Something Wrong

[rednwhite barmy]

lost my copperband the other morning, the night before his untimely death he was'nt behaving his normal self, cant put my finger on how just not right, so i took a water sample to my local supplier and all was ok apart from my nitrate a bit high, was told 'get this' to try adding a bit of sugar! never come across this before any of you fellas? well now my chalk goby is acting a bit out of character and am getting a bit concerned. any help please

 

[Colin_T]

If you're adding sugar to the tank then perhaps add some coffee too. Sorry couldn't resist.
The sugar might be to help the denitrating bacteria break down the nitrates but it depends on if you have big pieces of live rock in the tank or a denitrating filter. The anaerobic bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen gas need carbon to work efficiently, and they can get that from sugar. They also get it from alcohol and whatever organic matter is rotting in the water. If you don't have much live rock or a denitrating filter then do big water changes to dilute and lower the nitrate levels.

Copperband butterflies can be problem fish, especially big ones and if they are newly imported then it is possible the fish was suffering from cyanide problems. Adult butterflies are picky eaters as well and the combination of stress from being caught and flown half way round the world, going into the shop tank and then yours, and not eating a normal diet, can lead to the demise of the fish.
If you had the fish for a few months and it was feeding well, then it is most likely a disease of some sort.
Did the fish show any symptoms before it passed away?
What does the goby look like, ie: gills flared, breathing heavily, etc?
When was the last time you did a water change and how much did you change?
When was the filter last cleaned?
How long has the tank been set up?
Is there much live rock in the tank?

 

[rednwhite barmy]

If you're adding sugar to the tank then perhaps add some coffee too. Sorry couldn't resist.
The sugar might be to help the denitrating bacteria break down the nitrates but it depends on if you have big pieces of live rock in the tank or a denitrating filter. The anaerobic bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen gas need carbon to work efficiently, and they can get that from sugar. They also get it from alcohol and whatever organic matter is rotting in the water. If you don't have much live rock or a denitrating filter then do big water changes to dilute and lower the nitrate levels.

Copperband butterflies can be problem fish, especially big ones and if they are newly imported then it is possible the fish was suffering from cyanide problems. Adult butterflies are picky eaters as well and the combination of stress from being caught and flown half way round the world, going into the shop tank and then yours, and not eating a normal diet, can lead to the demise of the fish.
If you had the fish for a few months and it was feeding well, then it is most likely a disease of some sort.
Did the fish show any symptoms before it passed away?
What does the goby look like, ie: gills flared, breathing heavily, etc?
When was the last time you did a water change and how much did you change?
When was the filter last cleaned?
How long has the tank been set up?
Is there much live rock in the tank?

ta for the response colin, had the copperband approx 3-4 months and he was feeding well on defrosted brine shrimp like the rest of my stock, only thing i noticed was he was skimming the top of the water for a bit before lights out (i've a 4ft juwell tank with the large juwell power head) the goby looks fine but is not sealing his cave off at night as normal (never done that before) i do my normal weekly water changes of 5/10% and i clean the filter approx every 6 weeks, the tanks been running now for approx 9-10 months with loads of live rock (i'll see if i can get a piccy) cheers matey

 

[Colin_T]

Frozen brineshrimp doesn't have a lot in it nutritionally. Brands that have been fed with algae prior to freezing are better but they are still not that good on their own. Do you feed them anything else? If not try adding raw or cooked prawn to the diet. Also raw fish, squid, mussels and maybe add a good quality marine pellet.
Fish gasping at the surface could be caused by an ammonia rise, low oxygen, or the fish has a problem with its gills, maybe a fungus or parasite.
5-10% water changes don't do much. You are better off doing a 20% every 2 weeks. It will make more difference.

 

[rednwhite barmy]

Frozen brineshrimp doesn't have a lot in it nutritionally. Brands that have been fed with algae prior to freezing are better but they are still not that good on their own. Do you feed them anything else? If not try adding raw or cooked prawn to the diet. Also raw fish, squid, mussels and maybe add a good quality marine pellet.
Fish gasping at the surface could be caused by an ammonia rise, low oxygen, or the fish has a problem with its gills, maybe a fungus or parasite.
5-10% water changes don't do much. You are better off doing a 20% every 2 weeks. It will make more difference.

aye i'll up the volume of my water changes and try to vary the food i put in, may still try the sugar thing and keep a close eye on my boys. cheers matey

 

[dilbert]

I never tried out sugar or alcohol for bacteria blooms as I feared I have to sit like a pensioner in front of the tank and watch what happens.

But for measuring oxygen there is a test from Salifert.

The oxygen concentration is normally pretty constant and I use it only from time to time but for beginning strange methods the test might be appropriate.