The barbs came and died :(

[swanandmokashi]

Ok my 29 gallon tank cycled (Ammonia 0 , Nitrite 0 Nitrate 40). this is a planted tank with a few rocks .
I made about 30% water change and got 8 tiger barbs on saturday.
They seemed happy , playful and very active.
However one died on Sunday without any notice and found another one floating this morning.

I checked the water params and the nitrAte is still high (40, ammonia and NitrIte is 0).
Any ideas why I lost 2 of them.

Also I wanted 2 males and 6 females. My LFS guy said there was no way of telling sex in tiger barbs. Is it possible that I had more males and 2 of them died while proving dominance ?

I am very depressed

 

[Menagerie]

These fish were ill when you bought them. Possibly the stress of moving from the LFS to your home was too much for them, but I doubt it. What is the LFS "stay alive" policy? My LFS gives credit for the dead fish (I must proved a separate water sample and the body) up to 15 days and half credit to 30 days.

 

[millym]

im sorry to hear about your fish....did you float the bag & add some of your own tank water ( a few cupfuls every ten mins or so for about 1/2 an hour)before releasing your barbs??? im sorry if im asking some real basic stuff but im just trying to think of a cause for your fish deaths. we introduced barbs to our tank over 15 months ago & then our nitrate was routinely around 40 (our tap water) & they seemed to do alright so i dont know if this could have affected your fish. you can tell between male & female tigers the males have bright orange noses & generally brighter colours the females noses stay pale but its v hard to sex them when they are young when they havent 'coloured up'
it sounds just as menagerie says stress of moving + possible pre existing illness that wasnt obvious when you got them.how are the rest of your barbs now???

 

[Terry]

I would like to come to the defence of the fish shop here, it might possibly be that the nitrates in the shop tank are lower than yours and the fish could not cope with the sudden change in nitrates. It does annoy me sometimes when the fish shop gets the blame when fish die. Yes i agree with menagerie that it was possible stress, but that could have been brought on by the sudden change in nitrates. Also being caught and put in a bag and taken home could be enough stress to kill a fish, some fish cope better than others.

 

[swanandmokashi]

did you float the bag & add some of your own tank water ( a few cupfuls every ten mins or so for about 1/2 an hour)before releasing your barbs???

Yes and no ! I did float the bag for some time. THere was hardly enough water in the bag that the fish came in to add cupful at a time.

.how are the rest of your barbs now???

They seem happy..everybody is following each other and eating well.. but so were the 2 that died. I am just hoping I don't see another floating tommorrow.

 

[swanandmokashi]

These fish were ill when you bought them. Possibly the stress of moving from the LFS to your home was too much for them, but I doubt it. What is the LFS "stay alive" policy? My LFS gives credit for the dead fish (I must proved a separate water sample and the body) up to 15 days and half credit to 30 days.

Well I don't know about their "stay alive" policy. I asked them if I could return any, if say one of them is aggressive and they said yes.
I was too sad to think about keeping hte body anyways

 

[swanandmokashi]

Also will it help , to do a quick 30-40 % water change to decrease the nitrates?

 

[TankGirl]

Yes, maybe do the water change, get yourself some companions for the barbs, and do a very slow acclimation. Maybe get the LFS to feed them in front of you so you can select some strong individuals.

 

[Menagerie]

I misread--I thought you lost all of them!
Okay, do the water change, but I would inquire with the LFS about their nitrate level.