75 gallon saltwater tank deaths

[Mmun]

. 34. 1.025
34 - 1.025 ....

that’s a tad on high side like to keep it at 1.023. I Can’t tell much on the picture except he’s stressed out with blotches. Is ph in range?
Will need full body picture to see if visible illness on fish

 

[ReefGrammie]

Omg. Thank you. Shocking how much it hurts when a fish dies.

I can't help much with a cause, but I'm so sorry for your losses. Yes, it is shocking how much it hurts. I lost my yellow tang of 6 years a few months ago from unknown causes. I actually shed tears over a fish. He was special, that tang.

 

[Fishbird]

I'm so sorry for your losses. A stable salinity of either 1.023 or 1.025 will not kill fish (though swinging between the two will be stressful and will certainly not help fish health). I have a few questions.

Does your tank have an auto top off (ATO) set up? If not, is somebody manually topping the tank off with RODI water every day?

Where does the RODI water for topping off come from?

Can you post a list of all the fish you had before they started dying?

Were the fish quarantined before you got them? If so, what was the quarantine procedure followed?

How often do the maintenance people come check on the tank?

What do they maintenance people do when they check on the tank?

Do you do anything to the tank in between their visits?

What prompted you to switch to a different company?

Are you the one asking for certain fish or are they choosing the fish?

If you're picking fish, will the maintenance company tell you no and explain why (fish needs a bigger tank, tank is already fully stocked, etc.)?

When were corals added to the tank?

Going forward: can you find out the precise numbers from all tests the maintenance people perform? Not just "everything's good" but what the actual numerical values are? Ask them what kind of test kits they are using, and what brand of salt they are using (if they are the ones mixing saltwater).

It may be impossible to figure out what happened to cause the deaths of your fish but going forward it should be possible for you to be able to help ensure that the tank parameters remain stable, that the tank is not overstocked, and that you are doing what you can to limit the possibility of disease outbreaks.

 

[Joyce R]

I can't help much with a cause, but I'm so sorry for your losses. Yes, it is shocking how much it hurts. I lost my yellow tang of 6 years a few months ago from unknown causes. I actually shed tears over a fish. He was special, that tang.

Fox face in hiding. Still stressed. Why, he is in a very nice aquarium. A lot like raising teenagers! Seem to have an ammonia spike this morning. Not sure why when most fish are dead and taken out.

 

[fishguy242]

sorry to hear this,best wishes..following

 

[fishguy242]

Bump

kudo's on reactions for help

 

[Joyce R]

I'm so sorry for your losses. A stable salinity of either 1.023 or 1.025 will not kill fish (though swinging between the two will be stressful and will certainly not help fish health). I have a few questions.

Does your tank have an auto top off (ATO) set up? If not, is somebody manually topping the tank off with RODI water every day?

ANSWER: No. It is a closed system.


Where does the RODI water for topping off come from?

ANSWER: () only time RODI water put in was when new guy did so on his first visit.



Can you post a list of all the fish you had before they started dying?

ANSWER: Yellow tang, yelloweyed tang, two clowns, two designer clowns, yellowed head sleeper gody, foxface, bicolor pseudochromis, two pj cardinals and two yellow tail damsel. Remaining foxface, one damsel, one gody, none of which look good.

Were the fish quarantined before you got them? If so, what was the quarantine procedure followed?

ANSWER: no but had them for three weeks before die off.



How often do the maintenance people come check on the tank?

ANSWER: former one once a month and he was not thorough.

What do they maintenance people do when they check on the tank?

New ones will come twice a month. Hopefully clean filters (biomaster 250 (2), do partial water change, etc. We should learn....result could not be worse if we did.



Do you do anything to the tank in between their visits?

ANSWER: Test and worry


What prompted you to switch to a different company?

ANSWER: Did not return phone calls or emails re our concerns. Did not address concerns verbally while here. Never gave exact date when he would show up, etc. Another neighbor with freshwater tank (90 gal) fired him also.

Are you the one asking for certain fish or are they choosing the fish?

ANSWER: me



If you're picking fish, will the maintenance company tell you no and explain why (fish needs a bigger tank, tank is already fully stocked, etc.)?

ANSWER: hope new one will

When were corals added to the tank?

ANSWER: February. One Duncan hanging one.;

Going forward: can you find out the precise numbers from all tests the maintenance people perform? Not just "everything's good" but what the actual numerical values are? Ask them what kind of test kits they are using, and what brand of salt they are using (if they are the ones mixing saltwater).

ANSWER: yes I see I must be more diligent.



It may be impossible to figure out what happened to cause the deaths of your fish but going forward it should be possible for you to be able to help ensure that the tank parameters remain stable, that the tank is not overstocked, and that you are doing what you can to limit the possibility of disease outbreaks.

ANSWER: I can test but too much of a novice to know what to do. Maybe new guy will return calls when they get going on the account. Although much to my dismay, it does seem something went wrong when they left!

\thank you.

 

[Joyce R]

ANSWER: I can test but too much of a novice to know what to do. Maybe new guy will return calls when they get going on the account. Although much to my dismay, it does seem something went wrong when they left!

\thank you.

 

[fishguy242]

your tests look to be ok,ph little low but is early

 

[Joyce R]

I'm so sorry for your losses. A stable salinity of either 1.023 or 1.025 will not kill fish (though swinging between the two will be stressful and will certainly not help fish health). I have a few questions.

Does your tank have an auto top off (ATO) set up? If not, is somebody manually topping the tank off with RODI water every day?

ANSWER: No closed system.


Where does the RODI water for topping off come from?

