Unexplained Deaths: Warning to others

[me love fishy]

Hi guys

This is kind of a warning to others.

Recently I have had a few deaths, lost 3 rams over a couple of weeks, with no apparent symptoms and I have one serpae tetra with no tail due to finrot.

Initally I couldn't work it out as everything was fine, the water was good and the other fish looked okay, although the remaining 2 rams had lost a bit of colour. Finally I realised that my tank was 2 degrees lower than normal!

this was not a heater malfunction, which is why I didn't pick it up earlier, but really just because it has been miserably cold down here this winter so far and the heater wasn't quite doing its thing at the temperature it was set at.

I have turned up the temperature a couple of degrees to counter the winter chill and colour is returning to the rams and I haven't had any other deaths.

so If you have unexplained deaths or finrot, and live in the south island in particular, you might want to double check your tank temperature, not saying it isn't anything else, but just hoping I might be able to save somebody else's fish from dying

[Tanksman]

Hope this solves your problems but I would suggest that the solution is a second heater or at least a higher wattage heater for your tank. And / Or insulation. By turning the existing heater up the thermostat will rarely turn off indicating not enough wattage in the heating of your tank. Most fish will happily survive a period where temp is two degrees below normal.