Tank wipeout

[LA94]

Hi new to keeping saltwater fish was going so well until it wasn’t!

All parameters are great but I noticed my blue tang had small white spots, we lost 10 fish all went through the same, white spots or fuzz, loss of colour, scales flaking, hiding and stopped eating just before they died. Within a week we had 5 left from Google it looks like I had velvet in the tank. The last 5 looked good eating well no symptoms at all then a few days later our wrasse died which I was surprised as he looked so healthy.

We were left with 3 chromis and 1 goby, now the goby had only a few spots but was never away from the cleaner shrimp and then 1 chromis started with tissue braking away from his head and died pretty soon after. I have one chromis that’s about to die same as other one tissue breaking down and one that looks very healthy so I’ve taken the sick one out and when I put it in a bowl I found a parasite of some sort. So question is does it sound like velvet or is this parasite that I’ve found the culprit?

 

[lapin]

Could be both things killed your tank. Did you QT the fish before adding them to your tank. If so how?

 

[DED65]

That could be part of a bristle worm. If so, it was just cleaning up.

 

[LA94]

No, lesson learned, added them slowly and never too many at once constantly checking parameters as I was told to by our reef shop but they never mentioned the need to QT

 

[BeanAnimal]

I suspect you will need to post more details, but new to the hobby and that many fish is already a red flag.

How big is the tank?
How old is the tank?
When were fish added?
Etc.

 

[JTP424]

^^ Was just about to say similar
Tell us some more about your tank, any photos would be helpful too to get a clearer picture.

 

[LA94]

That could be part of a bristle worm. If so, it was just cleaning up.

It’s still alive moving about picture you see is whole thing it’s about a mm in length I’ve just zoomed right in

 

[VintageReefer]

Was that fish on the sandbed at all ? The parasite appears to be not a parasite but instead a bristle worm, a common tank cleaner. They eat leftover food, but also decaying flesh. They would not cause the injuries you’re experiencing

If I were you and I had one or two good fish left and the rest of the fish died from sickness, disease, etc, I would be removing the HEALTHY fish and putting in a tank with new and clean saltwater instead of leaving them in the tank with the unknown sickness. Likely that entire tank will need treatment or a period of time with no fish

What size tank is this ? How long has it been since the first sign of sickness and present day?

 

[DED65]

It’s still alive moving about picture you see is whole thing it’s about a mm in length I’ve just zoomed right in

If it is a bristle worm, it looks like a part, they don’t waste any time cleaning up anything dead or dying.

 

[LA94]

Thanks looked up bristle worm and yes does look like that just very small only 1mm. That fish was hovering just above sandbed when I removed it. I only have 1 tank so do have an issue as how best to move forward as I dont have anywhere suitable to house healthy fish if not and to be fair I’m not sure how healthy they are. Its a 216lt tank 6 months old 3 hermits, 1 snail and 1 shrimp were added at 6 weeks with 2 clowns added first, waited the 3 chromis next, wrasse and gramma after that then we added goby and mandarin, blue tang was last and first with symptoms

 

[DED65]

I don’t know how many fish you have left, but they can even go in a 5 gallon bucket with a heater and a power head until you can put together another plan.

 

[VintageReefer]

57 gallon tank. The blue tang grows to a 12” semi aggressive fish needing 6-8 foot tank, around 150 gallons. Also very sensitive. Possibly the small tank size triggered ich in the tang from stress in a heavy stocked tank that’s undersized fit him

 

[LA94]

57 gallon tank. The blue tang grows to a 12” semi aggressive fish needing 6-8 foot tank, around 150 gallons. Also very sensitive. Possibly the small tank size triggered ich in the tang from stress in a heavy stocked tank that’s undersized fit him

He was maybe an inch so doubt my overstocked tank that was mega small for my huge fish was the cause thank you for your helpful comment.

 

[LA94]

I don’t know how many fish you have left, but they can even go in a 5 gallon bucket with a heater and a power head until you can put together another plan.

Thanks 2 left now, what’s best to do with the tank? Leave it empty 6/8 weeks or will it need treated

 

[DED65]

Ich - How long to leave tank fallow to eradicate

I am truly sick and tired of Ich. I ha e moved all my fish to a 55 gallon quarantine tank and treating them with copper. How long do you leave your DT fallow to be certain Ich is dead and gone? I have read 6 weeks, 8 weeks and some even say 12 weeks. Is there a concensus about how long to go fallow?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[VintageReefer]

He was maybe an inch so doubt my overstocked tank that was mega small for my huge fish was the cause thank you for your helpful comment.

But he was the first to show symptoms? It’s a very sensitive fish, stress alone can make them have outbreaks. Maybe it wasn’t the tank size but could have been the amount of activity in that tank.

No need to be snippy, I pick up on your tone. You are responsible for your tank and live stock choices, you waited for 8-10 fish to die before asking for help, and when I offer you reasonable advice you get an attitude. Sorry if you are offended but my comment was based on experience and facts and I’m trying to guide you in the right direction

3 chromis wouldn’t survive long in that tank, they stick together for a short time and in a few months one becomes dominant and will start attacking the others. Eventually you’ll be left with 1. I have tried group of 3 and group of 4 in a 4 foot 75 gallon tank and in a year it always ends up with only 1 due to aggression that develops.

