platies keep dieing

[fishdude25]

I have a 75 gallon cycled tank. I had 12 harlequin rasboras, and 6 platies yesterday. But, overnight, 3 of the platies and 1 harlequin rasbora died. Then, this morning 2 more platies died! All of these fish were stuck to my AquaClear 110 filter's intake tube when dead. I will test the water later, then post the parameters.

 

[LyndaB]

As you've probably heard along the way, healthy fish do not get stuck to the filter.

Definitely take your readings. Also, look for other signs of illness on the fish that have died. Is it possible you have a case of columnaris in your tank?

 

[fishdude25]

I didn't see any visible signs of disease on the dead fish. What are the signs of columnaris? Later this morning, I was watching the tank, and the 2 platies that died later were breathing rapidly. I will test the water soon.
Thanks!

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with Lynda. Decent sized fish (certainly of those species) should be strong enough to swim away from the filter intake. Dead fish end up there because they float in the current.
It will be good to know your water parameters. Also, how long has the tank been set-up? Any new arrivals? Signs of damage to bodies?
BTW, I LOVE your signature.

 

[fishdude25]

The tank has been cycled for 4 days now, I did fishless. I got all of these fish yesterday (the 12 harlequin rasboras and 6 platies) and they were the only fish in the tank. The only damage to the bodies was where they were stuck to the filter, because they were being pulled into it, I think. I will be able to test my water in an hour or so.

Thanks, I really like my signature too

 

[absolutangel04]

The tank has been cycled for 4 days now, I did fishless. I got all of these fish yesterday (the 12 harlequin rasboras and 6 platies) and they were the only fish in the tank. The only damage to the bodies was where they were stuck to the filter, because they were being pulled into it, I think. I will be able to test my water in an hour or so.

Thanks, I really like my signature too

Ok, we will know more when we know your parameters. Sometimes fishless cycles do not hold perfectly when you add fish (in theory they should, but I have seen a few examples of this before), so you could be having a bit of a mini-cycle. But, I think it is much more likely that you just got bad stock. If our params are all good, then your fish just simply were probably unhealthy when you bought them. The whole process of being chased by a net, grabbed, put into a tiny bag, moved, and put into a whole new environment is stressful, so fish who were a bit less than healthy inthe first place tend to not make it. It happens to the best of us.
How did you acclimate them?

 

[fishdude25]

I acclimated them by putting them in a bucket and adding a cup of water every 5 minutes or so. Once their water volume almost tripled, I put them in the tank. I agree, it was probably bad stock. I will test the water soon, in about 20 minutes.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, those fish are relatively hardy, so that acclimation method should have been fine. I say its bad stock. I know it sucks though. And of course, your water params will tell you for sure, but assuming they are all in check, its just bad stock.
Give your residents some time to acclimate, and if they are doing well in like 2 weeks, then feel free to add more. If you have a different tank for quarantining, that would be ideal. But, if not, then just be sure to get healthy looking fish from tanks with ONLY healthy looking fish. And keep an eye on everybody.

 

[fishdude25]

Just tested for ammonia and nitrIte, still waiting for nitrAte color to devolop:
ammo:0
NitrIte: 2 ppm?
I have 2 ppm trItes? Am I in a mini-cycle?

 

[absolutangel04]

Just tested for ammonia and nitrIte, still waiting for nitrAte color to devolop:
ammo:0
NitrIte: 2 ppm?
I have 2 ppm trItes? Am I in a mini-cycle?

Yeah, that is a possibilty. I suggest you do a big pwc and try to get those nitrites back down to 0.

 

[fishdude25]

OK, thanks. My nitrAtes are at 5-10 ppm. Would 50-75% be enough? I will do it ASAP.

 

[LyndaB]

The tank has been cycled for 4 days now, I did fishless. I got all of these fish yesterday (the 12 harlequin rasboras and 6 platies) and they were the only fish in the tank.

A fishless cycle takes 4-6 weeks, not 4-6 days. Did you use ammonia? Did you also add seeded filter media to your tank?

I'm flummoxed as to why your readings are decent, although you do have nitrates, which basically means you are not cycled after all. What test kit are you using?

 

[fishdude25]

I am using the API freshwater master test kit. I did add ACE pure ammonia, and seeded gravel from my established 20 gallon aquarium. I was also redosing ammonia as it was needed. It took 14 days for my readings to indicate that I was cycled: ammonia: 0, nitrIte: 0, nitrAte: above 0. That was 4 days ago, sorry for not being as clear on that as I should have been. I was certain that the cycle was done, but I'm also confused why I have nitrIte readings again. I will test my water again later this afternoon. Also, my last platy died yesterday too

 

[LyndaB]

I'm very sorry for your loss. I think you might've believed that you were cycled, and then rushed to put a lot of fish in the tank. It could be that there was a misreading of your water params.

In any event, I think the numbers show that you are not quite cycled. Because you have fish in the tank, you're going to have to do a lot of water changes to keep them happy. If it were my tank, I'd do 50% every other day, if not every day.

Because you used some seeded material, although gravel wouldn't have made that much of a difference compared to seeded filter media, you may have given yourself a head start.

Between the gravel, the TSS (are you the one who also used this?) and the ammonia, I think you messed up your cycle. Don't add anything else to this tank with the exception of Prime.

 

[fishdude25]

OK, thank you for all of your help, I greatly appreciate it
Sorry, but what is TSS?
Here is a link to my cycle log thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/my-new-75-gal-and-cycle-log-174918.html

 

[LyndaB]

TSS = Tetra Safe Start

If you don't know what it is, you don't need it.

Sorry I confused you with another person having difficulties with their tank.

 

[fishdude25]

Oh, Tetra Safe Start, I know enough about that stuff to know that I don't need it. I just didn't know the acronym

Thanks for all the help!

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I would say keep doing the water changes. It does sounds like some sort of cycle thing is going on, but honestly, platies are pretty hardy, so I still think that bad stock factored in here as well. Try to get your params good and stable before adding more.

 

[fishdude25]

I just tested the water, here are the results that I got:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
NitrIte: 2-5 ppm
NitrAte: 5-10. closer to 10, though
High range pH: 8.1
I'm very confused as to why I still have nitrItes. I'm going to a water change very soon.
Thank you for all of the helpful advice!

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I find that confusing as well. Sometimes, those nitrites can be jerks. Just keep up with the pwc and hopefully the params will stabilize soon.