dwarf lion fish dead no idea cause of death

Question

dead fish 10 sec after  
dead fish body 10 sec   QUESTION: First off thank you for your availability and experise.

I'll fill you in as much as possible and see if you can help me figure out what happened to my tank. So about a week ago I bought what seemed like a happy healthy dwarf lion fish. I had the gentlemen at the fish store drop food in the tank so I could see if the fish was alive and animated. As the fish was dropped in he instantly swam up and ate him. The store was feeding them goldfish. So I bought that fish and took him home acclimated him perfectly as soon as i got home.He seemed to be happy and instantly mobbed around the tank and explored and found a hiding place. He seemed very healthy and happy. He was very shy would hide all day and become active at night. Posting up on rocks and swimming around freely. I got him Monday tried feeding him that Thursday with a few guppies and some frozen krill with no luck. Tried again Friday and he ate about 10 very small guppies. I did a 5 gallon water change the next day. Put in some alkalinity for a few of my corals. Standard after any water change I do. Sunday night I came home tank was around 82 degrees and he seemed happy and was swimming freely. The next morning (Monday) I woke up and he was on the bottom upside down.It looked like his spikes or fins on top have been ripped or torn and were missing. Almost like there was nothing covering his spines just the spines themselves were showing. There was a little pale/scaly spot on a little part of his body near where his top spines were. It was very minimal and on both sides. He looked like he was having trouble breathing and his gills looked swollen as he layed on the bottom of my tank monday morning. His mouth open grasping for air. He took a few deep breathes twitched a few times and was upside down dead on the bottom of the tank. Eyes didn't look cloudy. I took a picture of his dead body to show.
This is all within one week.

I need to know what happens so I dont harm any more of these beautiful creatures for I only want lion fish.

Previously to feeding him Saturday I got my water tested at the fish store and they said my water was perfect. All nitarte levels, ammonia, salt and etc. were perfect. I have a 55 gal salt with tons of live rock a few soft corals a little pseudo and a coral banded that I de-clawed so he wouldn't hurt my lion. Paeudo and coral bandit were in tabk previously before lion fish. I have a API filstar 75 gal filtration
system with bio stars with bio chem absorb. Everything else in my tank is doing well and thriving. The tank has been established for about 2 years now and never has had any problem.

I have only feed him once and I got feeder fish (small guppies). I tried frozen krill but no interest. I tried that a few times before the gubbies. i would always take out food he didnt eat. never let it stay in take.

I really want to know what happened so I don't make the same mistake twice.   Going to get my water tested again today (9-10-12) the day he died. I only have a fish tank for this fish. All my friends have been doing Fish tanks for years and a few work at fish stores so I know some maintenance and fish care. This is the first fish I have bought.  I am bummed and completely stumped by how he could look healthy and happy and then be dead the next morning. I have pictures of the dead body  if that helps.

Please get back to me with any advice. I really want to get this figured out. My tank runs around 79-81 degrees normally.

Thank you so much for your time, hopefully you can help

Shane mccarthy

ANSWER: First off Shane, thank you for the extensive amount of info in your question, it really helps me solve the question. if everyone asked questions like this i would be able to be a lot more help.

Feeding freshwater fish to a saltwater fish as live feeder fish is a huge mistake, often times you find better food at the seafood section of the local supermarket. freshwater feeder fish, especially goldfish don't have the required nutrients to keep a lion thriving.  

also please never De-claw a coral banded shrimp, you should not be worried about the lion there's no way a CBS could eat one. He may try to catch the pseudo however. but De clawing will severely stress and possibly kill the shrimp. inverts are very delicate creatures.

next, i would invest in your own test kit, you can never really trust petco to accurately test your water. and you need to test water often anyways so it would be a hassle to drive to the lfs whenever you need it tested.

the cause of death of your lion could have been anything, it could very possibly have been poor acclimation procedure. or he could have had a parasite at the store that wasn't pronounced because they keep their salinity several ppm's lower than average.

for the heavy bio load of a predator tank i would highly suggest getting a wet dry filter/sump, they are very necessary for most reef tanks and filter so much better. also gives you the extra water volume and if you have a problem fish you have a place to put him!

also i cannot quite tell from the picture but that does not look like a dwarf lion, which would be the only ones able to be housed in a 55 gallon tank. larger lions need at least a 80-90 gallon tank when they are full grown.

hope that helps!

Marcus.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for getting back to me so promptly. First off I didn't De claw him I tried to catch him to move him into a different tank and in the net they got pulled off some how. I went to a different very good fish store and got my water tested yesterday.  My ph was low as well my nitrates were a little high and salinity was a little low. The other fish store I went to was telling me my water was perfect. For a dwarf lion what do you suggest feeding him and how often, what temp do they thrive in, how many hours of light do they like. what fish are bad to have with him. I need to know  more about general  care for dwarf lion fish before I get another one. I have decided to upgrade my filtration system to te xp 4 which is for 275 gallons and also decided to purchase a high quality protein skimmer. My goal is to have a reef with corals a lion and possibly a purple tang trigger fish or angler fish. I really want to focus the tank around the lion and corals. Any other advice or suggestions could you give me. Thank you again so much for your time and expertise.

Shane McCarthy

Answer
Shane,

None of those fish will fit in your tank. most tangs need at least 75 gallon tanks. triggers at least 90, and most anglers will need larger tanks as well.  alot of times it is very hard to keep a predator tank without any aggression. however as long as you dont keep more than one species of fish in the same tank you should be fine. as having two of the same species requires careful introduction.

as for the lions, they are not hard to care for really. feed them clam, or squid from the seafood section at the market. feed every other day or so. as for tank mates just dont get something that will fit inside its mouth. lighting really doesnt matter you should base your lighting schedule on your corals really.

hope that helps.

Marcus