Ahh! Help! 2 fish dead!

[Polkadots]

Help!

I just came home to find that two harlequin rasboras were dead.

I have no idea why! All of the other fish seem well. Plus, when I left today, they were all fine. I was gone for about eight hours, if that matters...

One harlequin rasbora was partially sucked into the filter and the other one was simply dead. Could it be that the filter sucked one up, spat it out, and then sucked another up?

I just got them six days ago. I don't think it could be from the ammonia/nitrite/ nitrates; I fishless cycled my tank. It can handle about 4ppm of ammonia in 24 hours.

Does have a clue know why in the world this happened? Please help!

 

[threnjen]

Oh no It definitely shouldn't be your parameters, I know you fishless cycled (and it took forever!)

Have you put any new objects in the tank lately?

It was probably not the filter - a healthy fish won't get sucked in. It probably got sucked in after it died.

We'll figure it out

 

[Polkadots]

Hm... Before I put in the fish, I took out a Santa Claus decoration (from Christmas... I just got around to taking it out!). Could that be the/a possible cause?

 

[threnjen]

You gotta be patient, 23 minutes is not very long (I know it feels like forever when your fish are dying, believe me)

 

[Polkadots]

You're right. I got your first reply after I posted that. (It's edited now... I edited it before I got your second reply)

 

[Berylla]

Help!

I just came home to find that two harlequin rasboras were dead.

I have no idea why! All of the other fish seem well. Plus, when I left today, they were all fine. I was gone for about eight hours, if that matters...

One harlequin rasbora was partially sucked into the filter and the other one was simply dead. Could it be that the filter sucked one up, spat it out, and then sucked another up?

I just got them six days ago. I don't think it could be from the ammonia/nitrite/ nitrates; I fishless cycled my tank. It can handle about 4ppm of ammonia in 24 hours.

Does have a clue know why in the world this happened? Please help!

Could you test your water anyways? If have the tests, check PH too.

New fish are susceptible to illness that's why it's good to QT them before introducing into your tank. At this point, if your water and tap water test well (0 ammonia, 0 nitriate, and 5 - 10 nitrate) and your PH of your tap water is not significantly different from your tank water, then it's probably just the fish. Keep an eye on the other fish - the new fish could have introduced a pathogen in the tank.

 

[threnjen]

How did you acclimate them when you put them in?

 

[Polkadots]

My water test was this: 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 10ppm nitrate. My pH is the same as before.


I acclimate them by letting the bag float for 15 minutes. Then I opened the bag and doubled the amount of water using the tank water, then let if float for another 15 minutes. Finally, I took them out with the fish net and threw away the water in the bag.

 

[Berylla]

My water test was this: 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 10ppm nitrate. My pH is the same as before.


I acclimate them by letting the bag float for 15 minutes. Then I opened the bag and doubled the amount of water using the tank water, then let if float for another 15 minutes. Finally, I took them out with the fish net and threw away the water in the bag.

How are the other fish? Any signs of illness? Your water parameters are good. I would perform a 50% water change to dilute any introduced pathogens in the tank. Then keep an eye on the survivors.

 

[Polkadots]

The fish seem healthy and happy. I'll go ahead and do that water change tomorrow!

 

[Berylla]

The fish seem healthy and happy. I'll go ahead and do that water change tomorrow!

Excellent!

 

[Polkadots]

Another harlequin rasbora died! According to my sister, the fish was kind of purple and swimming at the bottom. It swam sideways but trying hard to get upright. After about two hours, she noticed it was dead. Ahh! I thought it was all over! All of the other fish still look fine. What's going on?

 

[Polkadots]

Do you think I should bring back the rest of the harlequin rasboras, or should I just hope the other fish aren't affected? Like I said, they look healthy and happy... But so did the fish that died.

 

[Berylla]

Do you think I should bring back the rest of the harlequin rasboras, or should I just hope the other fish aren't affected? Like I said, they look healthy and happy... But so did the fish that died.

I'm confused. Do you have the rasboras in a QT tank or are they still in the main display. If you have a QT tank set up, make sure you are changing 50% of the water every day, have an airstone and a heater.

Keep the rasboras in the QT if they look like they are infected. Keep up the daily water changes in the main tank too (25%) and vacuum the substrate. Feed lightly.

 

[twiddlemuffin]

It's possible you could have just got a bad batch. Usually when I buy a batch of something 6+ I'll have one or two casualties, and there will be no leading factors. Or they could have been shipped in not too long before you got them, and they aren't adjusting to changes well.