Help Fish dying

[EdBurhop]

ok, I am an experienced reefer, but this one has me stumped.

I have 65 gallon reef with a 20 gallon sump and a 7 gallon HOB refugium. About 100 pounds live rock. DSB in fuge and SSB in tank.

Alk 10 DKH
Calc - 460 PPM
Nitrite, Amoninia zero
Nitrate - 10 - has been that way for months.

ok, I have 3 clams, and about 10 SPS corals, 3 or 4 softies, and 1 LPS coral in the tank

1 Skunk and 1 fire shrimp.

1 bubble tip anemone.

Until recently - had a foxface, lawnmower blenny, small royal gramma, 3 chromis, and 2 percula clowns. All healthy and happy. Over the last week, I have lost all but the foxface and 1 chromis.

EVERYTHING else, including the shrimp in the tank are fine. The SPS all have good polyp extention and are growing like weeds.

Oh yeah, one other thing - had 3 stalks of pulsing zenia - they have never grown, but they died RIGHT before the fish.

All the cleanup crew look fine, and the clams look great and are growing......

ANY ideas??? A reading of 10 on nitrate should not be a problem, should it?

Ed

[mbbuna]

the xenia dieing could have dumped ammonia in to the water, killing the fish.

what test kits are you using and how old are they?

[leeweber85]

perhaps the anemone?

[affan]

Sorry about your loss. I agree with mbbuna. That seems most likely and plausible especially since you said that it died RIGHT before the fish. Xenia dies, causes ammonia spike, kills your babies.

[affan]

Pardon me, but from the title of this thread I initially thought you wanted us to help you kill your fish.

[EdBurhop]

Test kits
Aquarium pharmaceuticals - Nitrate, trite, amonia... all less than 6 months old. Also have quick dip strips that show same thing.

I guess the other thing was that several of the fish "disappeared" into the rocks... so I am sure there WAS some of a spike, and it built on itself.

As far as the anemone, what could it do? It is doing just fine.....

And oh yea - so why would the xenia die off like that to begine with?
Ed

[mm949]

if your chemstry is right one it has to be a disease....did you notice any spots or hazy eyes before they checked out..?? i doubt the xenia had any thing to do with the deaths....fish are very sensitive to salinity , temp and pH swings...did you do anything a day or two before the fish died??? what kind of chemicals are you adding..?? Did you add any NEW fish recently..??