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Fish dying one at a time


louy99

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I have 4 fish in my tank, got them all at a LFS at same time. 2 weeks later my gramma started to lose color and turning ashy white then died. 2 days later same for one clown fish and 2 days later my other clownfish looks like it's about to die. Is this ich?

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Have you done research into what different diseases look like? Without more info, like photos or parameters or your LFS's quarantining policies (if any) or anything at all, this becomes a guessing game. Though by the sound of the color loss and turning ashy (and not a word about salt-like grains on the fish), it doesn't sound like ich.

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reefernanoman

What size tank and parameters? We need more info to see if we can figure it out all together here. BTW when did you add the fish?

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Have you done research into what different diseases look like? Without more info, like photos or parameters or your LFS's quarantining policies (if any) or anything at all, this becomes a guessing game. Though by the sound of the color loss and turning ashy (and not a word about salt-like grains on the fish), it doesn't sound like ich.

my tank build in on my signature...i added the fish right after the tank cycled and diatoms were apparent. Fire fish is the last fish left in the tank and looks great and acting normal. my salinity is at 1.025...not sure what the calcium or alk is because i dont have a test kit for it. since having the tank running with fish i have done a weekly 3g water change and running carbon/GFO in reacors, been changing filter sock every 3 days and Tunze ato keeping evap in check. using a BRS 4 stage RODI.

 

perhaps it was stress?

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my tank build in on my signature...i added the fish right after the tank cycled and diatoms were apparent. Fire fish is the last fish left in the tank and looks great and acting normal. my salinity is at 1.025...not sure what the calcium or alk is because i dont have a test kit for it. since having the tank running with fish i have done a weekly 3g water change and running carbon/GFO in reacors, been changing filter sock every 3 days and Tunze ato keeping evap in check. using a BRS 4 stage RODI.

 

perhaps it was stress?

 

Did you have enough bacteria built up from cycling to handle adding 4 fish at once?

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Was hoping I did, cycled with dr tims one and only

Just before water changes I check and it's always zero ammonia, nitrite and nitrates.

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Was hoping I did, cycled with dr tims one and only

 

Did you actually add ammonia up to a concentration of 2ppm and test 24 hours later to find 0 ammonia or nitrite?

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I added a damsel fish that was missing fins from fish store. It died 2 days later I left it dead in the tank for a day and then pulled it out. A few days later I tested the water and had no ammonia, nitrates and nitrites.

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I added a damsel fish that was missing fins from fish store. It died 2 days later I left it dead in the tank for a day and then pulled it out. A few days later I tested the water and had no ammonia, nitrates and nitrites.

 

You need to understand what is meant by cycle. Bacteria is feeding on fish waste. If you have enough bacteria for 1 fish and you add 4 fish you will have an ammonia spike. If the bacteria doesn't have any food (ammonia and nitrites) it will die.

 

The story about buying a finless fish and letting it die, then pulling it out, just underlines the problems with your entire startup.

 

If the firefish survives and doesn't get any diseases then add 1 fish at a time, slowly over weeks, and let the bacteria build up. Use Seachem Prime to detox ammonia if you detect any, or just use it daily to make sure it never becomes a problem.

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clownfitch

I would also refrain from buying any other fish from a store that would sell you (or even give) diseased fish. Unless you have a quarantine / hospital tank set up to treat the fish you are allowing the infection into your tank.

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reefernanoman

I think that it's a bad idea to add 4 fish all at once. And in a new tank? Even worse.

And this is only a 12g tank?

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Hey louy,

 

I tend to agree with the others that there's not really enough information in the initial post to determine the cause of your fish deaths. The part about them turning ashy is strange - is that immediately before death or soon after death? I'm not aware of any infections that would cause a uniform "ashy" look, though some illnesses like Brooklynella Hostilis can cause excess slime to accumulate on the skin and make the fish appear cloudy looking. Brooklynella is a quick killer though, so the time between when they first show symptoms and death comes pretty quick - like 1-3 days without treatment. Do some research and see if this fits the symptoms. For future reference when posting threads like this always include as much detail as you can. Things like tank size, other inhabitants, how old the tank is, new additions or changes, water test results, maintenance routine, etc... Don't assume people will read through your entire tank thread!

 

Now I have some questions.

1) Did you dose the Dr. Tims exactly as instructed? Please post exactly what you did.

2) How long after starting the Dr. Tims did you add fish? If I recall you're supposed to continue to dose after the addition of fish for a few days?

3) What's this about a damsel? Did you add the damsel after the Dr. Tims but before the other fish? Why did you add a damsel with no fins? For future reference that's a risky move - even if the fish was free. You don't know why the fish is missing it's fins - it may have been infected with a disease or a parasite and other fish could have picked on it because it was in a weakened state. I'm not sure if you felt like you were rescuing the fish or what, but you may have introduced pathogens into your tank with that decision.

 

The last thing that strikes me as odd is the timing of when the fish deaths started (2 weeks after introduction) and the staggered timing of each fish dying (about 2 days between 1 fish dying and the next showing symptoms)...

 

If there were a problem with the way you added fish the effects would have shown up sooner than 2 weeks in. In other words if I add a bunch of fish to a tank with an insufficient bio-filter then the ammonia would build up to toxic levels in hours/days not weeks. Also if ammonia were your issue all the fish would be affected at the same time because it's toxic to all fish regardless of species or size.

 

If I were to take a stab at a cause for the issues I would say it likely involves the fish acclimation. How did you acclimate them? What was the specific gravity of the LFS water? What was your method of acclimation - list step by step exactly what you did... Improper acclimation is one of the few things that I can think of that would cause delayed reactions. Ususally the effects of improper acclimation show up 3-5 days later, but I don't see why the effects couldn't be delayed a little further either - especially if there's other factors such as a pathogen or possibly a fluctuation in water parameters (like temp, S.G., etc during a routine water change).

 

My last comment relates to your stocking in general... IME those 4 fish in a 12g tank is too much. Seriously, with that many fish the tank isn't set up for long term success... I would say it's just a matter of time before something like this happens - even if the fish appear fine at first there are deep rooted territorial and competitive behaviors at work that just can't be easily resolved in this situation which causes stress and weakened immune systems, lack of a strong feeding response, aggression to other fish, etc... So just something to think about for when you re-stock... Most people put 2 fish of this size in a 12g tank comfortably - you could add a 3rd fish if you're willing to take more risk and if you're extremely diligent about your maintenance routine - but I think you'll be much more successful and overall have a more enjoyable tank with just 2 fish for now.

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