Frustration!

[smittyjr18]

Ok last week I bought 2 small angels. On the first day one of them ate and both were swimming just, out in front all over the tank acting fine. Day 2, one was hidden and the other one was eating just fine like the day before. The one hiding still was not eating. Day 3, the Angel that was eating is dead. No signs of fins ripped or any other problems. The other angel is still not eating. Day 7, the last angel dies…. Same thing so signs of any issues with the fish. I treated for treat for parasites with Mardel Maracide. Waited a week and found some Blue German Rams, so I bought 2 on Friday. Day 1, one ate the other didn’t. Day 2, one hiding still not eating and the other one is out in front and eating just fine. The one that is hiding is now on the bottom just lying on its belly. I check before I went to bed and it was hiding. This morning the hiding fish was dead. Pure white with what looked to be a white film on him. That was less then 12 hours! Now the other was is hiding and doing the same. I have 4 Panda Corys ( No visible signs of anything wrong with them) 2 Neons ( lost about 10 2 weeks ago, but no signs of anything wrong) 3 Rasboras ( 2 are just fine but 1 looks like it is going to have babies, but it has looked this way for about 2 weeks now belly is large, but is eating just fine and swimming around.) HELP this is SO frustrating. Every time I get new fish they die. No matter what!

Water stats
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10 ppm
PH = 7.6 -7.8
Temp = 82.3

30 % water changes a week.

 

[TankGirl]

That's terrible! Frustration is probably not even close to what you are feeling, and I'm sorry you had to go through that twice. Since your water conditions look fine I'll grasp at some straws and see what we can come up with.

One thing that could be going on is related to acclimation. The water where the fish are coming from might be different enough from your tank that moving them in stresses them enough to do them in. A slow acclimation is a good idea with new fish, as even just temperature change (82.3 is probably a little higher than what they were used to at the LFS) can be enough to cause problems.

This is where a quarrantine tank will come in handy also, so you can observe things carefully and protect your other fish from possible health problems they may have. Keep them in quarrantine for 2 weeks at least, or as much as 4 weeks.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi smitty. Take consolation in the fact that many hobbyists deal with unknown fish deaths. Even after taking the best precautions.

The more a fish is moved from tank to tank, the more prone it is to stress related illnesses. One thing you can do to increase the survival rate is to allow the fish enough time at the lfs. In other words, buy fish that you are sure have been there for a couple of weeks.

 

[smittyjr18]

Ok i'm going to send some pictures of the Rasbora's. Im thinking that i might be having a bacteral infection? IDK? The belly of one of my Rasbora's is really enlarged for as small as it is. I'm really at a loss here! As for acclimation i let them sit with the tank light off for about 30 min's then i add 1 cup of my water to the bag to help the water conditions. Then i let them set another 30 min's then i release them.

 

[smittyjr18]

Messed up on the first pics here are some more

 

[Hutch]

I know this is very different but I had similar problem with my feeder tank.... I would buy 20 or 30 shrimp put them in... some would eat some wouldn't.... within a day they had died....

I tried it again with only 12 shrimp.... same thing

The problem was aeration... I added a bubble and since then there are no problems

 

[smittyjr18]

I have a Mag 350 pro system and a UGF on a 29 gal. That should be more then i need. That is turning over the water about 12 times an hour.

 

[TankGirl]

Looks like dropsy to me. This is caused by excess fluid in the abdominal cavity, sometimes brought on by a bacterial infection, but who knows.

Once they reach that kind of swollen state, though, you are almost always looking at failure in terms of treatment. If you catch it early it can be treated with salt (1tbsp / 10gal) to help the fish release the fluid. Some treat with antibiotics.

 

[smittyjr18]

Could this bacteria infection also be the cause of my high loss in fish within the last few weeks?