4th Day Curse Strikes Again...

[Anthony]

Hi All,

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

i'm running a 90gal DT with a 30gal sump.
over the last 3 months, I've lost 3 out of the last 5 fish I've added.
and they have all died on the 4th day. no nips or bite marks,

Lost so far:
Coral Beauty
Sand Goby
Bannggai Cardinal

my nitrates are a little high, but everything else seems fine.

Nirites 0
Ammonia 0
ph 8.2
1.023

Not sure what else to check.

Anyone have any ideas.

Fish still alive in the DT:
2x clownfish
1x bannggai cardinal
1x Niger Trigger

 

[AdInfinitum]

There are always people happy to help here! Just give us the information and I'm sure you will find the help you need.

 

[Anthony]

the latest death was the Bannggai Cardinal (I added 2 at the same time)
the larger one, was eating well (blood worms) and was swimming around the tank, like he owned it.

the smaller one hid for the first day, and is only now starting to eat (the smaller one was still alive this morning)

The same thing happened when i add the coral beauty (lost on the 4th day) and the niger trigger (still alive)

 

[Anthony]

I have used the same acclimation process with everything in the tank.
Float the bag for 45min, then move the fish to a container, with just enough water to cover it,
drip for ~2 hours, (until the water volume triples)
net the fish, and then put in the tank.

 

[Luke.]

Sounds like they died of stress sand gobeys are hard to keep I've tried 3 never lasted longer then a month , onces your fish survive the 3 month mark they pretty much are good it honestly dosent take much to stress fish and when it's a new system it's very stressful and every fish handles it different some worst then other ,

Anytime I tried multiple fish (cardinals , chromis ,etc..) they would kill each other off till the last one was alive lol.

I believe it's the luck of the draw sorry for your loss

 

[AdInfinitum]

At this point we won't get into the whole quarantine discussion although once you have established fish you won't want to be risking exposing them to diseases from new additions....

Did you check the salinity of the store water in the bag to start with? Many stores that have separate fish systems (not plumbed with coral tanks) maintain very low salinity. This helps them acclimate fresh imports and helps control parasitic outbreaks as lowered salinity put less strain on the fish and stresses the parasites. Fish can have the salinity of their water dropped very quickly...but raising it must be a very gradual process (potentially days rather than hours depending on the magnitude of the change) or it will cause an enormous amount of physical stress to them.

 

[sunnykita]

Does anyone here feed bloodworms? I was told they are a no no for salt water fish? Quarantine, in the future definitely and salinity check as suggested of water from store. How long has your tank been running? Sorry for your losses, that sucks

 

[AdInfinitum]

Does anyone here feed bloodworms? I was told they are a no no for salt water fish? Quarantine, in the future definitely and salinity check as suggested of water from store. How long has your tank been running? Sorry for your losses, that sucks

Blood worms don't have the best nutritional value but are not harmful. I always have them in stock and find they are good to get many picky eaters going. My Copperband (who is a good eater anyway) goes absolutely crazy for them and I would definitely recommend them.

 

[yveterinarian]

I'm sorry for your loss but in future I would definitely drip acclimate slower. I usually drip all day (or night if purchased in the afternoon). When dripping I always put an air line into the bucket so the fish have adequate oxygen. Another thing you may want to check is the pH of the store water versus your own. pH also has to come up (or down) slowly which the slow drip acclimation can help you with.

 

[Anthony]

Hey Everyone, thanks for the advice, i haven't been checking the Ph or the salinity level from the bag, I thought the 2 hour drip was to adjust the fish to my tank levels.
I will definitely test them in the future,

 

[heath]

Anthony, noticed in your statement that you float your fish, which is good for temp..but, when you start your drip what do you do with the water in the bag... I drip into the bag until it runs over for about 3 times the volume.. then I let the fish sit for a bit to start acclimating them to my water.. if you are not using the bag water you might be putting extra stress on them going from their water to yours...You should never add the store water to your tank..
you have received some great info hope that it helps and of course good luck...if you think of anything else just ask.. I am sure that there is someone out there that can come up with an answer..

 

[Anthony]

Hi Heather,
after I float the bag, I usually pour just enough of the store water into a container, so the fish can swim properly, I then start to drip my tank water into that container,
I re-tie the bag and continue to float it (so the temp doesn't drop to much) the bag of store water is kept in case i see the fish is really stressed during this process, and is discarded once the fish introduced into my tank.

I drip my tank water into the container, usually between 1.5 and 2 hours (until the water volume triples)
once complete, I net the fish, and put it in my tank, I then discard the water used.

 

[Nonuser]

I think this is the main reason why some people have bad things to say about fish stores. Not to say its any fault of yours @Anthony. I am as guilty as anyone for sometimes not acclimating a fish properly. Heck if I was doing it correctly I would have a quarantine system running and have anything new spend a month there.

 

[sunnykita]

Blood worms don't have the best nutritional value but are not harmful. I always have them in stock and find they are good to get many picky eaters going. My Copperband (who is a good eater anyway) goes absolutely crazy for them and I would definitely recommend them.

Thanks for clarifying that, AdInfinitum, I wondered why they weren't good to feed, as when I did feed them the fish went crazy for them.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Thanks for clarifying that, AdInfinitum, I wondered why they weren't good to feed, as when I did feed them the fish went crazy for them.

Like any FW based food their fats are not adequately balanced to use as a complete food source for SW fish but as part of a varied and balanced diet. I usually thaw them in a cup with PE Mysis so they can absorb some of the fats that come off the PE and I think mixing them helps transition natural worm eaters to accepting other foods.