Dying Fish

[mcombs16]

I have a 150 Gallon mixed reef and cannot seem to keep any fish alive. However my corals are phenomenal. I have a maroon clown, royal gramma, pink and blue spot gobbie, pajama cardinal that have been in the tank since I set it up, However, when I add new fish even with different acclimation methods the die. I have tried many different tangs, a fox face and a blue jaw trigger. No luck with anything. My chemistry is fine I have checked it and had it checked multiple times.

PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
kH: 9
Calcium: 400

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help.

[malarkey1968]

I don't have an answer but I sure hope someone is able to give you some kind of explanation, because I have the same problem. However my lone tank inhabitants are a yellow tang, 2 clowns, and a neon dotty back. I have a strong feeling that my tang stresses all new fish out until they just give up and die, but I have no proof of it. I'll be checking back to hear what others have to say.

Chris

[Slakker]

Are you quarantining new fish? How long does it take them to die?

[deejeff442]

are you saying the original fish are ok but the new ones are dying?
the corals and fish will suffer different diseases .a fish sickness wont hurt a coral and vise versa

[ihopss]

Are you buying the fish at the same store.

[deejeff442]

i was thinking the same thing.maybe buy somewhere else.maybe bad collecting techniques.
i have always gotten better fish online than at a lfs

[buerk212]

I've bought 3 fish in a row (not at the same time) from the same fish place and they all died shortly after having them. I've since then went to another fish place and haven't lost one yet its been 5 months.. This may not be the answer to your problem but its a possibility.

[DiverD]

Your current inhabitants may have balanced the dissolved O2 in the tank. They can tolerate it, but any new fish may be experiencing a drop. I learned I could have higher rates of succes (much higher), when I made sure the home tank water was as aerated as possible before and while I added animals. I'm a big fan of beafy skimmers.

This may not be the case, but those parameters are great and it really leaves the source, or the Oxygen...

[pitchpotch]

I also have the same problem, my fish are fine for 3-4 days after adding them then they spend a day gasping on the bottom of the tank then die, all corals fine, water fine, I had wondered if i had some sought of co2 issue as my house is well populated and windows are closed 8 Months of the year although i have an air line going into my skimmer from outside.

[mcombs16]

I have purchased fish from 4 different stores and the same result. I have a good skimmer however my air line goes through the house not outside could that be the problem? The fish that I mentioned are old inhabitants but anything new dies after a week or sooner sometimes. Thanks for all the great advice and look forward to more.

[LargeAngels]

New fish are probably dying from stress, disease or capturing/handling methods. Don't put new fish in the tank. Put them in a QT setup where they can recoup from capture/handling and you can observe/treat for disease. This also helps in not bringing new disease to your already established fish.

It is possible that your current fish have built up an immunity to some type of disease in your tank and new fish are getting infected and dying.

[mcombs16]

If there is a disease in the tank how can I find out what it is and get rid of it????

[DiverD]

Oh, I didnt see that these are straight from the LFS> QT tank them and see what you have...

[mcombs16]

Could this be something that is already in my tank (Fish, corals, Live rock?) I have since lost everything except what was originally in the tank. When my blue jaw trigger was really sick it looked like there were little white worms in his EYES. I am lost, I am almost ready to shut the thing down...... I am feeling aggrevated.

[thuddly]

If your coral are, in fact, doing fine and you're purchasing the fish from the same supplier then it is safe to say that the fish are not being net caught. Fish that are caught with the use of potassium cyanide usually die within a month.