Why are my fish freaking!

[JB NY]

My fish are stressing what's going on??:mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

I don't know what the problem is, so please give me some advice. My tank is a 180g reef tank that is going on it's 4th month. All corals are doing great. I have 6 fish in the tank. 2 false percs. a 4" coral beauty, 4" foxface, 4" fairy wrasse and a 5" Kole Tang. they were put in in the following order: Fisrt the two perks 5/26. 2 weeks later a coral beauty 6/8, caught ick treated with garlic went away waited 2 weeks before getting another fish, total of 1 month before next fish. 1 month later wrasse and foxface 7/6 added at the same time. 1 week later Kole tang 7/14. Nothing has been added to the tank in 3 weeks.

Last tuesday 7/31, the foxface had a brown stripe across his back, and was flicking his fins a lot, the fish has stopped flicking his fins but continually has the brown stripe, almost goes away when eating. About 3 days later I notice the Kole is hiding a lot, only comes out during feeding then quickly runs back into the rocks and the back of the tank. Today I notice the coral beauty has a few orange splotches on his head behind his eyes. Looking in the tank further I see the kole seems to have a few of what looks like scrapes on his forehead.

All fish acclimated with little trouble (under 12 hours), all fish seemed fine and dandy until I noticed the foxface. The only thing I did recently is re-arrange the rocks on the right side of the tank where they sleep three days before the foxface started stressing and I raised the tank temp from 80F to 81F with the chiller.

They don't seem to be fighting. The kole and foxface definitely are stressing. I don't know why, all other fish are fine and happy even the coral beauty, even though he just started to show the splotches. All fish, except the kole, are eating like pigs. AAARGH! I am beginning to think the kole tang is the problem and might need to be removed but I don't see him bothering anybody.

Any Ideas??? Forgive all the info but I wanted you to get the full picture.

Tank parms
amon 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, Ph 8.35, Phos 0, alk 12 dKH, temp 81, SG 1.024

[Capt.Dave]

Just a shot in the dark, is your water grounded, perhaps some stay voltage is leaking into your tank and the tang may be more sensitive to it.

Dave

[JB NY]

forgot to add that. Yes I have a grounding probe in the tank. It is in the main tank not an overflow.

[hcs3]

Last tuesday 7/31, the foxface had a brown stripe across his back,

can you describe the stripe in more detail? it is very common for a foxface to change colors, and change colors very often at that. random patterns as well.

Today I notice the coral beauty has a few orange splotches on his head behind his eyes. Looking in the tank further I see the kole seems to have a few of what looks like scrapes on his forehead.

something similiar to lateral line erosion?

henry

[JB NY]

Here is what the foxface looks like.

http://burger.surfthe.net/images/ff_stressed.jpg

he's been that way since last tuesday.

Today the kole's head looks much better. The scrapes he had seem to be gone just one scrape on his forehead. It looks like... well a scrape, as if he's scraping the rocks. The CB looks a little better but I can still see the blotches. They are orange, which part of his color scheme. Couldn't get pics of the others.

Today I started putting out some seaweed selects on the recommendation of some other people. Also picked up some Zoecon. The kole came out eat the seaweed, tonight I walk in to see him hanging out near the front of the tank, hasn't done that in a week. But the Foxface still looks stressed.

[billsreef]

The coloring of that foxface is normal. They do tend to be a high strung fish, the fin flicking is a territorial display. Could be that rearranging the rocks disrupted everyone's territory and they are still trying to calm down and reestablish their claims.

[joezkool]

Well, I am no genuis on anything reef tank, BUT I am an electrician. Here's where I am gonna bite. Grounding probes are NO GOOD!!! I repeat NO GOOD!! A lot of people talk about stray voltage in the water. Not to get all technical, but voltage is harmless if it has no path to ground. Most of our tanks are on a nice, insulated wood stand, UN-grounded, therefore, no ground for the "stray" voltage to be harmful. Putting a probe in the water makes a nice path. If your fish is hangin out between the probe & the possible source, he is going to be affected. This of course is IF that is the problem. I recommend ditching the probe.

