treesprite September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 I did a water change Sunday in my 16g (sort of a shroom farm until I get T-5s), and today I found xenia dead and colt coral dead, and fish acting listless and not going after food. I checked the salinity to find sg of 1.15. I think the zoas on a little rock in there are dead because I didn't see them open. I'm really mad at myself now. I'm NOT doing this again!
Kevin Garrison September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 Ouch, I think we've all been here, I would do incremental water changes to bring the salinity back up, if you do it too quickly you will definitely shock things. The zoos may be fine once the salinity is back up, I've found mine to be amazingly resilient. Kevin
Smoothtriqueter September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 Sorry to hear, almost did the same thing just the other day. Filled four 5g buckets mixed 3 w salt (didn't realize I needed more) and the first one I STARTED putting in was fresh. Only a gallon thank god!! hope things bounce back for you.
flowerseller September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 I don't think 1.15 SG is your problem. A. the fish are fine and act normal down to 1.09, the best target SG for hypo salinity treatment. B. while the corals you mentioned do not enjoy this low of an SG, they are certainly able to tolerate it with little ill effects. C. I don't think 1.15 SG is your problem. A. the fish are fine and act normal down to 1.09, the best target SG for hypo salinity treatment. B. while the corals you mentioned do not enjoy this low of an SG, they are certainly able to tolerate it with little ill effects. C.
gsedlack September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 I confess. I've done it as well. I lost Xenia and a nice Open Brain Coral and I pledged as well, to never do that again. I hope your critters recover.
Ne0eN September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 It is possible to kill colt coral and xenia? I agree with Chip, something more is amiss than just low salinity. I'm guessing contaminated water. --Rob
Coral Hind September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 Here are just a few things to think about. I agree with the others that the lower salinity would not have caused the rapid death you saw. Was the temperature close to the same? How much of a water change did you do? If it was only a small portion the salinity difference shouldn't have had a big impact on the tank. With a tank that small a water change should be added slowly and not just dumped in. What was your water source and have you changed the source of water? Going from distilled, tap water, RO/DI water in a large water change can really alter the water chemistry in the tank. Was the mixing container covered and other things like towels free of contaminants? Some airborne contaminant like an air freshner, bug spray or a cleaner could have settled in. I once killed most of a tank because someone used my fish towels to give a flea dip to the dog. It took me a week to figure out what the cause was. Only when I saw her uses the towel a second time did it all click. Was the newly mixed water properly aerated? When the mix is not properly aerated the PH doesn't have a chance to adjust. I hope some of that helps you to figure out what happened.
Origami September 10, 2008 September 10, 2008 I did a water change Sunday in my 16g (sort of a shroom farm until I get T-5s), and today I found xenia dead and colt coral dead, and fish acting listless and not going after food. I checked the salinity to find sg of 1.15. I think the zoas on a little rock in there are dead because I didn't see them open. I'm really mad at myself now. I'm NOT doing this again! You do mean 1.015, don't you (not 1.15)? I think that would imply a 43% water change with fresh water (assuming a start at 1.026, or 35 ppt down to 20 ppt).
treesprite September 11, 2008 Author September 11, 2008 It was about 2.5 days in that water, not just overnight. I can't find anything wrong with the water besides this, except that there was a temp spike a couple days before this (mid to upper 80s). This is the tank that is not plagued by nitrate. I used RO water. I don't think anything got in the water. The xenia was already doing poorly and looking stringy before this happened - could it have decided finally to call it quits and put off a toxin that would kill stuff in a tank this small? If that is the case, maybe I need to be doing another water change. The fish are doing better. The mushrooms are suffering. I found a couple dead astreas but nerites are fine and crab is fine.
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