Copper panic... A timely lesson in the value of testing     3/17/20
Hello WWM Crew,
I've been a long time follower of this great site of yours, learned so much. And as always many thanks. I'm in a panic and I've read some FAQ about my problem but would like some reassurance. Yesterday I did my usual weekly maintenance, vacuum the sand, change filter media, floss, add a new PolyFilter in first chamber of sump after the skimmer, clean the previous PolyFilter and place it in the last chamber of sump. Then I do my water change about 22g for my 150g tank. I get home tonight and do my usual check to find my polyfilters have turned blue.
<? Interesting...>
I know that means copper.
<Mmm; not so fast w/ this assumption. Where would the copper come from? Oh, I see this below>
I checked my trash can I use for water storage to find one of the heaters was broken. The glass was intact, the coils and seal at the top were intact, it was broken off at the wires. I dumped the water that was inside the heater and black crud pour out. I had a test kit for copper and checked to find no copper reading.
<Might well have been absorbed by the Polyfilter already>
I immediately added another PolyFilter and another bag of Purigen. All fish are OK, I had 3 cleaner shrimp but can only find 2. Possibly one died.
I'm filtering water now ro/di but that will take 6hrs to filter, heat and aerate, then salt. Is there anything else I can do?
<Like the current SARS-CoV-2 virus; try to be patient. You've done all that I would have done given these circumstances>
Very stressed. Thanks in advance for your time.
Brian
<All will likely be well. Bob Fenner>
Re: Copper panic     3/17/20
Hello Bob,
Wow lightning fast. Thanks so much for your reassuring words. I feel more at ease now. What is in heaters that would cause that?
Are the coils made of copper and could leach into the water?
<Ah yes; and often the (bi-metallic) thermostats of yore, some wiring... BobF>

Nuked tank  >>RMF comments<<        9/9/19
Hi Guys and good morning from Thailand here,
<Morning Dirk!>
would like to bring the following story with an uncertain outcome and hope you guys can follow me in my process of elimination and see if I took the correct route and what more I should be doing now....Yesterday walking into the my customers place taking care of his 1200Lt fish only (with full resin rock and coral setup) we noticed several fish deaths (Harlequin Tusk, Blue Lined Angel, Valentini Puffer, Large boxfish, Tomato Clown and several regular clowns,..) All other fish seem to look struggling big time hanging to rock and barely swimming around. Only 2 fish not effected seem to be a powder brown and a big eye Soldierfish.... My first thought went out to a longer power-cut and a failing of the installed backup system as it looked like all fish behaving as in an oxygen shortage....checking on all logs from installed Alexa and other electrical appliances in the house it seem like nothing had logged any kind of power outage so I guess that was not it.... My second thought was 2 of the Heteractis >>RMF would have used Entacmaea...<<(added about 3 weeks ago to get some (10) Clowns requested by the customer and to protect them a little from too many predators in the tank) had gone into any kind of nuke mode? Though it seemed that they didn't move at all so sure not ended up in any power head or anything and that could not have caused the death of all clown fish in the aquarium (included the tomato which was housed in one of them) so I guess I could eliminate that as well as a cause..... MY 3rd thought was with adding the 10 clownfish about 5 days ago I have introduced an aggressive form of any kind of disease (Velvet maybe??)
<Maybe. Should have been quarantined>
Though some of the fish showing signs of itching when and if swimming around no visible signs of any parasite was visible...Only fish showing any external signs was an Emperor Angel showing red marks on his body.....So I contacted the supplier but doubt that is this was the case as supplier is a very well maintained breeding farm here locally in Thailand and the supplier who I know very well mentioned he is not aware of any disease or parasites in his closed breeding set ups....but then again can one be ever 100% certain...?? Now I came to the thought of could a boxfish been hit by any of the anemones and got so damaged he released his toxin....As I knew they could be toxin but can they be so toxic wiping out a tank?
<If it released a large enough amount of the toxin, yes.>
Now with discussing this thought with my helper he mentioned that when removing the death boxfish from the aquarium he seem to have been stock between one of the resin rock and the side of the glass and was completely covered in a thick white dust like substance....signs of the toxin maybe?? maybe he got stuck between that rock and the side got in such a panic slowly dying not moving and releasing his toxins in being super stressed...?
<Very likely this is what happened.>
Anyway, I decided to go that route, so did a 50% water change immediately and added a huge bag of activated carbon to the system.....
<Good moves>
Guess I will go check later this morning on how the surviving fish reacted and if they are all a bit more active now? So what you guys think do you think my last thought was the correct one and did I handle appropriately or didn’t I do enough to get rid of the toxin yet and should I do more water changes??? How long is that toxin active for as not a lot (just that they are) is available on the net on boxfish toxin in aquariums
<You did the right thing, though I’d do smaller (20%) water changes until things get back to normal, I also advise you to add a high grade activated carbon to your filter, this will help in eliminating the toxin remains.> >>RMF would have and still would move the surviving livestock to another established system<<
... Thank for your guys thoughts...Dirk
<Cheers. Wil.>>>Note, both Wil and RMF have worked for several years in the aquarium install and maintenance business. These "wipe out" events do occur.<<
Re: Nuked tank; puffer poisoning...        9/11/19
Hi Will,
<Hi Dirk>
might not have enough time do that what you propose
<I understand>
Today also died a blue tang, Emperor Angel, Bannerfish, Picasso
<Oh, sorry to hear/read that>
What more info is out there about that toxin? how long does it stay in the tank and how to get it out effectively
<Hard to tell how long it stays in the water... As stated, water changes and activated carbon>
Now with only 5 fish left in that aquarium I am actually thinking just take out all the water and start all over new..???
<I do not think It would be necessary to empty the tank but yes to let it fallow for a month or so and put the remaining fish in a quarantine tank >
Can this toxin get fixed onto the resin also or into the life rock that is in the sump underneath the aquarium?
<The toxin is mostly in the water; not usually absorbed by substrates or other surfaces.>
The fish still alive will be dying too or can they recover from the toxin as I read it is a nerve toxin so I can imagine once effected they suffered serious nerve damage and will all die sooner or later?? Non of the surviving fish right now look its own normal behavior all showing skittishness and just hanging against that rock work.....Dirk
<At this point, I am not sure the toxin is the culprit of the loses, most likely some kind of disease not visible at first sight, might have been introduced inadvertently to the tank...please do take a look at the following article, it is worth reading... http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QuarMarFishes.htm Cheers. Wil.>

