Big ol' problemski

[Briesus]

75 Gallon tank.
2 blue damsels (X), clarkii, snowflake eel, scooter blenny (X), yellow tang (X), striped damsel.

So, this morning I awoke to a cloudy tank and three dead fish. (X) marks which ones are no longer with us.

UHMOMGWTF FTW.

No really, this is actually pretty devastating seeing as one of my DEDZ was my 2 year old yellow tang. Up until very recently, my levels have been perfect, my water crystal clear. Water temp. has been maintained between 78-80 consistently....I did a water change last weekend and noticed my ammonia was slightly higher than normal. I was recommended amquel for a quick fix, and was told that it should be fine because my ammonia levels weren't high enough to warrant any sort of huge panic...then WABAM. Happy Thanksgiving, Briesus! My other fish seem to be ok. I checked on my eel first, he seems fine, an aloof nonesuch as usual, but fine.

In the words of any desperate lolcat...HAAAAAAAAALP Iz gotz beeg problimz .

 

[Rufio808]

Did something die in your tank earlier? That may be the reason for an ammonia spike.

 

[Bifferwine]

Any ammonia above zero can be fatal. And AmQuel doesn't always work. I think what happened is you had an ammonia spike (for some reason) and this set off a chain reaction. It only takes on fish dying to cause a cascade effect -- that would cause ammonia to spike, which would kill another fish, which causes ammonia to spike even more, which kills another fish.

I'm sorry your fishes died. It sucks. The original ammonia spike could have been caused by something like a snail or other invert dying, or if you vacuumed up your sand or moved your rock you could have released crap into the water, or if you fed too much the night before, or something.

 

[Briesus]

I came home cringing because I was afraid to see what could have gone down during the hours I was gone today, but the water looks better (I did another water change this morning) and the other fish seem to be OK. I am getting ready to check my levels once again. The more the day goes on the more sad I am about my tang. =[ he was such a cool lil guy. I will miss him greatly....and snugs, my scooter blenny. May he scoot in heaven forever more.

I really appreciate your input. Hopefully things will turn around soon.