Galaxy Rasbora Dead

[vcorey04]

little fish, about the size of a small guppy, introduced to my 29 gal two days ago, amm-0, nitrr-0 nitri-.5, pH steady at 8, temp 81.

what went wrong?

found it this morning stuck between the back of the filter and the wall, wasn't really stuck though. floated up to the top fine after a little stir of water.

WEIRD, he and two others that were introduced on friday and were swimming around happy as can be exploring all day saturday, but this morning...

the other fish i introduced <german ram and clown loach> are doing fine, but im concerned for the other two rasboras.

what went wrong? oo the AGony

v

[newfound77951]

I'm guessing this is a new tank? If so, and your nitrites are at 0.5, then your cycle is not complete. I'd do a couple PWCs right away to get that nitrite down to 0. All of the fish you introduced, particularly the GBRs, are not terribly hardy fish although no fish will tolerate nitrites anyway.

[vcorey04]

actually, my nitrates are on there way back up from their first cycle. my tank was zero'd out for at least a week before i got new fish.

i was worried about such little fish, but the first day they seemed so great and happy...

do you think if the other two are ok they'll make it?

should i get another to maintain the small school of 3? or do you think they'll do fine as a pair?

[Zagz]

I would not get anymore for now until the tank stabilizes. Also how did you acclimate them? In addition to the nitrite acclimation may have played an additional factor.

[vcorey04]

nitrate is the yellow-red scale right? that was at 0 when i put them in.

btw i use the API master test kit.

the nitrite (blue?) was also at 0.
ammonia was at 0.
the nitrate (yellow-orange) went up to .5 after they were all in there for a day. but the little guy was fine. as are my frogs, and other new fish.

maybe he just wasn't hearty for the change in pH. t@ the fish store they keep it around 7.4. and my pH is steady at 8. i also have posts in the newbie forum for having too high of a pH, but that's because of my stupid dolomite substrate.

well, it's not stupid, but i had it from my turtle.

um... o, right. acclimation

no QT, i let them sit in their bags in the water of the tank for 10 minutes, poured in a little bit of the tank water, let it sit for about 2 minutes, and then release.

same thing for the german ram, clown loach, and other two GRB's.

but i read that elevated nitrates are ok and will be consumed if the tank is heavily planted...

if i live at a higher altitude does that effect them?

FISH KILLER!

[Aremihc]

Originally Posted by vcorey04

nitrate is the yellow-red scale right? that was at 0 when i put them in.

btw i use the API master test kit.

the nitrite (blue?) was also at 0.
ammonia was at 0.
the nitrate (yellow-orange) went up to .5 after they were all in there for a day. but the little guy was fine. as are my frogs, and other new fish.

maybe he just wasn't hearty for the change in pH. t@ the fish store they keep it around 7.4. and my pH is steady at 8. i also have posts in the newbie forum for having too high of a pH, but that's because of my stupid dolomite substrate.

well, it's not stupid, but i had it from my turtle.

um... o, right. acclimation

no QT, i let them sit in their bags in the water of the tank for 10 minutes, poured in a little bit of the tank water, let it sit for about 2 minutes, and then release.

same thing for the german ram, clown loach, and other two GRB's.

maybe the one that died just wasn't hearty to begin with.....

FISH KILLER!

pH is definitely high for them, and that's a VERY quick acclimation. Btw, google 4TW before any new purchases. Research takes about 5 seconds, and you find a WEALTH of info on specific species.

[JustOneMore20]

I agree, the acclimation time was really short and the pH change was kind of sudden for them. Not to mention, if they were wild caught fish (as opposed to tank raised) they aren't as hardy. I wouldn't put Celestial Pearls (formerly Galaxy rasboras) in a new tank anyways. Wait awhile, then try to add some. They are skittish fish, so you'll want to get atleast 7-8 since they are schooling and have a good amount of hiding spots or plants for them.

[vcorey04]

thank you for being straight with me.

yikes. those little guys were 6.99 each, i'm going to ALWAYS ask before i buy. in the meantime i'll see how it goes for the two that are left.

if they survive, should i get more of them and make them the schooling fish in my tank?

would it interfere with these two tiny schooling fish that are left to start a new school?

can you have two school's of fish in a 29 gallon?

o, and are there any plants that clown loaches do not eat?

thanks v.

i wish there was a post for plants...

[Aremihc]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/

Planted Tank forum

[thatmagicguy]

The galaxy rasboras are still closely aligned with wild caught fish. Reputable sellers of this fish should be informing their customers that they need well established tanks with soft water. I am sure there is going to be this person or that person doing okay with them in hard water but the commercial stocks are still being held in soft water. If you bought yours from a private individual then find out what the parameters of their water are first. Set up a quarantine tank before you buy anymore and slowly acclimate them to your water conditions.

If you are buying them from a retail outlet then I would just set up a quarantine tank with soft water with a low pH and very slowly acclimate them to your water.

Store bought galaxies are probably not going to do well unless your particular store is knowledgeable and is taking special care to make them sellable.

Bill