My fish died..

[mackenzieam]

.... and I'm not sure why. He was a bicolor angel named Bob. He was in my tank for 9 days total. The two clownfish that I put in at the same time are doing just fine and are as happy as can be. I think maybe he got really stressed out because I was having problems with my heater. One day I came home and it was 85 and then I turned it down and two days later the temp dropped to 70. Before the temp spike he was doing great. He was eating the algae off the rocks, swimming around, doing just fine. Then on Saturday he was hiding in the cave all day and woldn't even eat the special food that I bought just for him.
I tested the water and everything is fine.
Amm: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 10
PH: 8.2
Sal: 1.021 to 1.022

Anyone have any thoughts as to why Bob died other than the temperature stressing him??

[Almondsaz]

Mackenzie: I would think you need to address your salinity. I typically keep my reef tank at 1.025 - that isn't the cause of death. I would think that the temp flux is a major contributor. Most fish handle a 2 degree swing and the 15 degree is a bit extreme. It culd also be a combination of things, but angels are usally more sensitive than the clownfishyou have. Any pics of the tank to show the setup?

What kind of flow do you have in the tank and what kind of filtration?

[mackenzieam]

OH, I am at work right now so I dont' have pictures or all of the specific models of what is on the tank. I can add specifics later tonight, but here is a general idea of what I've got going on.

The tank is a 65gal Hexagon shape.
-Canister Filter - I believe it is a Marineland 250
-Protien Skimmer - coralife super skimmer
-Powerhead - husband bought it so i'm not sure what it is - i will look later
-air pump - yes i know this is not necessary - (the husband likes to have his sunken submarine in there - he works on submarines)

That's all for the flow - I've also got the thermometer and heater on there.

Also - it is a FO tank. Unfortunately no LR. In case that is important info.

[Almondsaz]

For your canister filter...what are it's contents. What are you using for filtration media?

[Andrew_Murphy]

I wouldn't fret too much, seeing you only had him for nine days he could have had prior health problems that you did not know about and the temperature swing just did him in. Do you know why the temp dropped so sharply?

[mackenzieam]

The canister filter only has the sleeve on it. No other contents.

Andrew, the temp dropped because I turned down the heater since it had heated the water up to 85 degrees the day before. It is a really bad heater and I am looking for a new one.

[Andrew_Murphy]

Oh that stinks. If you go for a new heater invest in two STEALTH's

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12060

It's always good to have two heaters just in case one fails.

[RiVerfishgirl]

I'm guessing temperature was a huge contribitor.

He was only in your tank for 9 days so basically he want from the stress of being caught, put in a new enviroment, shipped, put in another enviroment and then moved once again (probably with some temperature fluctuation in there also), and then into a tank where the temperature went from one extreme to another.

[vorlx]

A huge temperature fluctuation could definately cause problems with stress. Clowns are generally pretty hardy fish.

[saltydunc]

i would agree it was probably the temp.....i would reccomend buying 2 quality heaters.

[Grins]

In addition, it could just be that BiColor Angels are notoriously difficult to keep alive in aquariums.

[boggs]

Stumbled on some good info here. Two heaters sounds like a great idea. And I can cross bicolor angles off the stocking list.