Tank update

[CiscoKid]

4 danios and the pleco are still suckin water!! (by that I mean they are alive and well) Now I have to decide when it is time to try adding more, since I doubt 4 danios and one pleco will be able to cycle a 55 gallon tank while I am still young enough to enjoy the aquarium. What are your thoughts on how many I should add? And when?
TIA
Mark

 

[Bearfan]

***Ducks and Runs***

 

[AtodaJ]

Hi CiscoKid,

I wouldn't get ahead of yourself. You have lost half your danios in a short time period. Considering danios are very hardy fish and your tank hasn't even really begun to cycle I'd suggest waiting at least another 2 weeks to be sure that the string of deaths is in fact over. There could be something else that is killing the fish and you want to be sure it was only bad luck before investing in some new friends. Be patient and surf the web to find your eventual fish purchases. Here is a good place to start.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=830

Enjoy!

 

[CiscoKid]

Uh oh - something is wrong for sure - my little pleco was dead when I got home today. No outward signs of anything with him in the way of spots, etc. I think it might be prudent for me to bring a test sample of my water to the fish store to see what they have to say about what's going on.
The 4 danios are still going strong - for now.

 

[lyquidphyre]

and while you are there buy a testing kit for yourself =o)

sorry to hear about your losses

What have you been feeding ur pleco?

 

[Menagerie]

Definitely pick up a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Please post your water parameters and we can help from there.

 

[CiscoKid]

Thanks for the information - I already have a test kit which is how I know I do not have any ammonia or nitrites in the tank. My ph is at 7.5, GH is less than 1 and my KH is 10. Everything is new in the tank with the exception of some artificial decorative rocks that I cleaned (no soap, just lots of water and scrubbing) and a few plastic plants I received from the same person who gave me the tank. I did clean everything out before setting it up, and let the tank sit with water in it for 2 days before adding my fish. Temperature is 78 degrees. I am feeding Nutrafin Max complete flake food.

The only other thing I can think is maybe something toxic got in there??

 

[Menagerie]

You need to tell us the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly to fish. pH and hardness tests are great, but they are not the MAIN tests that you need.

 

[couplescaddy]

jsut get a product called cycle or stress zyme i found cycle at petco and now my tank is cycled in 3 days. i guess if you use enough of it itll cycle a 55 gallon tank too.

 

[BrianNY]

JMHO but I suspect something besides ammonia or nitrite poisoning is at work here. Like AtodaJ said, danios are very hardy fish and 8 in a 55 gallon is a very small fish load.

 

[CiscoKid]

Does anyone know of another test to run on my water? It sounds like the fish store can only run the same water tests that I can run with my test kit.

Update as of tonight - Ammonia and nitrites still zero - water has cleared up, although it never really got that cloudy - you could only really see cloudiness when looking at it the long way. Once again it is crystal clear. The 4 remaining danios are doing extremely well - eating like vultures every time I put food in there, swimming all around and looking like they are really enjoying their lives.
Short of running additional tests on the water, the only other thing I can think of to do is to replace the 4 dani's that didn't make it and see how the new ones do.
PLEASE do not flame me if you disagree with this as a next step - I am honestly trying to figure this out with the least amount of impact.
Sheesh, this is turning out to be more than just putting a couple of fish in a bowl....

 

[AtodaJ]

Honestly the next step is to just continue the tank with the 4 danios until you discover what is killing them (if anything).

If it was just bad luck then you'll be able to conclude that if your remaining 4 danios can remain healthy for another couple of weeks. You've lost enough hardy fish that I wouldn't be considering adding anything new for at least 2 weeks. It really isn't that long to wait especially considering the high death toll your tank has chalked up.

With that said what could be causing the deaths? Couple of thoughts here. Are you familiar with the acclimation process? If you failed to acclimate the danios when you first put them in the tank this may have primarily caused the quick 4 deaths. Especially since the water you have is quite distinct from what they were living in before. Your water is "well water" that has a high concentration of Potassium Chloride. Accordingly, you must take acclimation especially seriously. Please read the following and do this next time you add fish.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=19

You also lost a Pleco. You said you fed your fish flake food. Did you put anything else in the tank for the Pleco? Plecos eat algae in the tank but since it's a new tank there may not have been enough algae for it to survive. If you did not put algae wafers in the tank it may have simply starved to death or died from the stress of not being able to locate food and/or the lack of acclimation. Regardless, a pleco won't be able to live off of flake food alone.

Any of these suggestions seem like a cause for what is going on in your tank?

 

[CiscoKid]

"Regardless, a pleco won't be able to live off of flake food alone."

I was not aware of that. The poor little fella possibly starved to death. Unfortunately my lesson may have cost a little fishie his life. As for acclimating - the person at the store told me a different method - just to float the bag in the tank for 15 minutes until the water temperature adjusted, then net the fish out of the bag and put them in the tank. The method you pointed me to makes more sense. Again, lesson learned.
I will monitor the tank for a few weeks just to be sure - I don't want any more deaths on my hands.
THANK YOU so much for your assistance Atoda.