Stumped...

[lane]

I have a problem, and I'm not exactly new at this...never posted on a forum before but read thousands of em'. Nothing conclusive with my problem.

I have a 50g freshwater with a 4 year old, very healthy Jack Dempsey. His buddy is a Firemouth & they've lived harmoniously since they were practically fry.

I'm getting a 260 gallon tank soon, making payments, so I got 2 Chinese Algae Eaters and a Rubbernose Pleco, who would have been the first inhabitants of the 260. They were maybe 2" when I bought them from a quality specialized LFS about 4 months ago.

After a month in the quarantine tank, I tossed em' in my 50g. My Dempsey and Firemouth ignore the bottom-feeders altogether.

I got home from work today, after 3 months of everyone being active and happy & my Rubbernose was dead. Then, I watched both algae eaters die...within 10 minutes of each other. I'm guessing the Rubbernose hadn't been gone long either. They basically all died at the same time.

I quickley removed the bodies and tested my water using the API Master Test Kit...water parameters are fine. Water temperature is at 78-79, and always has been.

I knew the Rubbernose needed driftwood when I got him, so he had some Mopani in the tank at all times. There was plenty of brown and regular algae and I clipped zucchini and cucumber in the tank maybe twice a week. Also feed the "big-guys" bloodworms, beef heart & sinking Hikari Gold.

There is plenty of oxygen in the water and I have a power-head on a timer for 2 hours a day.

I thought it might be a toxic outbreak of Blue/Green Algae...nope.

I do weekly water changes (20%-25%) and am pretty anal about keeping happy and healthy fish.

If only one fish died after 3-4 months, I wouldn't be worried, but all three...

 

[pocket22]

Its not AA, but im stumped too. Can u send a pic?

 

[lane]

Its not AA, but im stumped too. Can u send a pic?

Sure, I'll send a pic when I get home. I can also send the exact water params, but I'll need to test again as I didn't log them (quickly done in a panic).

I unfortunately can't send a pic of the deceased. They are in the great big aquarium at the treatment center...if that's what you were wanting.

They looked ok tho...not spotted or ichy. Didn't check gills, they were still a little small for that.

 

[lane]

solution

I think I might not have washed my zucchini well enough before the last feeding.

In fact, I typically just slice it up, toss it with some pre-minced garlic & throw it in the freezer. Of course, I microwave each slice in aquarium water before I drop em' in...but I think I skipped the wash fresh zucchini stage.

I know some people blanch the slices, but my fish have always done well with my method...when I wash it.

Anyone else have any similar experiences?

 

[Rocco828]

A similar thing happens to me where about 17 oft fish died within 3 days. It was terrible some of the fish I had for 7 years (Jack Dempsey's and convicts). After some research it turns out there was a bacteria infection in my tank. Obviously not good bacteria. It sounds like what happened to yours, when all of the fish died they looked the same except ther coloring was just lighter. U would thoroughly clean everything in your tank and give it a while before you would use it again. I had to wait two weeks before I used it again. Still after that I bought two Texas cichlids and they died in a week. I eventually removed everything from the tank and let it sit in open air after scrubbing it with a brush and water. Removed about 75%-85% of the water as well. It's fine now. Good luck man sorry to hear.

 

[Rocco828]

Oh and I concluded it was a bacteria infection just by reading other articles I found on the web not by any kind of test. Look it up I'm sure you will feel the same.