What is killing all my fish

[saltwaterliz]

Ok I have been on this site before and all my water is fine but something is killing everything in my tank. I am wondering If it could be a emerald crab or any type of crab we already had one hitch a ride to out house in the crevices of our live rock and my mom thinks there is another one. We also know that there are certain types of bristle worms and in the past we have removed a few bristle worms in the past that are a very very pale punk almost skin color but today I notice a long bristle worm with a dark purple back if you have any other things that could be killing them please let me know ASAP I only have 2 fish please tell me :(

 

[Big K]

I'm not sure Bristleworms would be killing off your fish at that rate, if ever. Same for Emerald crabs. They would eat a dead fish but not kill it unless the fish was really small.

For good info on Hitchikers check this out.

"all my water is fine" sounds like the problem. You may have a bad test kit. Do you use strips or test tubes?

We're really going to need more info on this one.

 

[Sakura2282]

+1 Big K I believe emerald crabs will only go for dead fish probably, not for live ones. You should take a close look to your tank to see if you can see a crab hiding in the crevices. I will move the rocks just to see if something comes out. Also, have you literally found the fish dead or they have just disappeared from the tank?

Please don't get me wrong, but what means you water is fine? What are the readings? It would help a lot if we can know the actual results of them.

 

[salt_for_brains]

+1 on listing your water parameters.

Also what were the fish that died and what fish do you have left?
Do you have any other inverts or corals in your tank? Is everything else acting and looking normal?

Some reefers avoid crabs altogether for fear of killing but I have never had an issue with emeralds. That's not to say you don't have a rogue one but I wouldn't think so. I have also never had an incident of a bristle worm taking down a living fish.

 

[saltwaterliz]

I i

I'm not sure Bristleworms would be killing off your fish at that rate, if ever. Same for Emerald crabs. They would eat a dead fish but not kill it unless the fish was really small.

For good info on Hitchikers check this out.

"all my water is fine" sounds like the problem. You may have a bad test kit. Do you use strips or test tubes?

We're really going to need more info on this one.

I am only a teenager I don't know how to test but we use tubes salt water fish kit marine by API

 

[saltwaterliz]

+1 on listing your water parameters.

Also what were the fish that died and what fish do you have left?
Do you have any other inverts or corals in your tank? Is everything else acting and looking normal?

Some reefers avoid crabs altogether for fear of killing but I have never had an issue with emeralds. That's not to say you don't have a rogue one but I wouldn't think so. I have also never had an incident of a bristle worm taking down a living fish.

I can't check the parameter tees when my dad wakes up I will but we use tube and we have 7 peices of live rock we have two clown fish we had a female line wrasse and a male the female harasses the male he died the femal recently died and I had a goby I have two peppermint shrimp I have a cleaner shrimp I had a chocolate chip starfish I had two blue green chromis no corals and I have at least 3 hermit crabs I have at least 2 bristles worms ( that I hate) we got out 4 of them out if the tank

+1 Big K I believe emerald crabs will only go for dead fish probably, not for live ones. You should take a close look to your tank to see if you can see a crab hiding in the crevices. I will move the rocks just to see if something comes out. Also, have you literally found the fish dead or they have just disappeared from the tank?

Please don't get me wrong, but what means you water is fine? What are the readings? It would help a lot if we can know the actual results of them.

we are going to take all the live rock out for two hours and see if any thing comes out that's what thefiah store told us to do I am just tired of all my fish dying :( :( :(

 

[Big K]

There shouldn't be anything in the rock killing the fish. It's pretty much gotta be something else.

 

[saltwaterliz]

But my questio

There shouldn't be anything in the rock killing the fish. It's pretty much gotta be something else.

