Morning all. Sad days i have lost 3 fish in as many days all B R's, I bought 6 in the week-end (saturday) and put them with my tetras, catfish and loaches,Community. They havnt taken to the change at all well,,they have slowly been dropping off, 1 Monday night, 1 yesterday(found passed away in floating at the top of an aquarium orniment) and 1 last nite, major gasping in the top of the tank, up and down tank walls darkerning in colour. Another morning arizes an yet another B R, visiting the top of the tank doing laps at the top. WHY I ASK?. Please help. Obviously i have had the 160 litre tank now for about 5 month, these were my last fish to add, as i thought I may be over crowding tank with to many more, has this latest purchase over crowded the tank already? PH has always been high and never changed since have had tank, and other fish seem to have been thrieving, nitrite and ammonia has always been the same also,, i test twice weekly and do water changes once weekly also. My tank has live plants and grow well, i am only new so see this as a major challenge as to why they are dropping off is it stress?? i did a water change 20% on the sunday, and i know they were new to the shop on the Friday,,has there been to may shocks to the system??? I have 3 Red eye tetra, 8 Penquin tetra, 3 Bristlenose catfish, and 3 Zebra Loaches, they all seem to be doing really well.. any ideas would be great and helpful,,,Thanks in advance. :sick:

is it possible to give us all your water parameters and how high is the ph? What were you feeding the fish ?

Here is some info I found on them

•Scientific Name: Melanotaenia boesemani

•Common Name: Boeseman's Rainbowfish

•Family: Melanotaeniidae

•Origin: New Guinea

•Adult Size: 4 inches (10 cm)

•Social: Peaceful, suitable for community tanks

•Lifespan: 5 years

•Tank Level: Top, Mid dweller

•Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallon

•Diet: Omnivore, enjoys live foods

•Breeding: Egglayer

•Care: Intermediate

•pH: 7.0

•Hardness: 8-15 dGH

•Temperature: 81-86 F (27-30 C)

Blue planet tank160 litre,, PH 7.4,, Temp is 26 C, Im still confused how you measure the hardness of the tank.

Ammonia test yellow 0 ppm and nitrite test light blue O ppm

Food feeding them at moment is Nutrafin Max Plus earthworm flakes and bits freeze dried Tubifex worms, Nutrifin Max flake food and Nutrifin max Spirulina Algae Tablets, and in weekends for a weekend special they get Frozen Blood Worm.

Cheers :facepalm:

That does not sound too bad, perhaps try and get the ph down a teeny bit but 7.4 is not seriously high to cause death. They do specify they are omnivores so perhaps give a bit more bloodworm and brineshrimp. I have the exact same tank, its a lovely tank. Maybe do two 20% waterchanges this week just to make sure you get all uneaten food and stuff out. I only have teeny fish in my tank so not sure about whether you are overstocked or not, does not sound like it, but I am also new in the hobby. For your ph problem try aragonite that is what I have in my tank to stabilize my ph.

Four BR gone to fishy heaven now,,poor things, two left, will do a water change tonight in hope,, all other fish look fine just these BR are struggling..Will do test again shortly,but do not expect any changes in tests... :facepalm:

aww that is so sad Where did you buy them, perhaps you could take the dead fish and a sample of your water and they might replace them. I went back to a store I bought Mollies from and saw their molly tank in quarantine so they offered to replace my mollies once theirs were healthy, but ofcourse I declined and went elsewhere for fish. But perhaps theirs are ok and you can get more, and if theirs are sick as well then atleast you know its not your water causing it.

My guess it is where you got them from I have Rainbows in a ph of 7.8 and temp between 25.8 to 26.8 they live with yellow electrics which are cichlids bristlenoses and kribs they are all growing up together so far so good I don't get my fish from a pet shop that is really sad you are loosing them

Your tank doesn't sound overstocked and your water parameters sound fine. A pH of 7.4 is a little higher than I would of expected but they should be able to handle it. Happy to pop around over the weekend if you like and see if anything stands out.

Will keep in mind, down to one now,,Fingers crossed my last one can make it.,, have done tests again and no change in months. Who knows i might yet get you to pop round and rest my mind. Thanks Flatfish

Thanks all for your Help :facepalm:

Your tank doesn't sound overstocked and your water parameters sound fine. A pH of 7.4 is a little higher than I would of expected but they should be able to handle it. Happy to pop around over the weekend if you like and see if anything stands out.

Actually, Boesmani come from an area of high pH but they can tolerate a wide range. They are sensitive to rapid changes in water parameters though.

The Biggest Boy(im sure) is still alive. Victory, will be keeping a very close eye on him, he looks fine but so did the others,, Thanks all for the advice. :bounce:

He,s lookn strong now so fingers crossed, My girlz have named him Chelsea(after the team). I had no choice, or he wouldnt be that,, he was expensive so does sort of suite. :roll: