Fish Dying Advice needed

[FishNewbie]

Hi Everyone,

I have noticed one of my clown fish with a white stringy poop several times now and I have noticed this since the fisrt day she was put in the aquarium. It seems this may be some type of parasite. I have a 150 Gallon tank and the Clowns where the first 2 fish I put in the tank when I first started the tank 3 months ago.

I have also added the following fish of which 5 have died within having them only a couple of weeks.

-Malinarus Wrasse (alive)
-Royal Gramma (alive)
-Cleaner shrimp (alive)

-Lined Tamarin Wrasse
-Blue jawfish
-Valentini puffer
-Male & female blue throat trigger

These last five fish are all deceased. I purchased the Puffer and 2 Triggers last Friday and they only lived less than 5 days.

Every time a fish has passed I have tested my water at the LFS and it has tested normal.

I'm new to the hobby and just looking for advice. If the clown fish does have a parasite would this be killing these 5 other fish so quickly?

The Malinarus Wrasse and Royal Gramma have lived through this and appear healthy.

Thank you all for your help

 

[mtraylor]

Depends on how they died. Were they gasping for air? The white poop is internal parasites most likely. Can be fixed with prazipro and or metroplex.

If it were me at the point you were. I would go get the fish you want and put them in the aquarium and start two rounds of prazi pro. This will cover the internal parasites and flukes if you have them.

Since you didn't qt the fish to start with, it's not going to hurt much at this point. Especiallybif you have flukes. Your tank is young so it will recover from the prazi with hopefully not much issues. This is loss of bacteria etc.

I would get some of the following as well.
Metroplex
Focus
Kanaplex

This is for feedings of the fish during prazi treatment. I would treat with the metro/focus as well. Only have the kanaplex on hand if needed.


Now. I would have done this much differently. I either qt my fish and trwat or purchase qt fish to try avoid these issues....but anything can happen.

Good luck

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I count 10 fish in 3 months, if you properly cycled the first month, then its 10 fish in 2 months, that is too fast for me. Adding a puffer and 2 triggers at the same time is too much IMO. The healthy bacteria which keeps your fish alive dont reproduce as fast as you are adding fish. I dont know anything about fish disease but I know going too fast when I see it.

Also, testing water is the basis of our hobby, you are very disadvantaged if you have to go to the store every time to test your water. Suggest you get your own test kits (not API).

 

[LeftyReefer]

The royal gramma is alive and doing well?
It doesn't have any spots or exhibit any itching or flashing on the rocks or sand?

Royal grammas seem to be parasite magnets. if you have parasites in the tank, there's a good chance the RG will be one of the first fish to show signs/symptoms, usually. it seems like they are like the canary in the coal mine fish when it comes to parasites.

From your timeline, with multiple fish dying within days of each other, leads me to believe this is more likely a (external) parasite issue. Flukes don't kill fast or multiple fish at once. and internal dinoflagellates won't usually spread to and take down several fish within days either. So treating with Prazi and metro is all well and good, and fully called for, but I doubt it's going to fix all the issues here. I think there is probably more going on than just that.

I'd fallow the tank, run a full QT on all the fish. then QT any new fish before adding them.

 

[jbarwa]

How long did you cycle the tank for and what type of live rock did you use? If you did not give enough time for the cycle to complete your live rock may have introduced toxins to your tank that are not detectible with a general water test.

Additionally, you may want to ask your LFS how long they had the fish before you purchased them. The fish you lost are prone to issues and if they were new to the shop they may have had issues before you purchased them.

Finally, the ones that are alive are the hardiest of the Saltwater fish, while the ones you lost can be very sensitive. If you are able to heal those fish, stick with those for several months (at least 3 to 6) before you consider additions. Then take your time introducing the new fish. Watch them closely and only add one or two at a time. I also recommend adding turbo start with each new addition to introduce new, healthy bacteria into the tank.

One more thing to note is also the food you are feeding them. Each of the ones that passed have complicated(ish) diets. Make sure you feed them the right food.

 

[SlugSnorter]

a

Hi Everyone,

I have noticed one of my clown fish with a white stringy poop several times now and I have noticed this since the fisrt day she was put in the aquarium. It seems this may be some type of parasite. I have a 150 Gallon tank and the Clowns where the first 2 fish I put in the tank when I first started the tank 3 months ago.

I have also added the following fish of which 5 have died within having them only a couple of weeks.

-Malinarus Wrasse (alive)
-Royal Gramma (alive)
-Cleaner shrimp (alive)

-Lined Tamarin Wrasse
-Blue jawfish
-Valentini puffer
-Male & female blue throat trigger

These last five fish are all deceased. I purchased the Puffer and 2 Triggers last Friday and they only lived less than 5 days.

Every time a fish has passed I have tested my water at the LFS and it has tested normal.

I'm new to the hobby and just looking for advice. If the clown fish does have a parasite would this be killing these 5 other fish so quickly?

The Malinarus Wrasse and Royal Gramma have lived through this and appear healthy.

Thank you all for your help

along with what everyone else is saying - params?

 

[Sharkbait19]

If the clown were the cause of the issue, it would have died first.
What do you feed? Mysis can cause white poop.

 

[FishNewbie]

Depends on how they died. Were they gasping for air? The white poop is internal parasites most likely. Can be fixed with prazipro and or metroplex.

