Cannot determine problem with tank

[ace869]

Okay here is the Dilemma My Clown trigger passed this morning and I cannot figure out why.

Right now the

readings are as follows

Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite .2
Nitrate 10ppm

Also there is a slight green diatom outbreak that started two days ago So I did a 40 gallon water change on a 180 system any ideas of what can be causing this?

 

[nonstophoops]

The Nitrites are a big big problem and the most likely cause.

We need more info on your setup however.

How old is the tank?

What is your filtration? Sump? Skimmer?

Other water flow?

Other tank inhabitants?

How long have you had it?

Any signs of stress on the dead fish? Physical? Parasites?

 

[ace869]

It is a 180 FoWLR
1. Fluval Fx 5
2. Aqua Medic turbo floater 1000 Multi SL hang on skimmer
3. 2 Hydor Koralia Magnum 5 pumps
4. 5 40lb bags of caribsea special grade reef sand
5. 2 20lb bags or caribsea Arag alive special grade

also the tank was cycled with seachem stability and 3 damsels whom are fine the week after thanksgiving so the tank is about like 7 weeks old
there is a volition lion who seems to be stressing and a domino damsel a striped damsel a yellow tail damsel and a Niger trigger who all seem to be fine.

 

[Heathd]

Ammonia and Nitrites are very toxic. 10ppm on the Nitrates is tolerable on their own, but not ideal, and surely what is causing the diatom and algae growth.

Without seeing your tank, I am quick to point to the cannister as the issue. How often do you clean it, and what are your feeding habits like?

 

[ace869]

I just cleaned it last night hoping to stop the green diatom I usually feed the Lion first a hunk of krill then the rest get a cube of brine shrimp once per day

 

[nonstophoops]

I just cleaned it last night hoping to stop the green diatom I usually feed the Lion first a hunk of krill then the rest get a cube of brine shrimp once per day

This may or may not have been why right here. Brine shrimp have next to nothing to offer nutritional wise. They are shrimp flavored water. They should not be a staple of any fishs diet.

I don't know how big all your fish are, but 1 cube of food is most likely not enough food for all of them.

You need to vary diet. They all could eat krill for starters. The cheapest and best food for you do feed would be to go to the grocery store and get raw frozen shrimp, squid, clams, scallops, and another white fish. You should cut these things into edible sizes(remove shrimp shells) and then rinse them off. Then soak the pieces in some sort of vitamin(Selcon(the best) or Zoecon or equivalent). Then freeze one days worth in each ziplock bag. Then you can pull a bag out everyday and let thaw before feeding to your fish.

Getting New Life Spectrum Pellets would also be a great idea. Almost all fish will eat them and they are quite nutritious. You could then feed this everyone day with the seafood mixture getting opposite days.

 

[nonstophoops]

It is a 180 FoWLR
1. Fluval Fx 5
2. Aqua Medic turbo floater 1000 Multi SL hang on skimmer
3. 2 Hydor Koralia Magnum 5 pumps
4. 5 40lb bags of caribsea special grade reef sand
5. 2 20lb bags or caribsea Arag alive special grade

also the tank was cycled with seachem stability and 3 damsels whom are fine the week after thanksgiving so the tank is about like 7 weeks old
there is a volition lion who seems to be stressing and a domino damsel a striped damsel a yellow tail damsel and a Niger trigger who all seem to be fine.

The fact that the tank was cycled recently could also have caused the Clown Triggers death.

You still didn't say if there were any physical signs???? Ich? Skinny? Cloudy fins? Frayed fins? etc?

You stocked your tank far far too fast for it being this new. You realistically should only have added one fish since your cycle ended. Your tanks bacteria population is not high enough to handle all the fish in your tank because it hasn't had time to establish. So, in essence, you are having a cycle all over again. This is why their are nitrites present.

The least hardy fish died first and now the next least hardy fish is stressed. The other fish are more hardy and less susceptible to the problems you are having. What symptoms of stress is he showing?

 

[ace869]

As for the clown trigger he had glazed or white film on the eyes and a frayed top fin the lion has become very lethargic and has not eaten in 2 days has a slight hazing to his eyes as well

 

[SimonL]

Okay, couple things to consider...

Sounds like a possible outbreak of disease, maybe velvet. I presume you didn't quarantine them? From someone who has worked for 10 years at several LFS, I can tell you quarantining marine fish is vital. You've got stressed out, wild collected fish likely from multiple regions of the globe sharing the same water...

Also something else; how did you acclimate the fish into your tank? Many LFS keep their salinity way down (1.016 or so) to combat parasites, if your tank is at a higher level, a quick acclimation could be disastrous.

Nitrates of 10 are nothing, certainly not the cause of your fish's death. The water in the LFS they come out of was likely 50-100 ppm. Don't believe me? Ask to check, you'd be shocked to see what most big fish-only display tanks read at.

Diatom algae spikes are a normal part of starting a tank, especially if you are using tap water instead of RO. Cleaning a cannister like the FX5 so soon isn't necessary, and it won't really effect the algae. If you over-cleaned it (like rinsing in tap water) you may have nuked the beneficial bacteria and caused the nitrite spike.

Brine shrimp might be crap, but I very much doubt it killed the trigger within a few weeks.

 

[ace869]

As I read the symptoms I tend to agree with your assessment I just hope I can get the quarantine tank tomorrow up and running and save the lion he is a beautiful fish I bet the clown who i just got for Christmas was the carrier. As the other Fish have been completely fine until this one was introduced. Uggh