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GT3
12/20/2010, 11:40 AM
I rearranged my live rocks today, and later on I find out all my fish are starting dying, laying on the sandbed, not active. I suspect this is caused by hydrogen sulfied that is released when I move the rocks. The tank has a DSB in DT and has been running for 2 months. Now my fish are starting to die, I did a 20% water change just now, what else SHOULD I DO!! HELP!

Should I move the fish into a bucket of sea water I use to do WC with??

ALL my fishes are dying, not one. please help!

Percula9
12/20/2010, 12:11 PM
If it's H2S, then there would be a rotten egg smell at the surface of the water. Moving the rock may have kicked up some nutrients in the sand bed and started a small cycle. Check for ammonia and nitrites.

svejil
12/20/2010, 12:39 PM
20% water change is not enough, do a large water change 50 - 80% if possible. If not, then I would add all the PolyFilter you can put your hands on.

I usually keep Poly Filters just for emergency reason. Something released and more than likely fouled your water, be it an ammonia spike, or hydrogen sulfide. For only have the tank 2 months though, it wouldn't seem to me you would be harboring too much in your DSB, but I guess anything is possible.

Grab the PolyFilter / large WC, is what I would do concurrently.

jeff@zina.com
12/20/2010, 12:46 PM
It takes many months, even years, for hydrogen sulfide to build up in a DSB. I'd suspect something else. Water changes are critical, but test the water and post all the parameters.

Jeff

Sk8r
12/20/2010, 12:48 PM
Get all the animal specimens immediately into new salt water, conditioned tap mixed with the most potent pump you've got for a few hours, bought water, whatever. It's better than lying over gasping.

GT3
12/20/2010, 01:03 PM
Ok, I tested the water

Ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5

I have a sump of cheato, bristleworms, feather dusters, copepods.

Actually i have a green chromis missing in the tank from a week ago, I guess that it is dead but I cant find his body. I assume the snails and hermits have eaten up. This is why I rearrange my rocks, i want to find his body and I did stir the sand up little bit to see if it is buried. But couldnt find anything.

I just flushed my blue damsel away, it was laying and not moving... damsel are able to tolerate not perfect condition of water... must be something in my tank causing this trouble.

My corals right are looking fine and dandy. I don't know what is going on! help!

Agu
12/20/2010, 01:49 PM
If your fish are dieing and the corals still look fine I'd suspect a bacterial bloom is depleting the oxygen in the water . If you move the remaining fish to the bucket and they make a sudden recovery that's the problem.

In any case you don't want to leave any livestock in the tank until you determine the cause of the problem.

epic.exposures
12/20/2010, 02:58 PM
Please tell us if the water change or bucket helped, and let us know if you found the problem. I would like to know what the issue was. I'm very sorry about your fish :(

GT3
12/20/2010, 03:58 PM
Sure. Now my corals are looking pretty good, no changes.

My favourite blue damsel was laying around on sandbed for too long I didn't notice so it wasnt helpful I did put him in a bucket though,
I put the only fish left in a bucket and he is recovering now swimming around fine in the bucket.

Percula9
12/21/2010, 12:42 PM
There shouldn't be any ammonia in a cycled tank.

Sk8r
12/21/2010, 01:09 PM
Unfortunately, re another post, all the fish were lost: the OP is now carrying the tank as corals/inverts for a while.