Argh

[Makaiveli]

In the last week I've had 1 Coral Banded Shrimp die, 1 Cardinal fish, 1 Firefish, the hermit crab population seems to be on a sudden decline, the Royal Gramma is nowhere to be found, and the Clownfish still has ich.

Lord, why?

PH - 8.3
Alk - good
salinity - 1.025
nitrate - 0
free amonia - 0

The tank has been on a Kent RxP treatment for 7 days in response to ich showing up 9 days ago.

Lord why?!?!?! :sad

 

[Makaiveli]

-

Twice in the last 2 days the sand was disturbed and ALOT of debri and particles murked the water. Could this be cause in the sudden fish deaths?

They've begun breathing hard.

 

[Guy W]

if it's a deep sand bed that has been setup for a long time it could have released... shoot i can't remember the name now, nitrogen maybe... anyway, whatever it is that i can't recall at 3:30 am, that can happen and it's not good.

does the tank smell like rotten eggs? that is a dead give away if that is happening.

 

[MonoSebaelover]

I did that once (disturb the sandbed-and it didn't release anaerobic bacteria but it did release tons of spores of disease into the water and I got all kinds of nasty parasite infections. I will NEVER do that again. Anaerobic bacteria is the stuff that will smell like rotten eggs because it is anaerobic which means without oxygen and that stuff is nasty. Oh and btw, that Kent RxP is NOT reef safe. If you read it says it should only be used by experts in reef situations. If you are overdosing that could be killing them all but definitely stirring the sand bed will.

 

[gbolton]

Kent RxP is reef safe. I have a thread on here detailing use in a reef situation. The key is not to add it quickly. I have succesfully treated ich with it in a reef setup with many inverts.

 

[mogurnda]

Well, there is something seriously wrong with the system. Few diseases will kill fish and inverts together.

1. If you smell rotten eggs, that would be hydrogen sulfide from anaerobic processes in the sandbed. Very poisonous. But it would probably kill quickly, rather than one at a time.

2. RxP overdose. I have no idea what's in that stuff, but any drug is a poison at the right dose.

3. Some parameter is way off. Have you ever had your hydrometer calibrated? The floating needle kind can be off by quite a bit, so it may be worth having it checked at the LFS.

 

[M-pire]

What about tank temperature? Could your heater have broken and it is too hot/cold? Well, you probablly would have noticed when working on the tank, so nvm. Only thing I could think of that wasn't mentioned.

 

[gbolton]

What are you using to measure the RxP? I just checked my cap which is suppose to be 10ml according to bottle and it is acutally a little over 12.5ml wich is 25% overdose. I have been measuring usinging a medical syringe. Maybe this is the problem?

 

[Makaiveli]

Whoa

Yeah I've been using the RxP cap for measuring...I will tone that down, thanks!

The temp & salinity is measured with a bobbing hydrometer, both test good.

The tank has been up for around 3-4 months.

It doesn't smell of rotten eggs.

Oh crap, I had no idea disturbing the sand was such a dangerous move!!!!!! I think that's what caused the aqua breakdown. We rearranged over the weekend, and ALOT of sandbed crap murked up the water. It was difficult to see through. Not only that, but I've been using the MagFloat rather roughly, which would cause alot of sandbed disruption. GEEZ! It's 3-4 inches deep, maybe 5 in some areas.

now the ich which WAS receeding is back x10.

The royal gramma might not make it!!! Argh!

Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.
Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.
Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.
Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.
Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.
Do not disturb the sandbed. Do not disturb the sandbed.

 

[Guy W]

If I'm not mistaken though, a major disruption of the sand bed is really only dangerous if it has been setup a long time. A 6 or 12 month old sandbed shouldn't cause to many problems, but a 3 or 4 year old deep sand bed could.

could be wrong on that though.