fish dieing any help??

[angeltank]

ok first i have noticed every one likes detales so here i go
i have a 35 gall tank, freshwatter, plastic plants, heater,eclips hood with only one lightbulb (due to living in the middle of nowhere north dakota).i started out with 4 angels 11 zebra 4 dalmation 2 larg 2 verry small.
well here is my problem so far one angel 3 zebra and 3 dalmations have all parished to see the porcilin god.i replaced the one angel and got a placo.

the other day i noticed that my placo had some wite cotton looking stuff by its top fin so i treeted my tank with ick away then two days ago it was actualy looking alot better all the fish were still swimming well and acting normal. then yesterday (sunday 2/1/09) i noticed that my zebra count was down to 3 and so i checked all chemicals all mwhere good exept the ph so i put drops to lower it. today i noticed that now my placo is dead and to is one more of my zebra fish. so now im down to 4 angels 2 zebras and one dalmation (the other dalmations and a few zebras have parished slowly). today i checked the ph and it was still high so i have put more drops in.
i dont want the angels to die they have already doubled in size since i have gotten them and are kind of attatched already.

oh when i put the meds in i also took out the filter like it tels me to.

 

[buddha_red]

did you remove the filter completely o just the charcoal?

How old is this tank?

Post exact water readings please

 

[laxpatrick]

Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates? Any temperature fluctuations?

 

[angeltank]

here are my readings as of Sunday
nitrate (NO-3) 0 ppm
nitrate (NO-2) 0 ppm
ammonia (NH3/NH+4) 0 ppm
Ph high range 7.8
Ph 7.6
my as of today
Ph 7.2


I took the hole charcoal cartridge out of the filter due to the instructions telling me to.
i do not know how old the tank is although i do know the model is still being sold at pet smart. The tank has been set up for 3 months

there has been no temperature fluctuations

 

[Dano01]

Stop messing with the ph.....What kind of test kits are you using?...What is your water changing routine?.....The ammonia and nitrate readings don't seem right for what you have going on in your tank.

 

[fort384]

Those test kits do expire... check the expiration date. I have heard of people getting deffective kits. Unless you have a ton of live plants in your tank, your Nitrate reading should not be 0, and if it is, I would expect your tank to be cycling, and to have some ammonia reading. Are you using additives to adjust the pH?

What is your water changing routine, and what is the pH of your water right out of the tap?

 

[krap101]

I second the stop messing with the pH. Doing this is pretty stressful for the fish.

I would also agree that the nitrate readings are wrong. Unless you have a tank full of algae, your nitrates should be above 0. (also assuming you have no real plants).

When they died, was anything out of place?

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

in the middle of nowhere north Dakota, I have to ask an obvious question...

Do you have a heater? Cold temps can kill some fish pretty quick.

 

[kreesdqban]

I also recommend to stop messing with the ph. First, if you are using a ph regulator and not a buffer, then the results in the ph change will not last, causing a lot of stress on the fish. Not only does a change of more than .2 ph cause stress, but a constant raising and lowering of ph does also.

I have 2 angels in water that has a ph of 7.6 and theyre doing fine... so stop messing with the ph.

 

[bluerose]

Did you cycle the tank when you started it up?
How often have you used medication in the tank?
How often do you do partial water changes (PWCs)? Do you vacuum the gravel at the same time?
Do you maintain your filter/filter media? How?

 

[angeltank]

ok here is my update and the info you guys wanted
i did a 50/50 water change last month
yes i have a heater, my tank stays at a constant 82 degrees
i did a high and regular ph tests on the tap
ph read 7.6 on the card
ph high range read 8.8 on the card

the type of tests i use is from aquarium pharmaceuticals (API) it is the master test kit in liquid drops. i called the place i got them from and they looked it up and they ordered it 2 months before i bought it so the tests should be good, i got it a month ago.

i think i got all your answers to your q's if not please ask agehn and ill update

i did cycle it for 2 weeks before putting fish into it
i used the meds in it just the one time
i do vacuum the gravel when i did the last 50/50 water change
i have replaced both the bio wheel and the charcoal media. in between replacing them i rinse the filter out in the sink


ps the fish that are still left are acting normal now

 

[bluerose]

By 50/50 you mean... 50%?

A good water maintenance schedule is about 25% per week, so you should consider doing more frequent water changes.

Do you have hard water? I believe 7.6 is as high as the regular pH test goes, so seeing 8.8 on high-range pH is interesting. (8.8 is from the tap not the tank correct?) Fish do adapt to different pH but it can be a bit of a shock if they're not properly acclimated.

I'd still like to know about filter maintenance. It's best to rinse your filter media in tank water every couple of weeks while you're doing a water change (discard the water after or use it to water plants). If you've been rinsing in chlorinated water or just replacing the media all at once instead of gradually, you may not have a fully cycled tank and an ammonia/nitrite spike could be what have killed your fish.

 

[angeltank]

by 50/50 i mean i take 50 and leave 50 lol so yea same thing you mean.
yes those readings are from the tap not the tank.
i had 2 angel fish in the past and even in this tank lintel i had gotten tiger barbs and they gave my fish tail rot.i really never did any water changes and i had them for over 3 years so all these complications are new to me. before the only thing i had checked was the ph and they where fine

 

[miniflea84]

A few things. First, the pH test kits have upper and lower ranges. If your reading is the highest or lowest value that test will give, then your pH is either that value or outside the scope of the test, with the latter being more likely.

Two, the cycle takes as long as it takes. What exactly do you mean you "cycled for two weeks"? A tank is not fully cycled until ammonia and nitrite readings are zero, and there is at least some nitrate.

Third, it sounds like your filter maintenance is killing your cycle. Biowheels (if it is the product I have in mind) should never need to be replaced. Even regular filter media is better not replaced (charcoal being the exception) unless it is really gone. ALL rinsing should be done in old tank water so that chlorine in your tap water does not kill the beneficial bacteria.

Hope this helps.

 

[fort384]

Establishing a pretty stringent partial water change schedule is important. You mentioned you never really did water changes on your old tank, and this tank you said last month. It is important that you take some water each week, or every other week... not just refill whatever evaporated. By doing this, any dissolved solids in your water stay in the tank when the water evaporates, so if you just top off the tank, you allow these solids to build up. It can reach lethal levels for your fish.

However, it doesn't sound like that is the issue here... it sounds like you probably did not cycle your tank prior to putting fish in, and now you have a very unstable biological filter. Your readings indicate that you do not have a proper nitrogen cycle going in your tank, so your water quality is going to be poor at best. Ammonia or nitrIte spikes in conjunction with your fluctuating pH could compromise an otherwise healthy fish pretty quickly.

 

[angeltank]

i want to thank you all for your help today it has been very helpful
So now that i know what is wrong how do i fix it without killing the angel fish that are in it
i have not yet replaced the carbon filter that i took out on Monday

 

[Dano01]

angeltank........The folks have told you what you need to do in all the previous posts.....Re read the posts.....It is the only way you are going to keep from killing your fish and future fish.

 

[angeltank]

im sorry there was a misunderstanding on my last question. i know what i need to do now to keep it good but is there a way to get it to where it should be faster or do i just need to let nature take its course and leave it alone and just do a 25% water change then this weak and once a weak from now on ?

 

[buddha_red]

do 20% this week and every week from now on yes.