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Fish died during transport - why?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Bud, Oct 29, 2013.

  1. Oct 29, 2013 #1
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

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    I've transported many fish in a bucket without issue. Never had a death. But tonight I had a few die
    They were transported from Cedar Falls to WDM. In the bucket was a Green Mandarin, Flame Angel, Wrasse, a large serpent star, and an 80 head sun coral colony.
    The angel and wrasse were dead. Like really dead. Like stiff, mouth-open type of dead. The angel had a column of slime from it up to the water surface. The bucket had about 3.5-4g of water in it.
    The mandarin was perfectly fine. So were star and sun coral. Another bucket with a pair of clowns, very large brittle star, and a bunch of frags were also fine
    If anyone has an idea if why this happened, I would be interested to hear it. I always like to learn from mistakes!!
     
  2. Oct 29, 2013 #2
    Kpotter2 North liberty, IA

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    Oxygen levels may have dipped way to low. I have never had a death that fast, but I guess it could happen. Sorry to hear this happened.




     
  3. Oct 29, 2013 #3
    Sponge Marshalltown, IA

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    IMO the Flame and Wrasse(Unless it was a 6line, they're pretty hardy) are a more delicate fish. I would not have put the Flame and Wrasse in the same bucket as one, if not both, can be very aggressive! I would have put the Flame in a bucket by itself (no other fish) and the Wrasse I would have put in with the Mandarin. Were these from a reefer or a LFS Bud? More info would help :0) It could be oxygen but I doubt it. Did you look at the gills? They should have been pink...if not, then it is very possible the oxygen had some to do with the deaths...especially if they were fighting/chasing throughout the time.

    Sorry to hear about them passing Bud /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/sad.gif
     
  4. Oct 30, 2013 #4
    blackx-runner Cedar Rapids, IA

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    could the sun coral have something to do with it? Did it slime up or anything?
     
  5. Oct 30, 2013 #5
    jazzybio13 Ames

    jazzybio13 MBI Breeder

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    If mouths were wide open and gills were discolored I'd suspect oxygen... but man that's a short time. I usually use bucket transportation for my fish if i can... but that's only a few hours tops. They must have really been chasing in there to have depleted the oxygen that fast.

     
  6. Oct 30, 2013 #6
    xroads La Porte City, IA

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    I would bet money the coral slimed and release some toxins.

    LPS is notorious for waging chemical warfare, and I am sure by disturbing it, it released some chemicals to fight off whoever was screwing with it.
     
  7. Oct 30, 2013 #7
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

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    Came from a hobbyist tank. Sun coral did not appear to have slimed up that I could tell. The only slime was a line from one of the dead fish's mouth (the angel, IIRC).

    The flame went to the bottom of the bucket and laid on his side right away. Seen this with another flame angel also, but he made it (shorter trip)

    So Craig you think the sun coral colony (is that LPS or NPS or both?) is the culprit? If so, how come the Mandarin made it?

    Also the tank they came from had been regularly dosed with vodka, would have have contributed?

    Maybe it's a combination of things...
     
  8. Oct 30, 2013 #8
    nrenn Waverly, Iowa

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    I made the same drive with a snowflake eel in a bucket a few weeks ago. With the weather the way it is, did the water get too cold?
     
  9. Oct 30, 2013 #9
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

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    Water only got down to maybe 72
     
  10. Oct 30, 2013 #10
    jstngates Toledo Iowa

    jstngates Experienced Reefkeeper

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    I'm with Craig toxins were released into the bucket. Maybe just got lucky the Mandarin didn't die. 80 head colony could release alot of toxins.
     

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