cabrego June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 (edited) Hi all, I am wondering what everyone's experience has been with BRK's fish. Over the last month or so, I have lost 5 new fish from BRK, in less than a week. They seem to be fine and do great initially then for some reason they seem to develop a subtle white coloration possible bacteria, or fungus of some kind and die a day or two later. I just lost 4 fish (2 clowns, and 2 yellow tangs) this week, and they all died the same way. It is really hard for me to determine what it is they exactly died from, no signs of ich either. I have 2 small damsels in the tank that have been doing well for a few months, plenty of inverts and corals that seem fine. No signs of agression in the tank. The only other thing I observed besides the white unknown coloration on the fish's body, is there also apperaed to be a red tint on the fins of the yellow tangs. I drip acclimate the fish and it usually takes about an hour. Ph=8, Nitrates=0-10, salinity=1.024, Amm.=0 nitrites=0. Any thoughts? Edited June 4, 2009 by cabrego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 I still have every single fish I have purchased there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 Same here along with all the corals I ever purchased in the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrego June 4, 2009 Author Share June 4, 2009 I really envy you! How do you acclimate the fish? I know BRK keeps their salinity on the lower side (1.015), so I usually take my time acclimating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 They seem to be fine and do great initially then for some reason they seem to develop a subtle white coloration possible bacteria, or fungus of some kind and die a day or two later. Just by the sounds of things, it sounds like Marine Velvet is your culprit. How you got it, etc....I don't know. Pictures would probably help. Do you quarantine? If so, are you using hypo salinity? Velvet thrives in hypo. This is all a guess by what you mentioned; pictures would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 Sorry to hear about your bad luck, but it's unlikley that BRK has anything to do with it. It's much more probable that there's something going on in your tank that is harmful to any new fish you add, regardless of where they came from. New fish are generally more susceptable to parasites and diseases that could be present in your tank at low levels, infecting your current fish but not enough to kill them. The most common cause of "white coloration" is either ich or marine velvet. Ich tends to present as spots, and velvet looks like white powder. Ich is usually not fatal unless it's a very bad case, but often leads to other problems which can be fatal. Velvet is usually fatal. There's tons of pictures on the internet you could use to help diagnose. Red tint on a YT's fins is most likely septicemia, a generalized infection. Again; not usually fatal by itself except in advanced cases, but commonly results from some other problems. I've had great success with BRK fish. The livestock is in good shape to begin with, and I've found the staff very helpful in discouraging the purchase of any fish that looks even a little questionable. Good luck, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrego June 4, 2009 Author Share June 4, 2009 Just by the sounds of things, it sounds like Marine Velvet is your culprit. How you got it, etc....I don't know. Pictures would probably help. Do you quarantine? If so, are you using hypo salinity? Velvet thrives in hypo. This is all a guess by what you mentioned; pictures would help. I do not quarantine the fish, so no hyposalinity is used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 I have had velvet in my tank. It developed immediately after a fish I received from BRK, taking out the rabbitfish I got from there and a 10" queen angel. This was about a year ago now. However, I have purchased other fish from there and haven't had any other velvet issues. John has fairly high stock turnover, so diseases are bound to happen from time to time. You absolutely must QT no matter who the vendor is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 I purchased a Kole tang once, that brought ich into the tank, and killed the Kole tang and one other fish. But almost all of my fish came from BRK to start with, and I haven't had any problems with them. So I would suggest maybe really bad luck, or something in the tank that attacks the new inhabitants and kills them before they can develop a resistance. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Monkey June 4, 2009 Share June 4, 2009 Hi all, I am wondering what everyone's experience has been with BRK's fish. Over the last month or so, I have lost 5 new fish from BRK, in less than a week. They seem to be fine and do great initially then for some reason they seem to develop a subtle white coloration possible bacteria, or fungus of some kind and die a day or two later. I just lost 4 fish (2 clowns, and 2 yellow tangs) this week, and they all died the same way. It is really hard for me to determine what it is they exactly died from, no signs of ich either. I have 2 small damsels in the tank that have been doing well for a few months, plenty of inverts and corals that seem fine. No signs of agression in the tank. The only other thing I observed besides the white unknown coloration on the fish's body, is there also apperaed to be a red tint on the fins of the yellow tangs. I drip acclimate the fish and it usually takes about an hour. Ph=8, Nitrates=0-10, salinity=1.024, Amm.