Fish randomly dying 1 by 1 in 55g no aparent reason ?

[candymancan]

Hey guys.. My 55g has been setup for like 2-3 months now.. Water params are fine... Its heavily planted... Tons of Wisteria pretty big ones, lots of big water sprite, red neseae, red combomba, money wart, and a lot of sword lining the back, as well as java ferns on my driftwood and in the front.. Basically the tank is green when you look at it..

Params are.. PH 7.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5ppm. Im not using CO2, I do use ferts like root tabs, and flourish and leaf zone, has plenty of aeration 24 inch bubble wall, 350 penguin filter, and powerhead moving water on opposite of the filter. Temps are 75-77f..

Fish in the tank are

2x Turquois Rainbow (bout 2-3 inch)
2x Boesemani Rainbow (only 2 inches long)
2x Angel Fish (small angels I got them as babies they are about 1 1/2 in size now
2x Gourami (1 gold fully grown 4 inches or so have had him for 3-4 years) (1 blue half grown)
2x Pearl Danio
2x Bolivian rams, 1 male 1 female
2x Gold Barbs still Juvies bout 1 inch
4x Liverbearers (Platy, sword tails)
3x Oto's

The fish that have died in say a month's time span and recently such as the last week are

2x Gold barb (both males)
2x Liverbearer
1x Clown Loach
1x Oto

Im not sure why these fish died... 1 of the platy's had a eye infection or something it was cloudy from day 1 we got it bout 3 weeks ago so I think he might have died from that I don't know... The gold barbs showed no signs of disease I have no idea why they died... The clownloach I just found this morning... Looks like he died 2 days ago he was under the driftwood in his usually hiding spot but It looks like he got stuck under it I found him wedged between the rocks and wood so I think he killed himself not sure.. The oto's are fairly new a week old not sure why 1 died.. my tank had tons of diatoms in it and they cleaned it up pretty good and had big round bellys

My angels are tiny and aren't aggressive at all, the rams don't bother anyone either in fact the male's best buddy is the male Turquoise rainbow lol they always hang out together... The gourami's are the biggest boys in the tank but the gold one grew up in the 30g tank 4 years and he has always lived with livebearer and neon tetra's and he never bothered them.. He just picks a spot in the tank and is shy... The blue one is kinda new but he acts like the gold one...

Soo... should I chaulk these deaths up as random, maybe they died at night time, got stuck somehow... or I dunno ? I never found my gold barbs bodies... its like they vanished.. I found the oto and clown fish and 1 platy... I haven't found the other platy.

My driftwood has a lot of hiding spots in it and crevices so maybe they died in there.. I dunno.... What do you guys think ? Im thinking of getting 2 more gold barbs because I know they like to school based on the adults in my 27g but the other fish Im not sure if I should replace


EDIT: Well I just found out the heater isn't working.. I turned it up to 84f hold it in my hand and nothing.. If I hit the heater the light comes on abut flickers back off... Im not sure if that's what is causing my die off though as according to my temp gauge the water is always 75-78f when I look at it... But last night the temps outside were like 55f and I had the windows open..

I have a spare heater from my 27g tank its 14 years old and the temps are slightly off but it does work... Do you think 150w is enough for a 55g ? The other one was a 300w heater from the previous owner when I bought the tank

 

[rmiller]

What temp is your tank at now? That could explain the deaths. Otos are very sensitive and losing one when you first add them isn't a surprise.

 

[candymancan]

The temps were 75f when I noticed the heater wasn't working.. Not sure what it was last night with the lights out and windows open... Its back at 78f now with my 150w heater in the tank..

Im noticing 1 of my angelfish is now sitting in the top corner of the tank not eating or doing anything.. I tested my water again, Ammonia, Nitrites, are 0.. Nitrates are 10, PH is 7.8. Im wondering could the PH be too high ? The tank has a good sized piece of coral in it, and giant driftwood but it seems the PH is higher then I previously thought it was.. I know angel fish like a neutral PH.. So I guess im going to take the coral out and see if the PH drops.

I don't have any other explanation to why he is acting like that. I really don't want this angel to die.. he has amazing colors.. Hes been in the tank for at least 1-2 months now

 

[Cynic]

Have you added any fish recently?

 

[candymancan]

No I haven't. I haven't done anything to the tank besides water changes like usual. I decided to take the coral out and changed 30% of the water. I don't like the PH being 7.8

 

[flitabout]

What is your Ph normally has it changed that much in a short period of time?

 

[bob mccoy]

where u located candy man i have a used heater

 

[Fishfur]

Losing Otos is sadly, very common. And I would not think a clown loach would do all that well with all the other fish, and they can be very sensitive as well. Again, probably not a big surprise to lose that one.

I doubt pH is the issue, but what is your tap pH ? Usually pH is only a big problem if it is changing dramatically in a short time. Stable pH, even if not 'ideal', is usually not any issue at all. Most fish are quite adaptable, though there are some exceptions of course.

If your water is hard and alkaline, even having that coral in would not have caused much of a difference. In acidic or soft water, yeah, it would be a big problem.

Fiddling with pH often causes far more trouble than it ever solves. Stability is what you want, rather than a specific number value on a test. Have you tested GH and KH ?

 

[candymancan]

Our tap water is 7.8 as well I believe, my KH in that tank is 3 and GH is 5 I think.. I'll have to check it again I cant remember off hand.. This angel fish did have a missing gill slit so maybe that's why ? Im not sure why the KH and GH is so much lower in that tank and the PH is higher compared to my 27g... My 27g uses the same tap water obviously but my KH is 5 and GH is 9 in that tank and my PH is 7.4 (6.6 if I use co2)

He died today.. no apparent reason that I can see.. I mean the water is perfect.. PH is high for angels so I read but other then that everything seems fine... I went to the store and got another one today he seems to be doing well and he has normal gills. Sucks the other one died... he was really pretty grrr

Numbers are

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20 (10-20 look exactly the same on that API chart.. but I think its 10)
PH 7.8
KH 3
GH 5

(ill check the kh and gh again to be sure)

As for the heater bob McCoy I live in Virginia. My old 150w that used to be in my 27g seems to work.. I have to set it to 68f in order for it to keep the water at 78f and it does turn off and on.. Its just wayyy off on temp.. I have been monitoring the temps for 2 days now and its been a solid 77-78f.. Its a 14 year old heater original.. My 30g has its original heater in it too 24 years old... and its the same brand and I have to keep it at the lowest setting 68f and it keeps the water at 78f.. Kinda weird but hey they work

 

[candymancan]

Well now this angel is hiding on the left side of the tank hes eating and swimming from the top to bottom but hes hiding and his nose is always pointing up..

What is the deal, could it be stress related ??? I mean as you guys see my water parrams look fine... so I dunno... I don't see anyone picking on him.... So I don't know... Im wondering if he doesn't get better tomorrow should I put him in my 30g tank ? The only thing with that is it has neon tetra's in it.. I have 8 platy's 7 neons, and 1 ram in that tank. My 27g tank is too heavily stocked as it is and it isn't a long tank like those 2 so that isn't a option..

 

[severum mama]

I'd suspect the gouramis even if you are not seeing outright aggression. Your water quality is clearly not the issue here, and pH 7.8 should not be any problem for tank bred or farmed angelfish (as are the overwhelming majority of what is available in the hobby). 4 inches for Trichogaster trichopterus is not yet fully grown, and this species tends to get more belligerent with age and size, IME.

Just a thought. Hope you can nail down a cause. Unexplained deaths are so frustrating.