need help with this

[ltljoker]

Ok guys heres my question. In my rock tank i have a large lava rock all of the fish :sfish:that I have in there seem to be ok with it but a few weeks ago I put a Koran in there. Well unfortunately this morning I found that he had gone to fish heaven:cry: so my question is since lava rock contains some metallic forms that they can put off over time is this why my fish got sick. It seems that the last 2 angels that I have put in my tank have passed away and i am wondering if the lava rock is what is causing them to pass away this is the 2nd angel in 6 months:frustrat: and i dont want to keep losing my fish cuz everytime one passes away it makes me sad. So is the lava rock :death: bad for my angel fish. Please help me understand if you can because all my water parameters are where the should be no problems with the other fish just the angels

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

have you tested your water? what are your perameters? please post.

 

[ltljoker]

nitrites 0
nitrates <15
ph 8.0
amonia 0
alkalinity 9 dkh
salinity 1.025
But all my other fish are doing great my wrassie, yellow tang, 2 clowns, 2 damsels and my blennie no issues ever with those fish. But i was reading that lava rock can emit copper and other metallic from it so that it could be bad for a tank do wather changes twice a month on my rock tank but still cant figure out why my angels have a problem

 

[Navarchus]

That sucks about your Koran. Was it a juvenile? They are so pretty when they are young.

Here is what I would do: I would test for iron. (Many rocks/sand have high iron and silicates that will harm your fish.) I don't think low levels of copper will be much of a problem for fish; definately not good for inverts, but fish can usually handle copper. In any event I would remove the large rock and put it in its own tank for a while and see if your parameters change. (If you think this is the culpret, then take it away to test your hypothesis).

How large is your rock tank? (Angels need 70-90 gallons) Are there other rocks in it? (What kind?) Are you running a skimmer?

 

[ltljoker]

90 gal tank some live figi rock in the tank yes running a skimmer and yes he was a juvinille so beautiful

 

[ltljoker]

im just wondering about the angels because every other fish is doing great

 

[ltljoker]

thanks Navarchus i have been thinking of just taking the lava rock out to see if i could have a Koran then but I want to make sure the water will be ok if i take the lava rock out for him

 

[Navarchus]

Well angels are tricky to keep. Sometimes they do not make it even in the best of tanks. Was there any sign of disease before they went to fishy heaven? Any scratching, shivering, hanging out at the top of the tank, balance issues, fast gill movement, eye problems, specks on them?

 

[ltljoker]

no signs of ick or sickness not scratching swimming around just fine no specks nothing seemed to be wrong he was swimming at 4 this morning then at 730 when i got back from taking the kids to school he was on the sand dead

 

[yote]

Sorry to hear about your Koran.To know if the lava rock is leeching anything,look at the other rock after the lights go out for the night.Use a flashlight with either a red bulb or a red lens and look for pods and worms.If have a lot of those,then the rock MAY not be the cause.
We all have certian animals we just cant have any luck with,no matter what we do or how hard we try.Could be that angels are just your UNlucky fish.

 

[ltljoker]

I agree with you there yote angels and tangs are my Unlucky fish no luck with either one of those species

 

[BigH55]

Yotes lucky animal is the mantis shrimp.

 

[yote]

Yotes lucky animal is the mantis shrimp.

Not no more:D I got a yellow coris wrasse that loves to hunt mantis:bounce:

 

[ltljoker]

good for u yote i got the red coris wrasse in my rock tank

 

[Bifferwine]

It could be the lava rock, but if the lava rock was leaching metals, that would have more of an effect on inverts, not fish. Are you able to keep inverts alive? It won't hurt to remove the lava rock. Keeping up with water changes will dilute out the bad stuff if they have been leaching metals.

 

[ltljoker]

unfortunately biff all the crabs that i have put in there are gone also that is why i think it might be the lava rock

 

[Navarchus]

This is going to seem crazy, but I would take the rock out of the tank.

 

[daugherty]

This is going to seem crazy, but I would take the rock out of the tank.

not crazy at all lava rock is full of heavy metals and other things that are really bad for our tanks

 

[ltljoker]

navaechus and daughtry i tend to agree with the both of u and plan on removing the rock immediately thanks for the advice gratly appreciated

 

[Bifferwine]

Good call -- take out the lava rock and bump up your water changes for the next few weeks to try to dilute whatever it is out.