I'm flummoxed and hoping for help       9/9/19
Hi WWM Crew,
<Hi Craig>
My question first: What would cause my Yellow Tang and Regal Tang to display display what looks like difficulty in breathing (mouths open and fast gill movement), and my Royal Gramma to open and close its mouth too?
<Normally, oxygen deprivation>
I realise this is a question with broad possibilities, so what follows are the circumstances... Four weeks ago upgraded from a 4ft to a 5ft tank. I used ATM Colony and transferred all fish on the same day. Ammonia spiked briefly at 2ppm or so the test kit suggested, but did drop gradually over the next 7 days. It is now undetectable (or under 0.1ppm) using a Salifert test kit and another I cannot remember the name of. Unfortunately, when I transferred the inverts a week later my small BTA who seemed to have had a purchase met it demise in a gyre that evening leaving nothing to clean up.
I immediately placed carbon in the sump and left it there for a week. I experienced a waterborne algae bloom which lasted a week while all fish were in the tank, helped along with a UV steriliser. Things were uneventful for the next two week aside from algae growth on rock and diatom on sand.
Then I introduced three additional Anthias. Three days later the additions were dead as well as another. Then my shrimp goby died. My fish are the two tangs, two clowns, royal gramma, a wrasse, 4 Chromis and 1 remaining Anthias - not a huge bioload, or is it?
<Not a huge bio load but this system is clearly not mature enough.>
At the same time I noticed the difficulty in breathing. I immediately caught all fish apart from the Chromis and remaining Anthias and put them back into my old tank and they returned to normal within hours.
<Good>
I have plenty of surface movement created by two gyres, but had turned off the skimmer due to over production of bubbles two weeks before this incident.
<I would not have turned it off>
I turned it back on when I thought this might be an oxygen issue. Noticing that the Chromis and Anthias were unaffected overnight, and that the other fish had recovered, I transferred them back again. Within hours the Regal had its mouth open and gills going, as did my Yellow Tang? They are now back in my old tank - apart from the Chromis and Anthias which still appear to be perfectly healthy. They have now recovered in my old tank. I have had what appears to be the beginning of dino, although my Mexican snails seem unaffected, as do my conches, so without putting it under a microscope I cannot be sure. Both tanks are as follows: Salinity 35 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 PH 8.2 KH 8.3dkh Ca 410-430ppm Mg 1410 - 1430ppm New tank has undetectable NO3 and PO4 Old tank has undetectable PO4 and NO3 at 5ppm I have decided to leave things as they are, let the system mature for a few weeks before I try anything again but cannot put my finger on what might be causing the breathing issue?
<Good call, leave it for at least a couple more weeks without introducing anything, be sure to keep the skimmer operating at all times and do a water test ahead of placing your livestock back and if needed, do a partial water change.>
Any pointers would be welcomed. Many thanks, Craig
<Hope this helps, cheers. Wil.>
Re: I'm flummoxed and hoping for help       9/9/19
Thank you very much for your input Wil, much appreciated.
<Glad to help Craig. Wil>

Nuked tank  >>RMF comments<<        9/9/19
Hi Guys and good morning from Thailand here,
<Morning Dirk!>
would like to bring the following story with an uncertain outcome and hope you guys can follow me in my process of elimination and see if I took the correct route and what more I should be doing now....Yesterday walking into the my customers place taking care of his 1200Lt fish only (with full resin rock and coral setup) we noticed several fish deaths (Harlequin Tusk, Blue Lined Angel, Valentini Puffer, Large boxfish, Tomato Clown and several regular clowns,..) All other fish seem to look struggling big time hanging to rock and barely swimming around. Only 2 fish not effected seem to be a powder brown and a big eye Soldierfish.... My first thought went out to a longer power-cut and a failing of the installed backup system as it looked like all fish behaving as in an oxygen shortage....checking on all logs from installed Alexa and other electrical appliances in the house it seem like nothing had logged any kind of power outage so I guess that was not it.... My second thought was 2 of the Heteractis >>RMF would have used Entacmaea...<<(added about 3 weeks ago to get some (10) Clowns requested by the customer and to protect them a little from too many predators in the tank) had gone into any kind of nuke mode? Though it seemed that they didn't move at all so sure not ended up in any power head or anything and that could not have caused the death of all clown fish in the aquarium (included the tomato which was housed in one of them) so I guess I could eliminate that as well as a cause..... MY 3rd thought was with adding the 10 clownfish about 5 days ago I have introduced an aggressive form of any kind of disease (Velvet maybe??)
<Maybe. Should have been quarantined>
Though some of the fish showing signs of itching when and if swimming around no visible signs of any parasite was visible...Only fish showing any external signs was an Emperor Angel showing red marks on his body.....So I contacted the supplier but doubt that is this was the case as supplier is a very well maintained breeding farm here locally in Thailand and the supplier who I know very well mentioned he is not aware of any disease or parasites in his closed breeding set ups....but then again can one be ever 100% certain...?? Now I came to the thought of could a boxfish been hit by any of the anemones and got so damaged he released his toxin....As I knew they could be toxin but can they be so toxic wiping out a tank?
<If it released a large enough amount of the toxin, yes.>
Now with discussing this thought with my helper he mentioned that when removing the death boxfish from the aquarium he seem to have been stock between one of the resin rock and the side of the glass and was completely covered in a thick white dust like substance....signs of the toxin maybe?? maybe he got stuck between that rock and the side got in such a panic slowly dying not moving and releasing his toxins in being super stressed...?
<Very likely this is what happened.>
Anyway, I decided to go that route, so did a 50% water change immediately and added a huge bag of activated carbon to the system.....
<Good moves>
Guess I will go check later this morning on how the surviving fish reacted and if they are all a bit more active now? So what you guys think do you think my last thought was the correct one and did I handle appropriately or didn’t I do enough to get rid of the toxin yet and should I do more water changes??? How long is that toxin active for as not a lot (just that they are) is available on the net on boxfish toxin in aquariums
<You did the right thing, though I’d do smaller (20%) water changes until things get back to normal, I also advise you to add a high grade activated carbon to your filter, this will help in eliminating the toxin remains.> >>RMF would have and still would move the surviving livestock to another established system<<
... Thank for your guys thoughts...Dirk
<Cheers. Wil.>>>Note, both Wil and RMF have worked for several years in the aquarium install and maintenance business. These "wipe out" events do occur.<<

