged and plugged something back in, or re-arranged something that might have let stray voltage get into your tank? I had that problem in my old 58 that was killing most of my fish, somehow some made it through, including all of my inverts. Anything new wouldn't last but 2-3 days, put in a ground probe, and problem solved. It's a long shot, but maybe worth looking into. Let me know if I'm wrong guys, I don't like giving out useless info


WAGZ
 
#3 ·
Hi Kruss2ca and welcome to The Reef Tank.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I know how you feel.

Have you been able to determine what went wrong while you were gone? Quiz your friend to determine anything and everything that might have happened. Was anything inadvertantly added to the tank which may have poisened the fish that may not show up with the usual test kits?

Are the remaining fish still healthy? Swimming and eating normally? Is the clownfish the only thing that you have attempted to add since the other deaths?

Any other info you can provide will help us out.

Rick
 
#4 ·
Originally posted by Rick O:
Hi Kruss2ca and welcome to The Reef Tank.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I know how you feel.

Have you been able to determine what went wrong while you were gone? Quiz your friend to determine anything and everything that might have happened. Was anything inadvertantly added to the tank which may have poisened the fish that may not show up with the usual test kits?

Are the remaining fish still healthy? Swimming and eating normally? Is the clownfish the only thing that you have attempted to add since the other deaths?

Any other info you can provide will help us out.

Rick
 
#5 ·
hey guys thanks for the info I had my LFS do more test this time without the dip tests and everything is ok.I will be installing a ground probe tonight.
As for my friend she didn't seem to do anything but maybe she over fed.
I have added another tank raised clown it I acumated it and when I released it into the tank it swam like it had a broken back(it swam like an eel)it has been in the tank since last wed.it is still alive it eats but it's not to active,hopefully it will make it.
I also have ordered a new bigger better skimmer maybe it will help.

thanks again
kim
 
#6 ·
Overfeed? wow.. must be some food fest. Maybe she fed twice a day w/ a lot of food?

Anyways, is it possible that some chemical got inside the tank? Possibly some household stuff like windex or lysol? Just a thought.

Also.. you might want to put a Poly-filter in there. It's supposed to absorb anything that's bad inside the tank.

When you aclimate the new fish, did you check the water salinity before and after aclimation?
 
#7 ·
hey guys thanks for the info I had my LFS do more test this time without the dip tests and everything is ok.I will be installing a ground probe tonight.
As for my friend she didn't seem to do anything but maybe she over fed.
I have added another tank raised clown it I acumated it and when I released it into the tank it swam like it had a broken back(it swam like an eel)it has been in the tank since last wed.it is still alive it eats but it's not to active,hopefully it will make it.
I also have ordered a new bigger better skimmer maybe it will help.

thanks again
kim
 
#8 ·
hey guys thanks for the info I had my LFS do more test this time without the dip tests and everything is ok.I will be installing a ground probe tonight.
As for my friend she didn't seem to do anything but maybe she over fed.
I have added another tank raised clown it I acumated it and when I released it into the tank it swam like it had a broken back(it swam like an eel)it has been in the tank since last wed.it is still alive it eats but it's not to active,hopefully it will make it.
I also have ordered a new bigger better skimmer maybe it will help.

thanks again
kim
 
#9 ·
Hi Kim,

I would be concerned. Something is not right. Without knowing what caused the deaths you will not know if you've corrected the problem. Especially since recent additions have not been doing well.

Overfeeding is not likely the cause of the problem unless your friend REALLY overfed (like pouring an entire container of food in the tank). Also a skimmer is not likely to cure something that kills fish. A skimmer's function is to remove protiens (nutrients) from the water.

Do you know what your LFS has been testing for and what the readings are?

Rick
 
#10 ·
here are the readings
SG=1.024
NITRITES=0
NITRATE=10
AMON=0
CAL=325
PH=7.9(a little low)
COPPER=0
PHOS.=.1

not the best but not bad enough to kill my fish.
I don't understand why my ph is low all my water changes are with RO water(which I buy at the local water store).I'm going to do 30gal.change this weekend.
I also would like to know which buffer to use I have the 2 part kent(A+B)I also have a product called aquamilk?

thanks
KIM
 
#11 ·
Well Kim, I'm stumped with the information that's available to us here. It would seem that something happened while you were gone that you would have recognized as wrong but your friend wouldn't have if she were not a reefer.

I would go ahead and do the things suggested by WAGZ and Pik and continue with the weekly water changes. You might also want to wait a few weeks before adding any more fish. Hopefully by then it would have worked its way out of the system.

I'm not familiar with Kent A-B. I use B-Ionic calcium buffer. But I think the Kent is basically the same thing. If you use it as directed your ph should fall into line and remain pretty stable.

One more thing. How is your water circulation. Do you have a pretty good turnover rate. What I'm getting to is if there is a good gas exchange?

Sorry I couldn't offer any more advice. Maybe someone else will think of something.

Rick
 
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