Something is not right in my tank

[shallowreef]

Steve or whoever is available,

Something is not right in my tank. I just tested it on my lunchbreak for my main elelments such as Nitra, Nitri, Ammo, and Phos. All were at 0 except for my Phos which was at .03. At the time my skimmer had been not running because my waste collector was full and i was running no phos remover at the time. I just did a water change Saturday so that may be why everything is good now. My salt is at 1.0205 and my temp is at 76-78. Ihave lost three fish in the matter of two weeks and i have no idea why? I can only assume my pH and Alk are out of whack. But heres the thing all my corals are doing fine?

Someone please help me out.

 

[Scooterman]

Add on lit stick of dynamite, oh wait sorry wrong person

Something strange for sure! Do you have any fishes sneaking up on them at night maybe? How are the fishes looking & eating? Seems like they would be ok, just tossing ideas your way! I'm guessing your test kits are up to date & not expired maybe? Have you been feeding them steak & lobster? Oh sorriee not them again
Ok hears a bump for ya!

 

[Krish]

You don't think you may have some kind of disease/parasite in there Nick that only affects your fish and not your corals huh? If it were a water quality issue, I think your corals would be affected first seeing they are more sensitive than fish. Just a thought...

 

[shallowreef]

I don't know? My fish all look healthy and they were all eating when i fed them up until the day they died. I'm freaking out! I thought maybe it was a crab or something but when my naso died seein as he is a very big fish i figured it would take a very very large crab to do that and i have not added any new rock to the tank that he could have hid on.

 

[Krish]

Would stray voltage affect fish and not corals? Just tossing out some ideas till Steve gets in

 

[shallowreef]

I think stray voltage would effect everything.

I am going to test my pH and Alk if those are fine then its gotta be a disease. No signs of any disease though no scraping against rocks everyone is eating. I am at a loss!

 

[steve-s]

I am going to test my pH and Alk

Definately post that as soon as possible.

What was the last thing wet added to the tank and how long ago?

Was there no indication of anykind something may be amiss? Swimming patterns, color, appetite, gilling etc?

 

[sryder]

leathers releasing turpines maybe. just a thought

 

[steve-s]

Wouldn't kill fish outight and the other coral in the tank would have reacted porrly. Good thought though!! If environmental, both would be affected really. It is most likely parasitic, it's just confirming and then identifying what.

Cheers
Steve

 

[shallowreef]

Well sorry for the delayed response but i am only on here at work. I didn't test my alk and ph yesterday but i am going to today at lunch. The last wet thing i added to my tank would be my porkfish and that was over a month ago. Everybody is eating like a horse. I have gone back to daily feedings since the deaths started.

Everybody looks good. My blue tang occasionally gets ich but it goes away usually the same day i see it. One thing that is strange that i have noticed is that one of my porkfish has what looks almost like a bruis at the top of his body just below the spine/top fin. Its really only visible when the moonlights are on but still i don't know if that could be the culprit or not. Its not effecting the fish at all just something i thought i should mention.

 

[dnjan]

Are you sure your "kids" aren't fighting when you are not around?

 

[bripen]

Are you feeding frozen foods directly? Or do you thaw and rinse? Vibrio has been showing up in packaged frozen foods...just a thought. And while I'm on that train...anyone have any tips on how to strain some of these frozen foods effectively...lol...without it becoming an all day affair?

 

[shallowreef]

Are you sure your "kids" aren't fighting when you are not around?

No i'm not sure about that but none of the fish showed signs of stress or even being roughed up. They were all active swimmers.

 

[shallowreef]

Bripen,

I don't know the best way to thaw out frozen food and if anyone does could you please PM bripen as i would like to keep this thread from getting side tracked until i have some sort of idea as to what is going wrong in my tank.

Thanks

As for feeding frozen i do it rarely and it is only scallops that i bought at the grocery store. I rnse them in fresh water and let them drain in my hand. I don't think that ias the culprit because i have not fed scallops for a long time.

 

[bobt2]

why is you sg low 1.020 is low to me. 1.025 - 1.026 is normal

 

[shallowreef]

I keep it on the low side because of all of the fish i have in the tank. Well i used to have.

 

[shallowreef]

I tested for my ph and it came out @ 7.98 the first time and 7.99 the second time.

I thought i had a Alk test kit but it said Carbonate Hardness. I don't know if thats the same thing but my Carbonate hardness came out @ 89.5 both times.

Could this be causing any of my problems?

 

[bobt2]

never heard of keeping it low because of bioload. i still would raise it to normal

 

[dnjan]

I believe that oxygen solubility is better at lower salinity.

 

[steve-s]

why is you sg low 1.020 is low to me. 1.025 - 1.026 is normal

In an FO tank with no invertebrates, this is not an issue.

The last wet thing i added to my tank would be my porkfish and that was over a month ago......One thing that is strange that i have noticed is that one of my porkfish has what looks almost like a bruis at the top of his body just below the spine/top fin.

I think we have a possible culprit but I need you to be as descriptive as possible and also see what you can when the full lights are on. Even if it's only a pinkish "hue". Also make note of the scales and any sign of whitish material. Do you off chance remember what fish this was housed with at the LFS?

Are you feeding frozen foods directly? Or do you thaw and rinse? Vibrio has been showing up in packaged frozen foods...just a thought. And while I'm on that train...anyone have any tips on how to strain some of these frozen foods effectively...lol...without it becoming an all day affair?

Where did you hear about the Vibrio being a possible problem, which brand(s) are being reported and how was it confirmed?
FWIW, rinsing the foods will not affect the vibrio at all.

I tested for my ph and it came out @ 7.98 the first time and 7.99 the second time.

I thought i had a Alk test kit but it said Carbonate Hardness. I don't know if thats the same thing but my Carbonate hardness came out @ 89.5 both times.
Could this be causing any of my problems?

This could very well be at least part of the issue. What time of day do the lights come on and what time was the test performed?

If you have a heavy bioload and the pH is dropping dramatically through the night, the fish will suffer from acidosis. Contrary to what some might tell you, a healthy pH should never fall below 8.2. In fact I generally recommend 8.3-8.5 night or day. Below 8.0 and you can easily get into a danger area, especially with a low alk like yours.

I would suggest you start dripping kalkwasser at night. This will help the most in preventing any nightly drops in pH which would be the most serious. Raise the pH and alk slowly over a week or so until you get an alk of 150-165 and a pH that remains above 8.1 when tested in the AM.

What does your saltmix test at?