Normal losses or am I missing something?

[CrimsonBlayde]

In setting up my current tank, I read tons of books and scoured the web, determined to not lose fish. I carefully and patiently waited for a fishless cycle to complete. I stocked based on compatibility and water parameters. And...I am losing more fish than I would have expected.

My tank is a heavily planted, 30 gallon. I have a Fluval 205 and 65 watts of compact florescent lighting. I change 25% weekly, using Stress Coat. My water parameters have been steady as follows:

pH 7.6
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 between 2 and 5 ppm (verified by two different brands of liquid test kits)

My stocking history is as follows (water parameters were steady as above through all additions--tested almost daily):

4/26 added 6 zebra danios and 3 platy
5/8 added female opaline gourami
5/20 added 4 otocinclus...fed algae, wafers and veggies
5/28 added 4 peppered cory cats
6/6 lost zebra danio, it had been hiding and not swimming around
6/10 lost zebra danio, lfs said it looked beat up and recommended increasing school size
6/11 added 6 leopard danios
6/19 lost oto, no symptoms
6/21 lost oto, no symptoms
6/22 lost zebra, again, hiding and not swimming
6/25 lost oto, no symptoms
7/14 lost danio, hiding
7/17 lost last oto
7/21 lost danio, hiding
7/22 lost 2 danios
7/23 put remaining danios in a qt tank...lost them all over the next few days
7/31 after 2 large water changes, added 6 white cloud minnows
8/1 cory cat died, looked beat up
8/4 lost cory cat
8/11 found 2 fry alive and well
8/14 lost minnow
8/16 lost minnow
8/19 lost minnow (all 3 had been staying in place and only swimming to eat)
8/29 lost platy that all the fish had been picking on for a few weeks
8/31 put a cory cat into qt...not looking promising

So, what am I missing? Since the danios and minnows are all cyprinids, I figure I must have brought in a disease specific to cyprinids. Ottos are just plain hard to keep due to their capture and shipment methods? No clue why I lost the peppered cats unless my gourami tortures them at night. No clue why I lost the platy unless it was just old age or something. I have a living fry so something has to be going right in there.

All the LFS have the same distributor, so as far as that goes my only other choice is a big box store. I do drive out of my to go to the cleanest, most knowledgable store.

Am I doing something wrong or are these losses roughly normal?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

In a newly setup tank, I'd say it's fairly normal to loose otos. Are you changing your filter cartridges periodically or washing them out in tap water??? Do you have a heater? It's possible your opaline is bullying all the fish that died unknown death. Were there any signs of ragged fins or chasing?

Sorry to hear bout your losses

 

[CrimsonBlayde]

to AA!

In a newly setup tank, I'd say it's fairly normal to loose otos. Are you changing your filter cartridges periodically or washing them out in tap water??? Do you have a heater? It's possible your opaline is bullying all the fish that died unknown death. Were there any signs of ragged fins or chasing?

Sorry to hear bout your losses

I have two 100 watt heaters and the tank is steady at 79. It is a little hotter than I wanted but that is where it is holding even with the air conditioning going. When cooler weather comes I can slowly adjust it down a few degrees.

I never use anything but tank water to clean the filter. I maintain the filter weekly and never clean all the pieces at one time.

The gourami only chases a couple of the fish in good fun. By that I mean she never actually makes physical contact tha I have seen. The other fish actually initiate the chasing at times as if it is a game.

Some of the lost fish did indeed have nipped tail fins. However, with the danios this seems to be normal for their kind. The otos did NOT have any sign of damage. The cory cats did seem beat up. But then I find myself asking...were they picked on because they were sick or were they sick because they were picked on?

I'd be really sad to to have to rehome the gourami. She eats off my fingers and is quite the character. If everyone thinks she is the culprit, I will certainly find her a new home rather than lose all these poor fish.

 

[rich311k]

I am guessing the danios were sick when you got them, they are tough fish.

Ottos are tough to keep alive and get healthy ones, especially in a new tank. I have never had any luck with them.

It is not unusual to lose a fish or two no matter how hard you try, especially if the fish are bought at a local fish store. Stock is not always good and they get exposed to a lot of different things as most stores are on a central filtering system.

 

[CrimsonBlayde]

I am guessing the danios were sick when you got them, they are tough fish.

Ottos are tough to keep alive and get healthy ones, especially in a new tank. I have never had any luck with them.

It is not unusual to lose a fish or two no matter how hard you try, especially if the fish are bought at a local fish store. Stock is not always good and they get exposed to a lot of different things as most stores are on a central filtering system.

Thank you for your kind words. This is exactly what my husband keeps telling me but I just need to be sure that it isn't me doing something wrong. It's odd how attached I get to the little guys.