My first casualty...

[Rogue]

My tank has been up and running for about a month, and I recently started adding stuff. This week, I've added a number of corals (mostly small stuff - mushrooms, polyps) and a total of four fish: Two clowns, a jawfish, and a pygmy angel. Too fast too soon, maybe? My water tests have been great, as recently as yesterday. The LFSs that I went to agreed and thought I'd be fine (for these items, anyway).

Anyway, I just noticed a dead emerald crab in my tank. No big deal, but looking around closer, I found another one. I also noticed a small white patch on one of my live rocks (near one of the dead crabs) that I don't remember seeing before. Coincidence?

Oh, and I haven't seen the jawfish since last night. I assumed he was just hiding somewhere, but now I'm not so sure...

Do I have any reason to be concerned here? And if so, what should I do?

Thanks.

[livingreef2004]

how big is your tank? a month is a little early to add so many fish it is better to add them about a month apart unless its a pair of something like clowns

the mushrooms and polyps should be ok after a month

have you had a diatom algea bloom yet (the brown algea)?

jawfish are usually very shy when first added look for piles of freshly turned over sand and fresh holes in the sand at the base of your lr thats a sure sign that there in there just might be busy making a new home

the white patch on your lr might be a sign of low calcium also coraline will turn white when exposed to air it will grow back as long as water params are right

i would take a sample of your water to your lfs to have them test it they usually will do this for free

if you have your water params please post them so maybe someone can see if something is lacking

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by livingreef2004

how big is your tank? a month is a little early to add so many fish it is better to add them about a month apart unless its a pair of something like clowns

the mushrooms and polyps should be ok after a month

have you had a diatom algea bloom yet (the brown algea)?

jawfish are usually very shy when first added look for piles of freshly turned over sand and fresh holes in the sand at the base of your lr thats a sure sign that there in there just might be busy making a new home

the white patch on your lr might be a sign of low calcium also coraline will turn white when exposed to air it will grow back as long as water params are right

i would take a sample of your water to your lfs to have them test it they usually will do this for free

if you have your water params please post them so maybe someone can see if something is lacking

Thanks for the reply. I too thought this might be a little bit quick to be adding fish, but with everything looking do good and the LFS's blessing, I just couldn't resist. The fish (minus the MIA jawfish) and all the coral I have LOOK happy. They are all open, etc. It's the dead crabs and the white whatever it is that concern me a bit.

I had the brows algae bloom a long time ago (a week or so after setting up the tank), but it was quickly covered up by a massive hair algae bloom. See pics here:

Here are my params from yesyterday (BEFORE adding a few new things last night, including the pygmy angel and the jawfish):
76.4 degrees (I have a chiller).
Salinity - 1.023
pH - 8.0
NitrAte < 10 (0)
NitrIte < /2 (also 0)
Ammonia - 0
Calcium - 680 mg/L
Magnesium - 6.59=1352 mg/L

[DaveK]

Originally Posted by Rogue

...Anyway, I just noticed a dead emerald crab in my tank. No big deal, but looking around closer, I found another one. ...

Are you sure you found a dead crab and not a molt from a crab? Crabs shead their shell, molt, in order to grow. The new shell is soft and at this time the crab is vulnerable to attack, so it hides out for a few days.

Since all your other stuff seems to be doing ok, and would usually suffer before a crab would if there was a problem, I suspect you found a molt.

[KimPossible]

Are you sure you found a dead crab and not a molt from a crab?

My first thought too Rouge.

Your jawfish may have made a burrow or is hiding in a cave behind your rock work. If it doesn't have a den yet it will stay out of sight and prepare it at night. They are shy....but don't forget their tendency to jump out of tanks.

[Rogue]

Since posting this, I spoke with the LFS and he too suggested the "dead" crabs may just be molts. Guess I need to take a closer look. Should I just break them open and see if there is meat inside?

He also wasn't concerned about the bleached looking live rock (a decent sized patch is milk white), but I'm going to keep an eye on it.

