Help !!!!!!!!!!

[Cheryl]

Please No told you so's ! :(

We cycled our tank and all preameters were unchanged.....
Ok we probably di some of the final stocking a little too quickly..... :(

But the perameters still didn't move much....

But these are the reports for just over the two weeks.....
(prior to these all was the same exept for the phosphate)

Date........ph...No2...NH4...No3....Sg......Phos.. Temp...Comments

30.5.03...8.2....0.....<0.5...10...1.0235...0.05....27......Water change + floss change

02.6.03...8.2..0.25..<0.5...15....1.021....0.05....27

07.6.03...8.2..0.25..<0.5...10...1.0215....0.8.....27

10.6.03...8.3...0.1...<0.5...20...1.0215....0.4.....27

12.6.03........................................... ............................Powder Brown showing signs of
.................................................. ................................distress
13.6.03...8.2....0....<0.5...........1.0215...0.05....27.....Powder Brown found dead, also
.................................................. ................................'female clown' showing signs of
.................................................. ................................white spot? Myxazin 2 x day.
14.6.03........................................... ...........................10% water change, Goby hid in
.................................................. .................................barnacle all day,
.................................................. .................................Mandarin not looking good,
.................................................. .................................Kent Zoe added to food.
15.6.03........................................... ............................Mandarin found dead.

16.6.03...7.8....0....<0.5...18....1.0215....0.6....27.......Both Clowns died this morning.



I think the Ph alteration maybe linked to the Myxazin which was added on the advice of our Lfs, (we took the tang in when we found it to see if they knew why) The Goby still doesn't look well, his colour has gone greyish, and his eyes are clouding (little like cateraxe), and his heads losing its colour too.
Although we didn't notice these symptoms on the tang, (except for an attempt to hide) the Mandarin and female clownfish showed very similar effect.


Anyone got a clue whats going on?
(When tang died Lfs said it could have been an internal parasite, which is why they recommended us adding the Myxazin and another recommended adding 'Kent Zoe' which we also started doing at the same time)

I only have the Goby and 5 Green Chromis left, (& one of the Chromis has started hiding) I'd really like to keep some! :(

Cheryl

[Preds]

Is <0.5 the lowest reading on your ammonia test kit (sounds like a Salifert one?)

[Cheryl]

Yes ..... unfortunately <0.5 is the lowest
(will get one that reads 0 next time)

[Preds]

It's OK, according to Habib (the bloke who owns Salifert) he reasoned that less than 0.5 is the equivalent of zero anyway on other test kits, for reasons of chemistry that I won't go in to. I was just checking that that was the lowest reading you could get.

As for your problems, I'm a bit stumped. You seem to have had a bit of a nitrate problem, but I'd be very surprised if that led to the demise of any of your fish. Have you got any inverts? Were they/are they OK? Anything else at all that has changed recently? How big's the tank? Any other information that you think may be relevant in any way?

[Cheryl]

The tank is a Juwel 260 vision

We have a Seaclone skimmer (yes I know not very good but all I've got)(turned off at moment due to the Myxazin)

Filter is Fluval 303

3 extra Power heads (1200 Maxi jet + the one that comes with the Juwel interal filter that we took out + not sure about the other)

Heater (obviously)

and about 50k liverock (not much really)

UV Sterilizer (turned off at moment due to the Myxazin)

2 White + 1 Blue flouresant lights

Only inverts are 3 red legs and 4 blue legs (Hermits)
Haven't noticed any problems with them YET!

[kim]

I don't have the experience to give authoritative advice, but given that the source of your trouble isn't obvious, I would do daily large (eg 25 %) water changes in an attempt to dilute it. Try and prepare water as far in advance as possible, make sure it is aerated and matches tank parameters.

If you continue with the myxazin, dose it after each change.

With your skimmer off, have you added some additional circulation/aeration ?


kim

[Cheryl]

Yes

to increase aeration we aimed a couple of the power heads almost out of the water.....

This appears to be doing the job !

I have now set up a hsopital tank so maybe I'll try something in there?

[BEVS OASIS]

same thing happend 6 months ago to mine

wiped it all except for my rodders (flame hawk) and three shrimp

got everything else in two days
loads within the first day whilst at work

i put r x p in as treatment removed all soft corols turned all lights out except 2 actnics

uv turned of as will skimmer killed all parasites within 1 week

then added 5 ml of r x p for 1 month with tank running as normal and all soft corols back in

feel for you this is a hart renching thing to see

there eyes look like a really old dogs eyes
they just want to disapear into the smallest ho;e they can find

my local frs (uk marines (((well acctually liz said it roy confermed it )) it was all down to the tang this one though was the notorious powder blue)

best of look
dig in :wub:

[Cheryl]

Please tell me just HOW much BAD LUCK do we deserve !!!!

