Belladona Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 We have had a 220L fish tank for the last 9 + months and we have had our far share of unpleasant learning experiences where unfortunately the fish have paid the ultimate. Dispite our best efforts we are still loosing fish - and they will always our new ones, mainly guppies and have tried 2 fighter fish - separately of course - all colour gone in 24h dead in 48 - both ( I thought they were hardy). I have 2 Bolivian butterflys 2 flying foxes 1 chinese algie eater 3 peppered corys 4 mollies 9 neon tetras 3 glowlights 2 black widow tetras 6 platys plus tiny babies 8 danios 1 lone guppy My latest is a julii cory, today I found your sight cos I thought she was heading to the big aquarium in the sky - but I think/ hope we have turned her around, she has lost her little 'bristtles" so we think she was staving not getting food in the silica - now in a little tank and being fed the best - she now has her balance rather than looking like not knowing which way was up and lying on her back when giving up on swimming - fingers crossed But I get super nervous about any new addition - cos I can,t work out why they die. 8 hours light, fed once a day, filter change and water change monthly - was doing 25% fortnightly but told we were being too attentive. Any ideas??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 I think the filter change monthly was overdoing it, the water could easily be changed weekly @ 25%. How did you acclimitise the fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 I think the filter change monthly was overdoing it, the water could easily be changed weekly @ 25%. Ditto. I only clean my filters when the flow is significantly reduced and do a weekly water change of approx 50%. I have filters that haven't been cleaned in at least 6 months. Every time you clean the filter the beneficial bacteria are disturbed and need to re-colonise. Welcome to the site BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 Have you done any water tests? Can you tell us the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate or pH? I think the fact it is the newly introduced fish which are dying points towards water quality or conditions. Sometimes something goes a bit bad slowly so the original inhabitants have time to adjust to the conditions and stay alive. New inhabitants will die quickly though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 Your silica may be sharp and giving an unwanted shave to the julii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 I've found the julii's to be extra sensitive to poor gravel cleaning compared to other cories. the washed out then dead effect sounds like an ammonia issue or poor acclimation methods. and filter clean out is a bit excessive (only when flowrate drops) I would get some water tests done asap (also check out your nitrate levels as even though its not as toxic as NH3/NH4 and NO2, high enough concentrations do cause problems (sometimes quite unusual ones)) 25% fortnightly PWC sounds pretty good compared to some although imo I would up it to weekly changes. what dimensions is your tank?? if its 220L tall it could be an oxygen issue. Check current flow as well, some of your fish prefer faster water movement, some prefer slow what sizes are your fish, as imo the tank is overstocked for adult sizes, and also I would consider removing the chinese algae eater as they get nasty when they get older Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 I know this is a serious question, but maybe your forum name is having some type of impact on your tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Your silica may be sharp and giving an unwanted shave to the julii The only times I have had barbel erosion in my cories was when my ammonia spiked. Also read an article somewhere (?) that barbel erosion from sharp subrate was a myth and usually its due to ammonia or other poor water quality issues. I agree with what the others have said, you need to get some water tested, any self respecting LFS will test for free. I would take a couple water samples, do a 30-40% water change with Seachem Prime as the conditioner (as that will help protect the fish if the tank is spiking ammonia or nitrite), and then take the sample off to the store for testing. It sounds like your tank is cycling every time you clean the filter and your water changes are too few to deal with it OR your tank is underfiltered and in a constant state of poor water quality. For the short term, more frequent water changes will protect your fish while you sort the problem out. What are tank dimensions and filter model/type? When you say you "do a water and filter change" do you mean you switch out the filter media with new media or just rinse it out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 if its that Aqua one black silica then I wouldnt be surprised if its "shaving" the cories, that stuff is sharp enough to cut my hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Looking at your first post on here, there could be numerous reasons why the new fish are dying. Where in the country are you located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxxnz Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 any chemical added to the tank? 9months? tank should be settle..unless your water is not right.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 I would guess it's the cleaning of the filter. I managed to kill off ~40 young bristlenose by cleaning the filter too well once :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belladona Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Oh my goodness, All these reply's, I wish I had found you guys sooner. -The tank is a Aqua One AR-980, when I say a filter change I mean the filter wool and the charcoal only, we don't touch the black mesh and the ceramic tubes. After water and charcoal change I add 30ml stress zyme with the filter off for one hour, and Florish plant growth most days. -We have an aeration tube in the tank with the plug in part of the system sitting in the cupboard so as not to suck up any room contaminants that may happen to be around. -The pH sits at 7.5, (the pet shop sits higher) -We live in Nelson and have our water for water changes in a container that is on constant filter and we never collect water after the rains as the Pet Shop states has linked this with increased chemicals and fish deaths. -When we get a new fish they float in their bag for 30min then the tank water is mixed with the bag water and then released about half an hour later into the tank. - We have been been told our tank is below its maximum capacity for fish as we are going for the smaller fish - but we have been told lots of things. - like - don't touch the base material (silica). - algae eater is behaving himself at the mo but what do I do with him when he starts being naughty? one of the flying fox's is a bit rambunctious though. Will get some test done tomorrow on the tank - or later today it seems, time I went to bed. At this time Julii is still with us - ya hoo, and today we have a very tiny baby guppy to add to our family - hooray PS and maybe a name change if you think it will make a difference Ymir Goodnight