fish dieing after water change

[laylasgrammy]

I have a 60 gallon tank with 12 tetras 1 molly 5 platies, 6 guppies, 4 albino corys and 2 plecos . I just did a 50% water change, vacuumed the gravel and changed 1 of the 2 filters. Since then all my fish are dieing or acting sick, they are hanging out on the top or the bottom of the tank. I did the water change on Monday and have lost about 5 fish in 4 days. I tested the water today and the nitrates are at 40, ammonia is 0 the nitrites are at 0 the ph is at 7.6 how do I fix the tank??? Please help before I lose any more fish.
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[Jcala]

I have a 60 gallon tank with 12 tetras 1 molly 5 platies, 6 guppies, 4 albino corys and 2 plecos . I just did a 50% water change, vacuumed the gravel and changed 1 of the 2 filters. Since then all my fish are dieing or acting sick, they are hanging out on the top or the bottom of the tank. I did the water change on Monday and have lost about 5 fish in 4 days. I tested the water today and the nitrates are at 40, ammonia is 0 the nitrites are at 0 the ph is at 7.6 how do I fix the tank??? Please help before I lose any more fish.

Have you been conditioning your new water? Have you most recently added any new fish?

 

[laylasgrammy]

I didn't condition the water but I did test my tap water and the tests all came out good then I tested just the nitrates in the tank and they were still high. I did add fish on Monday 3 guppies 2 female 1 male that evening the male was dead so I took it back the next day both the females were dead, I took them back and yesterday the male I got on Monday night died the 2 new females are still alive. How do you lower the nitrates? Do I need to do another pwc?

 

[adammorrill]

I didn't condition the water but I did test my tap water and the tests all came out good then I tested just the nitrates in the tank and they were still high. I did add fish on Monday 3 guppies 2 female 1 male that evening the male was dead so I took it back the next day both the females were dead, I took them back and yesterday the male I got on Monday night died the 2 new females are still alive. How do you lower the nitrates? Do I need to do another pwc?

Thats your problem, you didn't condition the water. The reason you condition it is to get the chlorine and other chemicals out of the water and fish tests don't test for that.

 

[Voshon247]

Chlorine are pretty harmful to fishes especially if you do a 50 percent water change. You should probably get prime or other water conditioners that take out cloromine and has aloe Vera . I used to use stress coat which took out the chlorine and added aloe to give the fishes back the shine and help reduce stress but now I have a ro/di so it's not needed

 

[Clownfishlover]

The chemicals in the water is what is killing your fish if you have some fish left put declorinator in it make sure the water is well aerated and do a 75% water change WITH DECLORINATOR:] be sure to replace the water with water the same temperature as your water left Hope This Helps! Good luck

 

[shark21]

I agree! I use Stress Coat to declorinate my water I think its one of the best products on the market for W/C. Also I vacume the gravel and do a 25% to 30% W/C religously once a week. And when I add my new water I go as far as mixing it with the Stress Coat in a 5 g bucket before I add it to my tank..my fish are all healthy water is always clear and haven't lost a fish in years. hope this helps!

 

[Fishanatic]

I agree with what's said here. But as a decloraniting product, I would go with Seachem Prime. Great product, used by most people here. It's one of the most effective, trusted and affordable one's to keep your fish safe, and your experience enjoyable.