My kuhli are having seizures!!!!!

[mulishafan90]

I have purchased 6 kuhli loach and so far 5 of them have died in a week. They would sit at the bottom of the tank, spin in circles and shake really bad, curl up and die. I do not know what is causing this and I do not know how to prevent it. One is fine and he has been eating brine shrimp and swimming around for the past week. My water parameters are 0-0-35. My nitrates are low at 35 ppm and their are no fish in the tank that would be picking on them so what could be it? Their is sufficient oxygen in the tank with 2 air stones, i have a large filter, and I do 30-35% water changes weekly. I would like to purchase more of them, but I do not want this to happen again.

 

[rreekers]

nitrates at 35 are HIGH!!! you need to do a water change and get nitAtes in the 5-10 range.

how big is the tank?
how long has it been set up?
are you testing your water with strips or liquid test?

kuhlis are sensitive and nitrate levels of 35 are enough to kill them

 

[mulishafan90]

Oh I am using the liquid test, its a 55 gallon, and its been up for 2-3 months. I didnt mean 35 ppm nitrates are low, I was saying I don't think that would be the cause of it... Do you think Nitrate levels are what killed my Kuhlis? Ive been feeding them crushed up flake food the week they died so do you think maybe they werent eating it and they starved? Im just wondering if I should buy more or not...

 

[boadams87]

How soon after you put them in did they start doing this? How did you acclimate them? What's the pH of your water and the temp?

 

[rreekers]

how did you cycle the tank?

 

[Coursair]

Do you have sand for them to burrow in ? Or good hiding places ?
At the store we fed them frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms. They do not live on flake usually.
They may eat flakes, but not as well. Sinking shrimp pellets were their other food.

If you have gravel, the food may fall into the gravel also and be harder for a bottom feeder to get to.

And I agree, get the numbers down !

 

[paytertot]

Yes you should get those trates down, but I don't think thats what killed them because I have kuhlis in my 55 with nitrates >40. But you should still try to get them down because that is high

 

[WhiskeyD]

How soon after you put them in did they start doing this? How did you acclimate them? What's the pH of your water and the temp?

x2

If you didn't acclimate them properly, you could have shocked and killed them.

 

[mulishafan90]

To anwer your questions... I have sand in the tank, tons of plants and decor, the tank was cycled with fish and a bottle of bacteria for a month, pH of about 7.4-7.8, they were in the tank about a week before dying, acclimated in a 10 gallon and placed in my main tank after a few days, and the temp was at 78.