Tank of Doom, UPDATED w/ tested water- help

[lyquidphyre]

So last weekend I bought 4 baby serpae tetras from fish n chirps.. they did well.. so on Tuesday I bought 5 more and 5 swartz cories.
First night one tetra died.. figured it was just one of those things.
Three days later I decided to get the german blue rams I saw the previous Tues.
On my way out.. saw one of my new cories struggling. I bagged him, brought him back to the store and got a replacement (I felt really bad). Bought two rams, one replacement tetra and replacement cory.

That night... one tetra died, and my ram died. Those deaths I explained off...

Last night... another cory died and MY ANGEL FISH. The one Ive had for several months now (at least 5 months) out of no where died. I will admit he has been acting strange the last month. His color has paled on and off... not as active etc. But he hasn't acted THAT strange.. strange enough to die

Now one of my cories is acting like a helicopter that has damanged wings/propellors.

What should I do?

Tanks specs-
75gal tank with ehiem canister filter.
I did a water change about a week ago
they tested my ammonia at the fish store and it was normal as well as pH
The tank has- hatchets, odessa barbs, RTB shark, school of serpea tetras, (dying) cories, one angel fish, two golden barbs and one german blue ram.
Should I QT ALL of my corys and take them back? Is there something I can treat the whole tank with to make sure no more fish die?

Thanks for any help.

~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*

Okay my water reads-
ammonia- 0
Nitrite- is somewhere between .3-.8 (im thinking .5 or so)
My KH is 7
GH is 9

One of my older serpae tetras died.
Im going to do a massive water change.

I couldn't find the card to test my pH so I have to go with what the fishstore said "a little hard"

 

[greenmaji]

have you tested the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate yourself? If so do you have the numbers? I really doubt you dosed salt but.. if you quartened the sensitve to salt fish you might try that.. what is the water temperature? is it stable? is the PH stable? whats the KH? in other words has the PH droped any?

 

[lyquidphyre]

the temperatue is pretty stable (I had a lot of problems with my temperature about a month ago...)
I tested my ammonia last week and it was good but I will check it tonight.
I went ahead and put all my corys in a QT tank... The sick one died within minutes of being put in the tank. I noticed that his gills and his tummy where red (red on the inside and showing through his skin)

My pH has been stable
I don't have a test to test the KH

This just adds to my horrible day *sigh* lets hope no more fish die.

 

[amitnarain]

poisoning from somethings? do they appear struggling for air? are there unusual spots on them?

 

[Jchillin]

Sorry to hear about this event lyquid. Without knowing the cause, it is hard to suggest the cure. Usually fish deaths like you describe are attributed to some type of poisoning (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite) or a severe ph swing.

Diseases don't work this quickly in most cases, especially since the serpae was doing well until you introduced the new ones. The redness of the gills does suggest poisoning.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Well, other than my angelfish, all of the fish deaths have been the new fish that I have added.

Right now my last german blue ram is dying. I put him in the QT tank with the corys (who seem to be doing okay this morning)

what would cause a fish to lose control of how they swim, and so they swim like a helicopter that lost its back wings/blades (because thats what it looks like).

 

[Jchillin]

There is swim bladder disease but it doesn't sound like this is the problem.
Does the corys fins move at all?

If the majority of the fish that died were the new ones, there are only a couple of possiblities that I can think of. The fish were all already sick or the ph between tanks. How were they acclimated (especially the Rams)?

 

[lyquidphyre]

I was very careful acclimating the rams because I know they are kinda picky. The fishstore said my pH was a little bit high, but normal for the area (so im assuming their tanks had roughly the same pH)
With the rams, I let the bags float for 15-30min and every 15 min added some tank water to the bag.. and after a while I let them out

Im not sure how the cories were swimming (er, if they were using their fins or not) but all the others seem to be doing really well.

 

[greenmaji]

the only advice I can give you without more information is BIG water changes and alot of them.. 75-80% every day to other day..

 

[lyquidphyre]

I tested my water (readings above)

 

[greenmaji]

Then just do one big water change (75-80%)

 

[lyquidphyre]

I just finished a 50% water change so hopefully that will help out big time

 

[greenmaji]

See if you cant give us a reading of your permitters after the water change..

 

[ScaryBob]

I would keep the water changes down to 50% per day and do a thorough gravel vacuum. When making water changes this large make sure to:
1. the water you add is the same temperature as the tank. (within 1°-2°)
2. add something to neutralize chlorine in the water. (such as Aqua Safe)
3. add 1 tablespoon of salt per 5-10 gallons. (non-iodized NaCl or aquarium salt)
4. test ammonia and nitrites every 1-2 days for a couple of weeks after.

Since you have nitrites, add salt. 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons is recommended but plants and some fish may not tolerate this high a level.

It would not hurt to add a small amount of Ammo Lock or a similar ammonia neutralizer since large water changes can impair the biological processes in your tank.

Also, do not rule out a parasite or bacterial infection. You might want to raise the temperature in the tank to 84° and treat with Quick Cure after each water change. If the problem gets worse after raising the temperature, it is probably a bacterial infection.

 

[talloulou]

Your nitrite should be 0 in an established tank. What are your nitrates? Usually when new fish consistently die it's related to new tank syndrome/high nitrates.

Or maybe since you have a nitrite reading it's possible something damaged your biological filter and you are going through a cycle.

 

[ScaryBob]

15 fish added in less than a week could easily cause new tank syndome. I would guess that ammonia spiked already and only nitrites are left. Still, that should not kill healthy fish. It would add to the stress of being moved, especially if they are already stressed in the fish store due to shipment from the supplier. I would be very careful with the water changes, neutralize the ammonia and add salt to reduce the effects of the nitrites.