Mass Mystery Death!?!?!?

[ImACoolguy]

Nitrate is zero, because it's a cheap API or nutrfin test kit with two liquid bottles, I have same problem on my FW co2 injected tank, real NO3 are 10-15ppm, and my test says me zero.

This is because thoses test are cheap. Also, nitrate test botle #2 or #3 must be shaken like hell before a test to get a result.... Can you retest nitrates just for fun by shaking, bagning the bottle on a table/floor, shake it like if your life depends of it... It changes a lot the results, I experienced it before.

Anyway, low/high (<60ppm) nitrates don't kill fishs. Im my reef, my real nitrates are <0.05pm, nothing dies...

I have API and mine has never read zero in a cycled tank.. Hmm... I agree try a retest and shake the life out of bottle #2


Caleb

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[mrvincent]

I have API and mine has never read zero in a cycled tank.. Hmm... I agree try a retest and shake the life out of bottle #2


Caleb

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Anyway, 0 nitrates would need a clean tap water, lot of Wcs and not so much bioload... anyway, don't think this is something relaed to the massive death... Maybe an unknown disease ?

Just for curiosity, I tested my nitrates in my tank, this says 10ppm, but this will do 1 months I didn't water changed the water... Also i'm dosing nitrogen to the water for the plants... I do CO2 injection.... And I'm heavy planted...

Can you show a picture of your tank/fishs ?

 

[Andy Sager]

A couple of issues I have not seen within the thread: How much water did you change vs the size of the tank? When was the last time you changed water prior to doing this last water change where the fish died? How soon after the water change did the fish start showing any signs of stress? Did you see any signs on the fish of a possible cause ( i.e mouth and gills open and expanded vs both closed. These are indicators as to certain conditions.) Did you do a full panel test of the water prior to changing it to see if there was any PH or ammonia changes?
Start with these answers and we can go from there.
I learned a long time ago that fish don't die for no reason. We just don't always know what the reason is. Time to play detective.

 

[mrvincent]

A couple of issues I have not seen within the thread: How much water did you change vs the size of the tank? When was the last time you changed water prior to doing this last water change where the fish died? How soon after the water change did the fish start showing any signs of stress? Did you see any signs on the fish of a possible cause ( i.e mouth and gills open and expanded vs both closed. These are indicators as to certain conditions.) Did you do a full panel test of the water prior to changing it to see if there was any PH or ammonia changes?
Start with these answers and we can go from there.
I learned a long time ago that fish don't die for no reason. We just don't always know what the reason is. Time to play detective.

How much water did you change vs the size of the tank? He told us 50% I think

also you're right, a fish might die for unexpected and incomprehensible reason (old fish?), but multiple die in same time mean something going wrong... People or animals always die for a specific reason.

 

[Andy Sager]

How much water did you change vs the size of the tank? He told us 50% I think

also you're right, a fish might die for unexpected and incomprehensible reason (old fish?), but multiple die in same time mean something going wrong... People or animals always die for a specific reason.

Thanks, I reread and actually it was 30% however, there was a second WC done that caused the problem? Just wanted the real numbers to check the math
I also noticed the combination of fish was sketchy as well. Africans with Gouramis and corys? Different fish with different water needs. My hunch is that it was too much of a water change causing too drastic a parameter change which caused the deaths. Need the info I asked for to confirm tho.

 

[Caliban07]

Thanks, I reread and actually it was 30% however, there was a second WC done that caused the problem? Just wanted the real numbers to check the math

I also noticed the combination of fish was sketchy as well. Africans with Gouramis and corys? Different fish with different water needs. My hunch is that it was too much of a water change causing too drastic a parameter change which caused the deaths. Need the info I asked for to confirm tho.

This is where I was headed too.


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[AliGee]

I don't think you mentioned, how big is the tank?

Are you consistent with water changes? Be honest.

Ph also needs looking at more closet in my opinion. Fluctuating ph or altering ph may be overlooked by the water company since it may be considered normal practice.


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Of course I do frequent water changes... I wouldn't be on here so stumped if I wasn't. Sunday's are my water change day. My tank is a 75. I do also test the PH, I just didn't show it in the picture. I live in Breckenridge, CO and I would consider our water (straight from the Rocky Mountains) exceptional. I can see the PH being a problem during the spring with the rapid snowmelt... But in the dead of winter that would be rare.

Thoses results seeems perfect, I would more check the GH+KH then... They play a role with the PH, specially the KH (Carbonate alkalinity). Seems what I suspected (filter rinsing) is negative.

CHeck the PH of the tank, and the KH/GH of the tap or aquarium water...

How would I go about testing for those???

Why is the nitrate 0ppm? Was the tank cycled?


Caleb

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I didn't shake the bottles enough. Did another test and they were low.








