My fish are all dying!

[mfdrookie516]

test some distilled water and see if it is clear... good way to know if its reading 0 accurately or not

 

[IrisMR]

One cannot find distilled water so easily around these parts...

 

[IrisMR]

I just tried it out on my tap water. I get no results. The test's cool

 

[dkpate]

Ok, that's good. Hmm, Rookie, how else would she be able to get them down, besides water changes?

 

[IrisMR]

I did a third water change. Well, fourth of the night. (that's bad, right?) It was a small one, I just did a 10%.... I'm waiting for the results now, it's 5 minutes but I see a difference. The color change is less drastic as time goes by.

I got some Cycle on hand by the way. It's a nitrifier. I put some of it earlier on but that was 3 changes ago. Should I add some?

 

[mfdrookie516]

well, if water changes arent bringing nitrates down, theyre either in the tap or something in the tank causing it... ion my opinion, 50ppm isnt super bad, anything 60 and below is safe for most fish (some fish are sensitive to even 20ppm nitrates, though none of the ones listed are that i know of). I would think maybe the filter needs cleaned or there is alot of detrius in the substrate... something like that... just guessing though

 

[IrisMR]

Yowza. Nitrate's down somewhere between 5 and 10.

Why such a drastic change? I'm starting to wonder if my pipette was clean! (I used another one cuz I couldn't find the one I was using!!)

 

[dkpate]

Well, that's good though! That's where I keep mine. Probably the pipette.

 

[IrisMR]

Yes but considering I did 4 water changes in one day to get my 5-10... Is that bad??? Could it harm the fish?

Oh well at this point I can just let nature take its course. I have work tomorrow. Thank you SO MUCH for the help tonight folks. I'll do a tally tomorrow to see how the night went.

 

[dkpate]

You didn't do that big of water changes, and I have changed 50% of my water twice in one day, with no bad results.
I really hope everything works out for you and all your fish too!!!

 

[marchmaxima]

If the fish are still gasping, buy an air pump and an airstone. This will increase the amount of O2 in the water.

And I also don't see any reason to keep the plants out.

Dropping any parameter rapidly can cause fish stress, so as long as the nitrate is under 40ppm then you are in a better place. And I think you can comfortably and respectfully ignore the opinion that you need to alter the pH to the "right level" for your fish. It is unnecessary and the uppers/downers cause instability which is what's bad, not the pH level itself. Most fish can survive in any pH so long as it's stable. Messing with pH is only recommended when you're trying to breed and you are having to create breeding conditions, and even then, it needs to be done carefully.

good luck and please keep us posted on the progress. I'll be interested to see what happens in the coming days. Keep your chin up!

 

[Lynae]

Sorry, random question.... but how does one go about cleaning a pipette from the test kits?

Isopropyl Alcohol?
1/10 of bleach solution washed through it?
Thats nuts if it can change test results but they don't show you, or make it easy to clean!!

 

[dkpate]

I just rinse mine out with hot tap water, and have never had any negative effects.

 

[Lynae]

Ahhh okay...
I already try to do that with the test tubes and the pipette... but not as much as tubes!
I shall get onto rinsing!!!

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Sorry, random question.... but how does one go about cleaning a pipette from the test kits?

Just wash them out with water from the tap! Hot water if necessary.

I usually do two tests side by side with tank water and tap water to compare the results, and I know my tank water is completely free of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates so any results I see in the tests will be from the tank water, and not any drops I've used to clean the tubes.

In Pets at Home they always seem to use water from the planted tanks to clean the tubes, including just throwing the completed test results in there too!

 

[IrisMR]

Well I just woke up and had to do some fishing, one of the danios was dead. Thankfully, it wasn't stuck in the filter. It's too early for me to know accurately (Brain's still in dream mode. I had a dream about elves on a school bus. Why the heck are there elves on a school bus?) but I think it was my old fellah.

I think I'll just skip using my pipette and just dip the test tube in there... I hope there won't be extra casualties when I return home at 6.

 

[Blueiz]

Don't dip the test tube directly in the tank. There is always a chance there is residule chemicals on/in it. IMO, it's not a risk worth taking.

 

[IrisMR]

Hm then I better just find a pipette that is more washable than this one-piece one.

 

[Blueiz]

You don't necessarily have to have a pipette, I use a disposable cup to retrieve water from the tank and pour into my test tubes.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

You don't necessarily have to have a pipette, I use a disposable cup to retrieve water from the tank and pour into my test tubes.

I just use the same jug I use for water changes.