Anyone have any ideas why all my fish died tonight? :(

[chrono1081]

Hi guys,

After 10 years away from aquariums I received a small one as a gift and set it up with 7 neon tetras and a ghost shrimp.

I...
-set up the aquarium to the instruction specification
-conditioned the water
-waited 24 hours like the instructions said (a little over actually)
-tested the water (everything tested normal)
-made sure the temperature was 78 degrees which was what was specified for my fish.
-I floated my fish for an hour in their bag in the aquarium
-I gradually introduced tank water into the bag and waited 30 minutes in between.
-I finally put the fish in the new tank, not allowing the store water in.
-Everything was fine, for about an hour or two

then my fish slowly started dying one by one and the last one died just a few minutes ago They were only put in the tank around 9PM yesterday (5 and a half hours ago).

One fish I didn't let into my aquarium because it looked like he had neon tetra disease from the pictures I saw, and he died while in the quarantine tank.

The other fish started swimming vertically, or upside down, and they all eventually died. I removed them from the tank immediately and all that is left in there is the ghost shrimp.

I've never had this happen in an aquarium before. While I am not new to aquariums, I'm certainly no expert in them. It looked like I did everything correctly. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions for me? I'm afraid to put more fish in there : / I'm also worried about my little ghost shrimp. I fed him flake food but he's all alone in the tank.

 

[steez]

Hello, welcome to the site!


Sorry to tell you but the instructions for setting up fish tanks is very lacking in actuality. I would first google and read this : I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

Cycling an aquarium is what makes it safe for the fish. It creates bacteria that eat up the bad toxins such as ammona / nitrites and convert them to nitrAtes. NitrAtes isn't as harmful to fish and are controlled by weekly PWC (partical water changes). Read through the above article and google 'cycling fish tank' to learn more about it.


I've heard NTD is easily spreadable. If they were all from the same store, they were probably all infected by it.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi and welcome!
Please read this.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html
Was there anything used in or around the tank like fly spray or soap?
IMO the fish shouldn't have died from ammonia poisoning in 5 hours.
What kind of dechlorinator did you use?
How where they acting? Clamped fins, odd breathing?

 

[chrono1081]

Hello, welcome to the site!


Sorry to tell you but the instructions for setting up fish tanks is very lacking in actuality. I would first google and read this : I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

Cycling an aquarium is what makes it safe for the fish. It creates bacteria that eat up the bad toxins such as ammona / nitrites and convert them to nitrAtes. NitrAtes isn't as harmful to fish and are controlled by weekly PWC (partical water changes). Read through the above article and google 'cycling fish tank' to learn more about it.


I've heard NTD is easily spreadable. If they were all from the same store, they were probably all infected by it.

Thanks so much for the link. I ended up finding it a little too late : / I thought 24 hours seemed awful fast because with my last aquarium I waited a week before I added fish. I didn't want to screw up so I followed the instructions to a T and my poor fish seemed to pay for it

Hi and welcome!
Please read this.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html
Was there anything used in or around the tank like fly spray or soap?
IMO the fish shouldn't have died from ammonia poisoning in 5 hours.
What kind of dechlorinator did you use?
How where they acting? Clamped fins, odd breathing?

No soap or chemicals were around the tank. After reading about fish dying in new tanks I thought it was odd mine died so quickly.

As for behavior they first hid, then they started swimming around especially near the surface. After a little while (like an hour after being put into the tank) they started one by one not swimming and just kind of bobbing there in the water. There was very little, if any fin movement.

Their breathing would start to be erratic as well, and then eventually they would die.

As for dechlorinator, it was Aqueon Water Conditioner. It came with my tank and it said it "makes tap water safe for fish and removes chlorine". I poured in the specified amount and tested the water after 24 hours and everything looked good :/

Here is my thought, and let me know if I am way off. What if I move my ghost shrimp to the quarantine tank to live, then I cycle my water according to the link provided, then move him back in there in a few weeks along with some other fish, does that sound like a probable way to fix this?

