Dead Bicolor Angelfish and Cardinalfish

[MTMike304]

I am new to saltwater aquariums and set up my first tank a few months ago. Everything was going fine for quite a while, corals are happy, fish seem happy, coralline is starting to grow on new rocks. About a week and a half ago I had a cardinalfish start to breath fast and heavy and died within 24 hours. I tested the water and all levels are zero with a PH of 8.2. This was after the fish was in the tank for a few of weeks.

Now, a couple weeks later I had a bicolored angelfish who was swimming just fine yesterday AM, eating...etc. Was short of breath and resting on rocks last night and died in the middle of the night.

What is going on? In the tank I have another cardinalfish (a match to the first one that died), (2) ocellaris Clownfish, and a cinnamon Clownfish. I am worried about these guys now that the others have met their maker.

I can't tell if it's a disease (no slime or white spots), poor water quality (everything checks out OK), or I am just doing something wrong. I don't have a QT tank yet but will be setting one up tonight.

Any advise is much appreciated!

 

[ccCapt]

Welcome to Living Reefs!

What all did you test? I hope EVERYTHING isn't 0. ;)
What is your nitrate level? I find it very hard to believe a 6 month old tank has 0 nitrates.

Rapid breathing can be stress from high nitrates, could be from an ammonia spike or it can be a parasite like gill flukes.

 

[daugherty]

+1 ccCapt

 

[MTMike304]

I tested for:
Ammonia = 0
Nitrates = 0
Nitrites = 0
Ph = 8.2

Maybe my kit is bad.?.
That is all the tests that are in this kit. (API Saltwater Master Kit) I am going to take some water into the guy that professionally maintains aquariums in our area to have him test it. I will post the results when I get them back.

 

[daugherty]

it is very possible that it is all 0 as well as you having a bad test kit. i have bought them off the shelf and they were bad

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome...do you have enough water movement in the tank, especially at the waters surface to oxygenate the water. That may be a reason why they're breathing hard, because of low oxygen levels.

 

[Smitty]

Oh, and also, does your tank have a glass top/lid. If so, then that may be an issue also with the whole build-up of gases and heat. :)

 

[MTMike304]

There is a glass top but with the skimmer I have there is about a 1.5" gap in the back and it does not sit flush on the front. There should be "some" air flow. Temp stays at 78 +/- 1.5 degrees.

I have (2) Hydor Koralia Evolution 750GPH powerheads. One is pointed 45 degrees up towards the surface and makes a pretty decent riffle on the surface or the water.

 

[wontonflip]

How do you check for your salinity? It's a stretch, considering the symptoms, but salinity should not be ruled out. It could have stressed the fish, who were probably already carriers of parasites, and made them more susceptible to the parasite.

How do you top off? RO/DI? I hope you weren't topping off w/ saltwater.

 

[MTMike304]

I have a Red Sea hydrometer that I use for the salinity and ordered a refractometer that will be here on Wed. I have used RO for the top off's for the last month but had to use tap water before that.

 

[MTMike304]

Thanks everybody for responding. All the test came back normal so still stuck at ground zero. I am going to do some frequent 20% water changes and see how things go.