Re: Sailfin Tang Heavy Breathing, I2 poisoning       2/17/19
Hi Crew,
<Charles>
A much delayed update on this situation:
So I sent out my water for an ATI ICP-OES test. It came back mostly good, with one huge and one marginal out of balance parameter:
Iodine was just under 40,000 micrograms per liter, nearly 1000 times what it should be!!!!!
<?! Where did this I2 come from?>
Salinity was low - 29.76 PSU. I'm not sure this was a good measurement - I ordered pinpoint calibration solution, recalibrated my refractometer, and was still getting an SG of 1.025. Not sure why the large discrepancy.
<Mmm; well... specific gravity is NOT the same as salinity... i.e., you could have other dissolved solids that are raising the former that are not salts.>
I think it's safe to say the iodine concentration was the cause of death of my fish, as well as the decline of so many corals. I had been dosing iodine, without testing.... bad reef-keeper.
<Aye yi yi... What is my mantra here? "Never dose/add something you can't and don't measure".>
I had been dosing iodine for nearly a decade, in the same manner (automatic doser for the last couple of
years) without testing and without noticeable issues - I had been under the impression that iodine dosing was critical for crustaceans building their exoskeleton.
<Well; yes; but very little. Many, likely most folks get by with the little that comes in w/ new synthetic water changes, foods>
In the fall, I switched brands to the two little fishies iodine concentrate and adjusted my dosing accordingly (I don't recall which I was dosing before, may have been Kent). I'm not sure if something weird happened at that time, or it was just accumulating over a very long time.
Regardless, after more reading about iodine and the mixed information on the need to dose for a healthy reef, I've decided to discontinue dosing iodine altogether.
<Okay>
Now, to remedy the iodine issue, I started doing several large (30%) water changes over the course of a couple of weeks. My corals started to respond within a few days of the first water change. Still not doing great, but starting on the road to recovery. I had also gone out and bought a Red Sea iodine test kit. My first test was, of course, completely off the scale of the test kit, which only goes up to 0.09 ppm. I wasn't surprised, really, when after 4 or 5 water changes, my readings were still off the chart, since the starting concentration was so high. At this point, I sat back and considered the fact that it would take months of water changes to get the iodine under control. I finally decided to just do a 100% water change. No fish in the system, and all the other parameters were within reason, so
nothing to lose with replacing it all.
<Mmm; you might add a "pad" of PolyFilter or a bag of ChemiPure in your filter flow path. These will absorb the leaching/back I2 over time.>
Finally, after the 100% water change (my dining room was filled with buckets and bins, and I learned my total system volume is actually about 75 gallons....), I checked my iodine levels and.... still off the chart.
<Ah yes... see above>
Something seemed strange with how the test kit was functioning, since the reaction is supposed to take 10-15 minutes, but seemed to complete instantaneously. Lo and behold..... my reagents had expired 1 month BEFORE I bought the test kit. I wasn't pleased. I did send a note to the LFS to let them know of this issue. I expect they don't sell many of these test kits, and a couple of forum posts indicated the Red Sea iodine reagents expire very quickly. I decided that, since I had just replaced all (except for a couple of gallons in plumbing, etc) of my water, there was no way the iodine was at lethal levels. My coral had already started to really respond and open up, regain color etc. So I moved my two survivors (the clown and sailfin - who had survived a bout of "black ich" in quarantine - thanks general cure) back into the main display. They are now happily swimming around, and the sailfin is starting to mow down an infestation of grape caulerpa that has taken over since his eviction.
<Some good news>
It looks like I'm finally back on track. I'll likely never dose iodine again - just not worth the trouble. Certainly won't dose without testing again.
<Yay>
Once I go a week with everyone still happy, I'll set up the quarantine tank again and begin to repopulate the tank - it just looks so lonely with 2 fish in there.
Thanks for all your advice. Hopefully any future emails will be with happier questions - like which dwarf angel I should put in there (leaning towards flame or coral beauty, since I'll be moving in the next couple of years and don't want to put a potter's through that stress).
Regards,
-Charles
<Thank you for your report. You've likely helped MANY other people to come.
Bob Fenner>

Fin rot or aggression?     11/18/18 I have a Yellow Tang and Hepatus Tang whose dorsal fins seem to be eroding. The Yellow Tang's caudal fin is also in bad shape. Can you tell if this is fin rot or aggression from another fish? <Looks like some fish is nipping both of your tangs> The water tests out fine. <I need more accurate information here, also what size is your tank, equipment...etc.> The water is changed regularly. I feed high quality food with vitamins. The fins have been like this for several months. I am at a loss. <I don´t think this is a disease, more likely, as mentioned above, aggression. Could you tell me about the other tankmates? species, size…> Best regards, Steve DeFilippis <nice weekend, Steve. Wil> Re: Fin rot or aggression?     11/18/18 It is a 220 gallon tank. UV Sterilizer, Skimmer, bio sump under the tank, Reactor. <Decent size tank, don´t think aggression(if that´s the case) is due to space> Here are the fish: 3 Percula or Ocellaris Clownfish (I am not sure which) 2-3 inches Naso Tang 8-9 inches Yellow Tang 3-4 inches Hepatus Tang 4-5 inches Flame Hawkfish 2 inches Royal Gramma 3 inches Coral Beauty Angel 3 inches Blue jaw Trigger 3 1/2 inches Tail Spot Wrasse 4 inches A few small crabs and one larger hermit crab <All of them can coexist. have you see any aggressive behavior?...maybe during feeding or at night?> Thank you. <Welcome> Best regards, Steve <Wil> Re: Fin rot or aggression?     11/18/18 I have not seen any aggression. That's why I am puzzled. Fin rot would also seem unusual given the quality of the water conditions. The Yellow Tang in particular had beautiful fins before this started. <Then the only thing that comes to mind is that it is an environmental/nutritional issue, very likely HLLE, plus something in the water you´ve been missing or that test kits don´t measure; try doing a large water change(20% +), run activate carbon or Chemi Pure for a few days and add vitamins A,D,E enriched foods/supplements to the water.> >>Ahh; yes; THIS IS a type of HLLE... nutritional, environmental (water quality) most often the cause. SEE/READ on WWM Re: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/HLLESWCure.htm and the linked files above. BobF<< Best regards, Steve <Wil.>

