HELP so confuzzled -- fish death after pwc

[Purplegibbon]

Okay first of all I have an issue with my neon tetra's there the only fish to die when I do a water change and I have 0 chlorine and harmful chemicals in the water and its usally one out the group that I have 7 but one like 10 minutes ago just started to float and is trying to swim but isn't if that made sense I I check my water everything was fine its a 33 gallon high tank with some plants

And my second question why do my apple snails keep having SEXY time in my tank I have 2 clutches of eggs now........so wierd lol their about 4-5 days apart..

 

[adeebm]

Neon tetras can be a bit delicate sometimes. What dechlorinator are you using(or are you)? Also, are you making sure the new water is relatively the same temp as your tank? I'm assuming the tank is cycled, 0 ammonia and nitrites.

lol "SEXY time". Snails can breed pretty quickly, if you're getting overrun by snails you can cut down on feeding.

--Adeeb

 

[Purplegibbon]

I live in the part of the world where we have the third or second cleanist water on earth my city is fed by glaciers so yeah I don't use one the temperature may be the issue and yes my tank is cycled I'll probably raise the snails and go to my local pet store and trade them for in store credit or something

 

[mfdrookie516]

If you get city water, they're almost certainly adding either chlorine or chloramine. There are laws here regarding water quality, and I'm sure there are in Canada too...

 

[Purplegibbon]

Ive tested the water before and have had zero signs.

 

[adeebm]

If you used strip tests, those are terribly inaccurate. Your city should have documents on how they treat their water. Or you could jsut use a dechlorintor to be safe.

--Adeeb

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have a hard time believing they're not. Especially since you make it sound like this is something that happens every water change. If you're matching the temp, its obviously something in the water. Call your water company and ask. I can almost bet you're going to have your answer there.

 

[Purplegibbon]

It doesn't happen every time but I noticed that it is the only time that is does like I haven't had this happen for a good two months and wouldn't my other fish be suffering as well?

 

[Purplegibbon]

The City of Chilliwack currently adds no chemicals to the drinking water supply. The use of chlorine in the drinking water system ceased in 1998 when the City closed down its surface water intakes and transferred 100% of its drinking water production efforts to the wells located within the Sardis-Vedder Aquifer. The water produced by the wells is of high quality. The City's drinking water quality assurance program helps maintain the high quality of the water all the way to the consumer's tap without the use of chemical disinfectants (chlorine).


City of Chilliwack - Drinking Water Quality Information - Groundwater Protection Plan - Water Resources - Environmental Services - Engineering - Municipal Departments - City Government



It has to be a temperature thing

 

[KevinES]

Yea snails reproduce so fast because they are asexual...
Sounds like a water temp thing. A couple years ago I had a tank set up and I knew by touch about how warm the water should be when I added water...all of a sudden my corycats went belly up. I started to panic because I have NEVER had a cory cat die. Those are the most durable fish. I quick grabbed a net and threw them in my other tank and they eventually came around...
Then I found out the problem...The water in the tank was so low that the heater was not warming the water. I dumped water that was about 80 degrees into a tank that had water around 65 degrees...
I'm suprised it didn't kill the stupid goldfish.

 

[jsoong]

Apple snails are NOT asexual ... there are males & females & you need 2 to breed. If you have females, they may lay eggs, but you won't get babies ...

Since Apples lay eggs above water, you need some preparations if you want babies .... most important one being maintaining high humidity around the eggs & a way for the babies to fall into the water when they hatch.

Since you are on well water without additives, chances are your fish problems are temperature related. A less likely possibility is pH other parameter drift in the tank. <Eg. if the pH had drifted a lot in the tank, then adding new water might cause a rapid pH swing.> This is pretty unlikely if you are doing regular pwc's. <Plus water from the rockies are fairly well buffered & should be stable pH wise.> At any rate, try temp matching the water, and put in the change water slowly (say over 10-15 min - I used to use a simple siphoning system with a small tank) to avoid shocking the fish.

 

[Purplegibbon]

Yes jsoong I think slowly introducing the new water would be better I was using a bucket and slowly pouring it in but siphoning should do the trick thanks

I knew the apple snails weren't asexual and that was why I was confused as to why they are laying so much eggs (I knew this because I took biology in highschool and we covered mollusks ) and they have to be male and female because the male which ever one it is, is constantly riding on the otherone's shell I don't know if this is normal behavior or my pair love my tank enough to keep reproducing like mad. Is there a way to tell which is which by pigment or size of there mantle?

 

[KevinES]

Maybe I should have said hermaphoditic...but after a quick search it looks like they are not hermaphorditic like most snails...I guess that's what makes them popular aquarium pets...

 

[jsoong]

There are subtle anatomical differences between male & female apple snails (on the outside ... you can tell testes from ovaries if you were to dissect your snail ...> If you want more details, visit Applesnail.net.

However, the easiest way is to tell by behavior. When mating, the one on top is the male. Apple snails will lay eggs every few weeks. That is normal,and it is easy to get overran with snails when you have a pair. The easiest population control is to remove the egg clutches before they hatch. <PS - know your snail species .... some apple snails (esp. canniliculata) are pests in the wild. In temperate areas like lower mainland, they can completely devastate the vegetation in a wet land .... you need to destroy the eggs before disposal with those species. Applesnail.net has good info on snail ID.>