ewokodel Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Well it always happens. Sooner or later everyone finds there way here to the help my fish are dieing page. Wish mine hadn’t but he/she has… The last few weeks I haven’t seen my male or female bristle-nose, so when I did my water change last weekend I moved “dads†cave and he was inside looking as he always does. I saw him out later eating his tab of agle happy as a bristle could be. But there hadn’t been any sign of “mum†for over 4 weeks even with me moving things round in the tank a little and a lot. The two “kids†are doing fine, dad would chase them if they got to close and would happily eat his tea next to them. Then tonight I said to the wife again that I hadn’t seen mum or dad for a couple of days. Later she called me and there he(?) was on his back white as a ghost, dead as a door nail… As for mum??? No sign of her, but the two kids come out to eat as did the peppered corys and the clown loaches who look fine and are happily swimming around and playing and chipping away to each other. The female was the second one we have had, the first also just disappeared one day never to be found again.. When I first put the female in with the male (he was 3 yrs older then her) she was about 4 inchs long and he started to chase her round, three weeks later we had 13 little bristle-nose running round. None made it. One by one they just went. They had 5 – 6 lots over the last 6 months and both eat well. Nothing has been changed in the tank or the way I run it. Could the male have killed the females when breeding?? How long do they live??? The male was a baby (1 inch) when I got him and has moved tanks, survived power cuts, kids running round and all manner of things. No3 is 10mgl, no2 is 0mgl, ph was 7.6, kh is 14, gh is 14, dt is 7 and th is 7. temp is 28 deges… They shared their home with.. 4 peppered cory’s of different size. 4 clown loaches. 4 flying foxs. (sae) 6 moles two neons teta’s. 486ltr tank, 1500mm x 600mm x 600mm 3 x 300 watt heaters 1 z 2028 eheim p2 filter 1 x fuaval 404 (soon to be changed to a fx5) lots live plants etc. can anyone put some light on this.. I love my little suckers, and want to “upgrade†to some of the nicer l-numbers and some elephant noses, but this has given me the hebe’s a little bit. Cheers stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Do you have any driftwood in there? I gather this is a vital requirement to help them digest their food properly (although some pellets have wood chip in them). They live a long time. My oldest BNs would be 8 or 9yrs now and still zipping around. Did the 5 or 6 lots of fry disappear too? The males don't usually kill the females. He will chase her away so he can look after the eggs but doesn't get vicious like some species. Why is the temp 28C? This is a bit high. My tank is 22C though most keep them at 24 - 26C. 6 moles? I do hope you mean mollies :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewokodel Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 yes... spelling was never my strong point, thats why i joined the army young.. ya, i do mean mollies, and yes theres drift wood in there as well. the temps up to help stop the clowns from getting white shot, guy at the upper hutt fish club said to do it. i did have 5 clowns, but one just went... he was a biggy too, but the small and same size ones are doing fine. one of the bigger ones does stay at the back of the tank in a corner and only comes out to eat and spends all day swimming up and down the wall talking to himself..... oh my!! the fish have become me... :lol: only the two kids made it thru to 2 inchs the rest just went and never come back as it were. even in my small tank. bugger, bristle and elephent nose are the only real fish i have wanted to keep, been working up to the later for the last 4 years.. this tanks been set up for 10 months now. thanks anyway matey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Hi Stu, Sometimes hard to find out what causes fish to die young. You have some massive filtration and it's not exactly baby-BN friendly so I'm not surprised you only had a 2-5% survivial rate. I had similar results in the past. The baby BNs decide that the intake tube is a great place to hide and WOOSH.... sadly enough canisters and impellers aren't fish friendly. Basically, if you want your BNs to survive, put them somewhere safe. Wish I could help you more with the dying fish mystery. Have you tested for copper? Do you have old pipes? Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted March 22, 2006 Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 BN like to climb up the side of the tank and over the top, do u have a lid. Don't worry about spelling I'm a timber worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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