The Dreaded Crash...Maybe?
 

So, I come home today and my Longnosed Butterflyfish and Rusty Angelfish are dead. Both Tomato Clowns are covered in ick. Inverts seem fine, as do corals. Nothing has changed (haven't added anything new, changed anything, or done any water changes recently, only top-off water). Ideas? I can't do anything now, like test parameters, as I'm headed out to a family dinner.

Boo-urns. :cry:

Aw man, I'm sorry. :( Off the top of my head ... temperature swing? Power failure?

ohh god, I hope not

Have the clowns ever displayed ich symptoms before? I'm thinking that a sudden population explosion of the ich might have been responsible. (Although...I'm still clinging to the hope that ich doesn't kill otherwise healthy fish...)

Hands clean when you last messed with the tank?

I'm sure we have all heard the story of the guy who filled his car with petrol and then went home and did a water change. If not I'm sure you can guess how it ends.

Sorry for your losses, I hope you can save something.

I haven't noticed any temperature swings or power failures. The thing that confuses me now is that all the corals seem to be doing even better than before. Noticeably better polyp extension on my SPS and a REALLY dramatic increase in LPS extension.

The clownfish have never had ich since I've had them (about a year), and now they're covered (especially the female). The other two fish that died were happy as can be, eating like pigs, and active just last night.

If something were seriously amiss with water quality, don't you think the acropora and the other corals would show signs as well?

Wow sorry to hear that.

funny that the corals seem to be doing great. only thing i can think of is a rise in salanity. i once grabbed the wrong bucket when doing a small top off and only raised .002 but my corals loved it and i lost half my fish in the the 16 hours it took me to realize what i had done. one being a rusty angel i thought was quite hearty up til then. great fish aswell.

i had the same problem last winter, never did figure out why though so ill tag along and possibly figure it out. hope for your sake some thing gets salvaged, i lost all the fish in my system

Burning scented candles? Heard that is a mistake.

I am finding out that particles of anything in the air has an affect on your water. I have noticed that if I feed a tank, fish can smell the food from different water columns through out the store 20 + feet away. They also are affected I found, when I used cleaners on the floor, I found fish were hiding and breathing rapidly. Drew I am just throwing this out (in the air per se) to see if you have purchased new air fresheners or maybe burnt some toast at breakfast??? Sorry though to hear of your loses if there is anything I can help with let me know.
Kevin

I have burned some candles....but I have before, with no adverse effects. Weird if that's it. I can't think of anything else myself. Nothing changed...no change in routine, additives, food, temp, etc.

Huh.

Thanks for the problem solving so far....I just hope the Tomato Clowns pull through!

I smoke in my house and in turn burn candles to help with th smell, I have been wondering if my fish are getting the second hand smoke or not. I am quitting again..... in the new year I wonder if the fish will go through withdrawls?

http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/tds16.jpg

http://www.thumbtackpress.com/browse...felder0004.jpg

LOL 1 patch for me 1 patch for the tank.

Coincidentally I had been trying in vain to give up my last 3 cigs a day for over 2 years. When I asked my lovely wife if I could setup a reef tank she said sure but one condition.. "NO MORE SMOKING!" That did it, smoke free and salt soaked since August. :razz:

Good for you, keep at it!! I think this is like the 10th time i will be trying :cry: hopefully the last time fingers crossed

Sorry to thread-jack.. If you haven't already try the Nicorette inhaler that you can suck nicotine in like a smoke. It doesn't taste like a DuMaurier and it just kinda made me nauseous but it sure killed any wish for a smoke. :redface:

Sure seems odd, I hope your clowns pull though.

This hobby is a heart breaker, man. Sorry to hear all the bad news.. I hope your clowns pull through..

And on a side note (sorry to hijack) those Nicorette Inhaler's work... until you have a beer, or a coffee, or this, or that.. you see where I'm going. Easy to break the addiction but not the habit!

Ugh. Total Mortality. The two clownfish were dead this morning. Time to let this system go fallow, I guess.

Terrible news man, I'm sorry.

Oh man that's horrible! Scary how quickly things go wrong. My condolences.

sorry to hear that Drew...Any clues as to what caused it yet?

Thanks guys.

Still no ideas. Nitrates were low, Ph stable, salinity, temperature....all stable. No nitrites or ammonia. Corals continue to thrive, including SPS. But before the clownfish died, they were absolutely covered in what looked like ich (though I don't know if it actually was ich, as I've never had it in my system before now). I actually think whatever they had eventually blinded them...was difficult to watch. Unfortunately, I didn't have the equipment/time to set up a hospital tank for them in time. *sigh*

Sorry to hear that :sad:

So sorry Drew! Rotten Christmas present.:cry:

That sux Drew... hope the rest of your tank is ok though. :sad: