mysterious death

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#1
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#1
My tank is about 10 months old, evey fish I added into the tank mysteriously died except for my percula clown that was added to the tank from the first day. One time I added a yellow tang, it looked very healthy and swiming freely, then one morning I woke up and it was dead. The clown fish was still alive. I had recently added a firefish and the same thing happened. It seemed like all these mysterious death happened at night. I am starting to be afraid and lose hope to add new fish into my tank. I have a protein skimmer which I turn off at night, but the filter as well as all power heads was never turn off. I must admit, since the water is raised all the way up to the top, the water returning from the filiter doesn't seem to break the surface much. Could all these fishes died of oxygen depeletion at night? I don't know, I believe the protien skimmer would have saturated the tank with enough oxygen to last it through the whole night. Any one had a similiar problem and would like to share their resolution.

tank size: 46 gal bowfront

tank inhabitants:
-torch coral -toadstool leather -tube anomome - zoonathids- one corea clam -pom pom xenia -grass coral - hermit crabs -lots of bristle worm -and one percula clown
lighting: aqua medic 250 metal halide
 

Last edited:
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alex8111

Medium Fish
#2
Aug 31, 2007
58
0
0
#2
saltwater84 said:
My tank is about 10 months old, evey fish I added into the tank mysteriously died except for my percula clown that was added to the tank from the first day. One time I added a yellow tang, it looked very healthy and swiming freely, then one morning I woke up and it was dead. The clown fish was still alive. I had recently added a firefish and the same thing happened. It seemed like all these mysterious death happened at night. I am starting to be afraid and lose hope to add new fish into my tank. I have a protein skimmer which I turn off at night, but the filter as well as all power heads was never turn off. I must admit, since the water is raised all the way up to the top, the water returning from the filiter doesn't seem to break the surface much. Could all these fishes died of oxygen depeletion at night? I don't know, I believe the protien skimmer would have saturated the tank with enough oxygen to last it through the whole night. Any one had a similiar problem and would like to share their resolution.

tank size: 46 gal bowfront

tank inhabitants:
-torch coral -toadstool leather -tube anomome - zoonathids- one corea clam -pom pom xenia -grass coral - hermit crabs -lots of bristle worm -and one percula clown
lighting: aqua medic 250 metal halide
Click to expand...


Do you test your water at all? Has the water gone thru the nitrogen cycle successfully? There could be a number of reason why this is happening. Start with testing your water.

Do you do your regular 20% water changes? Are you paying attention to the tank as you should be? Just adding fish and feeding is not enough. You need to keep a close eye on your tank, test the water, do regular water changes, be very very patient, don’t add too many fish at once, etc.

I used to have the same problem first time around a few years ago. I kept losing fish. But i also hadn’t done my research either. This time, i pay close attention to everything, ALWAYS read up on any issue i have before i do anything and i will NEVER try to rush this hobby again. If you rush, you will waste your own money and kill your fish.

Do your research. I learned it the hard way.
 

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#3
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#3
I test the water freuqently, as a matter of fact, I just test recently, all parameters seem to be in acceptable range. I do water change about twice a month. I have never added many fish at the same time as for this tank, I had added a yellow tang about 3months ago and he lived for about a month and mysterious died, then I waited for 2 months and added the firefish which did even surive for a week. Forgot to mention, my fireshrimp and cleaner shrimp also died mysterious at the same time, the day before their death, they looked and seemed very healthy. All along, I have the clownfish and while all others inhibitants died, he survive. This tank has a mysterious that needs to be resloved. Any more clues?
 

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alex8111

Medium Fish
#4
Aug 31, 2007
58
0
0
#4
saltwater84 said:
I test the water freuqently, as a matter of fact, I just test recently, all parameters seem to be in acceptable range. I do water change about twice a month. I have never added many fish at the same time as for this tank, I had added a yellow tang about 3months ago and he lived for about a month and mysterious died, then I waited for 2 months and added the firefish which did even surive for a week. Forgot to mention, my fireshrimp and cleaner shrimp also died mysterious at the same time, the day before their death, they looked and seemed very healthy. All along, I have the clownfish and while all others inhibitants died, he survive. This tank has a mysterious that needs to be resloved. Any more clues?
Click to expand...
The exact same thing was happening to me. All my fish kept dying but my clown lasted forever...

Maybe one of your filters or devices is causing something...figuring out mysterious deaths is not going to be easy...At this point, it might be a better bet to start over. Since they all keep dying, something is definitely wrong. Not worth buying new fish and hoping for the best. What i would do, is put the clown in a quarantine tank and empty the main tank and start all over...

But wait until some other people here offer suggestions...I'm still not sure about my own abilities and wouldn’t feel right telling you to start over if someone else has a better solution...Its just my opinion. Hopefully someone here will have better advice for you soon. Its a tough one to crack that’s for sure...
 

