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WTF is happening to my tank?!?

In the past week I have lost 75% of my fish and I'm quite depressed, some were with me for the past 4 years. I have tested and retested all the usual levels using both digital and salifert measuring devices - all are within acceptable ranges.

The only thing that has changed in my tank has been the addition of several anemones over the past few months (it's now an anemone-only setup). I found most of them lying on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily, one in particular had deep red marks around the rear tail (almost like bruises).

I walking past the tank yesterday when my pygmy angel suddenly shot out from the rockwork and started swimming frantically across the glass for several minutes. Within 4 hours it was dead.

I am truly puzzled as to what is killing them off. They always seemed to maneuver fine around the anemones, and I assumed if they did happen to touch one it wouldn't be THAT fatal.

I figured it was a good opportunity to shop for some new fish, but I guess if it were the anemones causing the problem then the only suitable ones would be clowns...
 
A ground probe would hide the problem. Sort of like going to bluer colored lights to combat cyano bacteria, all the causes of it are still there. I'd start with seeing if you have any current flow using a multimeter to test from the tank water to a ground.

I would say stick your arm in the tank and see if you feel anything, but that's not the most smartest of things to do... granted I do that occasionally to test for voltage when I feel a zap when I hit my metal halide reflectors (found out my vho ballast which was resting on top was using me as a path to ground).
 
Thats horrible Todd, sorry for your losses.
Do you run carbon? Is is possible there has been an 02 drop in the tank? I am grasping at straws...
 
We had something similar happen a couple of months after we set up our tank.. Have you introduced any nw live rock ? or corals with a decent base of rock ?

I witnessed a flame back angel shoot out of his "home" and start twitching as if someone had sent an electric shock through his body. Everyone said "stray voltage", but in reality it would be close to impossible for that to target a single fish (it is not like a lightning bolt). Having been a licensed industrial electrician for 11 years before transitioning to a computer job I have seen electricity do some really funky things. When our fish started dying of course I checked for stray voltage just to be safe and found none. But that would stress the nervous system of all inhabitants and would not really explain that red sore/bruise on your one fish. It is like sfsuphysics states, if you don't feel anything when you stick your arm into the tank and if you test and there is nothing registering, then that is not your problem. You can take a regular voltage meter, a digital works best since it wouldn't be a full 120 volts... at least you hope not). Just stick the black probe into the grounding prong of a regular outlet (that is the bottom one.. if in doubt, call someone who knows..) and touch the other meter probe to the tank water. I had a rio pump go bad on me once (back before I replaced all Rios with magdrive and maxijets). I actually was regiustering 40 some odd volts to ground, and yea.. I felt it when I touched the water, most definitely. But at that time I had 0 fish or coral loss from the leak, just for the record.

What our original problem ended up being in our tank was a pair of very large fireworms (the predatory bristle worm). They took down 4 of our fish before I noticed them "living" in the same rockwork that most of the casualties had liked to hang out. 2 months later and we finally trapepd them out (homemade trap, since they were too big to fit into the trap-em traps... they couldn't even elongate thin enough to go in through the hole in the end). Since then there have been no major fish deaths or dissappreances (sure, the occassional neon goby or small green chromis goes missing now and again... but nothing like before).

Just relaying our experiences.. Best of luck in finding what is causing your problems...
 
I think that allelopathy between anemones may kill fish as well. If some your anemones look stressed as well I think that is a possibility. Especially if you have different species of anemones, carpets seem to be some of the most aggressive so if you have any they may not like some of the new additions.
 
The multi-meter does not register any stray voltage in the tank, I purchased a ground probe just to be on the safe side. My anemones are all versions of BTA's so I don't think there's any chemical warfare going on between them. I added a couple more fish over the weekend and everything seems OK thus far, I guess it was just a bad week...
 
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