Mysterious Flame Hawkfish death.

[JayM]

Woke up this morning to find my Flame Hawk lying on the sand mere moments from death. He was 100% normal yesterday. Eating, swimming, etc. No outward signs of disease or aggression. I took a water sample to LFS just yesterday because I was getting PO4 readings with my Hanna at .18 (normally .0x). Their test showed considerable difference at .5. Everything else was similar to my results with the exception of ammonia. I don’t test for that, so I’m not sure if that reading is normal for my tank, or if it’s elevated. All other fish and corals seem normal with the exception of one torch showing signs of BJD on one head (fragged it off this a.m.).

No new additions other than some snails yesterday, and started running GFO to knock down PO4 a bit.

Other inhabitants are Hippo Tang, Foxface Lo, 2 Ocellaris Clowns, 2 Firefish, YWG, Tiger Pistol, Lemonpeel and Flame Angel, Midas Blenny, 3 urchins and misc. CUC.

I slacked on my WC scheduled for about 3 weeks. Did a 20 gallon change last week, and 20 more this a.m. I normally do 5 gallons a week with about a 70-75 gallon total capacity system.

I know I don’t have many clues to offer, but any ideas of what may have happened or what I should keep an eye out for?

#fishmed#fishmedicCH alt="IMG_5615.jpeg"]3770204[/ATTACH]

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The ammonia level is odd for an established tank, but if it was high enough to kill the flame hawk outright, other fish in the tank should be showing symptoms.

How long had you owned the hawkfish?
Did you see any rapid breathing in the hawk prior to death?
Can you post a video of the remaining fish?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Woke up this morning to find my Flame Hawk lying on the sand mere moments from death. He was 100% normal yesterday. Eating, swimming, etc. No outward signs of disease or aggression. I took a water sample to LFS just yesterday because I was getting PO4 readings with my Hanna at .18 (normally .0x). Their test showed considerable difference at .5. Everything else was similar to my results with the exception of ammonia. I don’t test for that, so I’m not sure if that reading is normal for my tank, or if it’s elevated. All other fish and corals seem normal with the exception of one torch showing signs of BJD on one head (fragged it off this a.m.).

No new additions other than some snails yesterday, and started running GFO to knock down PO4 a bit.

Other inhabitants are Hippo Tang, Foxface Lo, 2 Ocellaris Clowns, 2 Firefish, YWG, Tiger Pistol, Lemonpeel and Flame Angel, Midas Blenny, 3 urchins and misc. CUC.

I slacked on my WC scheduled for about 3 weeks. Did a 20 gallon change last week, and 20 more this a.m. I normally do 5 gallons a week with about a 70-75 gallon total capacity system.

I know I don’t have many clues to offer, but any ideas of what may have happened or what I should keep an eye out for?

#fishmed#fishmedicCH alt="IMG_5615.jpeg"]3770204[/ATTACH]

Unfortunately this device once an API product now by LaMotte has had issues with false readings and mixed results and I highly advise taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at. I agree a couple of numbers seem odd

 

[JayM]

The ammonia level is odd for an established tank, but if it was high enough to kill the flame hawk outright, other fish in the tank should be showing symptoms.

How long had you owned the hawkfish?
Did you see any rapid breathing in the hawk prior to death?
Can you post a video of the remaining fish?

Had the Hawkfish for about 8 months. I did not notice any abnormal breathing, but I’ve been really busy lately so I haven’t been quite as observant as I usually am. I do at the very least spend a couple of minutes a day during feeding to make sure everyone eats.

Here’s about 90 seconds of video. Most everyone is fairly active at the moment so I’m not sure if it will help much.

 

[JayM]

Unfortunately this device once an API product now by LaMotte has had issues with false readings and mixed results and I highly advise taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at. I agree a couple of numbers seem odd

Here’s screenshots of the last 2 tests done with Hanna. Calcium I know may be out of whack, but I guess it’s good enough for checking consistency even if it isn’t an accurate number. I always forget to put the ph reading in, but it’s always in the 7.9 - 8.1 range.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Had the Hawkfish for about 8 months. I did not notice any abnormal breathing, but I’ve been really busy lately so I haven’t been quite as observant as I usually am. I do at the very least spend a couple of minutes a day during feeding to make sure everyone eats.

Here’s about 90 seconds of video. Most everyone is fairly active at the moment so I’m not sure if it will help much.

The main issue with flame hawks are Neobenedenia flukes. You fish had been in the tank too long for that to be an issue I think. In the video, the only thing I saw was the foxface was breathing a bit too fast, but not to bad.

If the tank has good aeration, then I think this may have been a "one off" and I can't tell you why it died, sorry.

Jay

 

[JayM]

The main issue with flame hawks are Neobenedenia flukes. You fish had been in the tank too long for that to be an issue I think. In the video, the only thing I saw was the foxface was breathing a bit too fast, but not to bad.

If the tank has good aeration, then I think this may have been a "one off" and I can't tell you why it died, sorry.

Jay

That’s pretty much what I figured. The Foxface was breathing a bit faster than usual in the video, but that’s his MO when I abruptly change the lights to full white. It takes him 10-15 minutes to settle down.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here’s screenshots of the last 2 tests done with Hanna. Calcium I know may be out of whack, but I guess it’s good enough for checking consistency even if it isn’t an accurate number. I always forget to put the ph reading in, but it’s always in the 7.9 - 8.1 range.

Im good with these numbers...... how about ammonia and Ph?
Any signs such as elevated breathing, scratching itself, gasping at surface, sudden darting across tank?

 

[JayM]

Im good with these numbers...... how about ammonia and Ph?
Any signs such as elevated breathing, scratching itself, gasping at surface, sudden darting across tank?

Other than when my LFS tests, I don’t test for ammonia. Ph was 8.0 yesterday.

No unusual behavior. Scratching, darting, breathing, etc.

Come to think of it, YWG has been hiding more than usual the past week or so, and my Midas blenny has been in his barnacle all day today which is unusual. I can see his head poking out, and he looks good as far as I can tell. I also noticed tank temp is just shy of 83° today. It normally is never above 80°, with a normal temp of the mid to high 78° range in the summertime and about a degree cooler in the winter. Not sure that’s relevant, but it is definitely not the norm.