PLEASE HELP asap

[Fishgirl]

ok i have something very very wrong with my tank last night just ich today one dead fish that looked perfectly fine last night. i did a small water change last night this morning everyone is breathing super fast and my blu tang is very pale i am wondering if i put them into a 5 gál pail of fresh new salt water with heater and filter will that be ok till i get home from work tonight ? please need to know asap it would be blue tang singapore angel majestic angel in pail all about 2-3in in size i want to save them

[Coleus]

sorry please give us more information like water parameters, fish appearance (are you sure it is ich and not marine velvet) to help you.

Put them in a fresh new salt water would isolate them from your old water but if they are very sick from desease, they need treatment else they will die.

[globaldesigns]

Jenn,

Give me a call on my cell (403) 919-3442

We can discuss things, I can hopefully help.

Rick

[monocus]

it is possible they are using up their o2-try putting an air stone in with light bubbles

[naesco]

ok i have something very very wrong with my tank last night just ich today one dead fish that looked perfectly fine last night. i did a small water change last night this morning everyone is breathing super fast and my blu tang is very pale i am wondering if i put them into a 5 gál pail of fresh new salt water with heater and filter will that be ok till i get home from work tonight ? please need to know asap it would be blue tang singapore angel majestic angel in pail all about 2-3in in size i want to save them

What is the size of your tank? When did you add your angels and tang?
How long has it been since your tank cycled?
Do you have a reading on ammonia.?
Have you double checked your salinity and temperature?

Place a bubbler which will add more oxygen in the tank or place a powerhead near the top.
Close the lights to reduce stress.

[Fishgirl]

I added my angels just a couple of days ago, My tang over a year ago my tank has been up and running no problems for 4yrs. I don't have any ammonia I have checked the salinity and temp. there holding fine. I have a powerhead with lots of flow at the top of the tank and lights are off. Its really strange.

What is the size of your tank? When did you add your angels and tang?
How long has it been since your tank cycled?
Do you have a reading on ammonia.?
Have you double checked your salinity and temperature?

Place a bubbler which will add more oxygen in the tank or place a powerhead near the top.
Close the lights to reduce stress.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Definately add a bubbler, the fish may also be breathing heavily if tge parasite is in the gills.

freshwater dip wouldn't hurt.

regardless of tank size check for ammonia also, heavy breathing is also a side effect of ammonia burns.

Ken - BWA

[fishoholic]

Marine velvet starts off looking like ich but with the fish breathing heavy. Velvet kills fish pretty fast and it's usually to late to save them by the time you realize what it is. Freshwater dips help and copper treatment in a QT gets rid of the velvet. If it is velvet, you have to QT and treat all the fish with a copper treatment and leave the display tank fish free for 8 weeks.

I have a link in my signature about my expirence with velvet, and I found this link http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/sp/feature/index.php very helpful.

[Fishgirl]

How is a freshwater dib done properly I have never done one? isn't it very stressful to catch the fish and dip it in freshwater?

[Chase31]

not totaly sure but you take RO water and fill up a bucket and get it to the proper temp. then put them in the water for about 30 secs to 1 min, not sure about this i thinks its longer but i dont want to lead you astray

[Bloodasp]

I do it for 5 mins now for any fish I add. It's stressful for them but so would treating them with anything too.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

not totaly sure but you take RO water and fill up a bucket and get it to the proper temp. then put them in the water for about 30 secs to 1 min, not sure about this i thinks its longer but i dont want to lead you astray

You can also add an ammonia remover additive.

I usually dip my fish for up to 15 mins, or unless they are showing signs of stress or laying on their sides.

Ken - BWA

[Fishgirl]

ok this may sound silly but what is RO water? and how do I get it? can you use reg. tap water and just declorinated it? if so can they really live in fresh water for longer then 5mins?

[Chase31]

reverse osmosis, it gets rid of everything, chlorine, phosphates, makes the TDS (total dissolved solids) 0 but conditioned tap water will work fine and yes they can live 15 mins. just take them out if they start gasping

[Fishgirl]

Ok I did this kept them in for 5 mins Blue tang was ok, swimming around the whole 5mins but as soon as I put him back into the saltwater wow it swam to the bottom of the tank fall on its side, breathing very heavely and I don't think its going to live. :(

[RIPTANK]

Hey Jenn, did you check your pH? If your pH is low this can stress the hek out of them as well. I ran into a problem with pH a couple months back and every fish died...

Whatever you do don't put them into pails. It will only make things worst by stressing them out and thus causing more ick. Did the emperor die?

[Fishgirl]