Restart aquarium     11/18/18
I had a FOWLR aquarium running for years until Hurricane Sandy knocked out power for 2 weeks and everything died. Tank has been laying idle ever since, still filled with water, sand, and rock. Pumps, skimmer, lights, etc have not been turned on in 6 years. I want to start her up again. Any advice?
<Rinse the submersible equipment in a 50/50 solution of water/vinegar for a day or two; put the rock and sand for 24 hrs in water with 10% bleach, after doing this, just rinse and add dechlorinator, then you can reinstall the
tank. Wil.>

Persistent Flashing      11/16/18
Bob,
<Eric>
Hope all is well. I am having an issue with a few of my fish that are in QT. They are continuously flashing and am not sure why. I have had them for 3 weeks and my QT process is as follows:
<Mmm; flashing can be... "just natural" to extents, due to irritants of a wide array: Water quality and parasites most commonly>
Freshwater Dip to check for flukes
7 Day Metro GC for flukes and worms
14 Days of copper than ttm into display
<Ahh, could be just the copper exposure>
Problem I am having though is my fish show no signs of white spot but are constantly flashing at the gills. Tough to explain but my fang tooth blenny is also spinning in a semi-circle to clean its tail. Not sure what else to do? Is it a reaction to the copper, Healing from Ick or velvet, some copper resistant parasite?
<Could be any of these. I wouldn't be overly concerned. With conditions and health returning, the flashing behavior should subside>
Thanks for taking look.
Eric
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Possible Hydrogen Sulphide issue?     1/31/18
Hi Good evening from Thailand.
<Hi Dirk. Greetings from sunny southern California>
In our newest tank (about 5 months old) we had a huge Red Slime issue.
<No fun>
We let the slime do its thing for about 1-2 weeks in the hope it would go by reducing nutrient additions etc... the slime only became thicker and thicker till it almost took over the entire tank.
<Can be toxic; at times, very>
Now was the time to go chemical we thought so we first siphoned out most of the slime and added "Red slime remover" this worked quit well with some smaller patches left on the sand after about 48 hours or so.
<I do hope you are using chemical filtrants>
Now when we wanted to stir them up from the sand
<Best to do without livestock present, AND via gravel vacuuming, removing the interstitial materials there>
(fine sand about 2-3cm thick) we noticed some places of the sand was clumped together and had a much darker color (black-purple like) while steering it up in fell apart creating some smaller dark clouds in the water column....
<Trouble; H2S...>
since then some of the fish ( Clownfish only tank....Ocellaris, Skunks, tomatoes and Maroon) (Maroon looks like a white film is coming of its skin?) in the tank have died...could this be a Hydrogen Sulphide issue?
<Oh yes; plus the BGA, plus the results of using the Algicide>
Can this be an issue in such a thin layer of sand (though under a layer of red slime) in such short time...1-2 weeks?
<Of a certainty, yes>
Oxygen levels were upped during the chemical period so I doubt it was oxygen issues that killed the fish....could it have been under feeding that caught up with them after about 1-2 weeks very low feeding regimes...(mostly just once a day) ?
<Perhaps a small co-factor>
Thank you for the advice...
Dirk
<Thoroughly gravel vacuum this system, move the rock, decor to get to the substrate under and around it, remove about half the water this way. Use ChemiPure, PolyFilter in your filter flow path/s. Bob Fenner>

Too Much Tinkering In My Reef - Please Help!     1/16/18
Hi WWM Team,
<Really like your subject/header here>
I hope all is well in the New Year! I am going through one of those “tinkering too much moments” with my Red Sea Reefer 450. I have a mixed reef tank and decided to add a 3 ½” Achilles Tang and 4”Watanabei Angel within the last month. The fishes and corals are doing fine and my water parameters were fine as well. I decided to be proactive and thought it would be wise to add more biological filtration because of the new additions.
<Can never have too much Biofiltration>
I bought a box of Marine Pure bioballs and a bottle of ATM nitrifying bacteria (label states it treats up to 100 gallons – which is less than my total tank volume). I’ve added the bioballs and the entire bottle of ATM nitrifying bacteria into my tank last week. I turned off my skimmer for 4 days as per instructions. My tank was instantly cloudy once I added the ATM solution; I figured it is the bacteria in the bottle.
<Mmm; maybe secondarily>
As I wait for the bacterial colonization process, I noticed my Choati Red Leopard wrasse was missing for a couple of days. She was always active and eats very well. Again, I thought of being proactive is best and have to go into the tank to search for her.
<Not by disturbing the sand bed I hope/trust>
I don’t want her to die and decompose in my tank, especially during this tenuous stage of my tank. As I comb through the sand (about 1” sand bed),
<I'd increase this by at least twice>
I could potentially disturbed some anaerobic pockets – loosened some clumpy sand that had black residue rising up.
<Oooh, not good>
Long story short, I caught the Choati wrasse and relocated her to the quarantine tank (unfortunately, the Choati wrasse died in the QT last night). I tested my water in my main display and they are as follows:
Ammonia (Red Sea) = .2 ppm
Nitrite (Red Sea) = 0 ppm
Nitrate (Red Sea) = 16 ppm
PO4 (Hanna) = 0.06 ppm
PH (Red Sea) = 8.2
Alkalinity (Hanna) = 9 dKH
<All fine w/ the exception of the ammonia>
I decided to do three 20% water change in the last 3 days and added a dose of Seachem Prime to lock up the toxicity of ammonia until my mini-cycle completes itself.
<.... I would have just stopped feeding... >
I tested my water again, and it remains relatively the same:
· Ammonia (Red Sea) = .2 ppm
· Nitrite (Red Sea) = 0 ppm
· Nitrate (Red Sea) = 10 ppm
The water is still cloudy, which is surprising to me because I thought the water changes would have rid the bacteria bloom in the water column…
<And the loss of ammonia, likely bumped off a good deal of nitrifying population>
The livestock (both fish & corals) still looks fine - the fish are eating & active and the corals are fully expanded. Anyway, what would you recommend with regard to the mini-cycle and cloudy water?
<Just stop feeding till the NH3/NH4OH drops to 0.0 ppm>
As always, your insights and recommendations are extremely appreciated. Many thanks in advance.
Best,
Dan
<Thank you for sharing. Increase, mix in more sand when the system restabilizes. Bob Fenner>

