What is going on with my tank?????

[AJ]

My tank should be renamed the Death Tank.

I can't keep anything alive it seems. I seem to destroy it all.

I have two neons currently dying of what I assume to be neon tetra disease, they are turning pale in the red stripe. I lost my poor female dwarf gourami today from some unknown cause. I didn't even notice her sick until last night when I noticed her sitting on the gravel barely moving and she was all pale. And my favourite orange platy is about to die. His abdomen is totally concave now and he barely swims. I am putting anti-parasite meds in the water and treating the food with the worm treatment but I don't even know what is wrong.

And before you ask the water parameters are a-ok.

 

[Devilishturtles]

are you getting enough oxygen in the tank? Is the temp ok? Paleness is a sign of stress. Could there be anything stressing them out badly?

 

[QTOFFER]

That really sucks. I think everyone who owns fish eventually suffers from the tank of doom syndrome. And our first response is to blame ourselves. If you are dechlorinating the water, keeping the water parameters in check, and feeding well, then there just isn't much more you could have done.

If you haven't already eliminated these as possibilities:

1 new acqusition (fish, live plant, invert) that might have introduced disease
2 high ammonia, nitrite, nitrate
3 poisoning of some kind - metals, household cleaners & soaps, contaminated tank ornaments
4 heater malfunction
5 poor oxygenation (powerhead or air pump malfunction, tank got too warm)
6 any change in your municipal water supply, recent plumbing work that could have released toxic sediments
7 Fish nearing end of normal lifespan
8 viral infection - not much can be done for these - even for humans
9 just a crappy batch of fish, if a recent aquisition. Many fish come into the lfs stressed and half-dead.

 

[Menagerie]

I hope you find the cause soon! My QT tank killed 4 cichlids--two were very healthy when they went in! The cause was a cheap clay pot I was using for decoration.