Switching to coral only for now.

[Propane]

Yesterday I found my blue neon goby on my filter floss dead. This morning I woke up to my possum wrasse dead and fire fish about to die. Fire fish was covered in white spots. Last night everything seemed good everything ate and was acting normal. Nitrates at 3.4 phosphates at .03. (Hanna) those parameters have been dropping fast since the uglies started. Ph at 8 (API) and alk at 7.6 (Aquaforest). Haven’t made any major changes for about 11 days and that was adding corals. Only other odd thing I did was about a 30 percent water change 3 days early to lower nutrients. As it is a 15g tank I realize this was probably not good. So for now I’m going to have corals only until I can stabilize nutrients and parameters. Do I just keep sparingly feeding mysis and phyto to keep the corals alive?

 

[keithmeseroll]

Sounds like an ich outbreak. My new tank had it brought in on the live sand. Had to drain all the water throw out the sand and start again with dry sand. Killed 3 clowns. Best option if you can do it is quarantine all fish and let it die out in your main tank but that can take a while. There's not really any reef safe meds that won't hurt corals and invertebrates but ich doesn't affect them. I'd treat all the fish in quarantine with copper and and bacterial. Good luck. I was pulling my hair out for weeks when it happened to us

 

[Propane]

All the fish are dead at this point. So I will leave the tank empty of fish for several months. I’ll keep an eye on nutrients and start feeding the corals directly. My shrimp is still alive and so are the Cerith and stomatella. The Cerith and stoma have plenty to eat.

 

[jda]

The most important things for your corals are not what you can test for. Ammonium for nitrogen and metaphosphate for phosphorous. Your fish were providing both. Your corals can use some po4 easier than they can use nitrate for nitrogen. Dr. RHF just wrote a paper about dosing ammonium for nitrogen - it is what I would suggest in a coral-only tank. If your corals have to use no3 to get nitrogen, then it costs them a LOT of energy to convert the no3 to a usable form that they could use elsewhere.

 

[Propane]

The most important things for your corals are not what you can test for. Ammonium for nitrogen and metaphosphate for phosphorous. Your fish were providing both. Your corals can use some po4 easier than they can use nitrate for nitrogen. Dr. RHF just wrote a paper about dosing ammonium for nitrogen - it is what I would suggest in a coral-only tank. If your corals have to use no3 to get nitrogen, then it costs them a LOT of energy to convert the no3 to a usable form that they could use elsewhere.

I appreciate the response! So are you saying I can’t keep my corals alive while the lifecycle of the ich plays out and I should just pop fish back in the tank?

 

[Propane]

As far as I’ve seen there should be a 3 month fallow period.

 

[jda]

I am saying that the most efficient way to get your corals nitrogen is to use ammonium. That is all. If they have to use no3 to get nitrogen, then they could have to use more energy than they would otherwise, which may be OK, or it may be too much for them.

 

[brandon429]

disease killed them, skipping preps not params, there isn't an instability

the benefit you gain from being fishless is completing the fallow aspect of correct reefing. you did this thread essentially, but backwards:

Has anyone done coral/inverts only and no fish at first?

Fish seem to be the main cause of disruption in a display tank, given the current circumstances in the hobby with pests (ich, velvet, parasites, etc.). I have been in this hobby for 18 years, and the amount of pests that are showing up lately is much more (could also be the fact that we have...

www.reef2reef.com

params didn't cause the disease outbreak, vectoring sure did. it means even if you stabilized the reef even further than it already is, but added in no-qt fish or added in another no prep coral from the pet store after you did add quarantined fish, they'd all just die again by November.

 

[Propane]

Thanks for the responses. I’ve got some research to do lol.

 

[brandon429]

I'm just shocked at how the landscape of fish keeping has changed in 15 yrs

I guarantee in '06 you just buy them and put them into a decent tank and they live long healthy life 98% of the time

Nano-reef.com has thousands of pattern threads date stamped back then to show this, we had it easy lol

Nowadays it's medical/ epidemiological preps required just to keep two clowns a goby and a wrasse, I don't know why, the fish disease forum has all that date stamped

 

[arnavfactoryfishtanks]

Hello there,

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. Losing fish can be really tough, especially after investing time and effort into creating a suitable environment for them. It sounds like you've been dealing with a pretty severe case of ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). The steps you've taken so far, such as considering a quarantine and treatment with copper and antibiotics, are generally in line with recommended practices for combating ich.

However, as your fish have unfortunately already passed, the focus now is on maintaining your corals and invertebrates, and on preparing for the potential addition of new fish in the future. Here are some points to consider, some as other people have mentioned:

1. Time to eradicate ich: It's good that you're planning to let the tank sit fish-free for several months. Ich parasites need a fish host to complete their lifecycle, so without fish in your aquarium, the parasites should eventually die off. It's important to note that the length of time it takes for ich to be eradicated can depend on temperature, as ich has a faster lifecycle in warmer waters. If you're keeping your tank at typical tropical temperatures (around 77-79°F), a period of about 6-8 weeks is usually sufficient for the ich lifecycle to be broken. But keeping it fish-free for several months, as you're planning, will add an extra level of security.
2. Feeding corals: It's crucial that you keep the corals nourished during this time. Since you mentioned that you plan to feed them directly, you seem to be on the right track. Depending on the type of corals you have, suitable foods can range from specially prepared coral foods to zooplankton or phytoplankton.
3. Health of invertebrates: You mentioned that your shrimp, cerith, and stomatella are still alive. While it's true that invertebrates aren't affected by ich, they can still experience stress or malnutrition in a disrupted environment. Monitor their health and behavior closely.

As for questions, here are a few that might help clarify your situation and aid in providing additional advice:

1.What are the current water parameters of your tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, salinity, and temperature)?
2. What type(s) of corals do you have in the tank and how are they currently responding to the situation?
3. How often are you planning to feed the corals during this fish-free period?
4. Are there any other invertebrates in the tank that you haven't mentioned?

I hope this information is helpful to you. I feel for you and this is a stressful time, but rest assured, many hobbyists have faced similar problems and managed to reestablish their tanks successfully. I'm here if you have any more questions or need further advice!

Some references if you are curious:

• Colorni, A., & Burgess, P. (1997). Cryptocaryon irritans Brown 1951, the cause of 'white spot disease' in marine fish: an update. Aquarium Sciences and Conservation, 1(4), 217-238.
• Bower, C. E. (1997). The fish and invertebrate culture: water management in closed systems. John Wiley & Sons.

 

[brandon429]

agreed, well said

 

[Propane]

Ammo and trite 0
Trate 3.4
Phos .03
Ph 8.0 API
Salinity 1.026
Alk 7.6
Temp 78.1

 

[Propane]

No other inverts