But my question is what could be ? We have spent so much money it's like throwing money down the toilet ;) :(

 

[Sakura2282]

If your fish are just dying that means there's no predator in the tank. See if your Dad can test for Nitrates and Ammonia using the API test kit. Those are the first ones you need to test for. The Ammonia should be at 0 and your Nitrates should be at 0 too, if not, they shouldn't be over 40 ppm. 40 is a high number, but it won't kill your fish, water changes can help you take your nitrates down if they are the problem.

What's killing your fish could be something in the water that's out of balance. That's why we are asking for the parameters. So far, I understand you have only loss the wrasses. Am I right?

 

[bjohanson1234]

How long has the tank been set up?
How fast were the fish added?
How big is the tank?

Taking the LR out for two hours might kill anything beneficial that is growing on the rock. It might cause the tank to cycle again when the stuff on the rock starts to decay.

Speaking of which, how did you cycle the tank?

To me, it seems like you might be moving too fast and adding the fish too fast can create too much pressure on the bacteria to break down fish waste.

Also, bristle worms can be beneficial to the tank. They eat fish waste and left over food so it doesn't rot in the tank.

 

[Aquarian]

It could be and is likely your water.

If your ph is too low fish die
If you have ammonia fish die
If you have nitrite fish die slower
Nitrate can harm fish but it's less likely
If your salt mix is way to high or way to low your fish will die
Where are you getting your water? If it's from your sink you could be putting toxins in your tank.
If your water is too cold it can kill fish.
All of the above needs to be ruled out before you start looking at crabs and worms.

It's not hard to test your water, if you can read you can do it. You just have to try really hard not to drink the test solutions.:D:ROFLMAO:

 

[Big K]

But the colors are so tasty looking!

 

[saltwaterliz]

For everyone who has been asking for the "test tubes" here they are


( High range)Ph-7.9
(NH3/NH4+) Ammonia-0
(NO2-)Nitrate-0
NO3-)Nitrate-0
Temp- 78-80 degrees F.

 

[saltwaterliz]

For the 4th one is nitrites

 

[Kelz88]

what do you have in there for flow? Maybe the water isnt being moved around enough. How did the fish look before they died? Were they on the bottom gasping?

 

[Aquarian]

what do you have in there for flow? Maybe the water isnt being moved around enough. How did the fish look before they died? Were they on the bottom gasping?

Good point it could be lack of oxygen.

 

[saltwaterliz]

We have a like fan looking think that hooks to the side of the tank and yes the female flasher wrasse had one swollen eye and hid under everything the blue green chromis was at the top or bottom gasping for air.

 

[kbuser92]

I can proudly say I have ZERO bristleworms in my tank. Back when I had my 10, I got a diseased clown that shared its gonnaherpacyphalitis with my first clown and as she was dying, there were huge bristles trying to eat her. May be different since she was dying and these guys were also 4+"...well, after that, we were diligent about nightly hunts and sucking them out with a baster.

I agree though, that that's not likely the cause. The fact your chromis were gasping leads to oxygen deprivation and slow asphyxiation, but your female wrasse definitely had an injury. Were they all eating well up until they perished? Especially your wrasse? As for the female harassing your male, are you sure it wasn't the other way around?

 

[Big K]

Without significant turbulence on the water's surface you may not be getting enough oxygen into the water.

Good call, Kelz!

 

[saltwaterliz]

I can proudly say I have ZERO bristleworms in my tank. Back when I had my 10, I got a diseased clown that shared its gonnaherpacyphalitis with my first clown and as she was dying, there were huge bristles trying to eat her. May be different since she was dying and these guys were also 4+"...well, after that, we were diligent about nightly hunts and sucking them out with a baster.

I agree though, that that's not likely the cause. The fact your chromis were gasping leads to oxygen deprivation and slow asphyxiation, but your female wrasse definitely had an injury. Were they all eating well up until they perished? Especially your wrasse? As for the female harassing your male, are you sure it wasn't the other way around?

We'll the other ones ate just not the green chromis the thug is I had 2 chromis but one died the same way so idk if I should just not get chromis any more or what.