Bacteria problem

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Chanis12

Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Messages
6
Location
Thailand
Need help! I have a 250 gal tank. I had 2 mandarins, 3 Regal tangs die in 3 days, MY emperor and blue tang is also very sick. All dead and sick have developed white spots. My salt level is normal and water temp also at 25.5 c. Ample lighting. How do I solve this problem ASAP before all my fish die.
 
Have you tested ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph? Sounds they are stressed bad. Make sure you have good quality test kits, you just get these fish or been having them? If you have high levels, you can do large water changes, make sure the temperature, sg is the same as in the tank, also you can run lots of carbon. Also is this a New tank or have you kept these fish for some time?
 
Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)? Do you have a quarantine tank? How long have you had the fish that died? How long was the death from onset of the white areas? Were they eating and behaving normally?
 
I had this happen to me when i first started. I added too many fish to quickly and got a nasty case of ich that wiped more than half of my tank. Try running a hospital tank w/ copper. You have to work quickly. Obviously there is something bad in your tank. Get the fish out of there. That would be my first suggestion.
 
C. irritans won't kill in 3 days, sounds more likley to be something else. A ciliated protozoan or dino parasite it may still be but water contamination is a good possibility as well.

Be intersetd to hear the answers to the above questions.

Cheers
Steve
 
Thanks for all the reply. Am a beginner and just had the tank for alittle over 2 months. The 2 mandarins that died were the first batch of fish, they died without the ich spots, but 3 tangs that died covered in ich spots were the new batch that was recently added to the tank. I had 2 dead gobis which came with this batch before I could install the new equipments. I was able to save the Emperor and the Blue Tang that was very very sick, they had white ich all over and the eyes were swollen and all fogged.I installed a new UV filter light and an ionizer. The ich seems to disappear from the fish within 2 days. I can still see the rough marks/scars on the fish but this also seemed to get better by the day. They are starting to eat and swim around more. The water is surprisely crystal clear from where it used to have floating algaes and particles, I guess the UV and ionizer killed them all. Was thinking of doing a 20% water change next weekend. I have raised the water temp up from 25.5 c to 27 at present. Keeping a close eye on the tank and will up date you guys later in the progress of the recovery.
Peace
Tok
 
Keep us posted & doing water changes will help, sounds like you added fish too soon, the tank was probably cycling which stressed the fish.
 
Steve,
Thanks for the link it is very helpful, I was wrong to say that I could save the emperor and the blue tang, this morning they were both dead, they redeveloped the ich and sores. These were the last of the second batch, I think it was contaminated when it arrived at the store. Being a beginner, I think I got conned by the marine store to hurry in purchasing the fish and corals. However, the fish that first came with my tank are still healthy and eating and the corals are still blooming. Going out to set up the quarantine tank as suggested. Do I need to install all the filtration system, lighting etc... like the main display? Also, I have Aiptasia sp. &: Anemonia majano pest in my tank how should I deal with this? Appreciate you advise.
Tok

PS Here's a picture of my tank
 
Here are a few more articles on Quarantine for you, along with the link Steve posted above, will hopefully answer your questions:

Quarantine Methodology, part one by Terry Bartelme

Quarantine Methodology, part two by Terry Bartelme

Quarantining and Acclimation by Andrew Trevor-Jones

If you have fish remaining in your tank, then I would strongly suggest to remove those fish into quarantine, as well. This will allow the tank to be without fish for a period of time, so the ich (if that is what your fish had) won't be able to complete its life cycle. Also, I provided a link in a post about a thread called "Fish moving time please", earlier in the thread. I think it is a great thread on quarantining fish in a hyposaline environment, and what to expect.

With regards to the aiptasia and majano anemones....here is a link to a post on different methods: Single Post - Let's Talk About ~Pests~. There is a product called Joe's Juice you might want to try, as well. My personal experience was peppermint shrimp worked the best, but others have used boiling water injected into the pest anemone with success, too.
 

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