Need help/ideas

[Export Eh]

I have a reef tank that I started up about a year ago. For the most part things have been going well but I'm having more dieoff than I think I should be. I've had a pair of true Percs, green mandarin, orange spotted goby that have been in there since I started stocking the tank about 9 months ago. There's a yellow coris wrasse, 2 pajama cardinals that have been in there for about 6 months.

I've been having problems with larger fish dieing off though. There was a coral beauty that lasted about 4 months, bi color angel that lasted 2 months, foxface rabbit fish 1 month, copperband butterfly 2 weeks, emperor angel 1 month, 2 sets of 2 firefish 1 week and a mimic lemonpeel tang that doesn't seem to be doing to well and has been in there about 2 weeks.

They weren't all in there at the same time so I don't think overstocking was an issue. Some would die, next time I went to the city I'd get a few more.

I'm hoping those with more experience may have some ideas as to why fish are dying off and usually the bigger fish.

[wakelust81]

Do you have a quarantine tank setup? When you add fish they get stressed. You may not kill them right away but it takes them a little while to get used to your tank. They are not used to your food, your water, other tank mates. When they are stressed the stuff they have can come out or they can get sick easier. A lot of hobbyists have a QT.

[Export Eh]

I haven't QTed to this point. The store that I usually buy from QT's for a month before they go up for sale. Since he was QTing them before sale I thought I was ok not to.....

[MrClam]

Your lucky to have a store that QT's at all. Do you see any signs of disease such as spots/patches?

There are many posssible causes for death but the fact that it takes months suggests that it could be nutritional aka your fish are slowly starving to death. What do you feed/ how often?

[Export Eh]

Your lucky to have a store that QT's at all. Do you see any signs of disease such as spots/patches?

There are many posssible causes for death but the fact that it takes months suggests that it could be nutritional aka your fish are slowly starving to death. What do you feed/ how often?

The fish all look healthy when I get them home. Unless it's something internal that I wouldn't be able to see is always a possibility. They do seem to eat well right from the get go. I usually feed every 2nd day. I have pellets and a mixture of bloodworm, mysis and krill that I also feed

[Palting]

The fish all look healthy when I get them home. Unless it's something internal that I wouldn't be able to see is always a possibility. They do seem to eat well right from the get go. I usually feed every 2nd day. I have pellets and a mixture of bloodworm, mysis and krill that I also feed

It's anybody's guess at this point. My guess is that they are underfed and slowly starved. Several fish, like angels, are fed several times a day. Every 2nd day, or every other day, is not enough, IMO.

Are you feeding nori to your tang? I have 4, and they can decimate a whole sheet with each feeding.

[Export Eh]

It's anybody's guess at this point. My guess is that they are underfed and slowly starved. Several fish, like angels, are fed several times a day. Every 2nd day, or every other day, is not enough, IMO.

Are you feeding nori to your tang? I have 4, and they can decimate a whole sheet with each feeding.

I was not feeding nori to the tang. That could be part of the issue. As for feeding every second day, when I was starting up the tank I remember reading that over feeding can be as bad as underfeeding causing ammonia spikes and such from the uneaten food. Or did I miss interpret that?

[Arnaldo24]

i had a similar problem after Sandy fish will only stay alive for a max of 4 days i decided to change the sand thinking some kind of toxic was still in it i save 75% of my water and removed all rocks and corals change the sand with new Fiji Pink Live Sand and put everything back in the tank. no more fish dead till this day

[Export Eh]

i had a similar problem after Sandy fish will only stay alive for a max of 4 days i decided to change the sand thinking some kind of toxic was still in it i save 75% of my water and removed all rocks and corals change the sand with new Fiji Pink Live Sand and put everything back in the tank. no more fish dead till this day

Interesting! I'm not sure if that would be the case for me though. I have a orange spotted goby who regularly munches on the sand and he's been in the tank about 7 months now

[SushiGirl]

I have to agree with Palting. Overfeeding doesn't mean not feeding every day, it means feeding so much that food sits on the bottom and doesn't get consumed & rots. Most of the fish you listed as dead are very active so will need to eat at least once a day. Also make sure you're feeding them the proper diet, such as nori for the tangs.

What a lot of people don't understand or seem to forget is that fish & corals eat all day every day in the ocean, so unless your tank is providing enough food for them during the days you don't feed, they're going to slowly starve.

[Export Eh]

I have to agree with Palting. Overfeeding doesn't mean not feeding every day, it means feeding so much that food sits on the bottom and doesn't get consumed & rots. Most of the fish you listed as dead are very active so will need to eat at least once a day. Also make sure you're feeding them the proper diet, such as nori for the tangs.

What a lot of people don't understand or seem to forget is that fish & corals eat all day every day in the ocean, so unless your tank is providing enough food for them during the days you don't feed, they're going to slowly starve.

Thank you for the ideas! I will try to bump up the feeding routine and see if that makes a difference. Is there a good site to find out foods for specific fish?

[SushiGirl]

Liveaquaria.com usually lists food preferences in their fish descriptions.

[ACBlinky]

Did all the fish that died come from the same source? What about the fish that are fine? I'm wondering if they were caught differently; fish that are caught using poisons can look fine for days, weeks, even months but because their internal organs have been irreparably damaged, they die regardless of treatment.

If they all came from the same source, or you know they were net-caught, it could definitely be a nutritional issue. If they weren't quarantined (never trust store quarantine IMHO unless you are the one running the store) it could also be stress, or disease (internal parasites, for example).

Sorry you lost a bunch, it's disheartening. Hopefully you can pin down a cause, so it won't happen in the future.

[Export Eh]

Did all the fish that died come from the same source? What about the fish that are fine? I'm wondering if they were caught differently; fish that are caught using poisons can look fine for days, weeks, even months but because their internal organs have been irreparably damaged, they die regardless of treatment.

If they all came from the same source, or you know they were net-caught, it could definitely be a nutritional issue. If they weren't quarantined (never trust store quarantine IMHO unless you are the one running the store) it could also be stress, or disease (internal parasites, for example).

Sorry you lost a bunch, it's disheartening. Hopefully you can pin down a cause, so it won't happen in the future.

90% of the fish have come from the same store. There's isn't much, if any selection, in the city I live in for saltwater. So usually once every 1-2 months I'll go to Winnipeg to go fish shopping. I'm wondering if its stress related as well. When I go, I usually buy 2-4 fish just to make the trip worth while. Might be too many to add at one time