SPS tank with fishes

[fishgeek]

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to add fishes after all of them died but with no success and this include shrimps as well. The SPS and snails are doing fine but not other live stocks. I have checked water parameters and everything seems to be in place.

Most fishes and shrimps last not more that 4 days. Need some advise on this.

[Anthony]

Recently start using Bio Pellet?

[weekdaywarrior]

Did you acclimate them before introduction to the tank?

[fishgeek]

Hi,

Yes running Bio-pellet

Yes acclimate them

I suspect is the Bio-pellet because I do not have such issues with my old tank. All my old fishes and new fishes died after transferring to the new tank. It really puzzles me as to what is causing these deaths. I have tested the water. NO3 and PO4 are 0

[Guest]

What is your tank salinity level? Did u measure it?

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[fishgeek]

1.024

[dnsfpl]

got corpse or missing? any injury?

btw what do you use to measure salinity? equipment calibrated?

[fishgeek]

BTW my is a NANO tank so very easy to find them. I am using Coralife Deep Six. So far I have lost 3 clowns - pair died peacefully with no injury ( pair with me for 3 years), 1 royal gramma - gills and mouth opened (abt 3 years with me), 2 Blue Neon gobies - peaceful death with no injury, 1 snail and 4 cleaner shrimps. Still got 3 snails in the tank.

I am so disheartened that I dare not put any more livestock in. Do you suspect the refractometer is faulty? Been using it for like 6 years now. Should I go digital? I seiously do not know what is going on with my tank. All these deaths occur only with my new tank.

[dnsfpl]

6 years maybe its time to do some calibration

if you do not have calibration liquid, can use rodi water, but not as accurate

i suspect your salinity is > 1.030

[fishgeek]

Thanks Bro. Will replace the refractor meter and see how

[tropic]

For me..digital.forget about those floating type. Or try the refractometer.

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[fishgeek]

What type of digital ones you guys using? The one from Madpetz?

[fishgeek]

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought it is the opposite. I thought livestock will only die if it is too salty

[Jamie @ Vertex]

I doubt salinity is the problem. Corals are much more sensitive to it than fish and your corals would show signs of extreme paling and general stress, if the salinity was too low. Too high is less obvious. Still, this is a very improtant parameter that needs to be regularly checked and the tools used need to be regularly recalibrated (except a good hydrometer, which cannot change). When calibrating a refractometer DO NO use distilled water. Use a solution with the desired specific gravity. This can be either purchased, or you can use water from a tank of known salinity. The most accurate method to determine salinity is with a large well calculated hydrometer. They are expensive and very breakable! If you invest in one be prepared to store it carefully!

Bio pellets are not the problem. Is the water clear? A bacterial explosion is obvious, clouding the water and this will cause fish deaths in about 15 mins! They asphyxiate due to the bacteria using up the O2 in the water.

I think there must be another variable that is not being considered. Some kind of toxin?

cheers,

Jamie

[fishgeek]

Hi,

Thanks for your valueable input. The Birdnests are infact growing so are all the rest of the corals like zoas, golend cloves, mushies and etc. There are still about 3 snails in there thus I really do not know what is happening inside the tank.

The water has been clear all this while and I have also added active carbon since the first group of deaths but the death toll still going up. This is a big mystery to me as I have never encountered this before. Will get a digital refractor meter soon. By the way, I change water twice a week at 10% mid week and 25% on weekends using bottled distill water from NTUC.

[Jamie @ Vertex]

It sounds like you are doing everything possible. You need to get some more cross test parameters, such as Ca+, Mg+, Alk and pH to comfirm the basic water chemistry. A test kit going bad is not that unusual. I don't think the problem lies there, but one should double check what one can. Have you taken a water sample to your fish store for testing?

It may be some component is giving off a toxin that specifically attacks fish. Are there any artificial decorations or new components that may be suspect? Not all plastics are water safe and you can't visually tell them apart.

With your water changes, is this a typical amount and the same salt (how are you testing this without a refractometer?) or do you use NSW? You may be bringing in a pollutant, if it is collected locally.

There are so many variables, your best help will be local, of course.

cheers,

Jamie

[cedricang]

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to add fishes after all of them died but with no success and this include shrimps as well. The SPS and snails are doing fine but not other live stocks. I have checked water parameters and everything seems to be in place.

Most fishes and shrimps last not more that 4 days. Need some advise on this.

Bro, from your description it's most fishes and shrimps that doesnt make it for more than 4 days.

I assume that your fishes and shrimp live stocks are newly purchased from shipment ? If so, then perhaps you wanna first isolate the findings by determining if it's the 'freshly' arrived live stocks that are the source of the problem. What i suggest is that you try to obtain stable fishes from fellow reefers that are selling away their fishes or shrimps and see if the same thing happens.

If the outcome is that those stable fishes and shrimps are ok, then the source of the problem is pretty obvious already.

[fishgeek]

Thanks for the input.

Will heed your advise. For the time being, I am going to concentrate on the SPS.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions

[Keith khoo]

impoper cycle i think(lack of good baterical in water).. i face this problem also.

i quickly change 50% of NSW and then start weekly change 10% water(NSW)

[fishgeek]

Thank bro for your suggestion. I have cycled the tank for 3 months before anything went in

[james72]

Biopellets will increase bacteria count and consume oxygen. Make sure you route the biopellet outlet to a powerful protein skimmer. If your water volume is small; all the more you will need more oxygen and flow disturbance from surface of water. You can try running a airstone for time being to test if its really because of oxygen deficiency.

[fishgeek]

Hi,

Interesting. Really thank you for the tip, never thought of this. Will move my MP10 higher

[nicreef]

think i got a salifert oxygen test kit lying around somewhere let me know if u want to use it.

[fishgeek]

Sure. Thanks for the offer. Will ask from you if I need

[Jamie @ Vertex]

If you are running a halway decent skimmer, O2 will not be an issue. A bacterial bloom is potentially dangerous as the O2 is removed from the water literally in minutes, and one will have very milky water due to the bacteria. Under normal tank condition, O2 will be plentifull.

Jamie