Mysterious Fish Deaths

[Walkpraz]

Hello to all MASC members,
Unfortunately I have experienced two fish deaths in the past several weeks. My setup is a 14 gallon Biocube with standard filtration, in addition I have added Purigen and Chemipure Elite. The tank has been setup for over 3 months now and cycled has been cycled properly. After cycling I added some bright green zoas, which have done really well since. Shortly after with all my parameters in check and the zoas doing well I added a small frag of red mushrooms. Which since being added to the tank have multiplied by three, several weeks later I added another zoa colony and then with corals inverts. and snails all doing well added a healthy green chromis. 3 weeks later despite pristine water conditions and growing coral he passed. I inspected him for any infection and none were visible. After this incident I inspected my tank to find no outstanding issues that I believed may have caused this death. Because of this I added a large green mushroom rock two weeks later, also note that this coral is continuing to grow and shows good color. Feeling good about the corals response I added a firefish goby, which at the time has not come out of his burrow/hiding spot for two days, I hate to assume this although im doubting he is still living. This is very saddening due to the time, effort, and money invested in this project. More than anything I want to resolve this issue to insure healthy and happy marine specimens. I am more than willing to investigate anything that may be the source of the problem and resolve it by any means.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
My water parameters, from my last testing (right after goby went missing) :

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm
SG: 0.25
PH: 8.3
Calcium: 380 ppm - 450 ppm

In addition, note that this tank is in a high traffic area of the home and has a bit a surrounding movement, this is as extensive as to slightly jiggle the water level when someone is walking by the tank. In addition there is moderate sound throughout the day near and around the tank, could this be the soul cause?

 

[Walkpraz]

Also something important to add, these deaths have been very sudden and without warning, or signs of exes stress, both fish were eating very well before their passing.

 

[Ambrosio Aquatics]

are you having any temp spikes?

 

[Walkpraz]

My temp stays around 77 - 80, when the nights began to cool off I added an additional 50 wt. Hydor theo heater to the back chamber to help with temperature consistency.

 

[Ambrosio Aquatics]

if its getting to high or to low that can kill fish quick. do you have anything that records the high and low temps. the fluctuation alone can cause problems. stresses fish out more than people might think

 

[bigfoot610]

corals can take the temp swing just fine alot even come out of the water at low tide and bake in the sun, fish on the other hand croak fast from temp swings i used to change a FW 55 water once a week with a water bed drain and fill kit to a utility sink with a 20 ft hose the person i lived with thought the water was too cold and added a bit more hot temp swung 8 degress and within 2 minutes 20 fish were dead none lived. Have you ever thought about drilling your nano and attaching it to a remote sumpthe more water volume the slower the swing

 

[Haulin Oates]

I don't like to let my temp stray more than .2 degrees during the day. I think this might be your problem as well.
I'd also check for stray voltage in your tank as well. Maybe something that only turns on once in a while is open to water. Do you have a ground probe?

 

[Walkpraz]

I do not currently have a ground probe or any temperature recording devices (besides my thermometer) , I have thought long hard about adding a sump and I think its the way to go. In addition I have an empty 29 long and 10 gallon that would work great. It just boggles me that these, what I thought to be quite minor swings to be killing fish so quickly. Although with that said I do think its a viable problem. Also, I will add that any thoughts regarding overflow systems that would work in my Biocube 14 woud be greatly appreciated. I have essentially everything I need to accomplish a remote sump, (besides overflow) this makes this a very attractive option. And a way to keep occupied during this break!

 

[fiji4118]

Great timing on this string. My reef fluctuates between 76 and 78 during the winter due to the lights. Fish have never had an issue. Decided after reading this that I would go look at my reefkeeper. 74! Holy cow. So I checked everything and my titanium heater had gone out over night. Changed it for a spare Ebo and it's slowly coming back up to temp. I think the fast temp swings are what cause the most issues. Like l mentioned, mine swings 2-3 degrees every 24 hours due to the lights being on. My two cents.

 

[cdrewferd]

I agree. Unless they are fast and drastic changes then I don't think it could affect the fish. My nano changes 2-4 degrees throughout the day.

 

[jahmic]

I also get 3 degree swings from my halides + chiller combo on my nano without any noticeable issues.

That being said...what's ok in one tank isn't necessarily ok in another. To the OP if your tank his hitting 80 degrees and you are having oxygenation issues...they would be even more severe with higher temperatures, as water holds less O2 at higher temps. The difference between a couple degrees is fairly minor...but if you were on the threshold already that could be enough.

What do you have for circulation and is there enough surface agitation? And is there a lid on your tank limiting gas exchange? Unless you are getting very sudden swings I don't think temp alone is the issue...

 

[ReefCheif]

Mine swings about 1.5 - 2 degrees as well becuase of the lights, I see no direct affects from this small temp fluctuation as it coincides with the light schedule. Lights come, temp goes up a bit, lights go off, temp drops a bit, just as it would in the wild, although the swing in a natural reef is more along the line of .5 - 1 degree, unfortunatly my water valume does not compare to that of a natural reef. LOL

 

[Walkpraz]

I also get 3 degree swings from my halides + chiller combo on my nano without any noticeable issues.

That being said...what's ok in one tank isn't necessarily ok in another. To the OP if your tank his hitting 80 degrees and you are having oxygenation issues...they would be even more severe with higher temperatures, as water holds less O2 at higher temps. The difference between a couple degrees is fairly minor...but if you were on the threshold already that could be enough.

What do you have for circulation and is there enough surface agitation? And is there a lid on your tank limiting gas exchange? Unless you are getting very sudden swings I don't think temp alone is the issue...

Regarding circulation, I am running the stock pump. I dont have very bad detritus build up and all corals seem to be very happy. There is quit a bit of surface agitation coming from the return.

 

[Walkpraz]

I just finished re-assembling my rock work in an attempt to find a body. I shifted all the rocks to expose the gobies hiding spots and other inclosed spaces found in my rock work. This is when I was surprised, no body or remains. I have the stock hood with the standard hinging, only making escape possible while the hood is open. At this point I am really dumb founded, in addition I searched the filter compartment for any signs and found nothing. Is this goby still alive?

 

[Walkpraz]

Hello all, special thanks to all the members who have responded to this thread. Very much appreciated, my corals are still doing very well. Although like most I didn't join this wonderful hobby just to house corals. I am curious as to wether or not I should break down the tank give it a thorough cleaning and then set it up again, new and revised. I would not like to take theses drastic measures although if it is the only known solution I'd guess that's what I will do.