Saltwater tank problem, possible marine ich

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fhawk362

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 24, 2009
1,282
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Royal palm beach, FL
So I collect my own fish and have a healthy sgt major damsel. Two grunts and two checkered puffers. I have tried adding some more fish. Damsels. Angelfish. All different guys which appear to be doing great for a month and then one day one dies and all the other new ones die but my nucleus five fish have survived it all. Could this be a marine ich problem. What approaches should I take to resolve this. I'm trying to lower the salinity of my tank safely, is this a good idea? They do seem to show some signs of ich but I'm not sure if its just stress or what? Help me out here guys.


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If you are getting them locally, there could be a LOT of things on them - cryptocaryon being one of them. Are you running them through a quarantine at all?
The other thing that might be stressing them out is the Sgt Major. Once in and established, they'll get very nasty when the lights go out. I stopped using them at all in my tanks for that very reason.
 
fhawk362 said:
So I collect my own fish and have a healthy sgt major damsel. Two grunts and two checkered puffers. I have tried adding some more fish. Damsels. Angelfish. All different guys which appear to be doing great for a month and then one day one dies and all the other new ones die but my nucleus five fish have survived it all. Could this be a marine ich problem. What approaches should I take to resolve this. I'm trying to lower the salinity of my tank safely, is this a good idea? They do seem to show some signs of ich but I'm not sure if its just stress or what? Help me out here guys.


what size is the tank? how old is it? parameters? what filtration is used?

mr.reef24
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I don't think the sgt major is much of a factor. I do not quarantine my fish, I dont really have the means to at the moment. Would giving them a dip be a good precautionary measure, I always worry this will stress them out further and ultimately lead to their demise. I didnt have any test strips left at the time but I went out and got some, seems my nitrates are high, ill be doing water changes this week, then retesting. Is it unusual for nitrates to be high if nitrites are low? the tank has been runing for 3 months, I have an hob, magnum 350 (both for polishing), and a diy tower drawer wet/dry.
 
No it's not unusual for low nitrites and high nitrates. All that means is you have good aerobic bacteria converting your nitrites to nitrates. If you don't have a dsb or chaeto then your nitrates will remain high and the nitrogen cycle doesn't complete. The only other way to lower your nitrates is by water change if you lack a dsb (contains anaerobic bacteria which convert nitrates) or chaeto (algae that reduces nitrates).


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Ok, I have been slacking on water changes lately since I started my new job, I think I need to be more conscientious.
 
StevieTheG said:
No it's not unusual for low nitrites and high nitrates. All that means is you have good aerobic bacteria converting your nitrites to nitrates. If you don't have a dsb or chaeto then your nitrates will remain high and the nitrogen cycle doesn't complete. The only other way to lower your nitrates is by water change if you lack a dsb (contains anaerobic bacteria which convert nitrates) or chaeto (algae that reduces nitrates).

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Not true - there are lots of chemical products out on the market that remove nitrates. Chem-pure and Purigien being very proven. Also vodka dosing is well known for increasing anaerobic bacteria
 
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