Slime coat      7/20/17 I have a 180g fish only no live rock sw aquarium, 40g wet dry, protein skimmer and 57w uv filtration. 10 inch orangespot Rabbitfish, smaller Foxface, 8 yellow tail damsels, a small purchase clownfish and 6 cardinals. When I clean the tank or even in between there is slime coat floating around. <Mmm; well Siganids are quite slimy... and stress does make them produce more body slime> I don't see fish scraping. I do see little bugs crawling around the tank at times. It got bad once and I added copper and the amount I saw scaled back. Circulation is at the moment a Mag 12 but I will be adding a Mag 9.5 next week. Cleanings are bi weekly with 35 percent water changes. Here are some photos of what I see. Some of the little bugs are actually on the slime also. This is during a cleaning. A queen angel was in this tank for a year and a half or so from a small 4 inches to 7 inches , one week got an infection on head that spread to one side of its body along the lateral line. Few weeks ago saw labored breathing and blood coming out of the gills as it was breathing in and out. <?! Something wrong here. I'd skip using copper... What is your procedure for water changes, supplement, media use here?> Tanks has been up for 6 years. Ph is at 8, nitrates are high I can't give you a number ATM, no detectable nitrites or ammonia. I think its irritation from the bugs but I haven't found what would get rid of them. <See WWM re arthrocides used for crustacean diseases. Bob Fenner>

Hello..... Ongoing... unclear        7/30/16
Hi Bob I've been doing this hobby for many years I'm in toto wipe out mode
There no flukes n the gills could it be plastic plans I've had man in my tanks ( I have five)
<... What sort of plastic (sic) plans? You mean plants? Are these made for aquarium use?>
I've added some new plants to some tanks but only ne to main tank which is running of separate sump I'm in crisis mode
I just don't get it m friend !!!!!
Dylan Masonre: Hello   7/31/16
Yes they are plastic for tropical and marine use my friend
<Good; then chemically inert Polyethylene... w/ no metal inside>
Dylan Mason 

all fish died       7/18/16 Good evening gents, I have the weirdest thing happen to a tank of one of my clients. Saturday we service this mans tank and feed the fish as he is away on a holiday and his wife is home alone but does not like to feed the fish for some reason. Anyway we service the tank and test Nitrates and salt levels as we most of the time do with our service (twice a week in this case) and all norms seem ok (Nitrates seem to have always been hanging around 20) but only a few elegances in his tank and they all seem to be doing very well. <Catalaphyllia/s... very stinging... > The tank is L1m x W1m x H1.6m temperature set at 25.5C He houses 1 small blue face 7 yellow tangs 4 scopa tangs 1 yellow angel 1 key hole angel and 1 coral beauty. quite some Nassarius snails in his shallow sand bed and 3 urchins and some turbo snails. Sunday evening around 6pm I get a massage from him that his wife called him and all fish are death??? <Yeeikes!> So we rush over and his tank looked like a battle field fish all over the floor of the tank non of them hide or nothing it seemed like they just fell out of the air? We had a timer installed on top of his tank and saw the amount of fish food of the tank that assembled about 2 feeding s they had missed so tells me they must have died around 9-11am as first feed of the day is set at 8am and is a bit larger in volume. When asked the wife when they died she said she didn't know as she left the house there at about 11pm (fish were still ok according to her at that time) and only came home just before I got there. So all fish must have died between 11pm and 9 am all snails and all corals are doing A ok full extended and snails had a feast on all death fish around them. we tested the water right away on Ammonia, Nitrates, Salt, temp, Ph and all norms were ok only Nitrates now elevated to 60 (should not be that deadly is it???) <No; this is/was an after affect... the cause different, the NO3 the result of death> and might just have been caused to all the death in the tank I presume. For some reason I think the wife had something to do with it as from past we know she is not into those fish and would rather have them out of the house......The death fish did not display any kind of parasite or anything in the past and even when death no marking on them at all. see pictures attached. What did strike me was though is that Saturday we cleaned out all skimmer cups and when we got there Sunday they looked like Picture 1 shows you. We cleaned them out again and today same thing skimmer had been serious overworking/ see picture 2Could fish have been poisoned by something not affecting the snails and corals or what else could have caused this. <Mmm; yes> I experienced Velvet and Ich outbreaks previous but does not kill this instant in my idea <No; agreed. This is/was either a sudden poisoning effect or a dire environmental one. My bet is on the former> (velvet sure fast but not this fast and is still a bit visible after death) and in my experience sick fish die in the rocks most of the time as they get lethargic before the pass away? Anything you can add? I am baffled and would like to solve this mystery or at ;east know what I have on this guys wife if ..... but I can not imagine anyone would??Dirk <This reads like a classical cascade event... the maintenance of the skimmers et al., triggering an overt reaction by the Elegance Corals; they chemically (allelopathically) reacting, causing other corals to do so in return.... Please read here re: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxictkendof.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/elegcorcompfaqs.htm and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/CnidComp6.htm and the linked files above. A few things that can be done now and going forward... as you'll see in your reading. Bob Fenner> Fw: all fish died       7/18/16 sorry guys forgot the picture <Mmm; my analysis of possibilities, likelihood is reinforced. BobF>

