fish dieing

[bussardnr]

I’ve slow lost 4 fish over the last month. They have all become lethargic and started breathing heavy. They wouldn’t eat that night and died within a day. Anyone know what might have been wrong with them? I’d like to get order some fish online but want to make sure my tanks fine before I do.

 

[Guest]

well, 1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the beset of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are there current sizes?
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
9A~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

 

[bussardnr]

1. they looked fine just didnt move around much
2. ammonia=0 nitrites=0 nitrates=20-40(could this be the problem?) temp=80 pH=8
3. 75gal- 2-3 months
4. 2 magnum 350 pros
5. 16 right now 7 angles (alittle over a quater sized) 1 pair banded gouramis (3-4inch) 1 pearl gourami (2-3in) 2 lace Synodontis (around 1.5in) 2 green severums (3-4in -going back to lfs soon) 1 blue ram 1 bulldog pleco
6. earlyer this week. either once a week or every other week.
7. the newest fish i've had for about 2-3 weeks
8. nope nothing new
9. i feed omega one flakes and small pellets, spectrum mini pellets, shrimp pellets, and hickari sinking pellets.

 

[Guest]

well, your nitrAtes may be a bit high, i reccomend doing more PWC's but thats IMO other people may have different solutions and what type of fish were they that died?

cause i had 4 deaths in the past 3 months and i found out they were being tortured by the alpha male lyretail molly in my tank and one wasnt getting attention and that stressed hew prolly and she cacked off

 

[bussardnr]

i think i bought a few fish that were sick from a lfs that died within a few days. the other fish were a pair of festivums, a dwarf flag cichlid, and 2 angles. What can i do to lower the nitrates? just pwc?

 

[uhlfam2000]

Sick Guppies Too or just old

I've had a few guppies die in the past week. First a female then two males then another female. Doing PWC and everyone else in the tank is fine. All stats are norm except Nitrates are a little high. I adopted these guys from Petco so I have no clue how old they are. The females look like they have lost their fat stomach before they die. Is this old age?

 

[Guest]

try doing 2 PWC's a week and then let us know your nitrAte levels

for example like one sunday and one wednesday

 

[bussardnr]

anyone else have any opinions? another angle died last nite, it stayed at the surface of the water and diddnt really swin much, then wouldnt eat.

 

[Guest]

It is not your nitrate level (although Rudy_627 seems to think it is. Shocking, isn't it.). The problem is your pH -- it is too high. Water changes is a good idea... as long as the pH of the water you are putting in is lower than 8. Otherwise you need a natural solution like driftwood or peat.

 

[Essayons89]

I think that the high nitrates are part of what is causing your problems, especially if they are pushing 40ppm. Angels, like rams and discus don't tolerate high nitrates very well. Do a 20-30% water change every other day until you bring the nitrate levels well below 20ppm. Ideally you want them between 5-10ppm. Water changes are the best way to lower nitrate levels. Thorough gravel vacs to remove uneaten food and waste from the substrate will also help. Live plants, specifically fast growing stem plants and "nutrient sponges" like Hornwort" will take in and use some nitrate.

The pH may also be a problem. Most of the angels in the hobby are captive bred and raised and can be acclimated to a higher ph easier than wild caught angels as long as this is done SLOWLY.

Bryan

 

[bussardnr]

the angles and ram have been in there for over a month so i dont think its the ph

 

[Guest]

Why, you think it's an instantaneous response? With that reasoning, it wouldn't be your nitrates, either.

 

[uhlfam2000]

Update on my guppy deaths. We narrowed it down to two theories:
We had Danios in the tank and looks like they were picking on the guppies.
We had a african dwarf frog who looks like he was picking too.
Looked like the guppies have open wounds on their backs. Any ideas?
Danios and Frog have been removed. All but one guppy died and all the babies too.
We did adopt the guppies from Petco and we had no idea how old they were. We found some feeder guppies at a lfs today .15 each to replace the population. Hope there is no disease involved.

 

[Guest]

i believe your pH is more of a problem, especially with the angels since they like more acidic water. Nitrates can be easily reduced with weekely water changes.

 

[Menagerie]

anyone else have any opinions? another angle died last nite, it stayed at the surface of the water and diddnt really swin much, then wouldnt eat.

I would like you to do a little test. Fill a glass of water and allow it to sit out overnight or all day. Test your water parameters. I want to know what the pH and nitrates are.

However, I don't think it's water related.

Here are a few sites to look through:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html

Aside from disease, the deaths might be caused by stress. Angelfish fanciers say you need a minimum of 10 gals per angel. Angels are cichlids and IME, cichlids (and other fish) can be stressed by others in the tank to the point of death with no physical signs (no nipped fins or missing scales). Observe your tank and see if any of the fish are being singled out and unable to feed or are being chased around more than the others.

I will be out of it tomorrow, but if you need my help, please PM me and remind me of this thread, and I will get back to you.

 

[Guest]

PS

angels like a more nuetral pH