What a difference 2 days makes :-(

[Cactuspixie]

the night before last my params were:
0/0/5 ph 6.8 GH 5 KH 5

Last night I did my regular scheduled pwc (40%)

This morning I found a dead Cory, dwarf loach and SAE in the tank, and 2 dead dwarf loaches outside of the tank

I tested the water and got these results:




So I immediately did a 45% pwc and retested:





I added some extra seachem safe, some stress guard, and some seachem stability with the pwc.

The only thing that has altered in that tank over the past few days is that the night before my params tested good, I cleaned my eheim 2215.

I don't know why my ph is falling though.

 

[Scouser]

How did you clean the filter?

 

[Cactuspixie]

How did you clean the filter?

I rinsed the media in treated tap water. The next day my params were still good.

The first indication that something was wrong this morning, was seeing all the ember tetras at the surface. They never go to the surface. Then I spotted the dead fish

I'll do another pwc this afternoon.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I don't get it. I haven't even done the 2nd pwc yet, and yet these are the latest test results:

 

[Scouser]

Hmmm that's weird!


Was the filter working properly after you put the media back in?

And are there any signs of disease?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Yeah I primed it using a power head as I always do. The BB must be healthy at the rate they're converting the nitrites. The ph is dropping quickly though, which is a worry.
There are no signs of sickness, and since I did the pwc this morning all inhabitants are back to their usual behaviours. Even the 3 cherry shrimp are happily grazing on the mossy driftwood.

I'll test again in the morning. Hopefully there won't be any more deaths overnight.

 

[Scouser]

Yeah I primed it using a power head as I always do. The BB must be healthy at the rate they're converting the nitrites. The ph is dropping quickly though, which is a worry.
There are no signs of sickness, and since I did the pwc this morning all inhabitants are back to their usual behaviours. Even the 3 cherry shrimp are happily grazing on the mossy driftwood.

I'll test again in the morning. Hopefully there won't be any more deaths overnight.

Have you checked your tap water?

There is a big chance that the chemistry of that may have changed and that's what's causing issues.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Have you checked your tap water?

There is a big chance that the chemistry of that may have changed and that's what's causing issues.

Fresh from the tap its 0/0/0 ph 7.2
I'll leave some to sit overnight and retest in the morning.
I should also mention that the other 4 tanks all had their pwc last night, with no ill effect.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I appreciate your help Scouser.

 

[Scouser]

Fresh from the tap its 0/0/0 ph 7.2
I'll leave some to sit overnight and retest in the morning.
I should also mention that the other 4 tanks all had their pwc last night, with no ill effect.

Ok so that removes that from the suspect list.

With the speed of the deaths I can't see it being illness related either.

How long has the tank new set up?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Ok so that removes that from the suspect list.

With the speed of the deaths I can't see it being illness related either.

How long has the tank new set up?

About 18 months. It's the same tank that had a sick ember a few weeks back. It died but whatever the masses were, they weren't contagious, and all the other embers are doing well.

 

[Scouser]

If you can remember what they looked like, this pic may help identify them;





Finding the reason for the pH drop is what I wanna figure out lol. Have you added any decor to the tank recently?

 

[Cactuspixie]

If you can remember what they looked like, this pic may help identify them;

Finding the reason for the pH drop is what I wanna figure out lol. Have you added any decor to the tank recently?

Okay, I read your post in the middle of the night (darn cat!) and my subconscious must have been mulling it over, because I woke up with the thought: Yes! When I shut down my shrimp tank, I added the three surviving shrimp and a bumble bee goby WITH THEIR DRIFTWOOD to the tank I am now having problems with!

This morning the embers and the sole surviving loach were gasping at the surface again! These were the params:




My ph probe read that as 6.4

Soooo I took out the driftwood that had been in the shrimp tank plus another couple of pieces for good measure. A thorough vacuum of the substrate with a 50% pwc to which I added 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt (to help buffer the ph).

This enabled me to discover that I have 2 missing dwarf loaches and a missing bb goby unaccounted for (there was already a bb in that tank when I added the second one from the shrimp tank). I can't rule out that they jumped at some point over the past few days and were eaten by the dog or cats.

All the inhabitants are happily swimming and rummaging through the plants and substrate at this time. The params are now:




The ph probe is reading that as 7.4!!

 

[Scouser]

Awesome!


It's very likely that the others did jump ship when the pH started dropping, survival techniques at their finest huh?

Hopefully this will be the end of your troubles! ^_^

 

[Cactuspixie]

Awesome!

Hopefully this will be the end of your troubles! ^_^

I sure hope so! Thanks for your help

 

[Scouser]

I sure hope so! Thanks for your help

No thanks necessary

I'm just glad we could get to the bottom of it!