Tank Trouble need help!

[bpat09]

I am very new at this and a few days ago I noticed my Black and White Heniochus had small white dots and I quarantined him last night and he died this morning. I really don't know what to do. I know I have to do something to my tank but I?m not sure what.

 

[~Flighty~]

I moved your thread to the reef talk forum for you.

Can you give us some details about the setup?

 

[bpat09]

I havea 65 gallon tank with twin emperor 400 filters, i have twin ocellaris clownfish, one yellow tailed damselfish. I had a Black and White Heniochus but he got infected and died.

 

[naturebatslast]

Do you test your water? If so what did your water test at? How old is the the tank?

 

[bpat09]

pH=8.2
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=2 ppm
Ammonia=0
Carbon Hardness=9

it either died from ich or Marine Velvet

 

[naturebatslast]

Sounds like ich, but others may differ. How do the other fish look?
Is your tank temp stable, any big swings in chemistry lately?

 

[bpat09]

the other fish look fine and the temp is stable. no large swings in my chemistry

 

[naturebatslast]

Maybe do a search here for Ich, there are some good threads.

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

How old was the fish? How long has the tank been running?

 

[bpat09]

the fish was 2 weeks old and my tank has been running for about 5-6 weeks

 

[NateHanson]

Your physical description sounds like ich to me, but the speed with which the fish died sounds more like Brooklynella. I've also heard of a number of these fish dying of Brooklynella in the timeframe that you experienced after purchase. (Two pairs of my own died this way, 3 days, then 4 weeks after puchase.)

I wouldn't suspect any specific problem in your tank, but, in my opinion, I would say that generally you're moving too fast. At 5 weeks many tanks have just finished cycling, or will finish soon. As you're not seeing nitrates, and you're measuring low levels of nitrites, it's possible that you're tank is not yet done cycling, and you shouldn't add any fish until nitrites are zero.

Secondly, the heniochus butterflies (and indeed all butterflyfish) are not beginner fish, and are not great fish for a new tank either, because they are generally not as hardy as some other types of fish. Specifically the heniochus also seem to be more likely than most to be purchased with brooklynella, and die within the first month. There are past threads about this if you want to read more about members' experiences.

 

[bpat09]

should i worry about my other fish

 

[bpat09]

and do i need to do anything to my tank?