Cause of Death Determination

[strich]

This is a sad read indeed. Sorry for your losses @Lostoften!
Do what you can for the remaining fish but it may be time to start seeing what you need to be doing to effectively fallow the tank and restart.

 

[Lostoften]

Go right into full copper......2.5 ppm

Not home currently, but son states no further losses yet. If I do a FW dip, do you just transfer directly to treatment tank? Try and match all water conditions as close as possible to display tank?

 

[strich]

Not home currently, but son states no further losses yet. If I do a FW dip, do you just transfer directly to treatment tank? Try and match all water conditions as close as possible to display tank?

Have you read the sticky threads on this sub forum? They may provide the info quicker than waiting for a reply. Though I'm unsure on this specific query.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Not home currently, but son states no further losses yet. If I do a FW dip, do you just transfer directly to treatment tank? Try and match all water conditions as close as possible to display tank?

Dip and then move right into the QT with copper (but the QT should have the same temperature and salinity as your display).

This will be rough on the fish. Another option is to just move the fish over to the QT with copper and skip the dip. Less stressful, but less effective.

 

[Lostoften]

Well, nothing is going easy. Dosed according to bottle and both tanks over on copper. 3.19 for the 29g and 2.9 for the 20L. Will reduce with fresh salt water and retest.

 

[Lostoften]

Surprised made it through dip and into qt. Not sure he makes it through night.

Others are more challenging to catch.

 

[Lostoften]

Allowed myself to get hopeful when the gem survived the dip. Lasted 2 hours in the qt tank. Caught the foxface, he’s in QT. Doubt makes the night.

We’ll see what carnage awaits in the morning

Could bad food have caused this, like some pathogen or spoiling? Or, more likely hydropex + UV aren’t the same as QT. Had been losing the fish along the way, but addition of tangs gave larger host for whatever parasite/infection was present.

So regretting getting back into this. Should have stuck with 20gallon nano that’s been running almost a decade.

Ordered a fish trap to hopefully catch the remaining fish. Did a 25 gallon water change, trying to start skimming and turned UV back on.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Allowed myself to get hopeful when the gem survived the dip. Lasted 2 hours in the qt tank. Caught the foxface, he’s in QT. Doubt makes the night.

We’ll see what carnage awaits in the morning

Could bad food have caused this, like some pathogen or spoiling? Or, more likely hydropex + UV aren’t the same as QT. Had been losing the fish along the way, but addition of tangs gave larger host for whatever parasite/infection was present.

So regretting getting back into this. Should have stuck with 20gallon nano that’s been running almost a decade.

Ordered a fish trap to hopefully catch the remaining fish. Did a 25 gallon water change, trying to start skimming and turned UV back on.

Most likely, Hydroplex + UV allowed pathogens to travel in to the tank with the fish. While spoiled food is obviously not a good thing, it would cause an acute issue when fed, not a problem that goes on like this. Also, spoiled food would cause internal problems and these fish clearly have some external issue.

 

[Lostoften]

Foxface is alive, but won’t be for long. Looks like lost a shrimp as well overnight, likely when chasing fish, moving rocks. Two other shrimp are still alive. Doesn’t look like a molt. No other fish are out yet, but it’s earlier than normal feeding time.

 

[Lostoften]

Foxface died, along with the shrimp. Only fish seen alive this morning are the leopard wrasse, goby and yellow wrasse.

 

[Lostoften]

Blue morph is still alive, hardly comes out of rock work but is alive. Other fish are appearing normal. Running carbon and chemi pure as phosphates are out of control and corals are feeling it. Hopefully fish trap works to catch the few surviving.

Also realized HOB filter uses carbon in its media, so if capture fish will need to check Cu levels again.

 

[Lostoften]

Wife caught the goby when I wasn’t home, my son decided to let him out half hour later. Sigh, no fish going near trap or bottle trap.

 

[Lostoften]

Let’s hope this guy makes it longer than the others. Copper is at 2.25.

 

[Lostoften]

Blue morph was captured yesterday, leaving just the leopard in the display. Unfortunately, the morph was injured during capture and has a cut above its eye. He decided to come out with the rock structure, which fell apart when removing from the tank. He is eating at least in qt.

Yellow wrasse and blenny seam to be doing fine. Copper range dipped to 2.13 yesterday, back at 2.35 today.

 

[Lostoften]

One step forward, one step back... captured the leopard wrasse to add to QT today. Unfortunately the goby jumped overnight.

Guess egg crate doesn't work as a suitable cover. Or I just have extremely poor luck.

 

[Lostoften]

Fish in qt are looking poor today. Not sure next steps. Just did a 10 gallon water change… fish had been eating in qt.

 

[Lostoften]

@Jay Hemdal any next steps?

Ammonia badge showed alert yesterday, tested with salifert test and was less than 0.15. Badge looked the same, but all fish were breathing heavily, there is a red line by the gills on the yellow wrasse.

SG 1.025
Temp 78

Copper has been above 2 (2.13-2.55) for the yellow wrasse since 9/14. All fish had a 5 minute fresh water dip before QT.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

@Jay Hemdal any next steps?

Ammonia badge showed alert yesterday, tested with salifert test and was less than 0.15. Badge looked the same, but all fish were breathing heavily, there is a red line by the gills on the yellow wrasse.

SG 1.025
Temp 78

Copper has been above 2 (2.13-2.55) for the yellow wrasse since 9/14. All fish had a 5 minute fresh water dip before QT.

Can you get a third ammonia test done, perhaps by a LFS? I'm worried there may be an ammonia issue despite the testing.

The fish are near respiratory collapse - Amyloodinium/velvet will do that, but not at 2.25 ppm copper. Water quality issues will though - first thing, add an air stone to the tank, or use the air injector on the powerhead(s). If you have good aeration, then you may want to do a massive water change, with a copper addition, just to try and set things right.

 

[Lostoften]

@Jay Hemdal added another large air stone from a separate bubbler, but the tank should have had plenty of oxygen.

LFS tested with API kits, Nitrite and PH fine. Ammonia was between 0-0.25

 

[Jay Hemdal]

@Jay Hemdal added another large air stone from a separate bubbler, but the tank should have had plenty of oxygen.

LFS tested with API kits, Nitrite and PH fine. Ammonia was between 0-0.25

OK, well darn, those are the two ideas I had. Any chance of some airborne toxin getting into the tank? Are you confident that copper test is accurate?