Fish Death

[Carlyf]

I'm looking for any general advice to help me keep my tank as healthy as possible.

About a month ago i lost 3 fish in a week. I was told my parameters were "safe" but have come to discover that doesn't mean much. an associate at my lfs told me that it was likely nitrate poisoning, as they were slightly elevated.

I currently have a penguin 350 filter for 70 gal. The filter has 2 cartridges, a Fluval ammonia and nitrite reducing packet, and a nitrate sponge. I change 10 gallons of water every Saturday and treat the water with dechlorinator. After the water change I add a bacterial supplement that reduces nitrates.

I thought everything was fine, but my sunburst platy did not eat this afternoon, I was assuming it had something to do with her preparing for her fry, but I came home to her dead late this evening.

Does anyone have any further advice, or tips of any kind to avoid this? ? It is very upsetting to have lost these fish friends.

Thanks!
Carly

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[Fishanatic]

How old is this tank? Is this tank cycled? What are the fish in the tank? Tank parameters? Please follow the template in the sick fish section to allow us better help you

55 Gallon- Empty
125 Gallon- CKF and Tiger Oscar
220 Gallon- To come...

 

[Delapool]

The name of the bacterial dose that reduces nitrates would also be of interest.

 

[ppo8820]

How old is the tank? Also, you should do a bit larger water changes to keep those Nitrates down. 10 on a 70 tank is hardly sufficient. You also do not need the bacterial boosters or ammonia products if your tank is cycled correctly. Do you test the water for ammonia? Nitrites?

 

[Carlyf]

I'm sorry for the misunderatanding. I have a 45 gallon tank. The filter is "for up to 70 gallons"

The tank has been set up since late September, when I upgraded my 10 gallon.

I get my water tested regularly and now I have a look at the test strip so I know what's actually going on.

I will tell you the name of the supplement I put in when I get home. The man I spoke to at my lfs told me that using this would be beneficial. On the bottle it says it breaks down organic sludge and reduces the need for water changes.

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[ppo8820]

Nothing really lowers the need for water changes outside of a good bacterial culture established in the tank, but you will still need to do water changes often. I find doing it to be therapeutic so I am not one to complain about doing them. If you keep those nitrates down, you will see improvements all around.

 

[Carlyf]

I do weekly water changes anyway. I actually agree with you, I enjoy water changes and will continue to do it weekly. I use the supplement to prevent nitrates from spiking

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[Caliban07]

Hi Carly. My advice would be to buy your own liquid test kit. It is the first port of call when a fish becomes sick.

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate although I have never used them myself. Elevated nitrates can harm fish but we need to know what they are. The nitrate reducer is a waste of time and money. Sounds like something you would put in a pond.

In the mean time I would do small frequent water changes say 25% every few days.

Overfeeding and overstocking are the most common cause of high nitrates. The best way to reduce then is to take water out and put new water back in. You may have a problem with nitrates in your tap? Another reason your gonna need your own liquid test kit such as the API freshwater test kit. Seachem prime will also detoxify harmful forms of nitrogen for a minimum of 24hrs as well as dechlorinate. A bottle of this will keep you further protected.

Let us know how you get on.


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[Delapool]

Try this site for disease identification:


http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html

We would need to know more on exact water chemistry, if there were any marks on the fish that died and if there had been any changes to the tank.

Several fish dying at once and fairly quickly is likely to be either water chemistry or bacterial infection rather than fungal or parasites (likely anyways).

Bacterial supplements imo should not be used if the temperature is high in the tank in case the bacteria spread too quickly. I'm a little wary of these products - I've found they do work but may change water chemistry due to extra sludge destroying activity or if your fish are stressed, cause an infection in them.

 

[Carlyf]

This is what I use. I will take your advice and get my own liquid test kit. I'll be ordering it online because of the prices at my lfs.

As for the fish looking differently, one of the fish had red specks. Not very many, but two or three on each side. He was white, so maybe that is why I saw it more. I don't have photos anymore but it looked like what small broken blood vessels would look like on our skin.

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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello Carl...

Keeping fish healthy fish isn't rocket science once you learn some basic rules:

Plant and keep the tank well stocked with floating plants.
Let it run for a couple of weeks.
Add some hardy fish.
Test the tank water daily for ammonia and nitrite.
Change a quarter of the water if you have a positive test, until you have several tests with no traces of these toxins. The tank is cycled.
Change half the tank water and service the filter weekly for the life of the tank to maintain a steady water chemistry.

That's pretty much it. If you're not familiar with these, then tank problems down the road are likely.

B

 

[Delapool]

This is what I use. I will take your advice and get my own liquid test kit. I'll be ordering it online because of the prices at my lfs.

As for the fish looking differently, one of the fish had red specks. Not very many, but two or three on each side. He was white, so maybe that is why I saw it more. I don't have photos anymore but it looked like what small broken blood vessels would look like on our skin.

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Could the red specks be scepticemia? Copied a link in below. I'm not saying your tank is dirty or anything, ime there just needs to be something that stresses/weakens them and then leaves them open to infection. That bacterial supplement would be a prime suspect and I'd leave off dosing until no more deaths for a month (but increase water changes).

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/vibrio_aeromonas.html