Unknown disease is wiping out slowly but surely all our fish in our reef tank - HELP!

[barfish2024]

This disease started it seems out of the blue in our 300 gallon reef tank last Thursday so a week ago. We noticed a mimic tang had some darker spots on his body and seems very blotchy and looking like he had lost some patches of skin. His eyes were very milky and he was breathing hard. He worsened during the day and died later than day.
We then realized many of the fish stopped eating. We have had some of these fish for 10 years and through multiple tank changes due to leaks etc….
We lost 3 cardinals apparently thru disappeared…. They had not been there more than a month or so but as they’re small we didn’t realize they were gone…
Then something attacked our clown fish. We’ve had these guys for 10 years and through multiple emergency events they always made it…, they started looking like they had a white dusting on them. Their eyes were clear but one isolated itself away from his usual coral and buddies…. We tried to remove him on the advice of our fish service team and put it in a copper QT tank. He died overnight. The other 2 clown fish had the same symptoms and died that Sunday am…
When the outbreak started on Wednesday we started treating in the main tank with Canoplex every 48h. It didn’t seem to work but we completed the 3 recommended doses (Wednesday / Friday / Sunday). We switched to metroplex broadly in the tank + in the food Sunday. The issue is most fish are not eating…. We thought the deaths calmed down so day night and Monday am but then a blenny we did not have for more than maybe a month started showing signs of distress. He did not have spots or dusting really….. until the very end when his eyes became more milky. What’s stranger is that he seemed almost dead so we were going to remove him but then he drifts under a rock. The next morning when the tank lit up he was swimming normal and looking normal…. Then later on Monday he took a turn again and died that evening….
Also yesterday our main fish who we absolutely are emotionally attached to and have had for 10 years a naso tang is showing some skin irritation almost looos like some greets areas on his sides,
Slightly clouding of his eyes but stable for a few days. His side fins seem to have dusting on them but nowhere else on his body. He was very idle yesterday but swam better today but his skin looks more gritty.
We also have a regal tang that’s been hiding and not eating for a week but bowing no other symptoms.
Finally we just are losing as we speak our Roh tang which seemed to have weather this but was not eating and suddenly tonight in a couple hours started having dark spots on its body, swimming erratic floating upside down and on the sand …. He’s clearly dying and there is nothing we can do. We transferred him to the copper bath as a last resort…
No one can figure out what it is. It does not seem to respond that great to any medicine.
It seems too slow of a burn for velvet.
The symptoms are different depending on the fish: some have milky eyes some have dark spots on their body some have a dusting on the dorsal area….. and any combinations or this - none consistent…
We are devastated because we are attached to these guys. They all had names like our pets. What could this be? How can we stop it? All the experts / stores in the area are stumped.
Our chemistry levels are fine all around.
We have a big coral assortment and some invertebrates so we cannot do any type of massive extermination treatment in the main tank. We have installed a UV filtering system yesterday in case we want tot ry this but we also know it will nuke the medicine too….. so we were thinking of running it 1h every 48h before each new dose of meds to try and minimize the loss of efficacy,

Thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This disease started it seems out of the blue in our 300 gallon reef tank last Thursday so a week ago. We noticed a mimic tang had some darker spots on his body and seems very blotchy and looking like he had lost some patches of skin. His eyes were very milky and he was breathing hard. He worsened during the day and died later than day.
We then realized many of the fish stopped eating. We have had some of these fish for 10 years and through multiple tank changes due to leaks etc….
We lost 3 cardinals apparently thru disappeared…. They had not been there more than a month or so but as they’re small we didn’t realize they were gone…
Then something attacked our clown fish. We’ve had these guys for 10 years and through multiple emergency events they always made it…, they started looking like they had a white dusting on them. Their eyes were clear but one isolated itself away from his usual coral and buddies…. We tried to remove him on the advice of our fish service team and put it in a copper QT tank. He died overnight. The other 2 clown fish had the same symptoms and died that Sunday am…
When the outbreak started on Wednesday we started treating in the main tank with Canoplex every 48h. It didn’t seem to work but we completed the 3 recommended doses (Wednesday / Friday / Sunday). We switched to metroplex broadly in the tank + in the food Sunday. The issue is most fish are not eating…. We thought the deaths calmed down so day night and Monday am but then a blenny we did not have for more than maybe a month started showing signs of distress. He did not have spots or dusting really….. until the very end when his eyes became more milky. What’s stranger is that he seemed almost dead so we were going to remove him but then he drifts under a rock. The next morning when the tank lit up he was swimming normal and looking normal…. Then later on Monday he took a turn again and died that evening….
Also yesterday our main fish who we absolutely are emotionally attached to and have had for 10 years a naso tang is showing some skin irritation almost looos like some greets areas on his sides,
Slightly clouding of his eyes but stable for a few days. His side fins seem to have dusting on them but nowhere else on his body. He was very idle yesterday but swam better today but his skin looks more gritty.
We also have a regal tang that’s been hiding and not eating for a week but bowing no other symptoms.
Finally we just are losing as we speak our Roh tang which seemed to have weather this but was not eating and suddenly tonight in a couple hours started having dark spots on its body, swimming erratic floating upside down and on the sand …. He’s clearly dying and there is nothing we can do. We transferred him to the copper bath as a last resort…
No one can figure out what it is. It does not seem to respond that great to any medicine.
It seems too slow of a burn for velvet.
The symptoms are different depending on the fish: some have milky eyes some have dark spots on their body some have a dusting on the dorsal area….. and any combinations or this - none consistent…
We are devastated because we are attached to these guys. They all had names like our pets. What could this be? How can we stop it? All the experts / stores in the area are stumped.
Our chemistry levels are fine all around.
We have a big coral assortment and some invertebrates so we cannot do any type of massive extermination treatment in the main tank. We have installed a UV filtering system yesterday in case we want tot ry this but we also know it will nuke the medicine too….. so we were thinking of running it 1h every 48h before each new dose of meds to try and minimize the loss of efficacy,

Thoughts or advice appreciated.

Stop with the metroplex which has to measured by weight precisely and makes the food taste bitter. How are you testing your water?
Mainly - can you provide a video of at least 30 seconds under bright white light intensity?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This disease started it seems out of the blue in our 300 gallon reef tank last Thursday so a week ago. We noticed a mimic tang had some darker spots on his body and seems very blotchy and looking like he had lost some patches of skin. His eyes were very milky and he was breathing hard. He worsened during the day and died later than day.
We then realized many of the fish stopped eating. We have had some of these fish for 10 years and through multiple tank changes due to leaks etc….
We lost 3 cardinals apparently thru disappeared…. They had not been there more than a month or so but as they’re small we didn’t realize they were gone…
Then something attacked our clown fish. We’ve had these guys for 10 years and through multiple emergency events they always made it…, they started looking like they had a white dusting on them. Their eyes were clear but one isolated itself away from his usual coral and buddies…. We tried to remove him on the advice of our fish service team and put it in a copper QT tank. He died overnight. The other 2 clown fish had the same symptoms and died that Sunday am…
When the outbreak started on Wednesday we started treating in the main tank with Canoplex every 48h. It didn’t seem to work but we completed the 3 recommended doses (Wednesday / Friday / Sunday). We switched to metroplex broadly in the tank + in the food Sunday. The issue is most fish are not eating…. We thought the deaths calmed down so day night and Monday am but then a blenny we did not have for more than maybe a month started showing signs of distress. He did not have spots or dusting really….. until the very end when his eyes became more milky. What’s stranger is that he seemed almost dead so we were going to remove him but then he drifts under a rock. The next morning when the tank lit up he was swimming normal and looking normal…. Then later on Monday he took a turn again and died that evening….
Also yesterday our main fish who we absolutely are emotionally attached to and have had for 10 years a naso tang is showing some skin irritation almost looos like some greets areas on his sides,
Slightly clouding of his eyes but stable for a few days. His side fins seem to have dusting on them but nowhere else on his body. He was very idle yesterday but swam better today but his skin looks more gritty.
We also have a regal tang that’s been hiding and not eating for a week but bowing no other symptoms.
Finally we just are losing as we speak our Roh tang which seemed to have weather this but was not eating and suddenly tonight in a couple hours started having dark spots on its body, swimming erratic floating upside down and on the sand …. He’s clearly dying and there is nothing we can do. We transferred him to the copper bath as a last resort…
No one can figure out what it is. It does not seem to respond that great to any medicine.
It seems too slow of a burn for velvet.
The symptoms are different depending on the fish: some have milky eyes some have dark spots on their body some have a dusting on the dorsal area….. and any combinations or this - none consistent…
We are devastated because we are attached to these guys. They all had names like our pets. What could this be? How can we stop it? All the experts / stores in the area are stumped.
Our chemistry levels are fine all around.
We have a big coral assortment and some invertebrates so we cannot do any type of massive extermination treatment in the main tank. We have installed a UV filtering system yesterday in case we want tot ry this but we also know it will nuke the medicine too….. so we were thinking of running it 1h every 48h before each new dose of meds to try and minimize the loss of efficacy,

