On the verge of quitting..

[Ro Bow]

for those fish that disappear, not the ones that are killed but not eaten, you could maybe have an agressive brittle star? Doesnt explain the tapping noise though

 

[Sharkbait19]

Again, if the op is finding the fish without wounds, gashes, or missing parts, it’s highly unlikely there is any predatory action here from anything, be it mantis, Bobbit, pistol shrimp, etc.

 

[Nonya]

I'm sorry if my initial response was harsh, but it's all too common for people new to the hobby to get into it without being told that it's HARD, and it takes research and preparation, and a SH** TON of money.

It's not easy like those ATM clowns had professed. Any fish store who sells to you without even asking a couple of basic questions should be avoided. A woman was in a LFS in my city wanting to buy a butterflyfish because her other fish died quickly. I asked her if she had a SW tank, and she said no.

 

[Nonya]

Again, if the op is finding the fish without wounds, gashes, or missing parts, it’s highly unlikely there is any predatory action here from anything, be it mantis, Bobbit, pistol shrimp, etc.

Agree. Something is likely wrong with the water--chemistry, temp, O2, waste, etc.

 

[Ro Bow]

I'm sorry if my initial response was harsh, but it's all too common for people new to the hobby to get into it without being told that it's HARD, and it takes research and preparation, and a SH** TON of money.

It's not easy like those ATM clowns had professed. Any fish store who sells to you without even asking a couple of basic questions should be avoided. A woman was in a LFS in my city wanting to buy a butterflyfish because her other fish died quickly. I asked her if she had a SW tank, and she said no.

well said

 

[Ro Bow]

Agree. Something is likely wrong with the water--chemistry, temp, O2, waste, etc.

I would agree with this right away, other than the fact the fish always die at night. If it wasnt for that, i'd probably say either some sort of internal parasite, or like you said: chemistry, temp, O2, or waste.

 

[jmatt]

Saying "As for parameters I haven't tested in a while" should never come with a request for help. Not knowing your salinity, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, salinity, etc., throwing out your skimmer, and claiming "fish should not be affected" says much.

Having read through this, I'm in agreement that normally when you see such threads that the system parameters are listed right out of the gate.

OP, you mentioned that you're in med school. Perhaps the problem is your busy schedule. "All of my stuff is dying but I'm too busy to test the water and do water changes" is a little incongruent.

Not piling on, just offering a view that might be helpful. Knowing the status of the water is important.

 

[brandon429]

of all forums on reef2reef, which one has the most instance of fish loss

In an etiology hunt, it’s fair to begin elimination at most likely cause


so where on rtr can the single greatest standout loss cause be found


is it the chemistry forum, for example? Are they posting rolls of fish loss daily?



What about the new tanks forum. That’s a bunch of day fifteen cyclers…surely they’re killing fish by the bucketload, day after day a new post with pics

how many pages back in all but one forum do we have to go to find instances of patterned fish loss


where’s the one single forum that fits that description and degree of fish loss, on rtr


once that forum is located, this tank did the #1 thing that causes entry into that #1 causative forum


it’s not like I’m trying to mislead the op. It’s a % likelihood relay

 

[Tamberav]

Why would I fallow and quarantine if there is no sign of disease? Also, if i had some sort of disease then wouldn't I lose ALL my fish within a very short time span?

Not all disease shows signs like white spots or such. Sometimes fish just die. There is also internal problems like uronema. Not all uronema shows lesions. Instead it just kills them from the inside.

Not all fish will die or get as sick. Some fish even survive tank wipe outs of velvet and appear just fine but pass the disease to new fish added.

I feel like so many people quit this hobby because of fish death. QT is on the verge of becoming and absolute necessity to those new in the hobby (I know old tanks/old salts don't always have the issue with new fish but new tanks often do).

 

[SlugSnorter]

I see. Still curious. I've had bruises on fish from pistols. It's weird . OP says the fish " disappear " . Also says they are eaten by aiptasia. Something is consuming the fish.

fish die and CUC (or other fish) eats them IMO

 

[Duncan62]

fish die and CUC (or other fish) eats them IMO

 

[A Young Reefer]

I'm sorry if my initial response was harsh, but it's all too common for people new to the hobby to get into it without being told that it's HARD, and it takes research and preparation, and a SH** TON of money.

It's not easy like those ATM clowns had professed. Any fish store who sells to you without even asking a couple of basic questions should be avoided. A woman was in a LFS in my city wanting to buy a butterflyfish because her other fish died quickly. I asked her if she had a SW tank, and she said no.

