My fish keep dying

[Jaag]

Hey everyone,

I need some help here because I am not sure what is going on. I’ve been in the hobby for 10 ish years and never had this happen.

I have a 30l Nuvo that had around 6 fish in it. Vanderbilt chromis, midas blenny, exquisite wrasse, green chromis and an ornate wrasse. All have died other than two, the ornate wrasse, which looks great, and the green chromis, which looks like it’s gonna die real quick. This has happened over about 2.5 to three weeks.

I think my ammonia may have spiked but can not say for sure as it wasn’t tested right when the first fish died. I have checked since and believe it is right at zero. It’s hard to tell as you know with the color testing. Salinity has been stable around 35, pH 8.3 to 8.4 and temp 77.

I haven’t noticed ich or other diseases that give visuals clues. Please help me out here. I want more fish but am rather leery to add more. What are your thoughts and advise?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

how long you had the fish before they died?

 

[Jaag]

how long you had the fish before they died?

The first one started about 7 days later

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm sorry, you mean you had the fish in your tank for 7 days then the first one died?

I do notice in your pic that the water surface is very flat, and they fish are all up top, seeming to poke out of water. Do you have a skimmer? If not, its important to aim a powerhead at the water surface to create agitation and help with gas exchange and help put oxygen in the water.

 

[Jaag]

Yes that is exactly right.

The chromis died right after I took the picture. I have both return nozzles on the surface and the back chamber has a lot of water/O2 exchange too. I’ll give it some more though. That’s a good thought.

 

[Jaag]

I'm sorry, you mean you had the fish in your tank for 7 days then the first one died?

I do notice in your pic that the water surface is very flat, and they fish are all up top, seeming to poke out of water. Do you have a skimmer? If not, its important to aim a powerhead at the water surface to create agitation and help with gas exchange and help put oxygen in the water.

If it was oxygen, do you think all the fish would die at once rather over a two ish week period?

 

[bushdoc]

I have similar tank, but there are two powerheads there and protein skimmer in addition to circulating pump. And yes suboptimal oxygen level can stress fish and it can take some time for them to die.

 

[Jaag]

I have similar tank, but there are two powerheads there and protein skimmer in addition to circulating pump. And yes suboptimal oxygen level can stress fish and it can take some time for them to die.

Dang maybe that is the issue. How would you know it is that?
I also did not realize that it would take time.
Would regular water changes help keep the water oxygenated? I do them weekly.

 

[Kmst80]

Did you add all the fish at once? Is it a 30 liter or a 30 gallon tank? What is the ammonia reading?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I have the same tank, I do not believe it is an oxygenation issue. There is plenty of gas exchange in the overflows and in the surface from the returns.
The OP's Kenya tree is quite full and extended. When water quality is affected, Kenya's tend to tighten up. My first move would be to run some carbon and then a UV. Ammonia would be a substance that the corals would tolerate but your fish could not.
Check your water source, don't just trust it esp. if it is from an LFS.
Chromis have a high tolerance for ammonia but wrasses do not.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

Hey everyone,

I need some help here because I am not sure what is going on. I’ve been in the hobby for 10 ish years and never had this happen.

I have a 30l Nuvo that had around 6 fish in it. Vanderbilt chromis, midas blenny, exquisite wrasse, green chromis and an ornate wrasse. All have died other than two, the ornate wrasse, which looks great, and the green chromis, which looks like it’s gonna die real quick. This has happened over about 2.5 to three weeks.

I think my ammonia may have spiked but can not say for sure as it wasn’t tested right when the first fish died. I have checked since and believe it is right at zero. It’s hard to tell as you know with the color testing. Salinity has been stable around 35, pH 8.3 to 8.4 and temp 77.

I haven’t noticed ich or other diseases that give visuals clues. Please help me out here. I want more fish but am rather leery to add more. What are your thoughts and advise?

What is the filtration on tank?
What is the exact ammonia & salinity reading?
You definitely need a powerhead pointing at surface.
No flow around the tank could cause detritus to build around the rock work causing a spike if your feeding heavily

 

[Jaag]

Did you add all the fish at once? Is it a 30 liter or a 30 gallon tank? What is the ammonia reading?

30 long. I added four at once yes.

What is the filtration on tank?
What is the exact ammonia & salinity reading?
You definitely need a powerhead pointing at surface.
No flow around the tank could cause detritus to build around the rock work causing a spike if your feeding heavily

Salinity has been stable around 35, pH 8.3 to 8.4 and temp 77. The ammonia is near zero. I can not say for sure what it is because it’s the color readings so it’s hard to tell. It was very very close to 0.
I have not noticed a large amount of dentritus truthfully but that totally is an option.

