Algae Eaters

[domsmom]

Got two algae eaters after work today.
Acclimated them to the tank and added them. 4 hours later, dead! Very disappointed.
Something must be wrong with the water, right?!
All of our other fish seem to be fine! Even the platy fry!
Nitrates and nitrites are low, pH is a little low. Water seems a little cloudy.
Any ideas? I don't want to lose anymore fish!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Got two algae eaters after work today.
Acclimated them to the tank and added them. 4 hours later, dead! Very disappointed.
Something must be wrong with the water, right?!
All of our other fish seem to be fine! Even the platy fry!
Nitrates and nitrites are low, pH is a little low. Water seems a little cloudy.
Any ideas? I don't want to lose anymore fish!

What kind I algae eaters?
What are the exact numbers of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
How long has the tank been set up? How did you acclimate them?

 

[Mrduna01]

Got two algae eaters after work today.
Acclimated them to the tank and added them. 4 hours later, dead! Very disappointed.
Something must be wrong with the water, right?!
All of our other fish seem to be fine! Even the platy fry!
Nitrates and nitrites are low, pH is a little low. Water seems a little cloudy.
Any ideas? I don't want to lose anymore fish!

What are your ammonia nitrites and nitrates at?

 

[smileyface9]

What's ur ammonia, nitrates, nitrites at? And what's ur ph at? U can try crushed coral in a mesh bag in your filter that should help stabilize ur ph.

 

[domsmom]

Im not sure of the exact numbers, I need to get the water tested. I only have those strips which I dont think are really all that great! I'm going to try to take it in the morning before I work.
The tank has been set up since October.
I acclimated them by letting their bag float for a good 20 mins. Thats what the guy at the fish store told me to do.

 

[domsmom]

I will try to test water and post numbers ASAP

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Im not sure of the exact numbers, I need to get the water tested. I only have those strips which I dont think are really all that great! I'm going to try to take it in the morning before I work.
The tank has been set up since October.
I acclimated them by letting their bag float for a good 20 mins. Thats what the guy at the fish store told me to do.

That acclimated them to the temperature but not the water parameters. You need to add some of the tank water to the bag every 5-10 minutes until the bag volume doubles then net the fish out, add to tank and discard the bag water or use drip acclimatization (YouTube that).
I suggest you get your own liquid test kit to keep an eye on your water.

What kind of fish where they?

 

[smileyface9]

Im not sure of the exact numbers, I need to get the water tested. I only have those strips which I dont think are really all that great! I'm going to try to take it in the morning before I work.
The tank has been set up since October.
I acclimated them by letting their bag float for a good 20 mins. Thats what the guy at the fish store told me to do.

Maybe they died of ph shock. That's an old school way of acclimating fish. A better way is letting it sit at least 20 minutes and while doing so take a plastic cup and have the bag open..add a half cup of ur tank water to the bag every 4 minutes. Do that until the ph in ur tank and the bag r about the same. Same with the water temp. I'd ask for my money back if i were u.

 

[toddnbecka]

Ammonia and nitrites should be 0, though the test strips are somewhere between unreliable and totally worthless.
What size tank, what filtration, and what other fish/how many of each?

 

[domsmom]

Nitrates: are creeping back up a little looks like 80
Nitrites: 0
Water is hard & has been (been using conditioner)
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: low, maybe 30
pH: dropped, Under 6?

I guess try a water change? Hopefully that will help...

 

[domsmom]

Doing a water change now. Still mad/upset out my algae eaters! Now I just wonder how long I should wait before even attempting another one?!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Strips are worthless, but if that really is your nitrates they died because they are so high. I wouldn't add anything until you get them down and they stay down consistently.

 

[LyndaB]

You really want your nitrates <20. You need to get some serious water changes going before even thinking about getting any more fish.

What is your typical water change schedule? How often, how much?

 

[domsmom]

The guy at the fish store said once a week 30-40% ...?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

30-40 is good weekly. Also rinse your filter media in tank water, dont replace the media unless it starts falling apart. If I were you I would do 75% changes every other day for a week and see what happens.

 

[domsmom]

And see where I'm confused is, the fish store told me I should be replacing the filter monthly and weekly I could be rinsing it with hot water....??

 

[Mrduna01]

And see where I'm confused is, the fish store told me I should be replacing the filter monthly and weekly I could be rinsing it with hot water....??

That jack wagon is seriously uneducated in the subject. Hot water and any untreated water for that matter going through the filter will kill the bacteria that is needed to sustain good water. Just rinse it in your old tank water and put back in. Once it falls apart, before throwing it out put it behind the new filter media for a week or two to "seed" the new filter.

 

[LyndaB]

And see where I'm confused is, the fish store told me I should be replacing the filter monthly and weekly I could be rinsing it with hot water....??

Of course he told you that. He wants to sell you filters.

As most of us have experienced, you've been duped by a less than knowledgeable salesman.

Stick with us and you'll end up with a healthy tank.

 

[toddnbecka]

Is the substrate sand or gravel? How often do you siphon it out?
What's your pH and kh out of the tap?
What size tank, what filtration, and how many fish are in it?
The most common cause of pH dropping so low is either very soft water (low kh) or too much debris in the substrate. Heavy stocking also contributes to the problem.
The bacteria produce acid as they break down waste, and that tends to buffer the pH at a lower level. Doing a water changes doesn't help, because the acid in the tank water quickly eats up the carbonates (that buffer pH) in the fresh water.
Siphoning the debris out of the gravel with weekly water changes helps.
Coral or limestone, either in a filter or in the tank, will buffer the pH around 7.4-7.6.

 

[domsmom]

We have gravel, very hard water and high pH. But of course now, the pH is very low! there are 7 fish and it's a 10 gallon tank