i'm having a high mortality rate problem

[prisoner1572]

I have a 45 gallon tank that I set up in February of this year as a planted tank. I had been fertilizing them with Flourish, Flourish Excel, Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Potassium. I've haven't been very successful with them until I increased the Flourish Excel to daily and then the plants started to improve a little. I've been working on making a co2 system.

In mid-October, I purchased some fish from a show: 1 betta, 5 synodontis catfish, 3 guppies. The betta died the next day from a fungal infection. The other fish were fine but over the next two weeks, I lost all three guppies and one catfish. The guppies were lively then each one after the other started to get listless, hang at the top and then die. The one catfish just showed up dead one morning without any noticeable changes in the previous days.

I had gotten my water tested several times at pet stores before and after purchasing the fish and they said the test results were all zero except for nitrates which were still at a low level. pH is above the 7.6 maximum of the test kit. At the end of November I felt comfortable enough with the tank that I bought three more guppies and a dwarf blue gourami at Petco. In the last two weeks, I lost one guppy with the same symptoms and am currently in the process of losing at least one of the other two. The four remaining catfish and gourami appear fine for now.

The guppies were very active when I bought them and they ate well, but have now been swimming slowly and hanging at the surface, but not surface breathing. The worst one has started to become bloated.

Filter is a Eheim canister filter at 250 GPH which I slowed halfway thinking this was too strong for the fish.

I do 5% water changes every other week.

Fish were acclimated with the bag floating in the tank and adding water over the course of an hour.

Temperature is stable at 75.

I am feeding a variety of food: two different types of flake, mirco pellets, larger pellets, sinking wafers, brine shrimp and blood worms. All of these are in small amounts.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[coralbandit]

I have a 45 gallon tank that I set up in February of this year as a planted tank. I had been fertilizing them with Flourish, Flourish Excel, Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Potassium. I've haven't been very successful with them until I increased the Flourish Excel to daily and then the plants started to improve a little. I've been working on making a co2 system.

In mid-October, I purchased some fish from a show: 1 betta, 5 synodontis catfish, 3 guppies. The betta died the next day from a fungal infection. The other fish were fine but over the next two weeks, I lost all three guppies and one catfish. The guppies were lively then each one after the other started to get listless, hang at the top and then die. The one catfish just showed up dead one morning without any noticeable changes in the previous days.

I had gotten my water tested several times at pet stores before and after purchasing the fish and they said the test results were all zero except for nitrates which were still at a low level. pH is above the 7.6 maximum of the test kit. At the end of November I felt comfortable enough with the tank that I bought three more guppies and a dwarf blue gourami at Petco. In the last two weeks, I lost one guppy with the same symptoms and am currently in the process of losing at least one of the other two. The four remaining catfish and gourami appear fine for now.

The guppies were very active when I bought them and they ate well, but have now been swimming slowly and hanging at the surface, but not surface breathing. The worst one has started to become bloated.

Filter is a Eheim canister filter at 250 GPH which I slowed halfway thinking this was too strong for the fish.

I do 5% water changes every other week.

Fish were acclimated with the bag floating in the tank and adding water over the course of an hour.

Temperature is stable at 75.

I am feeding a variety of food: two different types of flake, mirco pellets, larger pellets, sinking wafers, brine shrimp and blood worms. All of these are in small amounts.

Thanks for any help you can give.

In many cases fish can live in horrible conditions ...As long as they were there while the conditions were created..Adding new to such often ends in very quick death or issue.Having a 'box store' known to use test strips tell you that you are ok may be one problem ,but more over whether their info is accurate I think more then 5% every other week is needed...
Most planted people who dose do 50% every week , and most if not many fish keepers do 50% every week but you dose ,keep fish and do 5% every 2? Even if you meant 50% every 2 weeks I would still you need to step up your water changes...
many accomplished keepers don't test at all...They let their fish tell them or know they are in excess in a positive fashion...
Your fish are telling you something....
Good luck and start changing water slow as your tank would fall into not properly maintained category and you need to change a lot of water but you need to start small and increase daily....
I really hope this helps...

