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fish dying quickly.

25 9:36:02

Question
I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank. We have more than enough live rock. and at the time we had 9 fish. All have been eating and none have had ich. I woke up yesterday to one of my fish died in the tank (he was orange with a large blue spot, I don't remember the kind) I took him out as soon as I noticed. Then this morning at 4am I watched the fish and they were all fine nothing out of the ordinary. because I knew i would be gone most of the day i fed the fish at 630am and when i happen to run in at 930 (only for a sec) one of my fish that was fine was now dead. (black clown). then sometime after that by 3:30pm my minus blenny(spelling?) had died too. One of my anetimies died, but I think that was because it was sucked into the power head. and we can't find our angel fish...any ideas or questions that i could figure out why my fish are dying so quickly?? We had fish that we had ordered come in and die eventually, but that was a couple of weeks ago...so I'm confused and those were shipped in and either didn't eat or had ich right after the trip so i figured that's why they died?? maybe its related? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Morgen.

Answer
Hey Morgen,
Did the anemone die before the fish? When an anemone dies it can create an extremely toxic environment if not removed quickly. They release toxins capable of wiping out a community. It may also be possible that something was brought in with the new fish(bacterial or fungal infection, parasites) you ordered. Were they quarantined before putting them in your main aquarium? With the information at hand these are my best guesses. Test your water quality, make sure that ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph are at good levels. Have you done a water change since any of the deaths? If not I would do at least a 50% water change. If you dont have a quarantine tank set up I would get one. A small 10 or 15 gallon usually works. No substrate, no rock, just artificial decoration(smooth finish) for a hiding spot(3 inch diameter pvc joints or tube works well and is inexpensive). All new additions should be kept separate and watched before introduction to a main system. That way nothing is introduced into the community. You can watch for any problems that may be present but not visible yet. A minimum of a week, but youre better to quarantine for 2 or more weeks. Sorry for your losses. It's very disheartening to lose 1 fish let alone several. I wish I could be more specific and give you a definite answer but you have several variables and not much technical information. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions or more information. Be glad to help.