Fish dying

Hi There,

I have a 210ltr aqua one tank set up for a while now but i am still a novice with regards to fishkeeping. I mistakenly jumped in at the deep end without realising what was involved. When i purchased the tank off course they never tlod me about bacteria, ammonia etc., so i prssumed it was a plug and play sort of thing... boy was i wrong....
After a few tragedies i eventually got it running smoothly for about 6 months and hadn't any deaths until today when there where 5 losses including a favourite parrot fish. The only difference was a finrot treatment and 20% change i did 2 days ago. yesterday a cichlid was lying on the bottom so i did a 30% change, then when arrived home 5 where dead Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated.



Thanks

Keville


Stock; 2 firemouths,3 electric yellow lab, Catfish, 2 large pleco, 3 cichlids, tiger loach

Hey,

Sorry to hear about the losses. It is likely that the treatment you added could be the culprit provided everything else checks out. Medications can be lethal in the wrong doses and some can affect the beneficial bacteria in your filter. Try adding activated carbon to the filter to remove the meds and do large water changes. Hope this helps...


Jay

Hi K

When first time Fishkeepers buy a Tank, the first instinct is to go to a Pet shop and say I want that and I'd love that and they'd look good together, that normally leads to disaster, you have a mixed bunch there and some aren't really very compatible. Can you tell us which Fish were found dead and in what order, are the Fire mouths a male and female?

Before buying Fish you need to make sure they are compatible by going to someone who knows or a reputable Local Fish Store. You can mix Fish but you can't mix ALL Fish.

The one thing that sticks out is the Medication, you usually need to increase your aeration when you medicate as the chemicals can deplete oxygen leading to losses, more info is needed.

Kev.

What area do you live in.With all the carry on with water these last few weeks there could be any number of chemicals in the water supply.I presume you used tap water for the change,if so,how did you treat it,and how long did you let it sit before adding to tank?

Test for spikes of amonia followed by nitrite spikes after feeding if you have a clear test now, stop regular feeds if you are doong so.

If you are getting spikes
Lower temp amonia is a few times more toxic at 28 degrees than it is at 22 same for ph of 6.8 instead of 7.8.or 8, improve aeration, lower temp will also help aeration.
Put anything new into the tank at all, cleaning the glass.

It takes a bad spike to kill the fish that quickly, they usually suffocate cos they cant breathe, so make sure no bad spikes test 12 hours apart, as advised you should have put a carbon in filter to remove meds for atleaast 12 hours then 25% water change 24 hours later remove carbox and do a 40% water change, you are treating your water before putting it in the tank, removing chlorine I take it, expect you are but had to ask.

Looking at the fish, its not a great many but it there a lot of waste from the plecos how large are they? What filter do you have, you may need to fill a bucket with fish tank water and turn off your filter, take out the media of your filter and rinse them in the bucket. Clean the sand or gravel. Cleaner conditions are better for stressed fish.


Good luck matey, done a huge replant (Thanks to Viperbot and his planted 125-very nice btw) and found a dead cory and loach. lost 5 fish now. Hate it.

Later
Mark

Hi Guys,

Thanks very much for the info. Have read about carbon but didn't know its use. I shall post additive for finrot i'm using when i get home but i do use Nutrafin Aqua+ for removing chlorine and also Nutrafin Cylce for Bacteria... Temp at 26c in 210ltr Large tank with a lot of lava rock so any fish can get cover.
With regards to the Plecos they do deposit a lot of droppings which i hoover up. I shall take some photo's and post them as i do enjoy keeping them but do not want to keep them in an unhealthy tank. Can you let me know are there big advantages in keeping live plants as i see them in a lot of tanks on this forum.. Appreciate all ur advice and help


Keville

hi keville, you didnt say why you were dosing for fin rot.you are also using chemicals for chlorine and bacteria? i think you should start a regime of water changes every day for a week to reduce the build up of chemicals in the tank.you could use carbon in your filter to clear up any chemical build up. keep an eye on nitrate levels.if you leave water for 24 hours chlorine will dissapear naturally before water changes.
phil

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replies. Purchased a red tail shark which developed fin rot within days of been placed in the tank, left it for a while hoping it would clear but started getting too close to the body so used the treatment(Interpet Anti Fungus and Finrot). I have noticed a baby yellow lab in amongst the lava rock and am surprised how it survived.
Am presently doing daily 20% water changes. Can you confirm whether to go with out chlorine treatment by leaving water standing for few days considering it would be quite a lot (40ltrs). Maybe the fact that i treated fin rot,with chlorine and bacteria water treatment at the one time may have caused the problem. I just noticed temp had risen to 28c prob from extra heating in room with cold weather(even though heater is on thermostat) . Can you confirm Ideal temp i thought it was 26c maybe a bit cooler would avoid problems. I have aeration running in the tank but when i did treatment i let the lid down on tubing which stopped it!!!!
Also can live plants help enviroment in tank as i think i read somewhere that they help with nitrate levels..... Thanks


Keville

Ok, thats a bit of a hanful but ill try help you out. The RTBS may well have had the infection before you purchased it. Take time to watch fish closely before you buy.
Adding the meds while dechlorinating the water shouldnt have caused any problems but some require you to forgo water changes until the treatment is complete so follow all instructions to the letter. The Interpet stuff is fine. Leaving water standing for a day or so will remove the chlorine gas and adding an airline to the container will help this process. Dechlorinators like stress coat are there so we dont have to do this but the way things are with the water supply these days, it is a good idea.
Watch your temp. Fluctuations in temp are not appreciated by most fish, especially if it happens quickly and frequently. Is your tank near a radiator or heater? If so, try moving it.Temp fluctuations can stress fish and lead to problems like infections and increased aggresion.
Lack of decent aeration will compound this problem. There should be gaps at the rear of the tank for you to install hosing and wires. If not, there should be sections at the top corners at the back that are easily cut away or snapped off to accomodate these.
Looking at your stocklist I would not put live plants in there. The yellow labs are an mbuna cichlid from Lake Malawi and being vegitarians will eat them.
You have a bit of an odd mix in there. Although the labs are considered a peaceful mbuna, they can be aggresive by most standards like all mbuna and now that you are seeing fry I would think about changing something stockwise. Hope this helps, best of luck.


Jay