ANSWER: done only once by new guy


Can you post a list of all the fish you had before they started dying?

ANSWER: One bicolor pseudochromis, one yellow tang, one yellow eyed tang, one Yellowhead gody, four clowns, two designer clowns, two yellow tail damsels, Foxface, two pj cardinals. We had a whasse but removed him after a week.

Were the fish quarantined before you got them? If so, what was the quarantine procedure followed?

ANSWER: No

How often do the maintenance people come check on the tank?

ANSWER: Former guy once a month and new ones will come twice a month



What do they maintenance people do when they check on the tank?

ANSWER:Vacuum, partial water change...former guy. He did not test much. Another reason we were not pleased.


Do you do anything to the tank in between their visits?

ANSWER: Test and Worry


What prompted you to switch to a different company?

ANSWER: He never returned phone calls, never texted, never gave an exact date when he was coming. Never explained by water was cloudy (have 2 biomaster canister 250’s) Neighbor has 90 gallon freshwater and fired the same guy.

Are you the one asking for certain fish or are they choosing the fish?

ANSWER: me

If you're picking fish, will the maintenance company tell you no and explain why (fish needs a bigger tank, tank is already fully stocked, etc.)?

ANSWER: Hopefully new folks will.

When were corals added to the tank?

ANSWER: February. Duncan hanging on

Going forward: can you find out the precise numbers from all tests the maintenance people perform? Not just "everything's good" but what the actual numerical values are? Ask them what kind of test kits they are using, and what brand of salt they are using (if they are the ones mixing saltwater).

It may be impossible to figure out what happened to cause the deaths of your fish but going forward it should be possible for you to be able to help ensure that the tank parameters remain stable, that the tank is not overstocked, and that you are doing what you can to limit the possibility of disease outbreaks.

ANSWER: Must be more diligent.

 

[Joyce R]

that’s a tad on high side like to keep it at 1.023. I Can’t tell much on the picture except he’s stressed out with blotches. Is ph in range?
Will need full body picture to see if visible illness on fish

Full body foxface. Sad

 

[fishguy242]

is he breathing heavy? if so point flow to topwater ,get more oxygen in water,may help

 

[savemyreef]

Full body foxface. Sad

Yea that is the coloration that foxfaces will exhibit when stressed. The maintenance company can't come out sooner even though fish are dying? I know they come recommended but I am a bit skeptical of them being that they are using a hydrometer, which are notoriously inaccurate. Again very sorry for your losses. I had a similar thing happen when I first got in the hobby and lost all my fish. I took a break from it and now that I am back, I've put measures in place to avoid that happening again.

 

[Joyce R]

Yea that is the coloration that foxfaces will exhibit when stressed. The maintenance company can't come out sooner even though fish are dying? I know they come recommended but I am a bit skeptical of them being that they are using a hydrometer, which are notoriously inaccurate. Again very sorry for your losses. I had a similar thing happen when I first got in the hobby and lost all my fish. I took a break from it and now that I am back, I've put measures in place to avoid that happening again.

What measures? How long can foxface be stressed? Why stressed? Is the only way to do this is by trial and error? Watch a beautiful fish suffer and die in front of me? I have googled for hours and read thread after thread. If you never know what happened what do you do? Drain it, start over. Get a few more hardy fish and see what happens. (Yike)? Seriously what do you think?

 

[fishguy242]

patience we can try to help as quickly as poss,do not panic.. how long had lights been on,is there a lot of top water movement/??

 

[Joyce R]

patience we can try to help as quickly as poss,do not panic.. how long had lights been on,is there a lot of top water movement/??

A lot of top water movement and put in aerator yesterday per new guy’s recommendation.l. No...never had one. Tank started in January 2020. Light on only an hour or so

 

[fishguy242]

poss step away from tank for a little while i understand we are asking for pics,but will stess more if constanty in front of tank rt now, how is he breathing

 

[savemyreef]

So they can be stressed for a variety of reasons. Some that come to mind are water chemistry, disease, low oxygen, transport, aggressive tank mates and others. The three in red are the ones that I am most concerned about but it is very difficult to diagnose things on the web. Can you post a picture of the full tank? I would like to see if there is anything glaringly obvious that could help.

My advise, if I were in your shoes right now: Not sure what area you are in but I would call your local store, one that is reputable and tell them your situation. They might be able to take Mr. Foxface and treat him for you. Trade in the damsels.

Do not beat yourself up over this being your fault. That is what is so difficult about this hobby, if you don't have someone/a reputable LFS competent guiding you a bit, you are going to run into things like this. Sure there is a bit of trial and error but sometimes things unexplainable/unavoidable/tragic happen in this hobby. I remember my favorite fish, a midas blenny, got scared when I was cleaning and swam right into my anemone. I couldn't get him out of the grip of the anemone. So now, I don't have anemones. Was I warned that anemones can eat fish, sure but I took the risk.

 

[Fishbird]

If I’m reading your answers on my questions above correctly then your system is closed tightly enough that there is no noticeable evaporation (the water level in the tank doesn’t drop even a quarter inch) over the course of two weeks? If this is the case then I would have questions about oxygen level in the tank and about temperature swings. I see you have an extra airstone in there now. Can you also open part of the lid to allow more oxygen into the tank? You might have to get some distilled water in jugs from the grocery store to top off. Before you open the lid I would take a sharpie and make a dot on the side of the tank at the current water level. If the water level goes below that dot, add more fresh water. You can check every day and add water accordingly. This will keep salinity swings to a minimum.

 

[fishguy242]

sorry ,to overwhelm w questions..how is he curently breathing??