Ok so I get home from work I had put them in the pail, everyone was alive and happy swimming in the pail when I got home. So I take some water into golds to have it tested ammona is fine no traces, Nitrite is fine nothing, everything is good. So I tell them the story of how it started off with ICH and then how everyone was breathing every so heavely yesterday morning and the fish that looked totally fine died.... SO I tell him how I had this new little ananome and it wouldn't open up and he said AAHHHHH that is the problem its leached its toxin into the tank cause it was stressed! so I come home do a 50% waterchange on the tank, put TONS of carbon in the filter and put all the fish back into the tank (no ananome) I had taken it out that morning with the fish, so just the fish go back in. OK well everyone except the blue tang cause of the freshwater dip I did looks good. SO I clean up everything thinking ok well that is good everything is going ok now. OK here is where it gets bad again, not even 2hrs later I look into the tank and OMG everyone is at the surfice breathing rappily again! I'm like What the Hell is going on here! so again I know I shouldn't have done this but went into panick mode, and made a new fresh saltwater pail and netted them all put htem in the pail and OH I expected them to all be dead this morning NOPE there all swimming around! even the blue tang... SO what the hell is going on. I have 30 pounds of live rock and nothing on it seems to be affected I don't have corals but like all the living little things on it are alive, like little tiny shrimps, feather dusters etc. even my porclin crab is fine in the tank. Its a 33gal been up and running for 4years no problem, I have a aqua clear 50 filter on it with just carbon, I have 2 aquaclear powerheads for water circulation and movement. I have the heat at 80 degrees. I have a UV starilizer on it, what the hell is going on oh yeah and about 30 pounds of LR 20 of which is new I got from a really nice Canreefer here. I am so totally lost on this :( and I don't know what the hell to do, if I put them back into the tank are they going to die I know they won't make it if I keep moving them that is stressful enough on them. I am trying everything I can to not loose anymore.

ok i have something very very wrong with my tank last night just ich today one dead fish that looked perfectly fine last night. i did a small water change last night this morning everyone is breathing super fast and my blu tang is very pale i am wondering if i put them into a 5 gál pail of fresh new salt water with heater and filter will that be ok till i get home from work tonight ? please need to know asap it would be blue tang singapore angel majestic angel in pail all about 2-3in in size i want to save them

[Coleus]

The way you describe just make me think some kind of parasite is attacking your fish rather your water quality because your feather dust, tiny shrimp are still doing ok. Any unusual appearance on your fish beside rapid breathing?

[Fishgirl]

no its strange, but I took my fish into Gold's he is going to look after them for a few days, treat the ICH for me, He said its the toxins from the ananome. So just to load up on carbon do another water change and let the carbon filter the heck out of the tank. SO picked up some cheep damsels to be my ginny pigs and see if my tank is better by monday

[RIPTANK]

The hang on aquar clear 50 isn't sufficient enough to remove waste for marine fish and live rocks in the tank and that's why you're seeing the ammonia. You need to get a good canister filter or a protein skimmer.

[DiverDude]

The hang on aquar clear 50 isn't sufficient enough to remove waste for marine fish and live rocks in the tank and that's why you're seeing the ammonia. You need to get a good canister filter or a protein skimmer.

I'd tend to agree with this statement -but she tested for amonia (and had Gold's test for it too) and had none. Also, despite what we might think, if she's had the tank up and running for 4 years, it must be working !!

[RIPTANK]

If there's none then why is there an ammonia problem? The system is overloaded and needs better filtering. She's had the tank running for 4 years but just recently introduced 30 pounds or so of live rocks and a couple angelfish into a temporary 33 gal. tank. This will clearly make the system unbalanced in such a short period of time. Gold's should know this and strongly recommend better filtering. I was in there not long ago looking for a small queen angel and was told that a 90 gallon was insufficient and to have strong filtering.

[Fishgirl]

This is absolutly NO ammonia in this tank I had Denis at Gold test it, and the water is perfectly fine as far as ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate go. There is NO TRACES of any of that in there.


The hang on aquar clear 50 isn't sufficient enough to remove waste for marine fish and live rocks in the tank and that's why you're seeing the ammonia. You need to get a good canister filter or a protein skimmer.

[Fishgirl]

This tank has been up and running for over 4yrs with that filter and never a problem. And NO there is NO ammonia or ANYTHING they could find in the water. IT was due to a stressed out ananome that decided to release her toxin into the tank I have taken her out, did massive waterchanges, carboned the hell out of tank and Denis is taking care of my fish until this problem is solved. But yes this filter may be small but it has run like this for a long time and I didn't add 30lbs of new LR it was 15lbs new LR I already had 15lbs of older LR from 4yrs ago in there;)

I'd tend to agree with this statement -but she tested for amonia (and had Gold's test for it too) and had none. Also, despite what we might think, if she's had the tank up and running for 4 years, it must be working !!

[RIPTANK]

Sorry my bad... I misread some of the posts. My sincere apologies.

[bvlester]

you could have some thing leaching out of the Live rock you just got and that could be doing this. you could have a dead critter in the new live rock you don't know about. A cuce that is nuking your tank Inverts can be resistant to many things in a tank and will withstand many pets and toxins. Some cleaner got into the tank by accident on the air currents that is why you don't use sprays near a salt water tank. Many salt water critters release toxins in defense of fish so as I said it could be a critter that is dieing that is releasing its toxin or just died. get some Tonga snails they will let you know if some thing is dead or dieing they will go straight for it if they can get at it they will clean it up.

[spaceweazal]

Have you figured out what happened for sure with your tank and any success in getting back to where your fish can live happily in your tank again. I hope you didn't lose to much.

[Fishgirl]

Hey yes I have figured it all out and all is good I think, right now my fish are Gold's till friday just to make sure, I bought some damsels last saturday and they are doing very well. It was all due to a lovely ananome I had in the tank which was dying. i didn't realize they were toxic SO won't be getting anymore more of those guys in the future. I went to gold's yesterday and had a look at my fish all are alive and doing very very well. Out of all this ordeal I lost one fish. And everyone else is good, I have a nice 125gal tank I'm in the process of setting up, so everyone will be MUCH happier sooner then later.