Kathy Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 Im quite new to having fish and up untill last weekend I had had no problems. But, last weekend my Angel fish stopped eating, the next day he wouldn't eat either so I moved him to another tank. He was in that tank for two days, he was swimming round and quite active. I could see no sign of injury or disease. He looked like a normal healthy fish. On the 3rd day I came home from work and he was dead. I had a good look at him before he was sent to the fishy graveyard and could see absolutely nothing wrong. I assumed it was " just one of those things". Untill 4 days ago my rainbow shark stopped eating. he is normally a very aggresive fish and follows you around the room. He took to hiding behind rocks and in the fish toys around the tank. I noticed the night before last his tummy looked a little bloated, I moved him to a tank on hid own. By last night his tummy was very bloated and he had lost his colour. He had gone from a very dark brown nearly black to a very pale cramy tan colour. His tummy was very distended. He was obviously suffering and looked life he was gasping so i put him out of his misery. The only thing the two fish had in common was that they both stopped eating. The angel fish showed absolutely no sign of stress and apart from not eating looked free of any disease or any sign of illness. The rest of the fish in my tank are active and all are eating happily. I checked my water and the ph is 7. The water temp is 28 degrees. Do you think its a possibilty the two fish had a fight and hurt each other? But i could see no sign of injury. Or could it be a tank and water problem? I have been told that fish can get bloat, im not sure if that is correct though. Im new to having fish and it is upsetting when you cant see a problem. Both fish were around 7 months old. Any input would be appreciated. I took a short video of my rainbow shark . If it would help anyone to recognise what has gone wrong with him i dont mind sending it to anyone that might be able to help. Kind regards Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 At first sign of anything looking amiss: do a waterchange! Most common problems are caused by water quality issues. How often are you doing waterchanges? How long has your tank been set up? Have you read up about 'cycling' an aquarium? (google, both this forum and elsewhere). I don't know anything about those fish though. Someone else might be able to help if it is something peculiar to them (particularly the distended tummy thing) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy Posted October 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 recently I bought a new tank, but the fish had been in it for a month maybe 6 weeks before they got sick. And the rest of the fish are fine. I try and clean out tank once a week but more often fortnightly. I remove about 1/4 of the water and replace it with rain water if i have collected enough. The only thing I can think I have done differently is that two weeks ago I went to the Animal Shack in Pukekohe and bought some fishy toys. I also purchased a package of tank stuff. It included, stress zyme, stress coat, ph test kit, and two packets of Electrolytes. I added a packet of the Electrolytes to my water. That is the only thing i have done differen't in the last 7 months. Regards Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 if its not broke dont try to fix it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 if only the lfs told u to go home and do a big waterchange instead of selling u all sorts of chemicals u dont really need! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 clean out tank once a week Kathy, what do you mean by this?? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 recently I bought a new tank, but the fish had been in it for a month maybe 6 weeks before they got sick. And the rest of the fish are fine. I try and clean out tank once a week but more often fortnightly. I remove about 1/4 of the water and replace it with rain water if i have collected enough. The only thing I can think I have done differently is that two weeks ago I went to the Animal Shack in Pukekohe and bought some fishy toys. I also purchased a package of tank stuff. It included, stress zyme, stress coat, ph test kit, and two packets of Electrolytes. I added a packet of the Electrolytes to my water. That is the only thing i have done differen't in the last 7 months. Regards Kathy What are the electrolytes for??? And anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but stress zyme is not needed if the tank has cycled properly?? Do you have any other water test kits other than pH? Also, how big is the tank and what other fish do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 recently I bought a new tank, but the fish had been in it for a month maybe 6 weeks before they got sick. ... Sounds like this might be a cycling issue. It's quite likely you have high ammonia and/or nitrite in your water. Do you have test kits for these? If not, take a sample of your water to the pet store and ask them to test it for you. Then post the results here - we will be happy to help. Meanwhile do a large water change (about 50%) but do not do anything else to clean the tank - especially do not clean out the filter. As Caper asked, I'm keen to know what you do when you clean out the tank. Apart from the water change do you clean the gravel, filter, ornaments, etc? It's possible you're being too clean - especially in a tank that has only been set up for a few weeks. When you transferred everything over from the old tank did you give them all a big clean? It's tempting to do so, but again too much cleaning might be the culprit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 What are the electrolytes for??? And anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but stress zyme is not needed if the tank has cycled properly?? Do you have any other water test kits other than pH? Also, how big is the tank and what other fish do you have? These are good questions and might help to identify the problem. The Stress Zyme might come in useful if it turns out to be a cycling problem (as far as I know it's a product designed to kick-start the cycle by adding beneficial bacteria). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 if its not broke dont try to fix it Two dead fish sounds like something might be broke, snookie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Yeah, I'm with you, Whetu. I still think it is likely to be a cycling issue. Go for the MOST OBVIOUS possibility first, and when it comes to fish tank, that is water quality. Water changes are your friend. Whetu has a point about maybe you are being too through... but until we know what you are doing that is just a guess... If you can, get the water tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (your pet shop may do this if it is a decent size). Then we can know for sure if it is water quality or not. A month to six weeks is very new for a tank, definitely still within the cycling period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpk Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hi I am also concerned about your cleaning?I understand about how hard it is when you get a tank and fish to continually tinker and clean and play but you must resist that temptation in those early stages and six weeks is very early! tank cycling is important and overcleaning is wrong IMO . Gravel suck after establishment only patially and not entire tank in one go.as everone else has stated and I fully agree water changes are your best friend.I never clean off ornaments and try not to disturb a good thing and take action when and only if there is an apparent problem.Fish get stressed in a constantly changing environment.this can affect their wellbeing but after all theese are only my opinions and I wish you the best of luck.Beware of advice and also products that your lfs and research before using them lfs shop has steered me wrong in the past on more than one occasion but on the other hand they can assist you if you strike the right person :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted October 25, 2008 Report Share Posted October 25, 2008 Hi All. sorry to hear of the loss. In my vast experience with "Angel's" (NOT THE HALO'ED ONES) I have found on occasions they will be Ok one minute and dead the next. They are a very funny fish at times in as much as they sometimes wont eat and just go into a corner and that's it; they stay there until they die. I have also known them to be swimming around a tank happy as when all of a sudden they lay on their side. you can coax them to move but after you turn around they are back on their side and stay like that until they die. In my experience it is a very rare occurence when that sort of thing happens but it is a bit disconcerting. Dont give up on Angel's they are beautiful fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Two dead fish sounds like something might be broke, snookie! when electrolytes was added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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