Sunday                                                                                   Monday

can you identify this disease please? ... Large reef, poisoned via Cnidarian allelopathy      4/28/16 ok the situation is this. The tank is a 1700 gallon system with loads of fish in it a few corals. All parameters are good with NItrates just showing a bit high at 40 <This is more than a bit high... by about twice. See/READ on WWM re NO3 reduction> but should be no issue looking at whats in the tank I believe. The tank has been doing very well for about a year now (for detailed fish list you can check out the build thread of this tank here in RC) <Don't do bb's. Worse than a waste of time almost always> So all fish doing really well and eat like crazy look fat and all. Friday I have a batch of dwarf angels for another tank and see I have one in overtall <?> for that tank so add 1 yellow angel <What species is this... a Centropyge? flavissimus?> to the large tank. on Saturday we add 1 leather finger coral and one leather mushroom to the tank <.... how were these acclimated? Have you read my SOP re on WWM? Need to be introduced over weeks time...> and all is still good. Now Monday morning with feeding we see fish are not feeding as normal and we see one of our powder blues stuck on the overflow ready to die so at further inspection we see many more fish struggle. <Allelopathy... a cascade reaction... likely drop in ORP, DO... change water, add GAC, Chemipure, PolyFilter... IF necessary move all the fishes elsewhere> Tuesday we remove 2 death butterflies, 2 death Anthias Wednesday we see most tangs start to feed again though still reluctant and much more skittish as they used to be hiding in the rock all the time only 1 death clownfish seen. No today Thursday we film the clip of a clownfish struggling and have 1 more Anthias lying on the floor as death though when caught it was still alive though we removed it anyway as it is dying. On non of the fish any sign of Ick or any other skin lesions I think. The clown in the clip as maybe not really view able the skin looks like dry and rimpled and seem to have melted skin on his back fin?? in the clip which is filmed on the side (so top of tank is actually left side of the view) the clown goes up to the surface to let himself sink back down over and over again. All other fish seem to be behaving the same as last few days feeding reluctant and still hiding all the time?? <READ here: http://wetwebmedia.com/CorlCompArt.htm and the linked files above, NOW> what could be wrong <See above> and what disease did I clearly introduce into this system though the Yellow Angel (can a disease from 1 dwarf angel small size even spread that fast??) or through the rocks of the coral though they came from my own system and have been doing in an ok tank for over 3 years now. anyone can help so we know what to treat tank with if treatable? large size of the tank does not help the situation here for sure I think <Keep reading... and act accordingly. Bob Fenner> Re: can you identify this disease please? Not reading...         4/29/16 Hi Bob, Thank you for the quick reply so your thinking that one of the leather poisoned my tank? <That and/or the Shroom> Rather than the fish introducing some parasite? <Not a fish parasite... the etiology is all wrong> The fish introduced was a Centropyge heraldi. Both leather come from a system I have at home and have been in that tank there for over a year and have been doing well. <Not with new... DO THE READING> By the way both leathers look still ok. Should I take them out? Can 2 small (each about 5-6" in diameter) colonies poison an entire system this large? (118x40x63) <Don't write: READ!> Re: can you identify this disease please? Still not reading....         4/29/16 Hi Bob, also to my previous reply we made a picture of one of the butterflies who showed the behavior most fishes show just before they die just sitting on a rock with lack of movement the red spots on the picture we were not able to see on any of the other fish previous (though they were colored and much smaller) maybe this picture helps diagnosing? <Can't tell anything definitively... Same answer. B>

Re: can you identify this disease please? Not able to read?         4/29/16 Hi Rob, some more pictures this time from a suffering Butterfly we have in there now. <... mate; IF you won't read I/we can't help you. Your fishes are almost certainly suffering from Cnidarian allelopathy; secondarily from? This latter cannot be ascertained w/o sampling and microscopic examination. STOP WRITING AND READ> seem to not swim around though when trying to catch him he is still very lively but will be a goner for sure tomorrow. He seem to come as close to the glass as possible as he was saying take picture and get this diagnosed hope they are more clear and can help you better to help me. Wonder what all the red spots are all around his skin. Again here skin looks dry and flaking.

Eucalyptus oil toxic to marine shrimp?         4/5/16
Hi Crew,
<Thomas>
I have had a bad cold (and no, I don't believe my shrimp caught it). A little over a week ago, my friend lent me a humidifier and some eucalyptus "100% essential oil" to be used with the humidifier to help with my congestion at night. The eucalyptus oil created an odor, as you would expect, that lingered for days after the humidifier was turned off, and pretty much permeated the whole house.
<Mmm; as it is wont to do>
After a couple nights using this humidifier and oil, I noticed the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp in my bedroom tank seeming lethargic and not eating, then a day later I notice a similar problem with another Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp in my downstairs living room (a different room on a different floor, but on the same air circulation system). Suspecting the eucalyptus oil as a likely problem, I discontinued its use and moved it and the oil bottle to the garage. I also changed 20% of the water, and replaced the activated carbon with twice the usual amount, in my bedroom tank.
<Good moves>
The next day, the shrimp there seemed a little better, so I also replaced the activated carbon in my living room (but did not change water, as I did not have enough available).
After a few days, both shrimps seemed better and resumed eating, though I had the sense that they were not 100% back to normal. Then, a couple days ago, I found the shrimp in the living room tank dead on the bottom. Today,
I noticed the shrimp in the bedroom tank being harassed by the Lemon Peel Angel, who normally would go to the shrimp for cleaning services. As I watched, I noticed that the shrimp did not seem to signal his willingness to clean as he had before, and I wondered if this inappropriate behavior (for a cleaner shrimp) causes the angel to respond inappropriately. I also notice that this shrimp's tentacles do not seem as straight as I remembered them being (he had molted a few days before all this started).
<Good observations, reporting>
All my fish and hardy soft corals seem fine.
So, what is my question? Mainly this: do you think it is likely that this airborne eucalyptus oil is the cause of problems for my shrimp?
<By inference and some otherwise deduction I do. The class of compounds that include Eucalyptus "smell" have various and diverse biochemical properties; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptol#Toxicology>
Perhaps you don't (or can't possibly) know, in which case my email will serve as a caution about a possible risk of using eucalyptus oil around marine aquaria.
<Yes; thank you>
Thanks,
Tom
<Bob Fenner>

