HELP! My tetras are dying 1 by 1. don't know why

[illuminum]

I had 4 emperor tetras two weeks ago. Out of nowhere one of them started swimming in circles violently every once in a while and did almost nothing the rest of the time. It came to the point where it acted dead except for the times it was swimming in loops like a psycho. I had to euthanize that fish. Now I come to my tank today to feed my fish and I find another one of my tetras doing the same thing. At 1st I thought it was dead since it was stuck to the pump, but when I came to net it out it was spinning and looping like the last psycho fish. My nitrates and Nitrites and ammonia levels are fine... what's going on here??

I have a 12 gal tank with 2 neon tetras, 4 (now 2) emperor tetras, 1 fancy guppy, and one pleco.

 

[illuminum]

He's also swimming only in one direction (to his right). HTH

 

[illuminum]

these are the #'s I got with my jungle test kit just now.

nitrate 40
nitrite 0
hardness 110?
alkalinity 120
ph 7.3

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi, I don't have tetras, but am thinking about getting them, so I've been doing some research...They are very sensitive fish, and that nitrate level of 40ppm may be too high for them. Other, more hardy fish can handle nitrates at that level, but for tetras, I suspect that they can't. I would do a water change to lower your nitrates so your other tetras aren't affected. Based on your water test results, that's what I would do first.

Your hardness and alkalinity seem high too. I think tetras like softer water with a more acidic pH, like around 6, not 7.3. But like I said, I don't have tetras, just trying to research them! So you might want to check out the pH/hardness readings too. Since there is a guppy and a pleco in the tank too, you want to make sure they are all compatible as far as the pH and hardness that they all like. Hope this helps some!

 

[illuminum]

My nitrate's always seem to be steady at 40... I do 25% water changes a week and it always seems to come back to 40. I haven't overstocked the tank or anything. Is it possible I need to change the carbon filter cartridge? I don't know if that'd make a difference.

One of my LFS's said that these tetras are very hardy (cheap too).

My last water change (on Sunday) was made after my 1st tetra started acting funny. It hasn't even been a week and the nitrates are back up at 40. Does that info help at all?

 

[An t-iasg]

Don't believe everything that an lfs says!! However, they may be a hardy variety. I just don't know enough about all the various tetras out there.

I'm wondering if the water you're using is high in nitrates already. Test your water that you use in your tank and see if it's already high in nitrates. I've seen that some people on here use a product called Nitra-Zorb when the source water has high nitrates.

Otherwise, high nitrates mean you're overstocked. How big is the pleco? The pleco produces a lot of waste. He may get too big for a 12 gallon tank eventually.

So, test your source for nitrates, and that will give you something else to go on. Also, if it's been awhile since you changed your carbon, go ahead and change it. Sometimes if you leave old carbon in too long, it releases all the contaminants that it once held, back into the water.

 

[Crow]

It does sound to me like some kind of poisoning. Like the fish is exhausting itself trying to get out of the tank to some fresh water. Maybe try a dechlorinator that also gets rid of heavy metals. . .

If your carbon is used up, toxins from the tap that it previously removed could be building up.

Also, anaerobic bacteria in the substrate can release toxins. Disturbing the substrate to let oxygen in might help.

That's if it is poisoning. That's just my best, uneducated guess.

 

[illuminum]

I did a 2.5 gallon change. I replaced it with drinking water this time and changed the carbon filter cartridge. My pleco has gotten to be about 4 inches long now. It does poop alot, but I am certain that I'm not overstocking my tank. I can't really say what it is since it's affected only two of my fish and one week apart. I'll just keep observing for now. It's really upsetting that I'm losing my fish one by one even though they're so cheap.

 

[shawmutt]

If it hasn't been suggested before, I'll suggest it now. IMO, you should lose the pleco. If he isn't part of the problem now, he will be as he grows to over 12". The smaller they are, the better chance you have of a lfs taking him off your hands. This also has the benefit of freeing up your tank a little for a few more tetras.

That being said, IME, I have had very little success with tetras (or fish in general) until I started using ro water into the tank. Once you buy the container, ro water is much cheaper than bottled drinking water (about thirty cents a gallon here). You can find ro water in a local grocery store. You can treat it with Electro-Right or RO Right to replace the electrolytes missing in the water--which also takes the extra step of making the water the perfect pH for tetras. I even go an extra step and use a solution called CichlidVital in my cichlid tank. In my black water tank (the one with tetras) I use a solution called BlackWater Extract.

If you can't find the ro water, distilled water is also acceptable but will cost around twice as much. Just follow the same procedure as with the ro water.

If you just add the ro water with every water change, (20% a week is about 2.4 gallons a week) the change should be gradual enough that your fish are not affected.

HTH!

 

[illuminum]

I was thinking about getting rid of the pleco anyways so I guess it would be a good idea to do it now than later. What other algae eating fish would you suggest that I get that don't grow too big?


Edit: Alright, I may have found the culprit to my dying tetras. I came to my tank today and found that my heater was disconnected. I don't know if that could have been the problem, but I know it wasn't good.