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Neon Tetras are really sensitive, so are Shrimp, but Tetras (in my experience) even more.

For them all to die that quick I think they've been through some sort of shock, whether it was a large pH, temperature or water adjustment. It is possible for live fish to survive in treated water like you had for a while, so something else killed them - BUT - it wasn't yet a safe environment for them to survive for long...

"Everything looked good" can't unfortunately be correct. Your tank cannot have been cycled (which is what the links people are posting for you above are talking about).

In order to survive, there needs to be a bacteria in your tank which essentially eats the bad things which kill fish. But to make this bacteria, there needs to be something in it for it to eat, and that does not come from water alone, it comes from either fish poop, or bottled Ammonia (depending on whether you cycle your tank with live fish, or don't).

How long has your QT tank been running? If it doesn't have bacteria, it's the same issue.

 

[chrono1081]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I really wish I'd of found this forum before I set my aquarium up :/

Since I have a shrimp and he looks to be doing well I will follow the advice of the tank cycling with fish link.

On a side note the water was cloudy today, it was perfectly clear last night and since my fish died immediately there wasn't any chance for over feeding. (There is no algae present, just cloudy).

I'm not sure if this is a clue to anything or not. Anyway I am off to get my water tested now. Sadly all we have here is Petco so they're my only shot.

 

[LyndaB]

Be sure they give you actual numbers for your readings. Don't let them just say "you're fine" and get away with it. Hit them over the head with something if you have to.

 

[chrono1081]

Be sure they give you actual numbers for your readings. Don't let them just say "you're fine" and get away with it. Hit them over the head with something if you have to.

Thanks! He did. Apparently the test strips I bought were bad :/ (No wonder the water looked perfect!) His results were far different from mine.

This guy, unlike the last one seemed to know his stuff. I received quite the chemistry lesson and he showed me pictures of his amazing aquariums he has at home.

He told me about some treatments I can do to help with my tank that should be OK for my ghost shrimp. He also said not to put any fish in it for at least 30 days (first time I've heard that from the pet store) and to make sure I bring in a water sample first so he can test it.

He also advised me on some fish to get and to only put 1 or 2 at a time in every 1 - 1.5 weeks.

The treatments he told me about were:

Microbe Lift Special Blend (wow does it stink) and Nutrafin Cycle. He didn't even mention that Petco sold these until I asked him after our conversation so I don't feel like he was just trying to sell me something.

I am hoping I got some good advice and that I can fix my aquarium and save my ghost shrimp. I did notice he's been swimming a lot to the surface lately and I hope its not indicative of something bad :/

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Sounds to me like you have a really good person at that store, make sure (if the advice continues this way) to always look for them, they are a rare breed.

Ghost shrimp sometimes do swim to the surface for food, it depends if they feel threatened. I have some in a predator tank and they are always hiding under objects (I only know they are there when I move the objects), and ones I have in community (non-predator) tanks will often compete for food at the surface.

 

[PoppaRyno]

Try prime as your water conditioner and maybe pick yourself up an api master test kit. Prime is the best water conditioner. Good luck on the future fish.

 

[chrono1081]

Thank you, I will have a look for that water conditioner.

The shrimp is still alive I'm hoping he survives the tank cycling. I'm worried about him getting food since there are no fish in there for him to pick up after so I've been sprinkling a little bit of flake food in the water in hopes that he gets some.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

He should be able to find it, just make sure not to overfeed and that it doesn't get sucked into the filter.

 

[chrono1081]

Well, the shrimp is still alive so I hope that is a good sign that my tank is getting better (although strangely it has been cloudy ever since the day after all my fish died).

Should I try doing a water change since using the Microbial Lift and Nutrafin Cycle? The directions don't specify. I assume I should just to keep the tank clean but I thought I'd ask here first.