Tank Disaster

[Tyler718]

I just got home from work to find that while I was gone my Tang, Perc Clown, and Green Chromis was dead at the bottom. I have a Red Fairy Wrasse and a Coral Beauty now in a hospital tank. They are acting lethorgic (sp?) and don't seem to happy. I'm not sure what went wrong. When I left this morning they were doing fine.

It's my first try at salt, so I'm still a newbie. It's a 60g FOWLR tank that has been up for about 5-6 months with no problems. I don't use no chemicals as buffers and such. I also use RO water. I tested the water and the readings were: Temp 76 degrees, Ph was 8.2, 0 Ammonia, 0 NitrItes, 10-20 ppm of NitrAtes, and salinity is 1.024. Is there anything else I should be testing for.


There is only two things that I can relate to this.

1. I added a 20g sump 2 days ago that I bought from a friend at a lfs. It was never used and washed in tap water before hooking it to the main tank. Right now it is running only with water in it.

2. I'm not sure if this is related or not, but a sea cucumber was dead also. I have read that when they die they can nuke the tank, but at the same time some people said that can't happen. Is this the possible cause. If so, what do I need to do to the tank and how do I treat the sole survivors?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[OrionGirl]

Some kinds of cucumbers can nuke a tank, especially if they were pestered. I'd start running carbon--any corals in there? They might be more resistant to the chemical warfare than fish. Sorry--such a bummer to lose your fish! I experienced a similar loss earlier this year--a regal tang, a lion fish, and a mandarin.

 

[Tyler718]

It was a Tiger Tail Cucumber that came with the package from TBS. There was no coral that I added, just what came on the rock.

I don't know who is more bummed. My Grandmother, the wife, or me. I have to lean toward to my grandmother. She is the one that I mainly came to the salty side for.

 

[OrionGirl]

Hmmm..tiger tails usually aren't toxic. With cukes, the saying is that the prettier it is, the more toxic it is.

Hmmm...Any other changes? Any temp spikes? All fish were eating and colored normally before? Did they all come from the same store?

 

[mogurnda]

Really sorry, Dave.

Sounds like some chemical catastrophe which seems to correlate with the addition of the sump, but I have no clue about the connection. If you added new saltwater when you hooked up the sump, maybe something came in with that? I know you use RO, but I'm reaching here.

Is it possible some household chemical could have blown into the tank or sump?

Another thought. If the cuke expelled its guts before it died, or released eggs, and the fish ate them, that could have made them sick.

 

[Tyler718]

These were the only two changes that I can think of. I did mix some SW to add to the sump. I mixed it in a 5g bucket that I use for fish only. Since I have small 3 kids, there is no telling if they got into it or not. Also, there could have been something in the sump that I couldn't wash out with plain water.

This morning before leaving for work I checked on my survivors. They were swimming around like nothing was ever the matter with them.

I'm thinking my plan of action now will be to do a major water change and run carbon for a couple of weeks. Then see what happens from there.