I need some urgent advice,I have (not for long by the look of things)
Black moors and shebunkins.I have had them for about 4 yrs. now.
I got 2 new black moors about a month ago and everything was fine.But since
last thursday I have lost 4 fish The latest passed away tonight a black moor :cry: :cry: I went through all the posts regarding the cause on this site and I cant seem to come up with an answer as to what to do.I did see a post
about dying goldfish and the advice given was to empty the tank,which I have done 3 times since last night but still my fish are at the bottom in a corner all huddled together.Any advice appreciated
Thanks
I have photos but cant see a link to allow me to post them up.

Hi Buffy,

Welcome to the forum.

Can you give us some details on the size of your tank, how and when you do water changes. Do you use dechlorinator when changing water?

Do you have a test kit to give us some readings for ammonia, nitrITE, nitrATE? Do you know your pH?

In instances like this, the first thing to look at is water quality. Most diseases are caused by water quality issues.

my tank is 4ftx3 I do full water changes every month and do a 10% water change once a week.I havent done a Ph test .I know didnt think :oops: I have cleaned the filter 3 times today as well.Will buy a new test kit tomorrow
and see how the water is.I put stress coat in the tank before I put fish back.
Never used a dechlorinator T.B.H.

Cleaning the filter may have eradicated all of the nitrifying and heterotrophic bacteria which break down ammonia and other waste.Check for ammonia and nitrite,I doubt if nitrate is your problem?

It is also worth checking the things which are easily overlooked, such as a faulty heater, poisoning, flukes etc.

Stress coat is a dechlorinator.Amongst other things.

I never had a heater in with these fish! Just a pump and large air stone.
The reason I cleaned the filter so much was because of the fish that died,
I felt there might be contamination in the water from them.I am beginning to feel a bit foolish now :oops: After 4 yrs of having these fish I didn't know they needed warm water I am totally confused about this :?

They dont need hot water,but temperature fluctuations can do harm.They will be happy in both, as long as it is constant.I reckon something was introduced with the 2 new additions, and it slowly broke down the existing fishes immune systems.
Sometimes there is no diagnosis,just head scratching.If you want to eradicate whatever it was i nyour tank, Anto is your man to talk to,he is well up on his medications and if that fails he has a big shovel

Seriously though,from what I have read it was well out of your control!I have lost my fair share of fish to mystery illness's!

No need to feel foolish,we are all learning constantly,nobody on this,or any forum,knows everything about fishkeeping.What works for one person and his fish,may not work for another.
You were quite right,a heater is not needed for the fish you have.
Sorry I don't actualy have any practical advice for your situation,but try to get those water parameters posted and someone will sort you out.

Yes I feel you could be right about the new additions I added1 I thought about it too ChrisM.
Acara will post up the ph results tomorrow
and thank you all for the great advice.Appreciate all you help so far,I understand you cannot do a diagnosis without knowing the ph levels etc.
Will have as much info as I can tomorrow. :wink: :wink:

Hi Buffy,

You should never need to totally break down and clean your tank. As Chris says, beneficial bacteria develop and cleaning your filter and tank with tap water will kill them (chlorine in the water will kill the bacteria). Only clean your filter in tank water to preserve the bacteria.

You should aim at doing 25% water changes every weeking using dechlorinated water. Stresscoat is fine. Make sure the water you're adding is brought up to the temperature of your tank before adding.

You should also look at a heater. Many people who keep cold water fish use them but keep them set at 20 to 22c. This means that if the room goes cold, there won't be a major drop in the temperature. Major temperature fluctuations stress fish and stressed fish are more prone to disesase.

Hope this helps.