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[AliGee]

A couple of issues I have not seen within the thread: How much water did you change vs the size of the tank? When was the last time you changed water prior to doing this last water change where the fish died? How soon after the water change did the fish start showing any signs of stress? Did you see any signs on the fish of a possible cause ( i.e mouth and gills open and expanded vs both closed. These are indicators as to certain conditions.) Did you do a full panel test of the water prior to changing it to see if there was any PH or ammonia changes?
Start with these answers and we can go from there.
I learned a long time ago that fish don't die for no reason. We just don't always know what the reason is. Time to play detective.

I change about 30% once a week. I do a full panel test at least once a week. The fish that died first showed zero signs of stress (according to my fiancé), two hours later when I woke up he was dead. There were two fish that seemed to be hanging out by the filter/ bubbler that seemed to be gasping for oxygen at the top of the tank. This was particularly odd because I know I have good oxygen in my tank.

In a previous tank years ago I had my fish all at the top gasping. Turns out some sunscreen residue from my hands had gotten into the tank and created a layer of gunk at the top. I successfully solved the problem, and this cannot be the case this time around.

The other fish showed no signs of issues before their death which was also extremely odd. It was as if they were alive one minute, and dead the next. I've been a fish keeper for years and generally can pick up on potential diseases/parasites etc. in their behavior and physical condition.


I'm rarely on a computer but I will try to get on it today to post pictures. I'm not a tech geek and my phone is a POS.

I want to say parasite or disease but my gut is saying it was in the water. The odd part is that my four remaining fish are doing absolutely fine and they are back in the tank.



THERE IS ONE THING I CAN SAY... The day before my first fish (the large Venustus died) it looked like he had tiny microscopic dots on him. However, he loved to reorganize his tank and brush in the sand, so that's what I assumed it was. I never saw this on any of the other fish.


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[AliGee]

I really should talk to our building manager about our pipes and new water heater... Has anyone found out this was an issue in the past?

I'm so afraid to start over because I don't know what the problem was.

I truly cared for my fish. I took pride in their tank, which was looking phenomenal. =[


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[Caliban07]

I really should talk to our building manager about our pipes and new water heater... Has anyone found out this was an issue in the past?

I'm so afraid to start over because I don't know what the problem was.

I truly cared for my fish. I took pride in their tank, which was looking phenomenal. =[


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What was the ph? Have you tested the ph of your tap water?

TDS may be a good parameter to check also and is often overlooked. You would have to buy a cheapo TDS meter online.

It's seems pretty obvious there was a problem with the new water.


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[Dotrskeeper]

Could have been metals from the water heater. zinc?
I would avoid using any hot water from now on. Use the cold tap only. Let it warm up to room temp and it will probably be fine. Or get an extra water heater to put in your bucket


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[katiekelsey]

Did anyone use glass cleaner in your house? That stuff is toxic to fish.

 

[AliGee]

What was the ph? Have you tested the ph of your tap water?

TDS may be a good parameter to check also and is often overlooked. You would have to buy a cheapo TDS meter online.

It's seems pretty obvious there was a problem with the new water.


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TDS????

Could have been metals from the water heater. zinc?
I would avoid using any hot water from now on. Use the cold tap only. Let it warm up to room temp and it will probably be fine. Or get an extra water heater to put in your bucket


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That's what I'm thinking. =[

Did anyone use glass cleaner in your house? That stuff is toxic to fish.

As originally stated we don't use any cleaning or fragrance chemicals near or around the tank.


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[Caliban07]

TDS???

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Nevermind.


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[mrvincent]

Yeah, I would say test tap water TDS, KH and GH, go to the LFS with a sample, they'll do it for you at low cost.

 

[AliGee]

Yeah, I would say test tap water TDS, KH and GH, go to the LFS with a sample, they'll do it for you at low cost.

I live in the Rocky Mountains and the closest LFS is 1.5 hours away. Wonder if the water department would be able to test this?


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[Andy Sager]

The timing and your WC routine sounds more like a water issue and not disease. One way to deal with possible metal contamination from your pipes is to use Seachem's PRIME in the water you add for your water change. It will detoxify heavy metals.
Another possibility is that the Venutus may have uncovered an anerobic layer in your gravel bed which poisoned the water. The level of toxins that fish can handle varies which may account for not all the fish dying at once. The fact that you still have some fish alive in the tank makes me hesitant about breaking it down at this point further testing of your water is definitely necessary to determine if it is safe for new fish to be in. You might want to find out of your local water company would do some more complete testing for you that the common aquarium test kits can't handle.

Hope this helps.

 

[AliGee]

Thank you everyone. After all the research I've done I'm going to say it was contamination of some sort in the water. I am going to buy prime and use that from now on.


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[mrvincent]

RODI water + remineralizer like Seachem Equilibrum will do perfect water.