my hardiest fish, lived thru anything, has died,

[Annie/Aggie]

mickey mouse platy has turned white with irritated gills, my "fat " platy is not so fat and also has irritated looking gills. My algea eaters are also in a frenzy! I have added about 3 new plants to a 14 day old cycled tank, I was forced to do a 100% change on everything and everybody before adding new plants due to a snail infestation brought in by a "dirty" plant, long since removed. Did I make a booboo? At this point my favorite fish has died but I have no desire to kill the platys. The plants though have been far more costly so saving them now has priority. I don't mean to sound heartless here but whatever has happened here it is far too late to save the fish. I've heard horror stories of "everything was fine, now it's dead" what have I done? 8O
sorry I should have added here that my tank parameters are fantastic. 7.5 Ph..0 ammonia and negligible nitrates. All tested with a test tube type tester.

 

[coolchinchilla]

I'm sorry you lost your fish. It's sad to lose a fish.

 

[AgnesJG]

I'm really sorry about you losing your fish.It's always hard when your fish dies especially one that's been with you for sooo long. Hope you can save everything else.

 

[Ky'smommy]

well on a note. you should clean your plants very well before adding them cause anything can be carried on them. there are two ways to do that

1. mix 1 part bleach(not sure what kind) to like 10 parts water and rinse and rub gently every part of the plants clean.
2. just used tank water and do same as above without bleach.
i had purchased alot of plants and i have yet to have any snails.
i hope i helped. and im sorry for your loss.
what is exactually wrong with your plants also. you mention your fish but you want to save ur plants more yet you dont say them.
better to say and have experianced people help you.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

Ok, first off. I was a little stressed out last nite so maybe I didn't make it clear that yes it is the plants I am now making sure are alright. I will be moving over to the planted tank forum after I answer this.
The 2 mickey mouse platy's are still here this morning although they don't look so hot. One will eat but the one who looks "whiter" is still at the top of the tank and won't take food. I'm looking up fish diseases right away to see if I can help them. As I said last nite it's been my experience that once your fish look distressed you usually do them more harm by trying to "fix" them and they end up dead anyway. I am not willing to add anything to my water that may harm the plants.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Try a large water change and see if that helps. If it does, you will know it's simply a water quality issue. Sometimes large water changes can really help to perk up a fish.

It's possible that new plants bought in a bacteria that is causing an internal infection. That's my only guess.

 

[tbonem91]

"14 day old cycled tank"

"100% change on everything"


what exactly do these mean? and did you test for NitrItes?

 

[Annie/Aggie]

ok, I have done the water change, things still seem the same but I just did it. I suppose it could have come in on another plant but I'm very careful of the plants now since my first experience with those disgusting snails. One of the first two I bought fell apart and rotted within 2 days of planting it, shortly after that I found the first snail, it must have laid eggs because a short time later I was cleaning out snails left and right. The second plant of the 2 is still thriving in there. I finally got so fed up I dumped out the entire tank, changed the substrate out 100 % All the water and washed everything else that had to stay in the tank. That was 14 days ago.
I do not have a nitrite tester kit as yet.

 

[newfound77951]

Most likely the 100% water change including substrate is causing your tank to go through a cycle again, but this time you've got fish in there. Did you change out your filter inserts as well? If so you're essentially starting over. The gill irritation sounds like high ammonia to me, as it can burn fishes' gills. I would say that a large pwc immediately is in order, followed by a re-test of your ammonia levels. What type of test kit do you have and how old is it? The higher your pH is, the more toxic ammonia is, too.

Most likely if you buy more plants, at some point you will get more snails. You can check the plants before you put them in the tank, or dip them in a bleach solution or saltwater (there are other posts that detail these processes), but the absolute best way to deal with snails is to get 2 or 3 small loaches...they are fantastic fish to watch and will take care of your snail problem in no time.

I am also curious about the plant that died in 2 days....that's pretty quick. A healthy plant should survive more than two days in anything....heck I mail plants all the time and they make it 3-4 days in a box with no light just fine. WHere are you getting your plants from, and do you know what you're getting? I've noticed that many lfs (large chains as well as small mom-and-pop stores) are selling houseplants as aquarium plants. Most of these plants have a very limited life span in an aquarium. Be sure you can identify what you buy and know which plants are suitable for your tank (ie lighting, temp, substrate etc), same as you would do for fish.

 

[Annie/Aggie]

Everything seems a little better today, The fish are much improved after the pwc. At least both are eating again and seem to be more the color they should be and have moved from hanging at the top of the water. I think I may have figured out the problem. Not entirely sure though. I have been messing with 3 different tanks here and have plants and rocks etc I've been adding. I think I may have topped up their tank and forgot to add de-chlorinator. If so they would have received about an inch of water to a 10 gal tank. Could that have done it??

The kits I have came with the aquarium, I have no idea how old they are but all have an expiry date that is still ok. My Ph comes from the tap at 7.5 and doesn't change as yet.

Iv'e added all the plants I think need to go in so if they all do ok there will be no need to buy more for awhile. I will check them better next time though LOL those snails are disgustingly slimey, yuck. If I have 2 mickey mouse platy's in a 10 gal is there sufficient room for these loaches? Just in case ha ha.

I have never been able to identify the plant that fell apart, it was 'ferny" looking dark green and if I had known what I do now just looking in that tank would persuade me not to buy them there again. I've found a good place now, very clean, but as you say snails may be inevitable!

oh ya, I had to change the sponge part of the filter but left the rest,I hear the sponge was the "good" part though .