I came home today and found my 2.5" hippo tang dead. I got him about 2 weeks ago.
1) Other Inhabitants
The tang had NO signs of abuse of any kind. He was NOT picked on at all for the 2 weeks that I had him. The other tank mates are a 2.5" rectangular trigger, a 2.5" strawyberry dottyback, 3 sea urchins, 2 peppermint shrimp, and maybe a couple of snails that the trigger didn't eat yet (yes I know, he will kill everyone else in the tank when he gets bigger, and maybe the shrimp sooner than later).
All the other inhabitants are ok, except the trigger is breathing pretty hard: he inflates his cheeks in and out (like he ate something very big, perhaps a hermit crab). However I noticed him doing that before without any problems. I fed him a little bit, and he ate like a PIG. The dottyback is also well and eating.
2) Water Parameters
My water parameters are as follows:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
PH: 8.2-8.4 (hard to tell with Aquarium Pharmaceutics color chart)
Salinity: 1.025
Is there anything else that I should be testing for that might indicate a problem?
3) Chemicals
I don't add any chemicals except that I use NovAqua plus, which is a dechlorinator. The NovAqua is also supposed to produce a protective covering around the fish. I've only been using this for about a week and added about 10 gallons of water (into my 125 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump), so I don't think this could have killed the Tang.
4) Improper Acclimitation
I did not use the drip method to acclimatize the Hippo Tang. Rather I put the bag in the tank to let the temperature adjust and then added little holes in the bag. This was what my LFS told me to do. I know that's a bad method - I've been reading about the drip method and will use that from now on. Anyway, right before I introduced the Hippo tang, I added more sand, so the water was VERY cloudy when he was introduced. He hid in the Live Rock for the past 2 weeks, although he DID come out to eat. Actually, he even started coming out of the rocks for the last 3 or 4 days, and then suddenly today he died. However, I should note that I did NOT see him eat for the last 2 days.
5) Improper Food???
I added some Nori to the tank for the Tang 2 days ago (I attached it to a veggie clip). Somebody ate the Nori, although I don't know who it was because I did not see the Tang eat (I did however see the other fish and shrimp eat pieces of the Nori). The Nori I got was Roasted rather than dried - does this make a difference (I could not find a dried Nori and figured there was no real difference because there was nothing added to the Nori). Could this have killed the Tang?
Anyway, please let me know what you think could have killed him? Maybe he was just too stressed from the improper acclimitation?
Also, is it normal for the trigger to breathe like he does (fast and with his cheeks going in and out) - I've noticed it before, but now I am worried about it.
1) Other Inhabitants
The tang had NO signs of abuse of any kind. He was NOT picked on at all for the 2 weeks that I had him. The other tank mates are a 2.5" rectangular trigger, a 2.5" strawyberry dottyback, 3 sea urchins, 2 peppermint shrimp, and maybe a couple of snails that the trigger didn't eat yet (yes I know, he will kill everyone else in the tank when he gets bigger, and maybe the shrimp sooner than later).
All the other inhabitants are ok, except the trigger is breathing pretty hard: he inflates his cheeks in and out (like he ate something very big, perhaps a hermit crab). However I noticed him doing that before without any problems. I fed him a little bit, and he ate like a PIG. The dottyback is also well and eating.
2) Water Parameters
My water parameters are as follows:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
PH: 8.2-8.4 (hard to tell with Aquarium Pharmaceutics color chart)
Salinity: 1.025
Is there anything else that I should be testing for that might indicate a problem?
3) Chemicals
I don't add any chemicals except that I use NovAqua plus, which is a dechlorinator. The NovAqua is also supposed to produce a protective covering around the fish. I've only been using this for about a week and added about 10 gallons of water (into my 125 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump), so I don't think this could have killed the Tang.
4) Improper Acclimitation
I did not use the drip method to acclimatize the Hippo Tang. Rather I put the bag in the tank to let the temperature adjust and then added little holes in the bag. This was what my LFS told me to do. I know that's a bad method - I've been reading about the drip method and will use that from now on. Anyway, right before I introduced the Hippo tang, I added more sand, so the water was VERY cloudy when he was introduced. He hid in the Live Rock for the past 2 weeks, although he DID come out to eat. Actually, he even started coming out of the rocks for the last 3 or 4 days, and then suddenly today he died. However, I should note that I did NOT see him eat for the last 2 days.
5) Improper Food???
I added some Nori to the tank for the Tang 2 days ago (I attached it to a veggie clip). Somebody ate the Nori, although I don't know who it was because I did not see the Tang eat (I did however see the other fish and shrimp eat pieces of the Nori). The Nori I got was Roasted rather than dried - does this make a difference (I could not find a dried Nori and figured there was no real difference because there was nothing added to the Nori). Could this have killed the Tang?
Anyway, please let me know what you think could have killed him? Maybe he was just too stressed from the improper acclimitation?
Also, is it normal for the trigger to breathe like he does (fast and with his cheeks going in and out) - I've noticed it before, but now I am worried about it.
