Fish dying - advice please

[Swindes]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and was advised to post on here by a member on the new members forum ... I hope you can help and any advice will be gratefully received!

We have a 70ltr tank which has been set up since christmas. We currently have 1 Plecostomus, 3 Zebra Danios , 1 Molly, 2 Botia striata and 2 Golden Gouramis and 4 neon tetra which we only added on sunday.

Over the last month we've lost 3 guppies, 2 mollies and 2 platies ...

We're using Tetra 6 in 1 test kit and the results are as follows:

NO3 (mg/l) - 100
NO2 (mg/l) - 1
GH - 16
KH - 3
pH - 6.4
Cl2 (mg/l) - 0

These results mean nothing to me except that the comparison strip on the bottle states that they're ok - except for the Ph which should be 6.8 (it was at 6.8 when I tested on sunday.

It sounds like I've got alot of learning to do - so I'm off to read the forums and make a start. Thanks again and thanks for the welcome on New Members forum!

 

[jeffp]

Assuming the test strip results are actually correct, your NO2 (nitrItes) and NO3 (nitrAtes) are too high. If possible, get a liquid test kit as they are more accurate, and test for ammonia.

Right now, change as much of your water as you can to get the nitrites and nitrates to a safe level. Even if they results are wrong, doing a water change, at worst, won't hurt anything.

 

[LyndaB]

Welcome to the forum.

Your tank is roughly 18 gallons. That's not very big at all. Your tank, in my opinion, was overstocked and unless you were doing a couple of water changes every week, your fish most likely died from ammonia poisoning.

How did you cycle this tank? Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Do you have a test kit and, if so, which type do you have? If it's the strips, they have a really bad reputation for giving skewed results. Most of us use the API master kit (liquid). This test kit will get you hundreds of accurate test results per kit.

Can you give us the "real" species names of your loaches?

Carried my post over from your other thread.....

 

[Swindes]

Thank you both! The loach that died was a Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. The water testing kits are such a minefield! Thats why I bought a test strip kit - as I didn't know where to start with the liquid tests. Thanks again!

 

[LyndaB]

I would say there's not a single one of us that didn't make mistakes at the beginning, mostly due to "advice" given by the lfs. There is a huge learning curve with this hobby but once you get the initial wrinkles ironed out, it goes pretty smoothly.

That said, your particular loach can get to be 11 inches long. Obviously, your tank was not an appropriate environment for it.

Do you know which species of pleco you have? Same story with many of them.

In my opinion, your fish are dying due to overstocking and possible ammonia poisoning. I believe you should rehome the pleco and the gouramis. The loaches should be in groups of 3 (5 is better).

If you did not quarantine your neons, watch them very carefully for neon tetra disease. This can wipe out your entire tank.

Basically, when you have fish dying and you can't figure it out, the last thing you want to do is purchase more fish for the tank. There's a problem in your tank and we really need to see what it is.

 

[Swindes]

Thank you! I'm going to get a liquid test today, I'll probably know more then and keep reading on here so I can make the right fish choices rather than just going with what the shop assistants tell me. Thanks again ... I'll keep you posted x

 

[tulip55555]

Mollies are brackish fish. And I think guppies and platys prefer a little salt as well. You also seem a bit overstocked.

 

[foster53]

fish dying please help

Mollies Platies and Guppies,All do better in harder water(higher KH) Your PH is also a little low for these fish, although with a little salt in the water they should be ok. The PH and hardness are good for the neons. You might have to decide on which fish you like better the livebearers, or the neon type fish. OR get another tank and keep both types Please don't add any more fish until the deaths stop.