Killer Anemones

[willowfox]

At my vocational center aka votech, I am in the aquaculture class. We raise Tilapia(freshwater) and I take care of the marine tank, (freshwater) aquariums, and the river tank. In the marine tank we HAD a percula clownfish, a cleaner shrimp, a "purple and yellow" fish, a yellow tang, 2 anemones, and a chocolatechip starfish. The cleaner shrimp dissapeared the next day, then the purple and yellow fish. Then the heat to the building was shut off, and the heater couldn't keep the water warm enough, in the 16 degree weather. So, we got more money and bought another yellow tang and a maroon clownfish.

The maroon clownfish disappeared, and then I walk into class today and my teacher tells me the yellow tang is dying. I get my handy-dandy marine encyclopedia, to find the symptoms show, what I believe to be poisoning. It was breathing fast and couldn't regulate it's position in the water.

Could the poisoning be caused by the anemones? If so, would we have been able to save the tang? If so......how so we know if they attack the next fish we get? Oh, we checked salinety and ph and temp, all fine...we're not sure why they are dissapearing/dying.

p.s. We took him out to the broodstock....a fresh, coldwater tank, and let him die quicker in there. (Ice was not available...sorry ...)

 

[Eversurf]

What does your amonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph result showing?

did you get your temp up?

 

[Mr Miagi]

What kind of tank is this? Explain what filtration you use, what size the tank is, etc etc. That will give uis a much better start point. Also, as Eversurf mentioned, pH, Temperature and Salinity arnt the only water parameters you should be monitoring. Please record Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia and let us see whats going on.

On a side note, placing a fish in cooler water whilst it "cool's" to death isnt a quick way to humanely kill a fish. Severing the spinal cord is much quicker for the specimen, and it wont suffer nearly as much.