Need a parasite ID/treatment recommendation... ... toxic situation     11/19/13 Hello WetWeb Crew, <Ami> I seem to have come across an unknown parasite, <?... the pix attached; show two of the more aquarium-difficult Acanthurids... w/ a great deal of accrued body slime... exposed to what?>  and despite scouring the internet I've come up empty. I need some help in determining what this is, and how to treat it. First of all, none of these fish have entered my display tank - this pathogen has been confined to quarantine. Also, I've now experienced it on three different fish within three years. The first two fish (powder blue and brown tangs) did not survive, despite months of attempted treatment and troubleshooting with medications. <Sans sampling and microscopic exam? Have you read the mat.s on WWM re parasitic identification?> I have attached photos of those two fish for your reference. I had hoped to never see it again, but now here I am. I ordered a Red Sea Regal angel, and he came out of the bag with 4 of these "growths." I did not attach a picture of the regal because I'm having trouble getting a quality shot, and there is no doubt that it is the exact same symptom. What I've observed, is that these "spots" start out as a small speck on the fish, bigger than Ich and wrong texture/shape for Lympho. They then proceed to "grow" outwards from the body of the fish and form a 2-5mm filament that hangs off. <... almost assuredly reaction from something "in/of the water"...> I've seen them triple in size within a day or two. <... mucus, mucin... See WWM re body slimes of fishes (these four words in the search tool; on every page)>  On the deceased fish, I've attempted to remove the growths via tweezers or scraping in hopes of learning something about them, but there's no real anatomy as far as I can tell. They don't seem to be worms. I've had mild results treating with .5mg/l Cupramine, but the parasite manages to return worse than ever after a week or less of symptoms disappearing, while still in full dose copper. I have not observed the disappearing act that is associated with Ich, once a growth appears it stays; though the delicate end piece can break off. Any help at all or insight you can offer would be most appreciated. A regal angel is just about the worst fish to try and experiment with medications on. Thanks in advance Ami <Am almost certain this is simply body mucus... a reaction to... something/s in your water... Sample it and see (under a 'scope). Some treatment, an aspect or more of your system is poisoning these fishes... causing them to become "very slimy"... that's what this trailing white material is, NOT parasitic; not pathogenic period. Treatment... involves investigating, eliminating the source of toxicity here... salt mix? source water? some "treatment" misplaced here... Bob Fenner>

Re: Need a parasite ID/treatment recommendation    11/19/13 Thank you very much for your reply Bob, <Welcome Ami> I had considered the possibility of excess mucous also, but there is nothing (detectable) <The operative word... I WOULD add a unit or two of both ChemiPure (or eq.) and PolyFilter in your circulation, filter flow path... likely whatever this is... will be sufficiently absorbed to make a difference. Going forward I strongly suggest you look about for a source of metal poisoning (a fitting, piece of décor...) and sources of aerosols... ask your water supplier (number on your bill) for their analysis of your source water>  in my water that could be acting as a toxin. Is there something specific you would have me check for? The obvious parameters are all perfect in my quarantine systems and display - Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are all 0, phosphates are undetectable, <... How are NO3 and HPO4 rendered as zero? Chemical filtrants may be the source of trouble here>  I run my salinity at 1.025, temperature is 78 degrees. These fishes all exhibited symptoms prior to any medication being introduced, and within a day of being moved; including the regal angel which came out of the bag from LiveAquaria this way. <Am doubly concerned then LA has very good livestock... they buy exclusively from the best outfit in the US... and several friends in turn supply them> The two tangs came from the tanks of fellow reefers where they lived for years, but had never been quarantined previously. I am well aware of the difficulty level of the tangs, and I currently have powder blue, powder blue hybrid, and achilles all living quite happy and healthy in my 520g reef tank. I attribute my success to quarantine. These particular fish that showed sloughing mucous seemed quite random. Also, what am I looking for under a microscope? <Structure; send along pix>  Verifying that it is indeed mucous, or the nature of said mucous? <Amorphous, almost clear, w/ some slight thread-like inclusions> I will need to pick one up as I don't have one on hand. <See WWM re>  I have managed to take picture of the regal, the "mucous" blends in with the pattern of the fish unfortunately, each area is about 3mm long. <Can't make out much more than this>  I realize the picture looks pretty mild, but after experiencing what I have in the past with this thing, I'm nervous to say the least. I am also unsure how such excess mucous would manifest itself the same way in such soft bodied tangs and the thoroughly scaled angelfish. For now I will focus on getting her a healthy appetite. Thank you for your help! Ami <Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Fish Dying in Reef Tank    10/16/13
Hi Bob,
<Joe, Aquaman! Shades of DC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman >
In the hobby for 17 years and never experienced something like this.  I have an aquarium maintenance business.
<Ahh, I did this for 19 years as well>
One of the aquariums is a 155 gallon bowfront with fish and corals.  A month ago a get a call from the client saying all the fish are dead.  The soonest I could of seen the tank was in 2 days.  Upon arrival all fish were dead (Yellow Tang, Foxface, 5 clownfish, Sleeper Head Goby, 3 Damselfish). Coral (Favia Brain, Mushrooms,
<Mmm; Shrooms... a prime candidate>
 Pagoda Cup, Frogspawn,
<Euphyllia second>
 Trachyphyllia Brain Coral) looked stressed but not dead. The test results were Amm .05,
<Residual from the deaths>
didn't test Nitrite, Nitrate 40 (normally at 30),
<This too>
pH 8.1, Salt 1.023, Temp 81.  The only change was, I reconnected the Kalk dripping system that use to dose at night but I just plugged in the timer during the day without adjusting for the correct time.
<Mmm, not likely problematical>
I ran 1 cup of carbon (probably not enough)
<We used a zillion "units" of Chemi-Pure... I'd do this and cut back on water change percentages>
 added a dose of "Prime".   For the next 4 weeks I've done weekly water changes of 50 gallons, and replaced the micron bag.  So I was to assume everything is fine.  Water tests are inline Amm 0, Nitrite not test, Nitrate 20, pH 8.0, Temp 80.  I add two clownfish, the next day..dead.  Wait 2 days, add 3 damselfish.. next day dead.  I'm in the process of making water for a 100% water change.
<Likely warranted; a good idea at this stage>
I'm at wits end, your input would be greatly appreciated.
Joe
<This reads as a sort of classical allelopathogenic (biological poisoning) case... Would like to know the order in which the fish died for further evidence... but... "something" triggered a negative interaction twixt the Cnidarians ("corals") here... eliciting their poisoning the system for the fishes. Let's have you read both here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and the linked files above for background (the FAQs for the Corallimorphs and Euphylliids), and here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxicwipeoutf.htm
Do write back if there are still questions, concerns. Bob Fenner>