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TheFool

Large Fish
#5
Apr 19, 2006
323
2
0
#5
If you're turning off the skimmer at night you are risking lower oxygen levels and at the same time raised CO2 levels which will also drive down pH.
Check pH at lights out, then set your alarm clock for 4 in themoring and check the pH then. Clowns are, once established, very hardy, and yours is tough enough to survive. Do you have an airconditioned house, do you have a window open at night. If the answer to the latter is no, then that will also compound the problem as modern houses are so sealed CO2 often rises to abnormal levels suppressing pH.
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#6
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#6
also something not mentioned
1. Clownfish can be very territorial as they are members of the damsel family. You say you added a yellow tang to your tank. Was the clown there first? Could be aggression from the clown coupled by stress on the tang as a 46 is small for the tang......it could have been harassed by the clown as could the firefish which are notoriously timid.
 

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#7
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#7
I would like to start over, but I don't have a tank big enough to store my corals and fish for a month or so and I am thinking that it might have something to do with the ph, oxygen depletetion. Yes my house has air conditioner and yes I leave my window slighty open at night because it gets very stuffy at night. Temperature sometime raises to about 85 degree at night and by the morning it'll drop to about 78 in the morning, so some night there is a huge temp change. I have not yet lost any corals yet through these dramatic changes in temp. I have not yet, tried to test the ph at 4:00am in the morning but everytime I check it seems to be in acceptable range 8.2 to 8.4. Oh, one more thing, I also add b ionic to my water, which I do believe helps stablize the ph. Anymore clues?
 

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alex8111

Medium Fish
#8
Aug 31, 2007
58
0
0
#8
Its weird that your corals are fine but your fish die. Since not all life stock is dying, then maybe starting over is not necessary. I think maybe Lorna could be right. It could be the clown. He might be bullying all the new fish you put in the tank. Why don’t you try taking the clown out for a few weeks and put a new fish in the main tank and see what happens. If new fish still dies, you can eliminate the clown as a problem. I guess go by elimination. That’s what I do when I cant figure something out. I eliminate possibilities until I find some kind of answer. It’s time to start your detective work…

Of course all this is pointless if your water condition is not right and fish would die anyways. So before anything, make sure your water is what it should be...
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#9
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#9
If your corals are fine and your fish are not, an oxygen deficiency would make sense. Corals don't need oxygen in the same way fish do.

Why do you turn the skimmer off at night? You could also point your powerheads towards the surface to give some extra surface agitation.
 

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alex8111

Medium Fish
#11
Aug 31, 2007
58
0
0
#11
Lotus said:
If your corals are fine and your fish are not, an oxygen deficiency would make sense. Corals don't need oxygen in the same way fish do.

Why do you turn the skimmer off at night? You could also point your powerheads towards the surface to give some extra surface agitation.
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Lotus, I get a lot of micro-buubles from the sump in the the main tank. The bubbles are unwanted but not much i can do about them Not that many but still annoying. My questions is, would these bubbles help with the increasing oxygen in the water? I only have two poerheads for now which are not enough for my 80 gallon but untill i get a few more, are these bubbles helpful?
 

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#12
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#12
I thinking your right lotus, a oxygen deffiency does make sense to some extend. All my corals is fined, my xenia seems to be overpopluating. In this tank, so far, I have only lost fish and shrimps. At what rate is oxygen depleting? I usually turn off my skimmer at 11 or 12 at night and turn it back on around 11 or 12 in the morning. The reason why I turn of my skimer is because my tank is in my room and the skimmer is too noisy at night. How do I increase the oxygen level in my tank without noise.
 

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#14
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#14
Are you talking about my skimmer Lotus? no, I don't have a sump, I only have a hang on skimmer made by aqua c and a hang on fliter. And yes I do have micro bubbles in my collection cup. What does micro bubbles have to do with oxygen?
 

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alex8111

Medium Fish
#15
Aug 31, 2007
58
0
0
#15
saltwater84 said:
Are you talking about my skimmer Lotus? no, I don't have a sump, I only have a hang on skimmer made by aqua c and a hang on fliter. And yes I do have micro bubbles in my collection cup. What does micro bubbles have to do with oxygen?
Click to expand...
Lotus was responding to my question about micro bubbles..

I asked him if micro bubbles help increase oxygen in the water.

I suggest you point your powerheads to the surface and get make sure you have good water movement.
 

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saltwater84

Large Fish
#16
Apr 11, 2006
261
0
0
#16
I don't know if I have enough flow but I have two powerhead, one on each side of the tank and a hang on skimmer and fliter also on each side of the tank. If this make sense in creating enough oxygen, then my next search is to check the ph. Well, my skimmer and one of my powerheads goes off at night. Which brand of test kit is more precise? I'm using ph test kit made by aquarium pharmaticual, inc, something like that.
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#19
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#19
Also, I have an aqua remora in my bedroom....6 feet from the head of the bed. Sure it is load but nothing you couldn't get used to, I would try running it 24/7
 

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