RC1313 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Hey everyone, So after a few months of college I visited home for Thanksgiving. My parents have been taking care of my tank while I've been away and everything has been going well. However, I woke up this morning to a cloudy tank and two dead fish (Royal Gramma and Flame Hawk) but corals looking fine. I tested nitrates and came up with nothing, my ammonia test was old, but the tank smelled normal (not rotting). I tried to figure out what it could have been that killed them. Here is a list of changes I made to the tank. Added some Dr. Tim's Fed the fish Dipped a few corals in peroxide solution Broke up a rock for some rubble Lowered the heat setting on the heater Fed the corals (same pellets the fish get) Removed the oxydator Tried to add an old Koralia 240 but it sounded bad so I unplugged it and I'm gonna get a new one. That is really it. Does anyone have ideas on what could have killed them both in one night when they were seemingly healthy? I was thinking oxydator removal but it was several days after that they died, with no noticeable gasping. Maybe overfeeding? They usually eat every other day but ate some of the food I gave to the corals. I took some pictures but the fish look normal, besides the hawk who was being eaten by a crab when i found him. Link to comment
Benny314 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Cloudy water is normally a sign of a bacterial bloom. Maybe the Dr. Tim's has thrown your bacteria balance out. It's not sounding like a crash though if your coral is happy and your not getting ammonia, nitrate and nitrite readings. How old are the test? Out of date old or just been open a while. You've done a lot all at once, maybe you've just upset the biological balance in the tank or stired up a nasty when you broke up the rock. Link to comment
RC1313 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 The ammonia test is out of date, the others are current. It must have been the rock. Thanks for the reply! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 The rock would have been my first guess as well. Did it smell nasty when you broke it up? Really though should only happen if the rock were thick and dense. You would probably see black/gray areas. I wouldn't think that the peroxide would harm anything, though I'm wondering if the removal of the oxydator though I suppose it's possible there was a sudden drop co2 which threw off the pH temporarily, maybe just enough to kill the fish? I suppose that would only be the case if the oxydator was filled with peroxide continually - but it sounds like your parents were caring for it? I'm assuming they didn't refill it? Any other fish that survived? Do you cover the tank? I suppose my last thought is that the koralia was possibly leaking current? Not likely though since the corals are fine and you probably would have felt it. Did you notice any temp spikes? Is it possible that they weren't fed for a while and happened to starve when you got home? Weird situation for sure... Link to comment
Tamberav Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 My guess is that the changes to the tank caused a bacterial bloom which used up a bunch of oxygen in the water and suffocated the fish. Just a guess though. Link to comment
RC1313 Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 The rock would have been my first guess as well. Did it smell nasty when you broke it up? Really though should only happen if the rock were thick and dense. You would probably see black/gray areas. I wouldn't think that the peroxide would harm anything, though I'm wondering if the removal of the oxydator though I suppose it's possible there was a sudden drop co2 which threw off the pH temporarily, maybe just enough to kill the fish? I suppose that would only be the case if the oxydator was filled with peroxide continually - but it sounds like your parents were caring for it? I'm assuming they didn't refill it? Any other fish that survived? Do you cover the tank? I suppose my last thought is that the koralia was possibly leaking current? Not likely though since the corals are fine and you probably would have felt it. Did you notice any temp spikes? Is it possible that they weren't fed for a while and happened to starve when you got home? Weird situation for sure... My parents were actually great about it and it was constantly filled, the rock didn't smell funny and is super porous. My family said they were really good about feeding them so I'm not sure. My guess is that the changes to the tank caused a bacterial bloom which used up a bunch of oxygen in the water and suffocated the fish. Just a guess though. That makes sense, maybe the removal of the oxydator compounded that. Link to comment
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