What happened????

[Aquaholic1]

Hey everyone. Let me start by saying I've had some great help with this site already so i've decided to join in order to get more help.

I've had a 10 gallon (UK) up and running for about 3 months now and everything has been perfect up until last week when i came home from work and a small angel fish and 3 male guppies were floating . They were fine in the morning when i left for work and the had no signs of illness and they had been fed the same flake food i got about a month ago. I make sure i dont overfeed because i know that causes a lot of trouble. So anyway i was down to one small black angel fish and one small male guppie and i noticed my guppie was hiding behind my heater ontop of the top sucker while my angelfish seemed ok and did its own thing. About 2 hours after i got home from work and removed the dead fish, my last guppie which looked fine other than hiding had died so now i've only got my angelfish which is fine and healty looking. So if anyone can enlighten me on why five out of my six fish had died in one day that would be great as i want to add more fish but i dont want to risk killing them.
Hope to hear back soon Thank you.

 

[librarygirl]

What is your water change schedule? When is the last time you did a water change and how much?

What are your parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?

This information can help us help you further.

Sorry about your fish

 

[siva]

Hello and welcome to AA

It may be that the remaining angel killed everyone else. It's hard to say. Do please test your water for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite if you can, and post the readings.

Your tank is less than 1/3 of the minimum size tank for angels. I would highly recommend you take back your remaining angelfish and once you have made sure the tank is stable, re-stock it with fish suitable for your tank.

 

[Aquaholic1]

my water change schedule depends on my parameters really but usually once a week on a saturday and about 20-30%
ph 7
ammonia 0
nitrAte 0
nitrIte .125
i check my readings every two days and they havent really spiked.
there was no visual defects to my fish other than the last guppie which had a really badly torn fin but no chunks just slices. And i know its a bit small for angelfish as they grow big but im looking at getting a 70 gal(UK) next week . hope this helps you.

 

[hippy guy]

angelfish ate your other fish...

 

[siva]

Hmm. Those readings don't make sense. Are you using test strips or liquid test kit?

 

[Aquaholic1]

Do you think? there wasn't anything visually wrong with them and my angel is only an inch long the guppies were bigger lol

 

[Aquaholic1]

I'm using the api test master kit which i got a couple of months ago. The only addition to the tank is a new artificial plant, but i put that in the tank about 2 weeks prior to the fish dying

 

[fred]

Your nitrite should read zero and your nitrate should show a reading of at least 5 if your tank is cycled properly?

 

[siva]

Ok. If there is nitrite present, there should be at the least a bit of ammonia or nitrate. Just to make sure...are you doing this?
Ammonia: add 8 drops of each and shake
Nitrate: add 10 drops of # 1, cap and shake for a moment, shake solution #2 for 30 seconds, then add 10 drops to the vial, cap and shake for 1 minute. Wait 5 minutes for results.

 

[Aquaholic1]

i'll test them again, that was the reading i got lastnight. i know there a bit weird. i did a fishless cycle.

 

[Aquaholic1]

I just follow the instructions. I'll lend my friends test kit and do one tonight and let you guys know. something is a bit fishy because ive googled those results and there not right

 

[siva]

Ok great. Also is the tank planted?

 

[Aquaholic1]

yep i have 2 small and one large live plant not sure on the names will that matter?

 

[siva]

Not really. It's possible three plants in a 10 gal could zero out your nitrates but I wouldn't think so.

So the nitrites aren't actually registering .25 but look a bit more purple than 0? I would re-test the nitrites to be sure.

Or is it a really old test kit?

 

[Aquaholic1]

ive done the tests now

 

[Aquaholic1]

hey guys so i've used my mates and my kit again and both results were exactly the same but different to last night:
ph 7
ammonia 0
nitrate 10
nitrite 0
so i must of made i mistake testing them lastnight. and i got the kit about two months ago but who knows how longs its bee sitting in the store.

 

[siva]

Ok your parameters are perfect so you know it wasn't a water issue. Check the expiration on that kit and just make sure it's still good. It may have just been a slip up when performing the test.

There may be no telling what killed your guppies. I would think the angel did it...not sure of what to make of no physical signs of damage though.

 

[Aquaholic1]

i know its bizzare ive got a practically empty 36 gallon tank thats been running for a year now so i might put my angel in there and see how its gets on. i'll keep you updated thank you for your help