Put fish in a hospital tank Monday lunchtime and started doing a copper treatment on them.....

Got a phone call yesterday afternoon.... THE HOSPITAL TANK HAD CRACKED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :blink:

We ahd to rush out buy a NEW tank.... water..... set it up and move the fish yet AGAIN !!! (luckily my hubby heard the water gushing out og the old hosp. tank and got the fish in a bucket)

If this hasn't stressed them..... I don't know what will !!!!!

(and poor ill blue cheek goby is still fighting on)

:o

[Cheryl]

This is so upsettting .....

One week latter.....
A burst hospital tank....
A NEW hospital tank.....
Copper treatment will be complete tomorrow....

AND ANOTHER FISH HAS JUST DIED !!!!!


I'm now down to just 4 Green Chromis ! :(

Anyone any idea's left? PLease ?

[diadema]

Cheryl,

Unfortunately nobody is going to be able to give you the answer you need... you've already suffered the loss! But PLEASE don't walk away from this thinking it's impossible.

What you need to do is sit down and look at your system and work out were it went wrong. The saying "time is a great heeler" is very true... it's also a great provider of stability, which unfortunately is where your system faultered.

I doubt anyone here is going to turn around and say "I told you so!". So sit down read and learn from these first mistakes. When you're ready to get that baby back up again we're all here to advise!


Hope the Chromis pull through!



Nath

[stevetope]

Hi Cheryl

Sorry to read about your losses.

Perhaps a bit more info might help though but please don't take my comments as criticisms as when I met you recently you were certainley more clued up than most people that are new to the hobby.

Your water conditions look fine........and as Preds has stated test kits vary on their scale ranges.

I would be interested to know where your LR came from. I know you had some from Mick but what about the remainder ??

Also. The fish. Where did you get them from ??

It may all be coincidence but their may well be reasons why the fish have gone in such a short space of time and it has been a case of it all happening at once.

Steve.

[Cheryl]

Hi Stevetope good to hear from you again....

Your right I got all my current liverock from Mick
And the perameters were always fine

We know that the problem arrived within days of a Powder Brown Tang (which we have since been told was a really bad move putting him in there)

My real worry now is that if the fish in the hospital tank are still dying.....
The odds are my main tank also has this mystery illneess.....

SO will any future fish keel over and die as soon as I put them in it? :(

[stevetope]

Hi Cheryl

Just a few thoughts.

Powder Brown Tang.........as with many tangs..they seem quite prone to outbreaks of whitespot, not always down to your tank water.........it may have been present on the fish when you purchased it and something then triggered an overload once in your tank.

Mandarin.can be a difficult little fish to keep. Better kept in a mature tank..say 1 year plus with an above average pod/critter population which they need to thrive. May have been affected by outbreak on tang.

Goby........some seem to do very well and others suffer for what appears to be no reason. Again they are sand sifters and feeders of pods/critters living in the sand (the one you have anyway)though they will accept frozen food if they are quick ebnough and brave enough to beat other fish to it...with chromis in the tank a difficult job. Perhaps that and the mandarin could not sustain themselves.

Clowns. Noticed a difficulty in keeping really small clowns especially tank bred versions. I have know a few people inclusing myself who have lost pairs of these for no reason.

Chromis.tricky to say. They seem to be a very hardy fish (damsel family) though odd ones do go by the way when in groups..sometimes through in fighting or some unseen ailment they may have been carrying.

Best bet would be to take the remaining fish out of the tank and put in your hospital tank. Keep them well fed and water parameters within the norm and they should do ok. DOn't transfer LR from your current tank..perhaps buy a couple of small pieces for shelter.

Leave the main tank devoid of fish for say 3/4 weeks....if it is a fish born/free swimming parasite causing the problems they should die through lack of host fish.Then do a substantial water change, check parameters and if water ok, re intorduce the fih from the hospital tank. I would then advocate patience...make sure they are all doing well for several week before adding any more fish. Sometimes in this game we can't always have what we want striaght away.

Keep smiling and things will get back to normal soon enough. I am sorry that you have had to learn the hardest way of all through your losses but it has happend to everyone at some point believe me..even if it has only been a single fish or coral.

Best of Luck

Steve.Tope