4 Fish Deaths under 24 Hours

[jeevster]

I lost 1 Alb. Cory, 2 Golden barbs, 1 Bolv. Ram
all with in 24 hours, I first noticed my cory dead on top of my java fern leaf.
then I noticed that 1 of my golden barbs was iternally on the water surfuse gulping air, moved it into a seperate container (my 20L plastic container I use for water changes).. it died soon after then I noticed a second barb do the same .. left it in the tank .. and it died soon after and laster that day I noticed my Ram dead.

I did a 30 - 40 % water change .. water params look OK ... Amonia = 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, PH stable @ 7

rest of the fish seem okay .. but worried on why these deaths occured ?
(visited a LFS .. they said lack of oxegen .. and asked me to install a air pump ... which I did.. how long should I run the air pump ? my tank has quite a bit fo plants to .. so would running the air pump cause any problem for my planst ?)

[Fishyfanatic]

I don't have live plants in my tanks, but I don't think that air will harm them, as long as you don't a large amount of air pushing against them.

Did you do a water change recently or introduce any new fish? How old is the tank?

[jeevster]

Tank has been running for over 4 months now..
deaths occured on Saturday .. last water change was 1 week before that, also added some more plants (2) 1 week before.
no new fish added during that period .. but did get new fish on Sunday .. (I had ordered these from a lfs - otos (4))

I watched as the 2 golden barbs died they were at the surface the whole time gasping for air ? any any thoughts ?

[lyquidphyre]

I bet it was lack of oxygen
Get an airpump with air stone

How full is your tank? if there isn't a lot of air on the surface of the water, ur fish could sufficate

[RoK]

Just leave the air pump running all the time and lower the water level a little (maybe 1-2", depends how high the water is). If you have a HOB filter lowering the water a little will also help the aeration. Do you have something to test the water hardness?

[shawmutt]

Suddenly over 24 hours? I'm not sure about lack of oxygen, they'd be at the surface for a while, like weeks or days, not suddenly like that. I suspect some sort of contamination. Did you add any decoration to the tank? Are there little kids around?

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

From what I understand, Cories can breath through gulped air, (go to surface and grab some) so lack of oxygen is probably not the culprit..

Aside from what was asked above by shawmutt.. Did the fish show any signs of distress other then gulping? do you use Spray air fresheners (not sure what chems are in them, but I doubt it would do any good for fish)?

[jeevster]

Thanks folks for your response, only thing that was added was some plants .. 1 fo them was not a true aquarium plant (didnt know it at the time of purchase) ... since then I have removed that plant . Current tank stock
3 Cory's
2 Golden barbs
10 Neons
2 Rams
2 Kribs, + 2 babies
4 Ottos (added last Sunday)

Tanks size 155 L (AquaOne - 850)
Filter is a canister filter which fits on top of the tank (its a all in one thing)

what is the reason to lower teh water level ?

all the other fish seem Okay. so do I run the air pump all the time .. ? would this effect my plants ?

[TomK2]

I am no plant guy, but I do know that any aeration or agitation that can increase oxygen diffusion into a tank can also increase carbon dioxide diffusion out of the tank. I think you have to have many plants or fast growing plants for this extra CO2 diffusion out of the tank to be a problem. Wish I could help more.....

[tetrin]

how long ago did the kribs have the babies?
any signs of aggression from them?
just a thought...

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

10 Neons

That would pretty much eliminate water condition, the neons tend to cack at the first sign of problemed water..

What was the name of the plant which wasn't aquatic?

[jeevster]

not sure what the LSF called it .. but it was basically Dwarf Mondo grass.

[jeevster]

Kribs had babies in Dec/Jan. The usual did happen the kribs were aggresive.. but all the fish were okay ... but by end july .. the parents stoped looking after the babies (only 2 survived)

[BASSNMAN]

Possibly the nonaquarium plant was contaminated, insecticide maybe.