Thoughts or advice appreciated.

Welcome to Reef2Reef

Sorry to hear of your troubles. This is probably a protozoan infection. Can you post a video of the remaining fish? Hosting on YouTube works if you are not able to post the video directly.

I will say that once fish loss has begun due to disease it is VERY difficult to stop it fast enough to keep the remaining fish alive.

 

[barfish2024]

Unfortunately the video I posted is the latest and clearest. Not feeling well they’re hiding most of the day and I’m trying not to add stress by having the lights bright outside of regular times. The store has been doing daily tests. Here’s a picture (hard to watch) of the one fish dying right now. Similar to the mimic tang but completely different looking so ease from the clown fibs or blend. But I guess that’s something…. Ill add in comment to this

 

[barfish2024]

This disease started it seems out of the blue in our 300 gallon reef tank last Thursday so a week ago. We noticed a mimic tang had some darker spots on his body and seems very blotchy and looking like he had lost some patches of skin. His eyes were very milky and he was breathing hard. He worsened during the day and died later than day.
We then realized many of the fish stopped eating. We have had some of these fish for 10 years and through multiple tank changes due to leaks etc….
We lost 3 cardinals apparently thru disappeared…. They had not been there more than a month or so but as they’re small we didn’t realize they were gone…
Then something attacked our clown fish. We’ve had these guys for 10 years and through multiple emergency events they always made it…, they started looking like they had a white dusting on them. Their eyes were clear but one isolated itself away from his usual coral and buddies…. We tried to remove him on the advice of our fish service team and put it in a copper QT tank. He died overnight. The other 2 clown fish had the same symptoms and died that Sunday am…
When the outbreak started on Wednesday we started treating in the main tank with Canoplex every 48h. It didn’t seem to work but we completed the 3 recommended doses (Wednesday / Friday / Sunday). We switched to metroplex broadly in the tank + in the food Sunday. The issue is most fish are not eating…. We thought the deaths calmed down so day night and Monday am but then a blenny we did not have for more than maybe a month started showing signs of distress. He did not have spots or dusting really….. until the very end when his eyes became more milky. What’s stranger is that he seemed almost dead so we were going to remove him but then he drifts under a rock. The next morning when the tank lit up he was swimming normal and looking normal…. Then later on Monday he took a turn again and died that evening….
Also yesterday our main fish who we absolutely are emotionally attached to and have had for 10 years a naso tang is showing some skin irritation almost looos like some greets areas on his sides,
Slightly clouding of his eyes but stable for a few days. His side fins seem to have dusting on them but nowhere else on his body. He was very idle yesterday but swam better today but his skin looks more gritty.
We also have a regal tang that’s been hiding and not eating for a week but bowing no other symptoms.
Finally we just are losing as we speak our Roh tang which seemed to have weather this but was not eating and suddenly tonight in a couple hours started having dark spots on its body, swimming erratic floating upside down and on the sand …. He’s clearly dying and there is nothing we can do. We transferred him to the copper bath as a last resort…
No one can figure out what it is. It does not seem to respond that great to any medicine.
It seems too slow of a burn for velvet.
The symptoms are different depending on the fish: some have milky eyes some have dark spots on their body some have a dusting on the dorsal area….. and any combinations or this - none consistent…
We are devastated because we are attached to these guys. They all had names like our pets. What could this be? How can we stop it? All the experts / stores in the area are stumped.
Our chemistry levels are fine all around.
We have a big coral assortment and some invertebrates so we cannot do any type of massive extermination treatment in the main tank. We have installed a UV filtering system yesterday in case we want tot ry this but we also know it will nuke the medicine too….. so we were thinking of running it 1h every 48h before each new dose of meds to try and minimize the loss of efficacy,

