HELP! Dead fish!!!

[Pmcgoldie]

Have a 10 gallon tank with balloon bellies and Mickey mouse platys. Over the past week 4 of my balloon bellies have died, one every other day! I checked my water and all was fine and even preformed a water change, what could be wrong?!?! Please hurry and respond with what I should do...I really don't want any more of my finned friends to go to the giant fishbowl in the sky!

 

[George9]

Have a 10 gallon tank with balloon bellies and Mickey mouse platys. Over the past week 4 of my balloon bellies have died, one every other day! I checked my water and all was fine and even preformed a water change, what could be wrong?!?! Please hurry and respond with what I should do...I really don't want any more of my finned friends to go to the giant fishbowl in the sky!

What exactly are your parameters? It could just be weak stock. Balloon mollies are deformed fish, so they are very weak IME

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Is the tank cycled and for how long? What are the water test parameter readings (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate)?

 

[bloodlucky]

Disease, high ammonia, new tank syndrome? Cycle the freaking thing before you put in weak fish like platys

 

[Samzter]

Disease, high ammonia, new tank syndrome? Cycle the freaking thing before you put in weak fish like platys

Platies aren't weak fish, they're actually very hardy. Balloon mollies are weak fish because they have been bred to have a deformity. Therefore they are weak fish. Like others have said, what is your exact level readings?

 

[Pmcgoldie]

Hey everyone! So, my tank is fully cycled, and has been for about 2 months. As for the exact parameters, I have the test strips...they don't give me an exact figure, just tell me wether the reading is "good" or not. For each of the tests, all readings landed in the "good" range.

 

[Pmcgoldie]

Are the strips ok?? I've heard a lot of people on here say that they suck...could they be getting a reading on my tank wrong?

 

[LyndaB]

Test strips are inaccurate. You should purchase the API master kit. You can get it at kensfish.com for less than $18, plus his customer service is superior.

We will always ask for readings first when trying to help you diagnose an issue with your tank.

I'm sorry you've lost so many fish. Let's try to save the rest.

 

[Samzter]

Are the strips ok?? I've heard a lot of people on here say that they suck...could they be getting a reading on my tank wrong?

The test strips are accurate. I recommend you get the api freshwater master test kit. You can get them online for about 17 dollars.

 

[Aces11]

Are the strips ok?? I've heard a lot of people on here say that they suck...could they be getting a reading on my tank wrong?

Strips are notoriously inaccurate. Many people on the forum recommend the API master test kit. It has liquid tests to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH.

 

[LyndaB]

API Freshwater Master Test Kit

On sale! Get 'em while they're hot! And cheap!

 

[tamtam]

the test kit has been covered. lol. I was wondering how many platies did you have in the tank before the deaths started and how many are in now?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

API Freshwater Master Test Kit

On sale! Get 'em while they're hot! And cheap!

We're here to save your fish and save you money!

Just want to add if you have Amazon Prime membership the API test kit, is $19 (no tax shipped). At Ken's w/ ship puts it around $26.

Dr. Fosters and Smith's site, its $20 w/ free ship no tax if you spend $50.. Which I usually do anyway by stocking on other things I need.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

It could easily be a fish illness. Do any of your fish have signs of parasites like white spots on them? Are their gills very red? White poop?

We really need to know how many fish you had before they started to die and how many are left. Do you ever rinse out your filter pads with tap water? Are you adding chlorine remover to all the tap water you add to your tank? Could also be overfeeding. I know we're asking a lot of questions but to help your fish it's important to know all this. We will try to help.

 

[Pmcgoldie]

the test kit has been covered. lol. I was wondering how many platies did you have in the tank before the deaths started and how many are in now?

So, I have 3 platys and they've all been fine...even looking more energetic than usual...only the balloon bellies have suffered.

 

[Pmcgoldie]

It could easily be a fish illness. Do any of your fish have signs of parasites like white spots on them? Are their gills very red? White poop?

We really need to know how many fish you had before they started to die and how many are left. Do you ever rinse out your filter pads with tap water? Are you adding chlorine remover to all the tap water you add to your tank? Could also be overfeeding. I know we're asking a lot of questions but to help your fish it's important to know all this. We will try to help.

Thanks! So, I had 4 balloon bellies and 3 Mickey mouse platys. I now have only 1 balloon belly left and all 3 platys. I've tried looking for any signs of disease/parasite, except that all look fine, however I've noticed that they balloon bellies are hovering at the surface of the water with their fins clamped down to their sides...before I put in a new filter I always rinse it off, and I've treated the water with TopFin's water conditioner... Correction: they also have that white poop that you talked about!

 

[Pmcgoldie]

API Freshwater Master Test Kit

On sale! Get 'em while they're hot! And cheap!

Thanks!! Just placed the order

 

[Super_Blueberry]

...before I put in a new filter I always rinse it off

Are they NEW filters? Or cleaned filters going back in? How often are you changing the filters?

 

[Pmcgoldie]

Are they NEW filters? Or cleaned filters going back in? How often are you changing the filters?

They are new filters, and I change them about every other week

 

[Super_Blueberry]

They are new filters, and I change them about every other week

That's most likely the source of your problem. The majority of you BB lives in your filter material, so every time you throw it out, you pretty much restart your cycle. Most of us use our filters until they are literally falling apart, and only clean them when flow is blocked.