 

[Jaag]

I have the same tank, I do not believe it is an oxygenation issue. There is plenty of gas exchange in the overflows and in the surface from the returns.
The OP's Kenya tree is quite full and extended. When water quality is affected, Kenya's tend to tighten up. My first move would be to run some carbon and then a UV. Ammonia would be a substance that the corals would tolerate but your fish could not.
Check your water source, don't just trust it esp. if it is from an LFS.
Chromis have a high tolerance for ammonia but wrasses do not.

I am running carbon currently and have been dosing Stability also.
The weird this is, is that the only fish I have left is my H. ornatus.
I make my own RO. I am not sure what is exactly in it but with my TDS meter is read 4.

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I am running carbon currently and have been dosing Stability also.
The weird this is, is that the only fish I have left is my H. ornatus.
I make my own RO. I am not sure what is exactly in it but with my TDS meter is read 4

Please don't take this as rude as it's certainly not meant to be-but there are a lot of vague elements to the data e.g ammonia levels, source water, salinity etc.
The picture indicates an oxygen issue.
Are you carbon dosing?
The first place id start is tracing back through your RODI unit e.g are filters & membranes ok.
Next I'd find a trusted LFS & get them to test your water if you don't have Hanna checkers & colour match is confusing.check your refractometer also to ensure its calibrated correctly.
That will help you eliminate possible issues & know where to start with rectifying

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If it was oxygen, do you think all the fish would die at once rather over a two ish week period?

From reading your other posts, you add several fish at once, 30 gallons is small, should only add 1-2 fish at a time. Those wrasses should not have been in your tank, they need larger tanks.

I don't know if oxygen will kill 6 fish in 2 weeks, but your tank certainly has an issue. In your pic, we can clearly see the fish up top sticking out of the water. 2 ways we put oxygen in the water is either with a protein skimmer, or by pointing a powerhead at the water surface. Suggest that you do either one of these 2 things.

I am suspecting fish disease killed the fish that fast, assisted by lack of oxygen, but your information is vague. #fishmedics can help

 

[Sharkbait19]

How were the fish acting before dying? Was staying at the surface the only odd behavior? Did they look off at all? How was their breathing rate?

 

[Jaag]

Please don't take this as rude as it's certainly not meant to be-but there are a lot of vague elements to the data e.g ammonia levels, source water, salinity etc.
The picture indicates an oxygen issue.
Are you carbon dosing?
The first place id start is tracing back through your RODI unit e.g are filters & membranes ok.
Next I'd find a trusted LFS & get them to test your water if you don't have Hanna checkers & colour match is confusing.check your refractometer also to ensure its calibrated correctly.
That will help you eliminate possible issues & know where to start with rectifying

I didn’t take that rude at all. Above is the mentioned elements you asked about though. It’s in the original post and two posts above yours (it’s a lot to read through). I have a refractometer and a checker I bought on Amazon and they both read almost exactly equal. If my yes meter is reading 4, I figure the members on my RO unit are still okay correct? With that being said, I swear the fish seem to die after water changes but correlation is not causation either.

 

[Jaag]

From reading your other posts, you add several fish at once, 30 gallons is small, should only add 1-2 fish at a time. Those wrasses should not have been in your tank, they need larger tanks.

I don't know if oxygen will kill 6 fish in 2 weeks, but your tank certainly has an issue. In your pic, we can clearly see the fish up top sticking out of the water. 2 ways we put oxygen in the water is either with a protein skimmer, or by pointing a powerhead at the water surface. Suggest that you do either one of these 2 things.

I am suspecting fish disease killed the fish that fast, assisted by lack of oxygen, but your information is vague. #fishmedics can help

You’re right. I got too excited and added too many at once. It’s hard to have exact number without Hanna checkers hence the reason I am not able to give an exact ammonia level. When people give exact levels off of colors I am not sure they can truly say it’s exact.

I appreciate the help you are all giving. It’s nice to have this tool here and have people take their time in my behalf.

 

[Jaag]

How were the fish acting before dying? Was staying at the surface the only odd behavior? Did they look off at all? How was their breathing rate?

The only fish that has been at the top was the chromis that I noticed. He was the last fish to die and that was a few hours after I took the picture in the original post.

When they were added, they did not seem off. They were eating right quick.

A question I have about low oxygen levels is, if fish can’t breath out air, why would they be at the top? Is the oxygen concentration higher closer to the surface?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Fish get their oxygen from dissolved O2 in the water. Towards the top is where that diffusion occurs, so there’s going to be more oxygen concentration at the top. Increased aeration and surface agitation increases the amount of O2 that can dissolve.