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Extremely Frustrated! Woke up to dead fish!?!

Discussion in 'Saltwater Fish Forum' started by Anthony, Jan 22, 2009.

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  1. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I woke up this morning and had $100.00 worth of fish dead ! Nothing new in the tank, nothing changed, no illnesses ! Last night before bed they started breathing heavily for some reason. I tested the water and everything was perfect. I changed 5 gallons of water just to be safe.

    Woke up this morning to find 3 Firefish Gobies, my larger Percula Clownfish, and my Neon Goby dead, on the ocean floor. I cannot find my Goldentail Comb-Tooth Blenny anywhere so I assume he's hiding in a rock hole. My one remaining Percula Clownfish is still breathing very heavily and hanging at the top corner of the tank. The Watchman Goby is also breathing heavy but he's still pretty active, swimming in and out of his home. My mushrooms, anemone, and star polyps are all opened like normal indicating the water quality is fine, as my test show. I have NO idea what to do other than wait and see what happens. :x
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Oh also I forgot to mention that I lost two Peppermint Shrimp. My snails, hermit crabs and starfish are all still doing fine.
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Wow Anthony that’s a lot of fish and some great ones too, I’m very sorry to hear it.

    It seems there are a lot of mystery deaths when it comes to saltwater tanks, it’s the part of the hobby I have trouble getting used to.
     
    Anonymous, Jan 22, 2009
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    This is the first time I've had this happen to me. Healthy fish one day, dead the next. That's not something I've have to deal with before. As is stands right now, if I lose my last two I'll be switching the tank to freshwater. :confused: I'll see if I can trade my live rock, corals and inverts to the pet store for credit.

    I really don't understand it and I'm afraid there really is no reason as to why it happened. My water is always crystal clear, I do water changes every 2 weeks, and my water parameters are always the same.
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  5. scottdrag

    scottdrag New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    wow that suck big. sorry to hear this.
     
    scottdrag, Jan 22, 2009
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  6. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    wow sorry to hear that... how does something like that happen?
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 22, 2009
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  7. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    *Shrugs* I wish I knew.
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  8. scottdrag

    scottdrag New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    so how are your other fish doing
     
    scottdrag, Jan 22, 2009
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  9. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Lights have been out since 4pm so I can't tell. Right before the lights went out the Watchman came out of his hole and was breathing almost normally. We'll see how things look tomorrow morning. I'm so discouraged I'm still considering trading everything in for credit.
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  10. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    no scars or anyrthing they just dead?
     
    stevenrox, Jan 22, 2009
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  11. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Nope, nothing.
     
    Anthony, Jan 22, 2009
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  12. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    that is werid anything different with the water? install anything ph?
     
    stevenrox, Jan 23, 2009
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  13. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Sorry to hear that Anthony...I know how aggrovating it is when your doing everything you can and spending so much time, effort, and money into making sure everything is perfect. I read around and here's what I came to find that might help you:
    -->ammonia poisoning in saltwater setup

    rapid breathing is caused by the following:
    1. fish not getting enough o2
    2. high waste levels in your water such as ammonia and nitrite.
    3. gill damage from parasites.
    4. stress
    perform a 20% water change with new salt water. Try a product that will neutralize the toxicity of ammonia like Amquel, and possibly try Mardel Maracyn Saltwater
    -->Guess 2 is Marine Ich -The marine ich likes to bury itself under the skin of fishes, and in that case, you must look closely.
    Symptoms can be: Cysts on fins, gills, and skin;fasting; cloudy eyes; "labored breathing"; excess skin mucus; or pale skin.
    Fix: Treat entire aquarium with a copper-based parasite remedy and improve water quality. Freshwater dips can dislodge the parasites.
    -->On a side note several places state that heavy or rapid breathing is a result of an infestation in the gills which can inhibit oxygen exchange, and can also be water quality related such as high ammonia levels or lack of aeration.

    Again, I am soo sorry to hear of your losses.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 23, 2009
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  14. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Nope, nothing changed or was added.

    1) o2 is fine, there is a lot of water/surface movement.
    2) The tank is cleaned every 2 weeks and there is never ammonia or nitrite in the water. I tested this when the fish started breathing heavily.
    3) Fish have showed no signs of parasites since purchasing them. They were all freshwater dipped to remove parasites and treated with organic parasite treatment to be safe.
    4) Not sure what would have caused the stress since nothing changed.

    Guess 2) Again, fish were treated for parasites before being put into the tank. There have been no signs of ich on any fish.
    __________________________

    This morning the two remaining fish look normal, except the Clownfish looks lonely. :confused:
     
    Anthony, Jan 23, 2009
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  15. scottdrag

    scottdrag New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    wow thats weird as crap
     
    scottdrag, Jan 23, 2009
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  16. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    man, i am clueless? maybe call a local lfs that you trust and also deals with saltwater and see what they think?
    Did you try a different test kit? Maybe it's inaccurate (last ditch in trying to figure it out)? Or take the water to have it double checked to lfs?
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 23, 2009
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  17. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    Yep I thought about that too so I tested with my second test kit. They had the same results.
     
    Anthony, Jan 23, 2009
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  18. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    outta ideas on this one!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 23, 2009
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  19. scottdrag

    scottdrag New Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    maybe pet forum might have an idea on what happened to them.
     
    scottdrag, Jan 23, 2009
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  20. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Extremely Frustrated !

    I have no idea either.
    Yeah I'm going to ask the one guy I know there and see what he says.
     
    Anthony, Jan 23, 2009
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