Thoughts or advice appreciated.

Unfortunately the video I posted is the latest and clearest. Not feeling well they’re hiding most of the day and I’m trying not to add stress by having the lights bright outside of regular times. The store has been doing daily tests. Here’s a picture (hard to watch) of the one fish dying right now. Similar to the mimic tang but completely different looking so ease from the clown fibs or blend. But I guess that’s something…. Ill add in comment to this

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Unfortunately the video I posted is the latest and clearest. Not feeling well they’re hiding most of the day and I’m trying not to add stress by having the lights bright outside of regular times. The store has been doing daily tests. Here’s a picture (hard to watch) of the one fish dying right now. Similar to the mimic tang but completely different looking so ease from the clown fibs or blend. But I guess that’s something…. Ill add in comment to this

Sorry - no pictures or videos are showing up on my end……

 

[barfish2024]

This guy went from 2-3h ago looking normal but not eating and skittish for almost a week since disease started on another fish to this…. And dying. It’s heartbreaking to not be able to help him.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This guy went from 2-3h ago looking normal but not eating and skittish for almost a week since disease started on another fish to this…. And dying. It’s heartbreaking to not be able to help him.

Ok, I can see that video. The fish is moribund, actively dying, you won’t be able to save it. Can you get any videos of less affected fish that are still swimming?

This is either marine ich or velvet. The treatment would be to move all fish to a quarantine tank and treat with copper power or coppersafe at 2.25 ppm for 30 days.

 

[barfish2024]