peoples Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 imo remove those carbon pads, waste of time and money, replace them with filter wool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 - I add 30ml stress zyme with the filter off for one hour. I wouldn't leave the filter off for an hour - thats too long IMO, esp just after you have changed the filter wool, as you would get some die off of bacteria. I try do my water changes in 20 mins or less. And do filter changes on a different day to water changes. Get some Seachem Prime, I wouldn't use stress zyme, it will protect fish against ammonia and nitrite in a crisis. HFF do mail order I think if your local doesn't stock it. I wouldn't use anything else. IMO most aqua one filters (with the all-in-one tanks) do not really cut it for having enough bio filter capacity or flow, so I would be doing a 30% water change once weekly. I would still be changing the filter less than monthly, and take out the carbon/charcoal completely as that is only necessary if you have put meds in the water and need to get rid of them (in addition to water changes ). I have a 130L tank, and that has a 2224 Eheim canister filter AND an eheim 2210 internal filter in there ( I prefer to overfilter!). I do a water change of about 30-40% every fortnight. And I am still mindful of cleaning the filters - only ever do one at a time and not at the same time as a big water change. Also a cynical comment from me = most fish stores will tell you that you can have more fish in your tank. They know when yours die due to overstocking, or underfiltration, you will buy more replacement fish and so they get their $$. By pushing you towards maximum capacity they ensure that you are always on the tip of a potential disaster, and so they ensure they will get your money in fish or treatments for sick fish I have even been encouraged to seriously overstock even at the most highly regarded fish stores when I was a newbie... and learnt the hard way that overstocking is an expensive lesson! So until you have everything stable then I would avoid adding more for a while. I don't understand about the rainwater - do you have a roof tank? Is it collected in copper pipes? Just wondering where the chemicals in the rainwater are coming from. I know that some cities (townwater supply) do a chlorine dump on a particular day (Palmerston North you could taste the chlorine, used to be on Thursdays), which has caused some fish to die if a water change is done on dumping day. I would think your water would be fine, raining or not?, but I don't know much about nelson... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 or try the TLC range, proven better that stress zyme and Seachem (96% ammonia reduction compared to 16% or 26%) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hi again, your fish turning white makes me think ammonia spike. Can be caused by lots of things and sometimes caused by water changes. When you rinse your filter wool out you should rinse it in tank water only as the wool is where the best bacteria live. Rinsing under tap water can cause the tank to cycle again. Carbon is not required unless you are trying to get rid of medications. Turn the filter back on straight after your water change. Water change once a week is better than fortnightly. See what the pet shop says about ammonia etc. Keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belladona Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thanks for all the help guys, Report on the water is - Ammonia 0 - Nitrates 0 - Nitrites 0.1 - pH 7.5 How often do you recommend testing? The water it tap water that we leave in a large container - purchased new for the role - and filtered until used for water change. Our pipes are copper, the local FS was kind enough to test the water after it had been sitting in the pipes and was cleared of copper, even though we run water for a while before using to ensure is not been sitting in the pipes. I left the filter off so as the stresszyme could get to the bottom and be beneficail in the silica rather than circulate straight back out - oops. We have a good water system here in Nelson - gives good quality - the FS use it 'straight', they were considering the theory with the thought that the council could be throwing in extra this or that to compensate for extra water run off into our catchment during a good down pour. The FS have been very good to us in trying to sort it, they have two stores, one with a large bank of tanks with a very effective filter that removes 'everything' which makes them healthy, but maybe they stress when new in ours??? but fine for most other tanks, they have another shop that has normal filters, and they have been kind enough to offer us a replacement julii as RIP overnight &c:ry Good note :thup: another baby guppy - wo hoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Your water tests are fine although to me the nitrate seems quite low but maybe others will think its normal. It is still possible there is a mini spike overnight after water changes. There is one other thing to consider - some of the fish that you have in your tank are not the most friendly gentle fish, particularly when there are fish with flowing tails like your fighter - namely your chinese algae eater and black widow tetra. Have you watched the interaction between the fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belladona Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I haven't seen either type be aggressive to any other fish, except see the Blackwidows eat some new babies that weren't quick enough to get to safe haven. the algae eater seems quite a placid bloke, spends his days racing around sucking on everything and digging a big hole under one of the ornaments, one of the flying foxes is a bit bossy when it comes the food time, otherwise they all seem to be relatively harmonious. Unless we have a nasty element rearing its ugly head when the lights go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamstar99 Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Like has been said it is possible that you are getting ammonia spikes from cleaning your filter. Id go back to your fortnightly water change maybe wit ha gravel cleaner, and leave the filter for as long as possible. Re your nitrate reading. It looks suss. Id re test making sure follow the instructions and do the 30second shake then 60sec shake with bottle #2. This can be the difference between a 0 reading and a 80ppm reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belladona Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Hi Hamstar99 Repeated the test again x2 with all the shaking and the waiting, is still 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamstar99 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 strange. :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belladona Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Will look to all the recommendations, and will just keep an eye on the levels / and the fish. Hopefully will all settle into a healthy happy tank for all. Have really appreciated all your support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Is it a planted tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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