Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Hi all , i have been loosing fish this week three,one platy, swordtail and a guppy .All the water levels are good, meaning ph ammonia, nitrates .I have been doing water changes about 20% a week.The fish have been active and then later in the day dead. Any ideas where to start. Can't see any signs of worms or anything , they seem to look ok,eating swimming etc. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Did they all die the same day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 What are your exact readings? Is this a newly setup tank? What other fish are in the tank and what size is it? Glad to see you made it over from trademe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Whats your tank temperature. Have you been spraying anything in the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Right the readings are 0ppm ammonia almost clear ph 6.5 to 7 NO2 almost clear 0 .Tank is huge about 1000mm x 550 x 600 with an huge filter can't remember the model but its plenty big enough .Have community fish ,Betta , 3 neons sowrdtails about 10 ,guppies about 20 platys 10 and a four of algae munchers and two fish from trademe arrow somethings they eat algea too. Temp about 26 ,lots of plants air stones x 2 rocks drift wood, the sword tail had his tail nipped in the other tank so i shifted him back he was with the black widows , and female bettas.The fish in the other tank so far are all good. The swordtail just died right infront of me one minute he was swimming and the next he dropped to the bottom of the tank ,i think the guppy did about the same , the swordtail came from the pet shop ,the guppy was female may have been ready to drop babies, my daughter said she saw a pink spot on the side if her yesterday ,i will have a look and see if the spot is still there and let you know . I will take some water into the pet shop tomorrow just to make sure my reading are ok .I will do another water change tomorrow as i have heaps of rain water collected. :-? Its not a new set up been running since Jan 08,i guess its still newish though. No spraying too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 How long ago did you add the last fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 4 days ago the Farlowella . 2 weeks before that a neon died .but no more since then .I thought they might be stressed my daughter rearranged the plants and stirred then up a bit ,but not sure ,the sudden death caught me by suprise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 I don't think ive ever heard of a fish swimming around and then just dropping dead unless it was poisoned.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 so am i right here - all your fish except one have died since the farlowella was introduced to the tank? if so when you put it in did you put the tank water in the bag in as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 No three have died this week since adding the Farlowella,before that about 2 weeks ago we lost a neon.The fish in the tank all appear ok. there's a male betta, swordtails, guppies, platys, 4 algae munchers, two Farlowella, just remembered the Mollies three ,they arrived last week .So this week we lost a platy and swordtail on Tues and the guppy today .No i didnt add the water from the bag bag was floated and water from tnak added and fish netted out later .Could the rain water be contaminated , straight from the sky into the new washed out bin ,i rinsed the bin heaps before i used it for collecting water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Are you 100% there is nothing wrong with them before they die? No clamped fin's, heavy breating swelling sticking out scales etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 i saw the guppy swimming near the tops and her breathing looked a bit laboured ,i think .She wasnt moving around much sort of just sitting there. She did swim around but not as much as the other fish and near the top . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 sorry, absolutely no ideas as to what has happened. it is possible that one of the new fish was a carrier of something which may not have affected it and it has passed it on. most of us with space and spare tanks have learnt to quarrantine our fish for several weeks before adding them to the existing tank but i know not everyone can do that. lets just hope it is over and everything else is fine. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Yeah it does sound a bit like that but you would definately notice stuff going on with the fish, if I were you I would do daily water changes and just see if the fish pick up.. You could also add some salt which is a semi natural type general cure all that may or maynot help it probably wont do any damage.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 just a thought - how olds your daughter (does she use moisturiser, handcream that sort of thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 I do have a spare tank; it’s only a small one but I think that in future i will also quarantine. It’s not an easy job scooping out dead fish. I will continue with water changes and let you know how things go.Good point about my daughter , i am always teling her to wash and rinse her hands before going dipping , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 The guys at animates tested the water and the ammonia is high around 20 , how accurate are the test kits as the one i have showed it as being almost clear. Just done a 50% water change ,i will do another one on Monday. Bought some meds 'Melafix' and 'Tonic'but dont want to use them unless i have to ,but wonder if there's some bacteria floating around. Would aqua salt be a good idea.??? Perhaps i need to do water changes first and see how things settle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 3, 2008 Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 I would do water changes and lots of them maybe 50% daily or 25% twice daily if you have the time.. One thing you may not realise some test kits expire? How old is yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 I bought them about a three months ago when i had the tank set up. I will check the packets. Ok daily water changes it is .Better go and fill up the bin ready for tomorrow. thanks :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Problem still here . lost four more fish this weekend, dispite the water levels all being ok ,got them checked again. Been doing 30% water changes ,so resorted to using Melafix in case its a bacterial problem. Lost two fish in about an hour of using the meds. What ever the problem is it looks like there is about 10 days between fish dying.Its affecting the swordtails and guppies. Going to talk to my friends at animates in the morning to see what they can suggest. Will keep up with twice weekly water changes in the mean time. The last 3 swordtails looked bloated just before they died they hung around the sufrace for an hour or two and that was it !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Is it possible that the fish that recently died were already damaged by the high ammonia and that is why you're still having deaths?? Sorry for your losses I had trouble with test kits one time. But, the opposite happened, I was getting high readings of ammonia even after doing a large water change. Bought new test kit, things have been fine! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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