Grammas are also notoriously aggressive, and a mandarin needs an established tank, 1 yr or older, and will need pod colonies replenished almost weekly in a tank your size. They have small stomachs and graze all day long, and they also are sensitive fish

What kind of wrasse was it? What was a full stock list of the 14 fish you had at once? What is your filtration and parameters?

 

[LA94]

But he was the first to show symptoms? It’s a very sensitive fish, stress alone can make them have outbreaks. Maybe it wasn’t the tank size but could have been the amount of activity in that tank.

No need to be snippy, I pick up on your tone. You are responsible for your tank and live stock choices, you waited for 8-10 fish to die before asking for help, and when I offer you reasonable advice you get an attitude. Sorry if you are offended but my comment was based on experience and facts and I’m trying to guide you in the right direction

3 chromis wouldn’t survive long in that tank, they stick together for a short time and in a few months one becomes dominant and will start attacking the others. Eventually you’ll be left with 1. I have tried group of 3 and group of 4 in a 4 foot 75 gallon tank and in a year it always ends up with only 1 due to aggression that develops.

Grammas are also notoriously aggressive, and a mandarin needs an established tank, 1 yr or older, and will need pod colonies replenished almost weekly in a tank your size. They have small stomachs and graze all day long, and they also are sensitive fish

What kind of wrasse was it? What was a full stock list of the 14 fish you had at once? What is your filtration and parameters?

Yes there was tone as I’m asking for help and you gave no advice other than to say what I did was wrong. Along with other commenters to say big red flags as I’m new with too many fish, it’s stressful enough trying to stop any more fish suffering so I do apologise if your initial post was not meant to criticise but that’s how it seemed. That post there is much more helpful and I do appreciate advice.

Full fish count was 10 - 6 active swimmers and 4 goby/sand dwellers. Was advised to buy chromis in groups of 3 or more so seems like that’s not the best advice. And again 2 clowns was told to buy in pairs. Unfortunately it seems as though advice we were given hasn’t been the best as I was also told wrasse are not aggressive. We did put live copepods in twice a week for the mandarin and it seemed to do very well. We then fed frozen brine shrimp for the rest. The fish died in 2 batches and I thought the rest were ok until the wrasse went. It was a blue streak cleaner wrasse.
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia <0.15
Nitrite 0.15
Nitrate 0.5

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi new to keeping saltwater fish was going so well until it wasn’t!

All parameters are great but I noticed my blue tang had small white spots, we lost 10 fish all went through the same, white spots or fuzz, loss of colour, scales flaking, hiding and stopped eating just before they died. Within a week we had 5 left from Google it looks like I had velvet in the tank. The last 5 looked good eating well no symptoms at all then a few days later our wrasse died which I was surprised as he looked so healthy.

We were left with 3 chromis and 1 goby, now the goby had only a few spots but was never away from the cleaner shrimp and then 1 chromis started with tissue braking away from his head and died pretty soon after. I have one chromis that’s about to die same as other one tissue breaking down and one that looks very healthy so I’ve taken the sick one out and when I put it in a bowl I found a parasite of some sort. So question is does it sound like velvet or is this parasite that I’ve found the culprit?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Velvet (Amyloodinium) causes rapid breathing, not eating and hanging in the water currents. Untreated fish die in 3 to 4 days. You might see a sort of dust on the fish, but usually not. Marine ich (Cryptocaryon) shows as pinhead white spots that gradually increase in numbers. In late infections, the fish stop eating and develop a white mucus coating. Deaths start after a week or so. It is possible to have both infections at once.

 

[Lavey29]

Yes there was tone as I’m asking for help and you gave no advice other than to say what I did was wrong. Along with other commenters to say big red flags as I’m new with too many fish, it’s stressful enough trying to stop any more fish suffering so I do apologise if your initial post was not meant to criticise but that’s how it seemed. That post there is much more helpful and I do appreciate advice.

Full fish count was 10 - 6 active swimmers and 4 goby/sand dwellers. Was advised to buy chromis in groups of 3 or more so seems like that’s not the best advice. And again 2 clowns was told to buy in pairs. Unfortunately it seems as though advice we were given hasn’t been the best as I was also told wrasse are not aggressive. We did put live copepods in twice a week for the mandarin and it seemed to do very well. We then fed frozen brine shrimp for the rest. The fish died in 2 batches and I thought the rest were ok until the wrasse went. It was a blue streak cleaner wrasse.
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia <0.15
Nitrite 0.15
Nitrate 0.5

57g tank is 42g with rock so you were overstocked with non QT fish some of which do not belong in that tank. Stresses are the biggest factor that causes fish immune systems to struggle making them susceptible to disease. Based on the rapid deaths it was probably velvet. Remaining fish need copper treatment in QT tank. Primary tank needs to fallow 45 to 76 days. As a new reefer please exercise patience in the hobby which is critical for success and research the types of fish that work well in a smaller tank like yours.

 

[VintageReefer]

My initial post was to remove the healthy fish and isolate from the infected tank. A 5g bucket can work for this with a heater, air pump and sponge filter