=0 nitrites=0. Any thoughts? When I drip acclimate from 1.015 to 1.026, I go pretty slow. It usually takes me about 3 hours. This is just me though, not sure how long others would drip a fish for given that set of conditions. Are the fish lasting for a few days or a few weeks before they die? What kind of container do you place the fish in when you acclimate? Is the container used for anything else? I check BRK first when I'm looking for a fish. The health of their livestock is top notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 If I were you I would setup a Quarantine tank. It is fairly simple and will allow you to make sure you don't get sick livestock in your main tank. Just read about it, it is a must if you don't want to have a great disaster. By putting the fish in the main tank there is the possibility that it got the infection in your tank, as much as that it had it originally. I have had very good success from BRK livestock. But I still quarantine it. Even if the local fish stores treat them with a lot of care these animals have suffered quite a bit from origin to destination in NoVA. Their inmune system is as stressed out as they are and any minor pest in your own tank might push them over the edge. Remember that your fish in your tank are probably fed daily and have strong resistance against pests, even if they are in your water. Also fish are territorial, so new comers had to deal with the extra stress of making a place for themselves in their new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikryd June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 I picked up an Atlantic Blue Tang this week and it died too. But I will admit it was partially my fault. I didn't ask about salinity and didn't drip acclimate. So it is hard to assume that it was anything from BRK. Any vendor can and does get fish that are sick - it is part of getting fish from the wild. There is no real way to treat EVERY fish and guarantee it 100% - unless you pay 3x more and order from Live Aquaria and pay for shipping as well. I have lost 2 ABTangs though. The other one from Roozens. I look at each fish and see if it is eating, its general health and then still know there is a chance it won't make all the tank transfers and stress of moving it. I QT ALL FISH for 6 weeks prior to entering my display. There are a lot of parasites and stuff that won't show up in the first week or two. That is the only real way to make sure that you don't bring anything into your display and vs. versa. You can have something in the tank that the other fish have lived with and are used to and the new ones get sick cause of it. I QTed all my fish a few months ago to make sure they have nothing - got rid of the ich in my display and haven't had an issue since... Hope it works out for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefhunter June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 I got a six line from BRK once and I acclimated it too fast... it turned stiff and turned upside down.... then I put it back in the hypo water and it was fine... I acclimated it more slowly and it lives happily in my reef now... Seems to be a pretty hardy fish if you can almost kill it and then it came back like nothing happened... However, I bought a pair of Firefish from BRK once... they didn't make it long.... first one died in 5 seconds... courtesy of my green carpet anemone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrego June 5, 2009 Author Share June 5, 2009 When I drip acclimate from 1.015 to 1.026, I go pretty slow. It usually takes me about 3 hours. This is just me though, not sure how long others would drip a fish for given that set of conditions. Are the fish lasting for a few days or a few weeks before they die? What kind of container do you place the fish in when you acclimate? Is the container used for anything else? I check BRK first when I'm looking for a fish. The health of their livestock is top notch. Depending on the size of the fish I either acclimate in a specimen container or in the bag it came in. In this case the tangs were acclimated in the bag, and the clowns were acclimated in the specimen container. I hope this is a case of bad luck, I am not sure what I can do differently besides quarantine. I figure I need at least a 30 gallon tank for a quarantine, which I have no space for, which is my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Monkey June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 Depending on the size of the fish I either acclimate in a specimen container or in the bag it came in. In this case the tangs were acclimated in the bag, and the clowns were acclimated in the specimen container. I hope this is a case of bad luck, I am not sure what I can do differently besides quarantine. I figure I need at least a 30 gallon tank for a quarantine, which I have no space for, which is my problem. You can definitely get away with a smaller quarantine depending on the size of the fish. I use a 20L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leishman June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 I have had BRK fish issues. I bought a pair of clowns and both jumped. I also bought a Regal Hippo, and it only lived for 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan June 5, 2009 Share June 5, 2009 I have two firefish that are happy, healthy looking and clean that I purchased at the social. They started to eat immediately after acclimating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniflea June 6, 2009 Share June 6, 2009 Sorry to hear about your fish not making it, I know how bad that feels. The one fish I've bought from BRK was a pygmy angel, and it is really thriving in my tank- and it was active and eating almost immediately after acclimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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