HELP.... Help.... Helppppppppp!!!! Fish 911!!! All my fish just died :(

Papisgirlamanda

Reefing newb
So I have a 55 g had the starter fish in they've been doing fine about 2 months now so I added a starfish (orange one) and a little shrimp that is red and white And I have 3 live rocks as well(about 10 lbs) today I added a fire fish, a anename, and a fancy live rock with clams growing on it and stuff... Also added a long thing I think it was called a orange catapiller or something like that but it felt like velcro but was super long and could stretch and stuff... Well when I was in TGE shower the dang thing got sucked up in the filter and totally disappeared!!! Within 20 mins all my 5 fish were dead!!!! Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Is my starfish and anename gonna die to?! Hellppppppppppppppp asap please!!
 
Ya I did the water drip thing for 2 hours before I put it in there! Is it going to kill my starfish to?! And is it safe that there is a dead thing floating around in pieces in my tank now?! I tried to stop it but it totally vanished!
 
if you didnt do the cycle thats one big problem,2nd you cant have a anename in a tank that has been up for 3 months it has to be about one year old,when a anename dies it can releas a toxic that can kill everthing.
 
your fish died your levels are really high take your anename and starfish back to the pet store , and do the cycle first if you dont start the tank right.this is going to repeat and repeat .
 
https://www.livingreefs.com/sea-cucumber-beginner-t370.html
I think you just got poisoned by a sea cucumber. Please do your research before you buy things for your aquarium. Our main goal as aquarists is to be responsible for the creatures we are taking home.
Anemones should not be put in an aquarium until they have had a chance to age. A year is about right. And they require intense lighting to keep alive.
I hope we can get you on the right track to responsible fish keeping :)
 
I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else. Sounds like you went too fast stocking your tank, and with the wrong type of creatures. Take it as a learning experience, and do lots of research before buying anything. Remember that the fish stores will sell you anything just to make a few dollars. Welcome to the site also, we're glad to have you aboard. :)
 
+1 ChiChi - I think the worm thing you described was a sea cucumber, which can poison and kill off everything in your tank when they die (such as by getting sucked up into a pump or powerhead). I also agree with everyone else that you should not have added so many fish so fast, definitely shouldn't add an anemone until your tank is at least a year old, and you need to do your homework on anything you add to your tank before doing so! There are many things all of us would like to keep in our tanks, but we can't because they just aren't compatible with our tanks or what we can provide. The good news: you've found the right place online to come for advice while you get your tank up and running again!!
 
welcome to the site.. :D
I agree way to fast and do alot of research before putting things in.. Do you only have that 10 pounds of rock? You want to have at least 1 pound per gallon.. What type of filter are you talking about? Filters are a way for nitrates to build up in the tank if not cleaned every few days.. you just need a good protein skimmer the liverock and a couple powerheads...
 
You have a 55 gallon tank and only have 10 pounds of live rock in it? Your first problem is that you don't have enough bio filtration. You need at least 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon of tank volume

Secondly, you need to research the things you're planning on putting in your tank. Sea Cucumbers and Anemones are both capable of nuking entire tanks, as you just found out. Adding things to the tank too quickly, combined with not having the tank set up properly is a recipie for disaster.

Also, Anemonoes are some of the most difficult things we keep in this hobby. Judging from the situation that you are in, you are not ready to have one of these in your tank. They require absolutely perfect water conditions, and need very powerful lighting over the tank. If I were you, I would remove this and take it back to your LFS before you nuke the tank a second time
 
+1 to everyone. Research, as well as understanding your tank and your goals for it are the keys in this hobby.
 
+1 Everyone

Also even if the cucumber hadnt nuked your tank, the starfish wouldnt survive in your setup. They are EXTREMELY! delicate and putting it in your setup has pretty much doomed it. They too require mature tanks and pristine water quality to have even a chance of surviving.

Never ever, ever buy anything without doing the proper research first. Im sorry to say but this easily could have been prevented and then your fish would still be alive.
 
Welcome to the site, but sorry for your troubles...

It helps to post more info when you have a situation like this as well. But I think everyone's right that the cucumber could've nuked your tank.

Hard to tell by your post, but more details about your tank's history is helpful. From my guess, unless she has a lot of fish in there already, I don't think she added things too fast, because the tank's 3 months old w/ fish, she had just added the fish, anemone, and rock w/ clams...but the anemone would've eventually nuked the tank, but in this case, yeah, most likely the cucumber. Ammonia poisoning would've taken longer and it would be a weird coincidence that it killed everything at the same time rather than one at a time over a few days.

You could try running some carbon and do a water change. Check your levels, as well -- temp, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph, etc.
 
it sounds like u have too many fish and u stocked too fast...not nearly enough live rock...
ur tanks probably not yet capable of supporting some of ur inverts...
 
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