[JB NY]

The only reason I would hesitate to think that it is not my probe, is it's been in the tank for over three months. Nothing has changed really changed as far as additions of electrical equipment, and this behavior is very recent. Either way, I'll pull it out today and see if it makes a difference.

[joezkool]

well, electrical equipment can change after using it for some length of time. Whether the grounding probe is the cause or not, I wouldn't put that thing in any tank. I'm not sure where the idea of grounding water came up, and I'm sure some people think its a good idea and will argue with me on it, but I can only state what I know, and that is it will be more harmful if the water has a ground. Hopefully whatever the cause of your problem is, it goes away and your fish recooperate. If anyone has any opinions about the grounding probe thing, I'm interested in hearing :)

[JohnL]

Originally posted by joezkool
I recommend ditching the probe.

What about when he sticks his hand in the tank? IMO, a GFCI and a ground probe may prevent a fatal accident and should be present on every tank that has submerged heaters or powerheads.

[joezkool]

a GFCI is a must, but not the probe. Also, most houses are built of wood, and don't have a ground by standing on the floor, and through the carpet. A grounding probe WILL get you shocked if you have a voltage leak and get between it and the probe, unless of course ou got the trusty GFCI.

[joezkool]

A good example would be how high voltage line workers can work on a live wire, and be fine, mainly because there is no ground, same as the stupid squirrels running up there on the lines. Slap a ground probe in the guy's tool belt (or your tank for that matter) and you gave him a ground to shock himself with. When someone tells you it takes stray voltage out of your water, it sounds like a good idea, until you actually think about what it REALLY does. Being an electrician I am trained on this stuff, but most people aren't, which is why most people don't think of that when there LFS sells you the ground probe. I threw him the ole' red flag when he tried to sell me one :)

[JB NY]

Ok, took out the grounding probe and no deal. Nothing changed. Actually for a few days things seemed to be improving. I started putting seaweed and nori in the tank for the fish to feed on. The Kole was more active in the front of the tank, no change in the foxface though. Yesterday the kole seemed to be hiding a lot. This morning I check the tank before going to work and the kole is hiding in the back of the tank again. But I notice that he has a horizontal gash near his tail fin. right where the body slopes into the tail, that little V, is where the cut is. I call home a little while ago and my wife says the kole also has a cut near the dorsal fin as well. and that the foxface has been going to the back of the tank, near the kole, and showing his fins a lot.

My current theory is the foxface is harassing the kole and even attacking him at night, maybe slicing him with those deadly fins of his. They are both about the same size. Now that the kole is starting to show some battle wounds I think I may have to remove the kole and bring him back to the LFS :(

Thoughts?

[Capt.Dave]

I agree with John's point about safety. If bare hot wire becomes exposed and contacts ungrounded water, then nothing will happen, even with a GFI, until something triggers that GFI, like a person sticking their hand in the tank. At that point the GFI SHOULD trip, but only after some current has run through the person.

I have gotten shocked several times ;) while inside a house by touching a hot wire, even though I wasn't soaking wet or exceptionally grounded (just a little grounded) ouch.

Dave

[joezkool]

Dave your true, to some respects. A GFCI trips in about 5 milliseconds, which is in decimal 0.005 seconds. Your body will never feel any current, nor will the current be harmful to you. It is SO fast, its like nothing even happened. Putting a grounding probe in is a good way to trip out the GFCI the very instant a hot wire would contact the water, BUT, should there be a small leak of voltage, you will make that path I talked about previously, which effects everything in its path. Also, having voltage leak to ground is a way to run up your electric bill. Getting shocked is very dangerous, even if the voltage is small. Imagine how it'd feel for a sensitive fish to be having voltage pumped through it everytime it goes past the probe? Another tip, if your not thouroughly knowlaged on electricity, don't do electrical work. Especially not hot!!! I am a qualified electrician, and I don't do ANYTHING hot unless its a must, and your house is never a must. Do yourself a favor and turn it off.