:(

V

Veilside0Three

Reefing newb
So good news. My naso tang started eating finally. I got it some slow sink pellets and soaked them in kent garlic extreme. It started eating the pellets, then moved on to frozen brine and mysis(still fed pellets as well). This went on for about a week, looked very happy, moved a lot.

This morning I woke up to turn on the lights, and begin making them breakfast. I found the tang lying on its side in between some rockwork with some crabs picking at it, and my urchin mounted on top. I checked my levels, everything is low-none.

The only things I can think of, are either my sally lightfoot, or CBS killed it at night? Or the fact that I have been using tap water. Would tap water kill fish? I know I need to invest in a ro/di unit, and usually I get my water from safeway's RO unit, but the last two weeks or so, i've been doing top-offs with just tap. Which of these two do you think is possible?
 
dustin_P74 said:
tap water could have done it and can you post the actual parameter numbers
Click to expand...

I dont know the exact numbers, i'll see if I can get those later tonight. What sort of testing kits do you guys use? I just use the test strips, and read off of the colors, to see if they match the container...
 
although i also think the pom pom crab is the suspect either, if it was a living creature that attacked him my bet would be the CBS
 
How big was the Naso? If it was a decent size, than I would rule out the crabs as the suspect.

I doubt it was the crabs. Considering that the Naso was a troubled feeder, it could have possibly died as a result of poor nutritional health. This happened to my Yellow Tang, he refused to eat algae sheets, and my tank didn't supply enough algae for him to eat.

Also, fish die for no reason.
 
Veil,

Sorry to hear about your loss.
A couple things :

1.) Get rid of those strip test kits and pick yourself up a chemical dropper test kit. The dip strips are not truly accurate enough.

2.) The tap water is a huge no/no, but you know this already. Depending where your tap water comes from, you can have everything from chlorine to metallic residue in there. 10 fill-ups of water at safeway would pay for a RODI unit......

Keep an eye on your remaining livestock for any signs of stress, ich, etc.
If you see anything, there is an underlying issue with your tank you need to find.

Good Luck!
 
The tang was about 4 inches long, pretty decent size. I'm not sure how big it has to be before the inverts are no threat.

I have a drop test kit. I suppose i'll start using that instead. Can anyone give me a link to a cheap, but effective ro/di unit? It doesnt need to be huge. 2-5 gpd would be plenty!
 
Were you using a dechlorinator to the tap water before you added the tap water? If not, just adding straight tap water is VERY fatal. Chlorine and chloramine will kill stuff fast.
 
Not all faucets could handle that though...mine didn't. I originally ran a hose into the house and through my rodi until I hooked it up to my house's pipes.

Veil -- check the date on your dropper test kit, though. I bought a brand new kit from my lfs....and within a couple of months, I got incorrect Nitrate readings....I found this out when I ran a side by side test with my lfs' current test kit, a new test kit, and my opened test kit. Mine showed 20ppm of nitrates, while the other new pack and the lfs' showed 0ppm. Plus they're only good for maybe a year from when you open them anyway.

Oh, and I'm sure majority of tap will have some to a lot a of nitrates (my tap had 10-20ppm). I don't know what might've killed your tang, but at least you can improve your water conditions with the rodi anyway.
 
Someone on this board who worked at a LFS said they used tap water, and in the Spring, when they put extra chlorine in the water, the fish mortality rates really rose high. In my tap water (Arlington CO VA) are found some radioactive substances at the highest level allowed by law! And there's all kind of other crap in our tap water too! Use the RO or DI water! Invest in a 5G jug(s) or get a gazillion 1G tea or milk jugs and go to Safeway or wherever.
 
I highly doubt the crabs killed your fish.Even though they can and do eat em,I doubt a crab could catch and kill a healthy fish.
I also doubt that tap water killed it.Even though tap water is bad for your tank,I think you would have seen signs of bad water quality before the levels became fatal.Also you inverts would have shown signs of stress long before the fish.
I think Salty's pretty much nailed it.The fish not eating probably put him poor health,and by the time he started eating,it was to little to late.
 

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