At a loss ---- danios dying

[brimac41]

I awoke Tuesday morning to find one of my Danios dead . The next day another died , the next day yet another died and then the next one more died . They have been in there since the first of Jan . All other danios , Serpae and Red-eye Tetras are healthy and happy . Their fins are erect and in perfect condition , no signs of distress , they are eating well and swimming around happily chasing each other . My water quality is as it is has always been , well within the ideal parameters . The only difference is that , even though I rinsed my plants off well before I put them in my aquarium , I am now having a snail problem . I have lost count of how many of the little things I have found in there and disposed of .

I know that it is inevitable to lose fish . But 4 in a row that fall like dominos has me scratching my head . None had any signs of disease except the color on the sides of the second one to die was somewhat faded . The all were eating well and all but one "looked" to be in perfect health the night before then I wake up to find them dead .

 

[Smitty]

I don't know what happened to your but I've been in the same boat before. At one time I had about 7 danios and they were good for about 3-4 months and then all of a sudden all but 2 died over the course of a couple days. No other fish were effected. The other 2 are still going strong another 4 months later...

 

[brimac41]

I would like to add that I could post pictures but even dead , they looked fine and showed no signs of why they should have died . And since no others are showing any signs of illness or distress I can not give any kind of description as to their "ill health" .

Maybe I am looking for a "that's how it goes" type of thing .

On a side note , how do I get rid of these snails ? I haven't seen anymore for a few days .

 

[brimac41]

I don't know what happened to your but I've been in the same boat before. At one time I had about 7 danios and they were good for about 3-4 months and then all of a sudden all but 2 died over the course of a couple days. No other fish were effected. The other 2 are still going strong another 4 months later...

I am wondering how old they were when I bought them . They were full grown at the time of purchase , so I am wondering if they were given to the LFS by someone who had tired of them or used them to cycle a tank . I know that has been done .

 

[DragonFish71]

Ya know, I just lost 5 of our giant danios since Thursday night. No idea why, water conditions are perfect (tank is over a year old, cleaned every week etc) Just found them floating in the plants.

I'm chalking it up to them being well over 2 years old, and possibly at the end of their life cycle. Factoring in that they were almost full grown when we got them and they spent a year and a half in another of our tanks and half a year in this specific tank.

 

[maxima423]

well if they were grown, maybe life tooks its course =P

 

[HN1]

+1. Some fish die naturally younger than others. The only other thing that would make sense to me was a contaminant, but I'd expect that to have more devastating affects.

 

[brimac41]

+1. Some fish die naturally younger than others. The only other thing that would make sense to me was a contaminant, but I'd expect that to have more devastating affects.

I thought that also (contaminants) . But so far all other fish are doing great , so I really do not think that is the problem . Maybe it was just their time to go . I just have never had any of my fish go like that , one after another , so quickly .

 

[taylorodw]

Sorry for your loss.

To get rid of your snails, put a stiff piece of lettuce in your tank. Let it sit overnight, and when you wake up, it should be covered in snails. Remove the lettuce, and many snails with it

Also, reduce feeding, gravel vacuum more/harder, and keep up with the PWCs. Good luck.

 

[iDream]

yeah, i had 5 danios once, with 2 opaline gouramis and a pleco, a danio died due to the pleco dying. then the other four were in perfect health for a much longer time. then i came home one day and all four were dead, yet the gouramis and the turtle i added were all fine and still are.

sad to see them go even though they were difficult to catch when cleaning out the tank, they got so big =[

 

[brimac41]

Sorry for your loss.

To get rid of your snails, put a stiff piece of lettuce in your tank. Let it sit overnight, and when you wake up, it should be covered in snails. Remove the lettuce, and many snails with it

Also, reduce feeding, gravel vacuum more/harder, and keep up with the PWCs. Good luck.

I'll give that a try , thanks . So far they have been tiny little things , but this morning I removed one that was rather larger (about the size of a pea) , it's been hiding sonewhere .

 

[logansmomma1228]

Hmmm.. this is pretty interesting. Is it possible for the danios to die off because when one goes the others weaken? I think some fish will die without their mates? Did you buy them all at the same place? Maybe they were just old and it was their time... but I still think it is weird how everyone has had this issue with danios.

 

[cabezon]

I had a group die too, but I think that they may be more sensitive to chlorine/chloramine or changes in Ph.

 

[brimac41]

My pH has always been steady . And I have found Danios to be very hardy . I guess it's just one of those "that's how it goes " kind of things . All the other fish are doing great , including the danios that are left .

 

[maxima423]

yea, i am pretty sure that it was their time to go T_____T

 

[ChileRelleno]

Sorry to hear about such misfortune.

My second place to investigate sudden die offs of otherwise healthy fish, after water quality/chemistry (pH/GH/KH), is a chemical pollutants, e.g. cleaning chemicals, deodorants, insecticides and etc.
This come from first hand experience with a aerosol, had to be 15' feet from the tank, tank was hooded even, but sure enough, there was a chemical sheen and we lost a shoal of a dozen+ Neons and some others.

We skimmed the surface, did a 80% PWC and added carbon for a day.

We no longer openly spray anything in the house, cleaning agents go straight onto a rag, and any aerosols/mists/powders, mean covering the tanks.
And I mean covered, one can never be too careful with long established tanks/fish

Examples, these were done while cleaning carpets.

 

[logansmomma1228]

Sorry to hear about such misfortune.

This come from first hand experience with a aerosol, had to be 15' feet from the tank, tank was hooded even, but sure enough, there was a chemical sheen and we lost a shoal of a dozen+ Neons and some others.

We no longer openly spray anything in the house, cleaning agents go straight onto a rag, and any aerosols/mists/powders, mean covering the tanks.
And I mean covered, one can never be too careful with long established tanks/fish

Wow, I need to be more careful with this stuff; that is one of those things that didn't even cross my mind. I mean when I am cleaning I don't spray stuff by the tank, but I do spray in the air. Thanks Chile you have so much good info on this hobby!

 

[ChileRelleno]

Wow, I need to be more careful with this stuff; that is one of those things that didn't even cross my mind. I mean when I am cleaning I don't spray stuff by the tank, but I do spray in the air. Thanks Chile you have so much good info on this hobby!

Thank you, I just want to learn and help others.
Wisdom learned the hard way needs to be shared.
And my wife and I learned alot about fish keeping the hard way

 

[logansmomma1228]

I am sorry to hear that; it is just part of the hobby unfortunately. And this may sound bad but at least your experience can go to help others. I am going to cry the first time a fish dies. I am starting to worry about if all of my otos will make it with my puffer.

 

[maxima423]

omg! i plan to put my 40g breeder into my room and i got like 3colognes >_____< ****** those have to go!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, but o well lol