Fish dropping like flies. NEED HELP!

well i just lost the mandarin...ive pretty much come to the conclusion that im going to lose them all. although the ocellaris is tank raised and hes looking really good right now so i think he will pull through

nothing better than a fresh start on a new tank i guess.

 

When that happened to me it was ammonia and nitrites. It is amazing how little time we have when we see our fish in distress. I wasn't aware that a family member over-fed our Clown Trigger & Domino Damsel with a metric tonne of mysis shrimp. So when I came home and saw the Trigger acting a little quirky, I wasn't too concerned because he does some quirky things and Triggers are super smart fish. I really needed about a 10-minute "pit stop"... After which the Trigger was dead and the Damsel was noticed sitting in a little place on the live rock breathing super fast. I wasn't confident that I could touch the Damsel without it fleeing into a cave and dying, and my net wouldn't fit where he was, so I bolted to the siphon and immediately started draining the water so I could put new saltwater in. By the time the water was to the lowest level I could reach without the Damsel being exposed to the air (1") the Damsel had completely stopped breathing and was dead.

In retrospect, when the Clown Trigger was acting more quirky than I had yet seen (I hadn't had him for more than a week, so I wasn't completely familiar with his behavior) I should have looked around to find out how the Damsel was doing, and if it was acting even a little strange I could have tested the ammonia and nitrites -- very quick tests that, when the water conditions are as bad as mine were, give discernible results quickly and before waiting the full 5 minutes. I also might have benefited from starting a siphon and immediately pouring saltwater over where the Damsel was in hopes that some nice water would hit it and it may start to recover while I dilute the bad water and then get rid of it after the Damsel stabilized.

Oh well, maybe they couldn't be recovered at that point. But next time, in case there's any chance of them living, I'm going to have to "hold it" -- At least it won't kill me.

So the bottom line is: quick action is key (fish die fast), strict control of your tank(s) is ideal, and Hanes are cheaper than Trigger fish.

 

I am sorry to say but i wouldnt and couldnt soil my hanes for any fish at any time that is just me though.

 

UPDATE: My chocolate chip died in the middle of the night, but the good news is that the ocellaris and both chromis are looking 100% better and the chromis are no longer gulping for air. They are still extremely jittery and wont come to the top anymore when i feed them. All 3 fish only eat if it falls right in front of their faces, and even then they might not take it. Im guessing it will take some time to get their appetites back...any opinions?