Sorry but the last 24h have been as confusing as ever. The fish discussed in this thread passed yesterday in the QT.
Today our wrasse that has been so healthy and even eating some started swimming at the surface and was found tonight dying on the sand. But what I don’t understand is that it had NONE of any of the other deaths symptoms (no powder, no cloudy eyes, no blotchy skin, nothing…. Just breathing heavy laying on its side on the sand). We took it out after some time to shorten its suffering but now I’m even more confused and heartbroken….
We now have a couple basslets left some cardinals, all seem to be hanging but now our Naso tang “Murphy” who was hanging strong has started developing darker spots and now they looks like large white areas on its side almost like sand paper look (not powdery). He’s been camping out in front of the power head like he needs oxygen….. his fins seems to have some spots on them more like discoloration - not looking like flukes neither but probably hard to see. We are still doing the tank treatment with the metro every 48h. We did not put in food tonight because it looks like it was just discouraging them from eating and we added some garlic. The naso ate a few bites but not the regal tang (she’s been holed up in between rocks most of the last week).
Pictures of the tang tonight as I think it’s almost easier to see in the dark… I live this fish dearly and I’ve lost now almost my entire tank without one clearly identified disease and instead every fish had different symptoms….. what could have brought this in a healthy tank that was thriving with super healthy fish. They were a model of health a week ago and in 10 years we have NEVER had any disease like this. We would lose a new fish maybe here and there but these guys have been with us through multiple tank moves and were healthy as horses. Please give me an idea on what else to try I can’t stand sitting here and watch him fight for his life…. And not trying yet something else. The copper tank doesn’t seem to work as every fish we’ve out in there has died within hours
I don’t understand what’s changed unless our service company inadvertently brought something into the tank….. the only other thing I can think of is we used to mix the frozen food with a bunch of vitamins garlic and other things to provide supplements to our fish and corals and we stopped that for the last few months…. Maybe it was more beneficial than we thought and it was helping the fish have a stronger immune system?!?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry but the last 24h have been as confusing as ever. The fish discussed in this thread passed yesterday in the QT.
Today our wrasse that has been so healthy and even eating some started swimming at the surface and was found tonight dying on the sand. But what I don’t understand is that it had NONE of any of the other deaths symptoms (no powder, no cloudy eyes, no blotchy skin, nothing…. Just breathing heavy laying on its side on the sand). We took it out after some time to shorten its suffering but now I’m even more confused and heartbroken….
We now have a couple basslets left some cardinals, all seem to be hanging but now our Naso tang “Murphy” who was hanging strong has started developing darker spots and now they looks like large white areas on its side almost like sand paper look (not powdery). He’s been camping out in front of the power head like he needs oxygen….. his fins seems to have some spots on them more like discoloration - not looking like flukes neither but probably hard to see. We are still doing the tank treatment with the metro every 48h. We did not put in food tonight because it looks like it was just discouraging them from eating and we added some garlic. The naso ate a few bites but not the regal tang (she’s been holed up in between rocks most of the last week).
Pictures of the tang tonight as I think it’s almost easier to see in the dark… I live this fish dearly and I’ve lost now almost my entire tank without one clearly identified disease and instead every fish had different symptoms….. what could have brought this in a healthy tank that was thriving with super healthy fish. They were a model of health a week ago and in 10 years we have NEVER had any disease like this. We would lose a new fish maybe here and there but these guys have been with us through multiple tank moves and were healthy as horses. Please give me an idea on what else to try I can’t stand sitting here and watch him fight for his life…. And not trying yet something else. The copper tank doesn’t seem to work as every fish we’ve out in there has died within hours
I don’t understand what’s changed unless our service company inadvertently brought something into the tank….. the only other thing I can think of is we used to mix the frozen food with a bunch of vitamins garlic and other things to provide supplements to our fish and corals and we stopped that for the last few months…. Maybe it was more beneficial than we thought and it was helping the fish have a stronger immune system?!?

The naso seems to have a secondary bacterial infection. I don't think this is ich, but it has all of the hallmarks of velvet. As I mentioned, treating all of the fish with coppersafe at 2.25 to 2.5 ppm in a treatment tank is what I would suggest. However, velvet kills so fast, you may not have time to get that treatment started. Setting up a treatment tank "on the fly" is very difficult unless you have some non-calcium based filter media you can move over from your display to manage the ammonia in it.

A clear video of the remaining fish would help firm up the diagnosis.

 

[barfish2024]

Ok on the treatment tank, we have this set up since Saturday but every fish we put in died. They might have been too far gone. This is the set up in video- is it even enough for our naso as he won’t have any room to move in there….. nitrites and ammonia are both at zero but I don’t have a test for copper so I don’t know if we have reached the right levels yet. We started with 10 ml then after a day the store tested it and told us to add 5ml. It has been 2 days since we’ve done that. After the clown dish died in the treatment tank overnight this past weekend we had some ammonia on Monday probably because the tank cycled despite using the DT water and some already cycled rocks from the store.
I have also tested the levels in the DT this am as the naso is still by the power head…. Ammonia and nitrites are at zero in the DT.

 

[barfish2024]

Ok I was able to get video in white light of the Naso. I also added the tank to give you a sense of the size and population. We have 2 basslets left that show no sign of disease. They are fairly new (couple of months) to our tank but they’re eating and looking normal. Our regal tank is still alive, she likes to sleep and stay wedged in between rocks so maybe her slower metabolism is helping her…. She has not been eating for over a week but has no external signs.
The naso body marks seem same as last night but this video should give you a good idea.
I posted th QT set up video in my previous reply, is it even ok for our naso given how big he is or will we do more harm than good?

 

[Tamberav]

Get the fish out now and in copper.

They are dying in copper because treatment was too late.

Copper doesn’t immediately remove parasites, it only kills the free swimming stage so it won’t help what is already on the fish but will prevent it from getting worse.