fish died

[steve fedyk]

My green mandarin died and I can't find his in the tank. Did he release a possion when he died, Because My fish and coarls look stressed. Two of them have ick and my powder blue died too. I tested my water and all the readings are good. NH4 are 0 and NO2 is 0.

[globaldesigns]

I would test your ammonia, if your fish did die and he is still in there, this would create an ammonia spike which would kill your fish.

Not sure if this is your problem, but you should check.

[Pier Pressure]

If one mandarin died in a 120 gallon tank I doubt it would cause a big spike, especially if you have a good cleanup crew in there. I would keep monitoring the water, though.

Did you have the mandarin very long? I had one die on me - for no good reason - about a week after I got him from a fish store. He was still fat so I know he did not starve to death. I think they are very delicate fish.

[WhoPoopWrasse]

Chances are if you have a 120 g tank you won't get an ammonia spike unless you don't have a cleanup crew. The ick is a completely different issue, it was already there in the tank before your mandarin died. Sorry about your loss, was he sick to begin with because he should have found plenty to eat unless it was a very new tank.

[tablesalt]

Did you notice any signs of ick on the other fish before you actually found the fish dead? How long did you have the mandarin for, and was it eating prepared foods?

You will have to set up a quarantine tank and leave your diplay tank fishless for awhile to make sure all of the ick is gone. Powder blue tangs are known to be very susseptable to ick, and it is very likely that it was the culprit of bringing the ick into your system. The best thing to do is to quarantine your fish before you put them into your tank.