Death in a Tank

[vaquero]

Well this week we have lost well over 8 fish in three days and will lose more tonight. The water tested great, and water temp is 74 degrees. It is a 25 Gallon tank established for over two years. We had to add two fantail gold fish to the tank since they weren't doing so well in a 1/2 gallon bowl, which was temporary until we could get the other 10 gal tank set up and cycled. We added some new boiled cleaned gravel on top of the other gravel as well. My though is that the fantail goldfish brought something into the tank. Some of the fish were at the top of the water trying to breath. The fantails were in a tank along with some regular goldfish of which they both died while in the fish bowl. Did I mess it up by adding the fantails to the tank? That is my best guess, I'm not going to rescue any of the other fish since they look like they are not long for this world. I did rescue some of them and put them into another 10 gallon tank with an established filter medium without any gravel. They seem to be doing a little better, but it is too soon to tell. Tomorrow morning will be the time to see if any of them will survive. Any ideas would be helpful. After the last fish dies in the 25, I am going to completely clean,boil and bleach the tank and everything in it to get rid of whatever is in it. Then re cycle it and start over (oh yea).

 

[Douglas4701]

Not sure of the reason but sometimes these things happen. Just enjoy the rebirth of the tank. That's all I can offer as a newbie.

 

[Zimmanski]

You need to reconsider ever having anything more than one single goldfish in a 25 g, and honestly nothing more than a couple RCS should be in a half gallon of water. I'm sure many people will also chime in and tell you about the whole goldfish in inadequate bowls, I would assume your fish are dying because of the massive bioload of goldfish. How big are yours?

 

[jlk]

You mention adding the fantails to the 25g that already had goldfish. Is this correct? How many goldfish in the 25g? As it was already mentioned, 25g is only suitable for a single fancy goldfish. Having multiple goldfish in such a small tank was the likely cause of their demise. The fantails in the bowl unfortunately were going to die whether you moved them or not- two goldfish in a 1/2g bowl is a death sentence and they were likely already beyond help when you moved them from living in these conditions. A 10g tank is not suitable for even a single goldfish either. If you decide to purchase more goldfish in the future, please read the link below on how to properly care for them- they require alot more work and care than most people realize.

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[vaquero]

You mention adding the fantails to the 25g that already had goldfish. Is this correct? How many goldfish in the 25g? As it was already mentioned, 25g is only suitable for a single fancy goldfish. Having multiple goldfish in such a small tank was the likely cause of their demise. The fantails in the bowl unfortunately were going to die whether you moved them or not- two goldfish in a 1/2g bowl is a death sentence and they were likely already beyond help when you moved them from living in these conditions. A 10g tank is not suitable for even a single goldfish either. If you decide to purchase more goldfish in the future, please read the link below on how to properly care for them- they require alot more work and care than most people realize.

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

no the 25 never had gold fish until we took them out of the bowl to give them better conditions in the 25 gallon. These fish were intended for my wife's classroom, hence the small bowl. We put them there until we could get a 10 gal cycled for her then all of this happened so suddenly. And thank you for the link

 

[vaquero]

I believe the problem is Ammonia Poisoning Due to the amount of fish and/or the newly added fantail goldfish. I think that they contributed to the ammonia spike and that's what killed the fish. I can't test for it, but the other fish that are still alive show symptoms of it. Red gills, lethargic, sitting at bottom and some at the top trying to breath.
I am still going to clean and boil everything today just in case its not the poisoning. Should I get rid of the filter as well or can i still keep it to help re cycle the tank.

 

[tamtam]

It was mostly likely ammonia poisoning. What other fish did you put them in with? Goldies are best kept in species only tanks as they really don't share common water conditions with many other fish..

You need to research any fish before you get them and be sure you have the proper conditions for them. Goldies do most of their growing in the first 2-3 years of life so any time kept in something too small is going to have a serious impact on their over all health and life span. It's always best to just start them in a proper sized tank right off the hop.

If your wife only has a 10 gallon tank for her class room than I would suggest looking for fish that are suitable for this tank. Guppies would work nicely and kids usually love them. Shrimp would be a great addition and another hit with kids.

I would keep the media if you can keep the bacteria on it alive.

 

[vaquero]

So I shouldn't clean the gravel huh? Ok I just didn't want to take the chance of it being anything else and re re-infecting the tank. We (had) 6 glow fish, 2 red heart tetras, two glass catfish, 1 sucker, 3 angel fish and 6 rainbow tetras.20 small fish have survived for a long time, it's just after the goldfish went into it that the dying started. That is why I bekieve it was an ammonium spike. So far 4 of the glow fish ,2 cats,2 angels have survived in the emergency tank we set up last night

 

[jlk]

I believe the problem is Ammonia Poisoning Due to the amount of fish and/or the newly added fantail goldfish. I think that they contributed to the ammonia spike and that's what killed the fish. I can't test for it, but the other fish that are still alive show symptoms of it. Red gills, lethargic, sitting at bottom and some at the top trying to breath.
I am still going to clean and boil everything today just in case its not the poisoning. Should I get rid of the filter as well or can i still keep it to help re cycle the tank.

You need to get yourself an ammonia test, plain and simple. Until you can do this, start changing atleast 50% of their water daily- once in the am & once in the pm. Make sure the water is temperature matched & properly conditioned. Their symptoms are classic signs of ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. Do not clean or boil anything or get rid of the filter- just start changing their water frequently and, hopefully, they will be able to recover with lots of healthy water.

 

[tamtam]

+1 to JLK and you should start looking at your stocking. You need to get proper tank sizes for the fish you have. A single angel needs 30 gallons, 2 need at least 40. These fish may be small now but they get big and should reach most of their adult size by 6 months and full size by a year. If they aren't large at this point this is a big flag you've stunted their growth. By 6 months they should be close to 4 inches. Their growth slows at this point and they will finish up the final 2ish in the following months. Stunting a fishes growth is a pretty serious thing. It's painful for them and cuts their life span down extensively. Research is key when keeping fish

Take the time to learn about your fish and see what you need to give them. The glow fish are suitable for the tank, I can't say on the glass cats.. I think they are schoolers perhaps but would look into their needs further.

 

[Zimmanski]

Not to mention angels and your other stock are tropic fish needing warmer water and your goldfish need cold water..

 

[vaquero]

i have had to ghost cats in the same tank for over two years. As to the angels, they are just fine in the tank until they grow bigger(they are juveniles). We lost a cat tonight and the other is looking badly. If they all die, we will start over as anyone would do, just not have as many and NO goldfish with them. I have checked new water and all is way within parameters, and ammonia is low as well. The Glow fish are doing ok for now, we will give them a day or so to see if they survive as well.

 

[Zimmanski]

i have had to ghost cats in the same tank for over two years. As to the angels, they are just fine in the tank until they grow bigger(they are juveniles). We lost a cat tonight and the other is looking badly. If they all die, we will start over as anyone would do, just not have as many and NO goldfish with them. I have checked new water and all is way within parameters, and ammonia is low as well. The Glow fish are doing ok for now, we will give them a day or so to see if they survive as well.

Sorry for your losses but good to know you will correct this in the future. Good luck with your tank

 

[vaquero]

Well only three fish survived the Holocaust. Two Angel Fish and one glow fish. We have since made the tank survivable, and have restocked it with the three survivors, 2 electric glow fish, 6 cardinal tetras, 2 comic blue glow fish,5 neon tetras (all juveniles)and 2 Mystery Snails all in the 25 gallon tank. All is okay and the ammonia levels are net to none. We have top, middle, and bottom dwellers and their world is evened out.