Fish keep movin' on.

[spittinfly]

Ok, I keep losing fish. I know where they are, the bottom of my tank!! I have lost 3 Mollies and 2 Platies in about the last month. I have been checking my params and they are always fine 0's and 10 nitrates. So I am not going to keep stocking those fish. I still have a dozen little Mollies in my sons tank, that has some algea in it and a Clown Pleco that refuses to do it's job. So I have some that are about 1/2" to 3/4" long now.

SO. What should I try replacing the Mollies and Platies with?

I still have the Angel, Albino Cory and Common Pleco in the 35 gal tall hex tank. Yes I know the Pleco will get to big but I will exchange it when I need to.

I would like a school maybe Neons. I know I've heard both ways but would they be ok with the Angel?

I need suggestions and numbers of each species cause I always forget how many I need of each.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[black hills tj]

May I suggest getting your Albino cory 4+ little buddies?

 

[theotheragentm]

Harelquin Rasboras Hardy little buggers.

 

[odessadude]

If you are losing Mollies and Platies chances are something is wrong and your neons and angels won't make it.

Get to the root of the problem and then try some hardy fish .

 

[spittinfly]

Yes, I found 1/2 of a decomposed fish in the bottom of my tank the other day and I am sure that has something to do with the losses I have had. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

 

[BlazerFRS]

Yea, decomposing fish will release alot of ammonia into the tank; probably more then your existing cycle bacteria can handle. Wouldn't be surprised if that was your issue.

 

[spittinfly]

Thanks, got it out now and finally got a ammonia drop kit so I am keeping up with checking and it has been 0 since.

 

[neilanh]

Were the fish you lost new? What acclimation technique do you use?

 

[7Enigma]

What test kit are you using for nitrAte? I find it very hard to believe you had a rotting fish in there and your nitrAte levels were only 10ppm. You would have to have a TON of live plants, moderate/high light and ferts to consume the amount of ammonia a rotting fish can generate.

I second not getting new fish until you figure out what is going on...

 

[spittinfly]

Ok, I know the test strips are not 100% accurate but before I found the rotting fish I did check it with a new API test kit. NitrAtes were between 10-15, 20 if I went too long between pwc's with the test strips and 0 with the API kit. And yes I am 100% sure it was a rotting fish I found.

I do not have any live plants and the light I have is a standard Wal-Mart bulb I do leave it on about 12-13 hours (I know, I know) per day but no algea yet. I do about 50% pwc about every week.

No the fish I have lost have all been the fish I had started the tank with. All my fish I acclimate for about 1-1.5 hrs and ever 15 min dump in 1 dixie cup of water to their bags, then scoop the fish out of the bag into the tank and dispose of the water (man my wifes plants look good )

I know it seems strange but that's what is going on. Thanks for all your advice and concern, I really appreciate it.

 

[7Enigma]

Ok, I know the test strips are not 100% accurate but before I found the rotting fish I did check it with a new API test kit. NitrAtes were between 10-15, 20 if I went too long between pwc's with the test strips and 0 with the API kit. And yes I am 100% sure it was a rotting fish I found.

I do not have any live plants and the light I have is a standard Wal-Mart bulb I do leave it on about 12-13 hours (I know, I know) per day but no algea yet. I do about 50% pwc about every week.

No the fish I have lost have all been the fish I had started the tank with. All my fish I acclimate for about 1-1.5 hrs and ever 15 min dump in 1 dixie cup of water to their bags, then scoop the fish out of the bag into the tank and dispose of the water (man my wifes plants look good )

I know it seems strange but that's what is going on. Thanks for all your advice and concern, I really appreciate it.

Well that 50% PWC per week is definitely helping to keep the numbers down. And these kits are tough to read below 20ppm IMO, so its possible you have not had really bad nitrAte levels, but just slightly higher than you thought.

 

[spittinfly]

Ok, it has been really yellow so I'm sure I have been on the low end if it wasn't 0.

Thanks for the help on both threads. It is kinda melding into one now.

 

[7Enigma]

Ok, it has been really yellow so I'm sure I have been on the low end if it wasn't 0.

Thanks for the help on both threads. It is kinda melding into one now.

Just to be clear, make sure you are performing the nitrAte test EXACTLY as it is written in the directions. If you don't shake bottle #2 for 30seconds, or for the tube for a full minute you can have wildly different final results.

 

[spittinfly]

I did note that and I have been. Is too much shaking ok. And I have repeated the test but if I let it sit a couple minutes (@5) longer before I check it will that skew the results also?

 

[7Enigma]

I did note that and I have been. Is too much shaking ok. And I have repeated the test but if I let it sit a couple minutes (@5) longer before I check it will that skew the results also?

I would follow the directions exactly. Again we are using hobbyist-grade kits and so can't expect wonderful accuracy, but fortunately we don't need to be all that accurate (once the cycle is complete). Pretty much anything over zero for ammonia/nitrIte is easy to spot and bad, and anything that isn't blood red on the nitrAte test is alright too.

 

[spittinfly]

I do follow the directions, just curious if I really had to do the test again. Thanks for the tips.

 

[7Enigma]

I don't think you have to do it again but the timing is critical. Some of the tests will not change with an extended wait before reading the results (ammonia and nitrIte for example where a zero reading will stay zero past the read point) but others will continue to change and skew the results (I know the AP phosphate test definitely needs to be read at the right time).

 

[Pleco]

Sometimes its just bad livestock from the LFS's dealer too. I bought 6 Cardinal Tetras this weekend, of the 6 3 have died. My water parameters are pristine so I knew i could rule that out. I'm off to get 2 replaced tomorrow, this time ill be armed with my test results so I don't end up repeating what happened today. The woman at the fish store decided to talk my ear off how she is holier than thou and had a real "its your fish tank probably" attitude which I really didn't appreciate.