Glofish died

[Readysetcali]

Hii. Okay so I'm sort of new to all of this and I've done so much research and I'm just overwhelmed and I keep going in circles. I need straight answers. Two days ago all of my glofish (i had 6) were doing fine and being active then I wake up yesterday morning and one is stuck to the filter on the brink of death (died in hospital tank a few hours later). Now all of my other glofish (5 now) are swimming around alone or hiding in different corners. My tank just got done cycling 4 days ago and my numbers are now (and have been for 4 days) are AM. 0; Ni. 0 Na. 20. I did a fish in cycle. I just have the glofish in a 10 gallon so I know it's not over stocked. Why did that one fish die and why are the others seeming lost now? Help please!

 

[RFGymnast]

Whoa, even 1 goldfish in a 10 gallon is a stretch. They are very dirty fish. You want to change a bunch of the water (probably half) to get your nitrates back down. They aren't as lethal as nitrites and ammonia, but some fish are sensitive to them anyways and they will cause problems over time (just not an instant kill/burn as ammonia can).

 

[corinne118s]

She said glofish not goldfish ha.

My experience with them is they are very poorly bred because they are clearly inbred and not cared about by sellers (generally) so you get bad stock. Just keep checking parameters and hope the others are good! Goodluck! They are pretty fish..

 

[RFGymnast]

Hah, total misread! Was wondering how someone would think 6 goldfish in a 10 gallon wasn't overstocked

 

[corinne118s]

Unfortunately I know people who still think 1in=1gal regardless of fish type

 

[LyndaB]

Did you cycle with the glofish?

 

[corinne118s]

That's a good question I didn't realize she said done cycling 4 days ago but glofish fine 2 days ago. How long have you had the fish? I'd be surprised if they all survived cycling

 

[Readysetcali]

Yes I cycled with the glofish. They all made it through the cycle which took about 2 months I kept up on pwcs and they all did good until 2 days after it cycled and then the one died now 4 of them are swimming around like usual but one of them is still hiding and swimming around at the bottom sometimes moving up a little higher to chase the others off.

 

[LyndaB]

They're not exactly considered hardy and cycling takes a toll on fish. I'm sorry that you're having such a tough time.

 

[corinne118s]

Hmm. Sometimes fish die if it was more than one I'd be concerned. Test your Waterfor a few days then add another fish or two. I think one is upset because they need 6+ to school properly just IMO. I had one act like that when I only had 4 glofish but after adding some it worked

 

[Readysetcali]

I will try to add a couple more as soon as I get the chance. Thanks for the responses i got a little paranoid because ive read so much that could go wrong haha. I'm currently cycling (fishless this time) another 10 gallon that I'm slowly working on to make it a blacklight aquarium for the glofish. I have a black background with orange blacklight paint splattered in it. I'm excited for it to be done

 

[corinne118s]

That sounds cool! I heard they look cool in Blacklight

 

[melosu58]

Moved to FW unhealthy fish forum. You`ll get more looks there. BTW welcome aboard.

 

[Readysetcali]

Just need a hood and blacklight and for it to get done cycling (almost there) and it will be done.

 

[Readysetcali]

Moved to FW unhealthy fish forum. You`ll get more looks there. BTW welcome aboard.

Thank you! They are still acting funny. They were fine for a few hours now they are looking lost again. Maybe once I get another couple of glofish in there they will cheer up.

 

[Readysetcali]

Now two of them aren't eating and I know they have to be hungry because I'm a few hours late on feeding them

 

[corinne118s]

Hmm.. Idk.. What is the temp? If it's too low they might be slowed down. Try feeding again tomorrow mine actually were never that aggressive with food always leftovers

 

[Readysetcali]

Temp stays at a steady 79. They are usually rushing for the food when I put it in. :/ i put a little bit of salt in (I read it reduces stress and can help with illness) should I raise the temp a few degrees?

Oh my lord! My heater must have broke D: I felt my water and it was freezing! I put in the heater from the other 10 gallon I have been setting up and took the broken one out. I'm so glad you brought temp to my attention. I will be investing in a floating thermometer tomorrow. Hopefully they live through the temp shock. Didn't realize it was broke because the light was still on! Well lesson learned.

 

[blert]

Are we talking about GloFish Danios here?

IMO, a ten gallon is a bit small for Danios. Six in a ten gallon would be kind of cramped for them as they are VERY active fish. They would appreciate a 20 long. I have nine Danio Rerio and they are a crazy bunch. Maybe they are just bummed because they have no real room to frolic?

When was the last time you did a PWC? What is your PWC schedule? If you have not done one since finding the dead fish you might want to consider at least a 50% change right now. It can only help. After that you might want to consider two 25% per week.

If you still have time please consider a 20 long for your backlight tank instead of the ten.

They can also handle temps down to about 64f.

 

[absolutangel04]

So, I don't know if this is the issue or not, but I am just sharing my experience. Glofish are modified zebra danios and usually a 20g long is the accepted minimum tank size for them because of their activity level. IME, many GloFish do not last long in smaller tanks like 10g. I have a couple friends who tried it and the GloFish never really lived very long despite good water quality. I know thats not the case for everybody and some people have kept them alive in even smaller tanks for longer amounts of time, but IMO its likely they will do better in the long run in a larger tank. I don't know if that is the issue here or not though. JME.
Do you have a test kit to measure the water parameters? That could help you identify the problem.