If it were me at the point you were. I would go get the fish you want and put them in the aquarium and start two rounds of prazi pro. This will cover the internal parasites and flukes if you have them.

Since you didn't qt the fish to start with, it's not going to hurt much at this point. Especiallybif you have flukes. Your tank is young so it will recover from the prazi with hopefully not much issues. This is loss of bacteria etc.

I would get some of the following as well.
Metroplex
Focus
Kanaplex

This is for feedings of the fish during prazi treatment. I would treat with the metro/focus as well. Only have the kanaplex on hand if needed.


Now. I would have done this much differently. I either qt my fish and trwat or purchase qt fish to try avoid these issues....but anything can happen.

Good luck

Hi, no gasping for air. Here is a photo of the white string. But would this wipe out a Valentini puffer and 2 Triggers with 5 days?
Also attached photo of one trigger. I loved this trigger. My local fish shop and tank servicer said they quarantined for a week. I'm new to the hobby and have taken my LFS recommendations every step of the way since tank setup this past June.

 

[FishNewbie]

If the clown were the cause of the issue, it would have died first.
What do you feed? Mysis can cause white poop.

Hi, mostly herbivore frenzy and maybe once a week pellets.

 

[FishNewbie]

The royal gramma is alive and doing well?
It doesn't have any spots or exhibit any itching or flashing on the rocks or sand?

Royal grammas seem to be parasite magnets. if you have parasites in the tank, there's a good chance the RG will be one of the first fish to show signs/symptoms, usually. it seems like they are like the canary in the coal mine fish when it comes to parasites.

From your timeline, with multiple fish dying within days of each other, leads me to believe this is more likely a (external) parasite issue. Flukes don't kill fast or multiple fish at once. and internal dinoflagellates won't usually spread to and take down several fish within days either. So treating with Prazi and metro is all well and good, and fully called for, but I doubt it's going to fix all the issues here. I think there is probably more going on than just that.

I'd fallow the tank, run a full QT on all the fish. then QT any new fish before adding them.

Thank you for responding. Yes the Royal Gramma is doing great. Attached is a photo of my trigger. So sad. I'm new to the hobby and have been relying on my LFS who services my tank. I have followed their recommendations every step of the way since tank setup in Mid June. They are telling me possible parasites have caused the Valentini puffer and my trigger pair to die so quickly.

 

[FishNewbie]

How long did you cycle the tank for and what type of live rock did you use? If you did not give enough time for the cycle to complete your live rock may have introduced toxins to your tank that are not detectible with a general water test.

Additionally, you may want to ask your LFS how long they had the fish before you purchased them. The fish you lost are prone to issues and if they were new to the shop they may have had issues before you purchased them.

Finally, the ones that are alive are the hardiest of the Saltwater fish, while the ones you lost can be very sensitive. If you are able to heal those fish, stick with those for several months (at least 3 to 6) before you consider additions. Then take your time introducing the new fish. Watch them closely and only add one or two at a time. I also recommend adding turbo start with each new addition to introduce new, healthy bacteria into the tank.

One more thing to note is also the food you are feeding them. Each of the ones that passed have complicated(ish) diets. Make sure you feed them the right food.

Thank you for your response. Tank cycled 3 weeks before Clowns were put in. Then every 3 weeks I added 1-2 more fish at the recommendation of my LFS who also services my tank. LFS says they quarantined for a week, however I believe it was less than that. My LFS had to reorder the pair of Triggers because the first pair they ordered died in their store along with a handful of other fish. Attached is my tank with Rock setup.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Thank you for your response. Tank cycled 3 weeks before Clowns were put in. Then every 3 weeks I added 1-2 more fish at the recommendation of my LFS who also services my tank. LFS says they quarantined for a week, however I believe it was less than that. My LFS had to reorder the pair of Triggers because the first pair they ordered died in their store along with a handful of other fish. Attached is my tank with Rock setup.

sounds like a parasite got through their QT

 

[jbarwa]

Thank you for your response. Tank cycled 3 weeks before Clowns were put in. Then every 3 weeks I added 1-2 more fish at the recommendation of my LFS who also services my tank. LFS says they quarantined for a week, however I believe it was less than that. My LFS had to reorder the pair of Triggers because the first pair they ordered died in their store along with a handful of other fish. Attached is my tank with Rock setup.

Based on your additional information it sounds like you did everything right. The bigger issue sounds to be with the fish supplier that your LFS is using. If possible, you may want locate another LFS and try with them. They may be getting fish that already have issues and you are the one paying the price. I have 5 different LFS's that I use for that very reason and many of them have noted that some stores have that issue. Sorry to hear it's been a challenge and I hope you have good luck with your next go around.

To the earlier post, I would treat your current fish and make sure that they are healed before attempting again using prazipro and/or metroplex.

 

[FishNewbie]

Based on your additional information it sounds like you did everything right. The bigger issue sounds to be with the fish supplier that your LFS is using. If possible, you may want locate another LFS and try with them. They may be getting fish that already have issues and you are the one paying the price. I have 5 different LFS's that I use for that very reason and many of them have noted that some stores have that issue. Sorry to hear it's been a challenge and I hope you have good luck with your next go around.

To the earlier post, I would treat your current fish and make sure that they are healed before attempting again using prazipro and/or metroplex.

Thank you very much! I will be looking into another LFS.