 

[Copplanes]

In many cases fish can live in horrible conditions ...As long as they were there while the conditions were created..Adding new to such often ends in very quick death or issue.Having a 'box store' known to use test strips tell you that you are ok may be one problem ,but more over whether their info is accurate I think more then 5% every other week is needed...
Most planted people who dose do 50% every week , and most if not many fish keepers do 50% every week but you dose ,keep fish and do 5% every 2? Even if you meant 50% every 2 weeks I would still you need to step up your water changes...
many accomplished keepers don't test at all...They let their fish tell them or know they are in excess in a positive fashion...
Your fish are telling you something....
Good luck and start changing water slow as your tank would fall into not properly maintained category and you need to change a lot of water but you need to start small and increase daily....
I really hope this helps...

i agree.
also, you said you're working on a c02 system? your plants really need the carbon to thrive. i bought a complete system at petco for $50 and it took 5 min to set up. your fish might be having a reaction to the amount of additives for your plants.

 

[Ruutah]

In many cases fish can live in horrible conditions ...As long as they were there while the conditions were created..Adding new to such often ends in very quick death or issue.Having a 'box store' known to use test strips tell you that you are ok may be one problem ,but more over whether their info is accurate I think more then 5% every other week is needed...
Most planted people who dose do 50% every week , and most if not many fish keepers do 50% every week but you dose ,keep fish and do 5% every 2? Even if you meant 50% every 2 weeks I would still you need to step up your water changes...
many accomplished keepers don't test at all...They let their fish tell them or know they are in excess in a positive fashion...
Your fish are telling you something....
Good luck and start changing water slow as your tank would fall into not properly maintained category and you need to change a lot of water but you need to start small and increase daily....
I really hope this helps...

Nailed it.

 

[HookedOnFishh]

i agree.
also, you said you're working on a c02 system? your plants really need the carbon to thrive. i bought a complete system at petco for $50 and it took 5 min to set up. your fish might be having a reaction to the amount of additives for your plants.

Exactly what I was thinking the additives add up and can really hurt fish in high amounts you need to do more water CB ages to get rid of excess nuterients.

 

[Matt68005]

Get more guppies
If they keep dying, Observe symptoms (if common symptoms keep killing them all the same) take one to a vet and have it biopsied.
Keep at lest 3 females to 1 male, or they will stress them out. Or just keep all males for a pretty display.

 

[HookedOnFishh]

Get more guppies
If they keep dying, Observe symptoms (if common symptoms keep killing them all the same) take one to a vet and have it biopsied.
Keep at lest 3 females to 1 male, or they will stress them out. Or just keep all males for a pretty display.

I don't think taking them to the vet is a good idea. It will cost $$$ just do water changes and slow down on dosing

 

[pmvaldon]

I have a 45 gallon tank that I set up in February of this year as a planted tank. I had been fertilizing them with Flourish, Flourish Excel, Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Potassium. I've haven't been very successful with them until I increased the Flourish Excel to daily and then the plants started to improve a little. I've been working on making a co2 system.

In mid-October, I purchased some fish from a show: 1 betta, 5 synodontis catfish, 3 guppies. The betta died the next day from a fungal infection. The other fish were fine but over the next two weeks, I lost all three guppies and one catfish. The guppies were lively then each one after the other started to get listless, hang at the top and then die. The one catfish just showed up dead one morning without any noticeable changes in the previous days.

I had gotten my water tested several times at pet stores before and after purchasing the fish and they said the test results were all zero except for nitrates which were still at a low level. pH is above the 7.6 maximum of the test kit. At the end of November I felt comfortable enough with the tank that I bought three more guppies and a dwarf blue gourami at Petco. In the last two weeks, I lost one guppy with the same symptoms and am currently in the process of losing at least one of the other two. The four remaining catfish and gourami appear fine for now.

The guppies were very active when I bought them and they ate well, but have now been swimming slowly and hanging at the surface, but not surface breathing. The worst one has started to become bloated.

Filter is a Eheim canister filter at 250 GPH which I slowed halfway thinking this was too strong for the fish.

I do 5% water changes every other week.

Fish were acclimated with the bag floating in the tank and adding water over the course of an hour.

Temperature is stable at 75.

I am feeding a variety of food: two different types of flake, mirco pellets, larger pellets, sinking wafers, brine shrimp and blood worms. All of these are in small amounts.

Thanks for any help you can give.

If still dosing excel, thats your problem.

Excel or Gluteraldahyde is a liquid form of carbon that plants will uptake. Unfortuantly this embalming fluid will kill many small species of life, as will as injure/kill larger tropical fish species.

It appears all your water tests check out good. Its the addition of excel that is doing the damage.