Mysterious tank failure (urgent), SW      2/10/13
Hello, my name is Kevin Plath, and I am a long time fan of WetWebMedia.
Right now, I have an extremely frustrating problem on my hands regarding my reef tank. The tank is a 20 gallon high running an AquaC Remora for skimming, filled with 3 inches of live sand, and about 40 pounds of live rock. We are using 3 400gph power heads for water movement. I started the tank last year in August. The water parameters were all fantastic, and the corals and fish were thriving. Then, the corals and inverts began to wither and die. Large polyped stony corals and soft corals melted into stringy white netting overnight, small motile inverts ( snails in particular) also died mysteriously.
<Something (internal, likely biological) poisoning this small system. VERY likely a case of allelopathy, cascade event...>
The fish, however, had seemed unaffected. We began developing large quantities of brown slime algae,
<Likely a BGA... occur in all colors>
and hair-like blue-green algae all over the tank.
<VERY toxic>
 Since then, the algae problem had been solved,
<How?>
 but various new livestock problems had all popped up. We have currently lost over $3000 of innocent fish and corals seemingly out of thin air.
<?! In a twenty gallon system?!>
Even after 90 percent water changes, it still seems like the tank itself is toxic.
<... time for a much larger tank... and to bleach, re-start this one>
 I put in a detritus crew to boost biodiversity, but by the end of the day, all of them were dead, including a Caribbean sea cucumber.
<What species? Some of these are trouble>
 In addition, all of my Coralline algae on my rocks died after the brown slime algae went away.
<... again, how was the algae issue remedied? IF by removing nutrient chemically, likely the encrusting red/s were killed also>
 Most recently ( last week), I did another 60 percent water change, and added 2 pieces of coralline algae encrusted live rock, as well as 3 lyre tail Chromis. When they were first released into the tank, the Chromis seemed fine, swimming around actively. That night, 2 of the Chromis died, with the 3rd passing on the next day. The live rock I added with them had a small yellow sponge, and some thriving strands of purple macro algae. The macro reddened and fluoresced over the course of the next to days, and then finally became transparent. The sponge browned and became covered in brownish black spots. We added a cardinal from another rank, and it died within 3 hours. When a serpent star was added, it died on contact. I tested my water parameters the other night, and there are 0 phosphates, 0 nitrates, 0 nitrites, 8.2 PH, 11 DKH, and 0 ammonia. There is, however, a strange white film that peels off my aquarium walls, and a white foam around my skimmer base. We use pre-mixed reef-ready saltwater from a local dealer for all our water changes. What scares me, is that I have a shipment of wild live sand from the Gulf of Mexico coming in, and I can't have that die too. What is wrong with my tank, and is there a low-cost solution?
Please help,
Kevin Plath.
<Umm, read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/toxictkendof.htm
and the linked files above... for input, solace. Bob Fenner>

strange growths;19 days old aquarium... Cement and Fe decor     2/6/13 <BM... 13.5 megs of pix?> Hello everyone. I have tried looking for clues that could explain the strange growths that have started popping up in my nineteen days old marine-aquarium, but in vain. I have been keeping fresh water fishes for a decade now. With this unexpected encounter right in the beginning while the tank is cycling, that does not have any available records, its frightening. Intend to keep a fish-only tank with Prolifera algae and, an ocellaris clown, Andaman damsel and a Brazilian gramma( the last two fishes will be added after about three-four months post clown-addition) after the (4 weeks) cycling is done. What I have in the tank are - 1. tap-water with salt from Red-Sea,1.0018 SG <One zero too many here> (intend to keep the SG at this, prior to opting for live rocks and corals) 2. structure made of building sand, dark and white cement with iron-mesh re-enforcement. <... this will have to go... the cement is likely toxic, the iron definitely so> 3. a cube of dry Tubifex worms, few three-millimeter sugar cubes added thrice so far, for bacteria culture. 4. a power head and an air-pump for oxygenation. 5. strong, ambient day light in summer and, slight direct sun-light in winter. 6. bottom is one centimeter solid mortar. I could not provide the measurements of the gases, etc., as the tools are not locally available yet. I am from India(West Bengal).My regrets. <No worries> Please take a look at the attached images and kindly help identify and, meet the situation as required. Warmest regards. From-Anupam Biswas. <Mmm, well, the "growths" are highly likely just "crystals" grown from the cement, parts of the salt mix here... The pH, alkalinity are likely sky-high (very)... Again, the construct you've built, placed won't work in a biological system. Bob Fenner>

Re: strange growths; 19 days old aquarium     2/7/13 Thank you Mr. Fenner. It was a pleasure conversing with you. <Welcome... I would break off a piece of one of these growths and look at it a bit more closely to be sure... Under a microscope if you have one, or just a magnifying glass, loupe if not. Cheers, BobF> Re: strange growths;19 days old aquarium     2/10/13 I will definitely try to do as you suggest Mr. Fenner the soonest and send an update to you for your valuable input. Cheers-Anupam <Welcome. BobF>

Clown and royal gramma scratching   12/30/12
Hi crew! I've noticed over the last few weeks my Ocellaris clowns and my Royal Gramma glancing off the oolite sand. Occasionally I'll see the Clown scratch her face off the weir. There are no spots on any fish.
<Mmm, "some" scratching is "natural"... not indicative of trouble>
 All fish are eating extremely well  However, in reading FAQs I see where it could be corals causing irritation. Could this be the problem here? 
<Yes; or other chemical/water quality issue>
I have various mushrooms, Sinularias, toadstools, paleos, green star and daisy polyps. Also, I had a small breakout of Cyano but I siphoned it up, added more water movement and did a large water change. I have a fish in the QT and don't want to add it until I'm sure the DT is ok. Thank you! 
Jen
<I wouldn't be overly concerned here. Am glad to find you're aware of possible/probable root causes; have done what you can to solve. Bob Fenner>
Re: Clown and royal gramma scratching   12/30/12
Hello Mr. Fenner! You mentioned chemical/water quality issue...to that point I recently add to do an emergency water change (about 10 gallons) and did have my usual brand (Tropic Marin) on hand and used Instant Ocean. Also the freshly made saltwater was only "aged" for a day. Could this be the cause of the irritant?
<It could be; yes>
 Thank you again, Bob! I hope you are bringing in the New Year somewhere fabulous!
<At home... which is fab! Don't drive about on major holidays. Cheers, BobF>