As for the jawfish, hopefully he's hiding. I didn't think to look in the sump though. He could have gotten over that wall pretty easily if he wanted to. Hopefully he'll reappear soon, alive and well...

[Rogue]

After not seeing him for 36 hours, I found the jawfish today. He wasn't happy. He was lying on the bottom and his breathing was labored. When I tried to pick him up, he squited behind the rocks and I couldn'f find him for a while. Then he reappeared elsewhere in the tank, swimming erratically. He was literally twisting all the way around and swimming into things, as if he was blind. He was also gasping. Then he took one big gasp and poof - that was it. Dead on the bottom.

I'm taking him back to the LFS to see what they think, and I'm taking some water for them to sample too.

Any thoughts in the meantime?

[DaveK]

Jawfish are a fish that normally digs a burrow in the sand and lives in it. They need a rather deep sand bed so they can do this.

Jawfish are also excellent jumpers. Yours could have literally been beating it's head against any cover you might be using. This is more likely if you don't have a place where the fish can dig in.

Jawfish are usually timid, especially when new. The other fish might have been chaseing it, and it's reaction may have been to jump.

From what you describe, I think the fish got injured somwhere along the line.

[Rogue]

Update: Took the fish back to the LFS. At first, they tried saying he was probably stressed and maybe the pygmy angel was picking on it, etc. I walked straight back to the tank that had the other jawfish in it, and talk about timing. As I approached, it started swimming erratically. I said, "That's what mine was doing, but worse. Mine was rolling over too." As I said that, it started rolling over. "Yeah, just like that. Then it just died." No sooner did I speak those words than the fish dropped dead.

Are you kidding me?

They said they must have gotten a bad batch of jawfish in and happily refunded my money, but I think I know what's really going on. I am some sort of jawfish killing god. I simply think about them dying and *poof* - dead fish.

Crazy, eh?

The good news is that I took in a sample of my water, and it looked excellent across the board. My calcium is a bit on the high side, but that's not a big deal (I don't think). Everything else is looking good.

[KimPossible]

I am some sort of jawfish killing god. I simply think about them dying and *poof* - dead fish.

~LOL!
Well, at least it wasn't linked to your tank!

I think jawfish are cool. What type of substrate do you have and how deep?

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by KimPossible

~LOL!
Well, at least it wasn't linked to your tank!

I think jawfish are cool. What type of substrate do you have and how deep?

When we set up the tank, we dumped in two bags of live sand. It's maybe 2 inches deep, on average. That's a guess...

[KimPossible]

You may want to add more sand in one part of your tank for the jawfish. They need a minimum of 5" and I've read some who say deeper. They also require different sized substrate and rubble to reinforce their burrow.
I saw one that had a symbiotic relationship with a pistol shrimp, like the goby.
It was great.
If you decide to try again, and I hope you do, I wanna see some pics

Ooohhh, how many fish do you have now?
I'm thinking this was your first addition...if I remember right from other threads. If so, that is good, they get very stressed with aggression and their health will decline rapidly if bullied.

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by KimPossible

You may want to add more sand in one part of your tank for the jawfish. They need a minimum of 5" and I've read some who say deeper. They also require different sized substrate and rubble to reinforce their burrow.
I saw one that had a symbiotic relationship with a pistol shrimp, like the goby.
It was great.
If you decide to try again, and I hope you do, I wanna see some pics

Ooohhh, how many fish do you have now?
I'm thinking this was your first addition...if I remember right from other threads. If so, that is good, they get very stressed with aggression and their health will decline rapidly if bullied.

I tried to set up a signature with a link to this thread, but it's either not working, or I'm not allowed to do it yet...

Either way, your answers are there, PLUS a pic of the jawfish!

I have 3 fish - two clowns and a pygmy angel. I have no plans to add another for at least a few weeks.

[Rogue]

Hmmm.... ok, there is my sig. I guess old posts don't get updated with it like I thought they would.