Look I agree with you, but I have had the SAME experience. In the uae there are no more than 15 saltwater fish stores. In the emirate ( the equivalent of state in the Us) of Dubai there are like 6 or 7 stores only. I also know for a fact that all of them deal with the same supplier, I bet I can even name you the fish store he gets his fish from.
We once discussed this before, regarding fire fish and banggai cardinals here. I also know other reefers that had the same exact issue with these three exact species.
I am not throwing the fish stores under the bus, but the quality of fish that we get around here is seriously concerning.
I mean I keep tangs, wrasses, anthias and gobbies. Why is the problem only with these three in particular? You guys have the privilege of local captive bred options of these species we on the other hand don’t. And IF they were captive bred they would be imported from other countries that go on a quite long journey.
I don’t have an logical explanation to this, however I can share my experience at least.

 

[Nonya]

Agree, and disappearing fish are probably trapped under the rocks, where they get eaten by CUC and bacteria. Most people will notice a sudden buildup of sludge on the glass. Most likely, with a smaller tank with no skimmer, the oxygen level in the water is very low as a result.

 

[Nonya]

Look I agree with you, but I have had the SAME experience. In the uae there are no more than 15 saltwater fish stores. In the emirate ( the equivalent of state in the Us) of Dubai there are like 6 or 7 stores only. I also know for a fact that all of them deal with the same supplier, I bet I can even name you the fish store he gets his fish from.
We once discussed this before, regarding fire fish and banggai cardinals here. I also know other reefers that had the same exact issue with these three exact species.
I am not throwing the fish stores under the bus, but the quality of fish that we get around here is seriously concerning.
I mean I keep tangs, wrasses, anthias and gobbies. Why is the problem only with these three in particular? You guys have the privilege of local captive bred options of these species we on the other hand don’t. And IF they were captive bred they would be imported from other countries that go on a quite long journey.
I don’t have an logical explanation to this, however I can share my experience at least.

My primary point was that asking for help diagnosing problems with a tank requires something to go on. Don't tell us you aren't testing parameters or doing water changes, expecting people to agree they aren't relevant.

I have ONE LFS (if you can call it one) within 6 hours' drive.

 

[Ro Bow]

My primary point was that asking for help diagnosing problems with a tank requires something to go on. Don't tell us you aren't testing parameters or doing water changes, expecting people to agree they aren't relevant.

^

 

[ceaver]

I top off with rodi through an ATO. Unfortunately the local supply of hannah salinity checker calibration fluid has been out for months here. I have been waiting for my order for 1.5 to 2 months now. Whenever I do a WC i calibrate the checker in tank water so that the newly mixed water is close to the tank's water, which was at one point 1.026. I am pretty sure that it hasn't strayed away too much from that.

There is a really easy diy 35 ppt (1.026) salinity calibration fluid you can make at home, per Randy Holmes-Farley recipe. Search for it on here, it's easy to find. I am a bit skeptical of your approach to managing salinity as described here, no offense, and recommend you definitely have a look at it

 

[Nonya]

If you buy a cheap floating needle salinity checker, compare it to a calibrated probe to see if it's close enough to use in a pinch.

 

[Nonya]

Look I agree with you, but I have had the SAME experience. In the uae there are no more than 15 saltwater fish stores. In the emirate ( the equivalent of state in the Us) of Dubai there are like 6 or 7 stores only. I also know for a fact that all of them deal with the same supplier, I bet I can even name you the fish store he gets his fish from.
We once discussed this before, regarding fire fish and banggai cardinals here. I also know other reefers that had the same exact issue with these three exact species.

It's not as though wild caught fish are treated well between capture and the LFS. Salinity, pH, oxygen probably vary significantly, stressing the fish.

 

[ceaver]

2. Check parameters & Check Equipment. To make a diagnosis you need data. Even if you don’t think it’s relevant—more data is better. Same applies in medicine—you can’t make a diagnosis without data. Maybe consider sending’s ICP test, but definitely do the basic hobbyist tests.

^^this all the way, even down to the comment about how you'd approach a problem in medicine. You could have something failing in equipment and leeching toxic metals. I def agree that an ICP test is warranted if the alternative is you quit and sell everything.

Also, haven't made it to the end of the thread yet, but had anyone mentioned the potential for stray voltage coming from some equipment? It does happen and can be hard to detect and diagnose.

 

[AXBROWN]

Hey, sorry for the losses. I had a thought, have you checked for any stray voltage in your tank? Perhaps the clicking sound you are hearing is something electrical? Just an idea.

I had a powerhead that was shorting in my tank and I was losing fish here and there and found it to be the cause. Now I always use a ground probe in my tanks just in case.