Humu Humu is dying

[rbell219]

I think---he's been acting strange today and now he's retreated to the lowest point he could find---in a very tight space. PH is 8.2-8.3, SG is 1.021, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates are 40ppm, but this is down from off the charts 4 weeks ago. I inherited the tank with Fish and am nursing it back to optimal.

The only change in the last 24 hrs is this: I bought a new themometer on a whim and it read 84 while the old one read 80. Fans over the top dropped the temp to 79 over the course of 24 hours.

The lawnmower blenny is a little dark in color but acting normal---everyone else is happy as can be.

The Humu Humu ate tonight, but not his normal tear it up way----Any ideas?

[rbell219]

He stayed in the same spot all night. He's still breathing--that's about it. Any advice is welcome.

[dsbrasw]

I'm just guessing here, but what if the new thermometer is wrong? A five degree drop in 24 hours may have been too much especially if the end result is too cool. If the fish seemed happy at the higher temperature, why not shoot for a happy medium and see if they perk up a little. Try letting the tank warm up about 2 degrees over the next few hours.

[rbell219]

It's stable at 80 now--i took the aquaclear 70 power head out and put another penguin 550 in--less power but less heat too. I would point straight to the temp change as well if all the other fish weren't perfectly fine. I didn't think it would drop so fast--i also figured 6 degrees warmer than the recommended high would be more stressful than a drop.
Another thing I didn't mention in the original post---at dinner time last night he would suck up some sand and swish it around in his mouth, then spit it out---could this be some gill parasite or something?---anyone?

[MonoSebaelover]

This kind of goes with the old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The tank was apparently (from what you have said) doing fine at the higher temp and a 5 degree drop is A LOT in a 24 hour period. That can cause a huge stress. Especially since fish like the Huma like it hotter, they are commonly found in Hawaiian waters and those close to the Equater so the water is WARM! Zebra Moray Eels (a Hawaii and Mexico native)does best at higher temps such as 84-86. Warm is not always bad, you just have to have enough oxygen going into the system to keep that stabilized. I wouldn't have taken out the higher power head, they don't produce that much heat. What size tank are we talking and what are the other tankmates?
Spitting is a very normal behaviour in triggers. They do that to find prey. For now I would try adding extra Stress Coat/NovAqua whatever you use as a conditioner as the fish are obviously highly stressed. Also try stick feeding the Humu fresh (raw) shrimp from the grocery store, that is one meal they can't resist and will probably make him feel better getting more protein in him. Anyway hope this helps and good luck.

[rbell219]

Tank specs and tankmates are in the link in my signature.

Turns out my PH test kit is bad----it's low along with DKH---and my SG meter reads low--turns out it is 1.024. Powder tests show small small small Ammonia, a little nitrite and only 10 ppm nitrate.
Soooooo i found the result of the problem, am looking for the problem itself, and Mr. Humu is still alive, so let's just hope I caught something starting to go wrong and fix it in time---

Wish me luck..........

[MonoSebaelover]

Do you still have the Undulated in with the Huma? If so that will be causing the Huma some stress too. Before long you will end up with just an Undulated in there, them along with the Titan and Queens are probably the top 3 most aggressive triggers.
Your sg at 1.024 isn't low, it is right where it should be. With all the live rock and substrate the pH shouldn't be low either, what are the values of the readings? Glad you found out why you just need to find out why there is ammonia and nitrite in an established tank! Hope this helps and good luck!

[rbell219]

My salinity meter reads 1.021, but the LFS has one of those that looks like a scope - a real one ya know - it reads it at 1.024---my bad on the vagueness there.
a little history---i inherited the tank and when we moved it I discovered bad neglect. The substrate was mostly large gravel with sand covering it....it was filled with waste. The little water that was left when we took it down turned brown brown--can't see through it brown. I had nothing to keep the fish in so we cleaned what we could--got the gravel out, let the water clear to cloudy and put the fish in. So established yes, cared for no, completely uprroted and disturbed and thrown out of any whack that it was in---yes, yes, yes.

[rbell219]

Water parameters are looking great. PH-8.4, Nitrate-5, Nitrite-0, Ammonia-less than 0.25. Temp swings from 78 - 80 over 24 hours. The Humu is still in his hiding place, but his colors look fine and he is breathing normal. His eyes follow me when I'm looking at him. Wish me luck people--I hope he makes it.

[rightnow]

When you dod the water change how much water did you change, in the beginning? Have you treated him with any meds? Maybe you could think about Quarintining him and treat him that way. I dont know if trying to catch him would create to much un wanted stressed or not but it might be something to thimk about. Go to wetwebmedia.com and ask then they are Marine Experts!
Good Luck

[rbell219]

The first water change I did was about 40%. I tested the water again this morning and it looks good...ammonia is zero, nitrite is zero and nitrates are at 10......He's half way out of his hiding hole too.

I haven't treated him with anything---other than not swimming around he has no symptoms of anything and I don't like using meds unless absolutely necessary. His color looks good and he breathes normal. I have my fingers crossed, but I think he's coming out of his slump.

[rbell219]

Bad news...bad news. He died today. Everyone else is fine and the water is near perfect. Tragedy none the less----tragedy.