2 fish have died, is it my fault?

[u2_Crazy]

I have a FW 29gal planted with 2 Java Ferns, 2 Hornworts and 1 money wort. I have been testing the water every 2 days with an AP Master Test Kit. I have never had any detectable Nitrites, Nitrates or Ammonia. I started with 4 Buenos Aires Tetras and then 4 Pepper Cories and 2 Clown Plecos 2 weeks later. After 3 days I found 1 of the plecos was dead under a log (had some fuzz on him) So I tested the water and still all zeros. I did a partial water change (30%) and now 1 of my Tetras is Dead. I just tested again and my Nitrates are at 5ppm. So I called my lfs and they said I shouldn't have Nitrates, I was thinking that Nitrates were fine to have especially at a low level of 5ppm. Is this my fault? What should I do?

** The only thing I have noticed is I believe I have a faulty Heater which I am replacing today. My temp has fluctuated between 76 & 86 in the past 3 days. (It was at 76 when I did the pwc and I increased the temp and it jump to 86 over a day) I believe this probably contributed to the death of the Tetra. Anyway, what should I do?

 

[Zagz]

The temp increase is most likely the cause of the tetra's death. You need nitrAtes in your tank, usually below 20 ppm is acceptable. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrIte. How long has your tank been set up and did you add declorinator when you did your pwc?The fuzz on the pleco might have been from him decomposing although it may have been a fungus but not as likely. Keep the temp consistent, use declorinator when doing pwc's and test the water and don't believe everything the lfs tells you. Your test kit, how old is it? You may have had an ammonia spike due to adding too many fish to an uncycled tank if the tank is new.

 

[TomK2]

I would not blame the nitrates. Low level nitrates are common, and not toxic. LFS guy probably got it confused with nitrites. I suppose temp swings could cause problems. Is this a new set-up? I had assumed so because you are testing so frequently. Looks like your gradual bioload increase and plants kept things under control so far, but if you are only in your third week, you could still see ammonia or nitrite with increasing bioload, so go slow on fish additions if it is a new setup (ie: less than 8 weeks). Sure, the temp changes could have caused trouble, but two deaths can also be coincidence, not major system problems, especially considering that one of the deaths was a new acquisition.

 

[Tiffi]

Nitrate is the endproduct of the cycle (ammonia - nitrite- nitrate). So if you have a new set up you probebly had a cycle already, but I would continue checking the water cuz 5ppm Nitrate is actually not much and it could be that you're still in the endphase of the cycle. That means you could still have some toxic nitrite too.

I would guess, the pleco probably died due to a spike in the water parameters (ammonia/nitrite), and the tetra because of the faulty heater (which can happen to everyone).

 

[u2_Crazy]

The tank is about a month old. I added the first fish after 2 weeks with plants. 2 weeks later I added the 4 cories and 2 plecos. I did not have any detectable levels of anything until the Nitrates this morning. I added Prime and fert with each pwc.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

By Log, I assume you mean real wood, Clown Panaques(pleco) need wood to digest food, the wood should also contain some acids, so bogwood like malaysian or mopani are good, but any "white wood" or thoroughly bleached wood may not contain the acids it needs to digest. Also having 2 of these in a 29Gal would be too much, they leave sawdust from any wood they get their rasps on. Acrylic tanks are a definate no-no as they will scar the tank so horribly. I assume they warned you that they were panaques not pleco's and need real wood (like plecos), but pleco's don't consume the wood at anywhere near the rate of panaques. (My 9" red sailfin has removed 1/4-1/2" off the top of a stump in 1 year, a 3" clown would have consumed the whole thing.)

If you only have 1 small piece of wood in there it's possible they fought over it, since the Clown was too far gone to examine, you'll have to wait and watch the other one and see how it is. Make sure you have a very hard wood (I'm partial to Mopani), your tetras will love the acidity and tannins, the clown will love the chewtoy.

 

[u2_Crazy]

Thanks for the info Wizard, I wasn't told that they needed the wood, just that they like it. I have 2 large pieces of Mopani. I hope they don't fight over it as I will have to complain to the lfs that they did not warn me of it, they also said nothing about an acrylic but I have glass so thats lucky. Anyway, I have added a second Clown again, lets hope that the first died of natural causes and was not beaten for the wood.

Thanks

btw, I added the second clown before reading Wizards response, I probably would have left only the single clown If I had read this.

 

[crazycat]

just to add my experience--i have a 125g acrylic tank with at least 5 panaques (L204 x2, LDA01, LDA31 x 2) in it--and LOTS of driftwood--and have never noticed any damage to the acrylic.

jme

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

just to add my experience--i have a 125g acrylic tank with at least 5 panaques (L204 x2, LDA01, LDA31 x 2) in it--and LOTS of driftwood--and have never noticed any damage to the acrylic.

jme

Yes, having lots of wood in the tank will usually keep them off the acryllic, just not a chance I'ld be willing to take with a 300$+ tank

I doubt they were fighting over the wood, you have more then enough for 2 babies to share, just consider when they get a bit bigger they will make more of a mess and returning 1 is usually an option.

And Pleco's don't "like wood", they really do need it to properly digest food. That goes for pretty much every pleco from what I understand.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

If you are seeing nitrates, and never saw the slightest spike in ammonia or nitrites, I would assume you are seeing a false reading of Nitrates from your tap water. You should probably check that, Im guessing your cycle hasn't even started yet

 

[TomK2]

u2_Crazy -

The two weeks that you had the tank up and running without fish in it do not count for your cycle, unless you had some other source of ammonia (ie: not fish) in the tank at that time. Thus, you are really only in your third week? Still, if there has been no ammonia or nitrite in the last 3 weeeks, you are doing really well with a fish-based cycle. Assuming you have no further losses, I would not add any more fish for 2 to 3 weeks. If no toxins by then, consider increasing your stock by about 2 - 3 inches of fish a week, and I bet you don't have any trouble. If you plan on buying large schools of fish (ie 8 to 10 inches of fish) save that for much later, when you are sure your bio-filter is well developed ( about 8 -10 weeks).