Fish keep dying, while everything else thrives

[beanycolleeny]

I have a 29gal bio cube that keeps killing my fish. the tank has been set up since april of 2010. In july I had all my fish die at once: falco hawk, scooter blenny, and starry blenny. They all stopped eating at the same time and refused any food. Recently I got a dusky jawfish...he died about a week after I got him. There's about 6 blue leg hermits, a few anemones, 1 turbot snail, 1 giant brittle star, about 50 hitchiker baby brittles, population explosion of copepods, an over abundance of fireworms, and small shrimp looking creatures that I can't seem to identify. There's almost next to no algae, the water conditions are perfect (tested at aquarium store), filter is clean, but there are small bubbles that keep collecting in the sand. The fish store said that might be killing the fish but i've read forums where people say its normal to have bubbles...so I'm really confused. I just want to know whats killing my fish! I don't want to have an invertebrate only tank. Anyone out there have any clue whats going on??

 

[Bifferwine]

Your tank isn't suitable for anemones. I'd suggest taking out the nems, returning them to the store, and giving fish a shot without anemones in there. If anemones get sick or die, they often wipe out other animals in the tank with them. Do your anemones look okay? Are they white or pale? If so, they are not happy. Anemones need more light than your tank comes with, and they do better in larger tanks that have been set up for at least a year.

I'm not sure that's the entire problem, but that would be my first guess.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 biff.....sorry to hear of your troubles, beany. Either your lfs has bad stock, or your nems are poisoning your young tank. A tank that small will definitely crash fast with a nem death.

How often do you test your water? Are you testing at home, as well? It would help if you post us your parameters.

Bubbles on the sand either means one of your pumps are squirting out microbubbles, or you have bad algae problems.

 

[Zissou]

Your fish weren't covered in white spots before they died were they?

 

[PRC]

+1 Everybody. You shouldn't put an anenome in a 29g tank and you shouldn't put an anenome in a tank that's less than 1 yr old.. llike Biff said, if they die or get sick they have the potential of killing everything in the tank.

 

[Bifferwine]

Your fish weren't covered in white spots before they died were they?

Good question.

 

[sen5241b]

No one can really say for sure what happened to your tank until you give us ALL water parms! Also, now or at anytime did copper come into contact with your tank?

 

[Bifferwine]

Copper wouldn't have killed the fish but left the inverts alive...

 

[sen5241b]

Copper wouldn't have killed the fish but left the inverts alive...

I am well aware of that but too much copper can also kill fish or possibly kill inverts and cause a trate spike.

 

[Sharkie]

and as far as the UFO shrimp, have you looked up Mantis Shrimp? between that and then anemones (unless they are aptasia/majano-which are STILL bad) you could have a dead tank in a min