Please Help Fish Dying Every Couple Weeks!

j mac · Jan 23, 2012

Hi
I am a complete novice to tropical fish so would be grateful for any advice you can offer. I have had tank approx 8 months and when starting up ran old filter from cold water tank for approx month (advice from pet store.)Problem is that 1 or 2 fish die every couple weeks or so no particular breed more random. Did 20% water change 2 days ago here are results from test this am. Used Tetra Test 6 in 1 not sure how accurate this is.Took water sample to local pet store few weeks ago for more thorough analysis - said water seems fine just been unlucky so many fish dying? I think perhaps something else I am doing or failing to do??? Hence finding your forum

Request Help

Tank size:60litre
pH:6.8
ammonia:?
nitrite:0
nitrate:50(mg/1)
kH:3
gH:16
tank temp:24
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):Generally no symptoms fish just found dead. One angel tetra? floating on side for few days before died. Another smaller tetra black in colour scales looked poss fungal so treated tank with Waterlife Protozin.

Volume and Frequency of water changes:60L do 20% water change every week

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank

rotozin, tonic salts occasionally and fresh start to tap water before adding to tank

Tank inhabitants:1 algae eater, 3 angel tetras, 3 minos, see photo for other 2 fish as unsure = 9 total

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):0 over last month want to find cause of deaths before adding any new

Exposure to chemicals:0

Digital photo (include if possible): yes

the_lock_man · Jan 23, 2012

It doesn't sound as though you're doing much wrong, tbh. The only thing that immediately springs to mind is possibly the delayed effects of ammonia poisoning.

You said that you ran a mature filter for a month, this implies that there were no fish in the tank at that point, so all the beneficial bacteria would have died from starvation during that month. Therefore you would almost certainly have had an uncycled filter. THerefore, when you added fish, there would have been elevated ammonia and nitrite levels in the tank, and since it seems your test strips don't test for ammonia, you wouldn't have known (and the test strips are pretty inaccurate). So that's one possibility.

You said that you haven't added fish recently, so I'm assuming that the stock list is current - if you've lost an average of a fish a week for some time, what was the original stocking when the deaths started. Did you start to replace fish when they started dying, and have any of the replacement fish died?

The only other obvious issue is that water changes should be a bit higher, between 30-50% - in a 60l, 20% is probably 1 bucket full, so I'd recommend doing 2 buckets.

Nothing else obvious that I can see.

HayzH · Jan 23, 2012

buy some reliable Liquid test kits. strips are notoriously naff!

j mac · Jan 24, 2012

j mac said:
Hi
I am a complete novice to tropical fish so would be grateful for any advice you can offer. I have had tank approx 8 months and when starting up ran old filter from cold water tank for approx month (advice from pet store.)Problem is that 1 or 2 fish die every couple weeks or so no particular breed more random. Did 20% water change 2 days ago here are results from test this am. Used Tetra Test 6 in 1 not sure how accurate this is.Took water sample to local pet store few weeks ago for more thorough analysis - said water seems fine just been unlucky so many fish dying? I think perhaps something else I am doing or failing to do??? Hence finding your forum
Request Help

Tank size:60litre
pH:6.8
ammonia:?
nitrite:0
nitrate:50(mg/1)
kH:3
gH:16
tank temp:24
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):Generally no symptoms fish just found dead. One angel tetra? floating on side for few days before died. Another smaller tetra black in colour scales looked poss fungal so treated tank with Waterlife Protozin.

Volume and Frequency of water changes:60L do 20% water change every week

Chemical Additives or Media in your tankrotozin, tonic salts occasionally and fresh start to tap water before adding to tank

Tank inhabitants:1 algae eater, 3 angel tetras, 3 minos, see photo for other 2 fish as unsure = 9 total

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):0 over last month want to find cause of deaths before adding any new

Exposure to chemicals:0

Digital photo (include if possible): yes

j mac · Jan 24, 2012

Hi thanks for your replies and sorry I didn t make the information very clear. Yeh when got new tank forgot to say ran it with old mature filter from cold water tank along with approx 9 fish mixture minnow and zebra danios. Over months added different types fish eg guppies, neons and platys and replaced as died. Also list fish gave yesterday are currently in tank. Will try larger water change and also decent liquid tester kit that includes ammonia can you recommend any (is there any info on these on the forum - looked but couldn t find) and whether able to get online.
Thanks again

Prime Ordeal · Jan 24, 2012

As HayzH said it's difficult to be sure about your problem without a good test kit. However, assuming your test strips are accurate (a big assumption), then your KH is very low (it should be 4 minimum to be safe) and I think what might be happening is that your pH is dropping rapidly between water changes and that would gradually kill off your stock.
Either that or high ammonia and/or nitrite as you didn't give an ammonia reading.

Having the LFS declare your water as fine really means nothing unless they give you actual readings.

The tonic salts might not be a good idea either. What make are they?

And it would be a good idea to post a picture of your two unknown fish as they may be responsible, depending upon what they are.

Just saw your request for a test kit. Get the 'API master freshwater test kit' and buy it off ebay because it's always cheaper from there.

j mac · Jan 24, 2012

Prime Ordeal said:
As HayzH said it's difficult to be sure about your problem without a good test kit. However, assuming your test strips are accurate (a big assumption), then your KH is very low (it should be 4 minimum to be safe) and I think what might be happening is that your pH is dropping rapidly between water changes and that would gradually kill off your stock.
Either that or high ammonia and/or nitrite as you didn't give an ammonia reading.

Having the LFS declare your water as fine really means nothing unless they give you actual readings.

The tonic salts might not be a good idea either. What make are they?

And it would be a good idea to post a picture of your two unknown fish as they may be responsible, depending upon what they are.

Just saw your request for a test kit. Get the 'API master freshwater test kit' and buy it off ebay because it's always cheaper from there.

Hi thanks for reply & advice. The tonic salts are Supa brand from LFS. Also the two fish I am uncertain of have been some of latest additions not from start of tank when started losing fish but pictures (best could get) of them are on original posting yesterday. Photos poor but one has red eye and black tail quite round body shape. Other one silver body with black stripe running along it. This one slimmer more monnow body shape.
Will get onto ebay for API master freshwater test kit asap. Thanks again for help

the_lock_man · Jan 24, 2012

Those photos are just not sufficient quality to be able to start to give an ID. I've tried zooming in using GIMP, and you just lose it totally. There is half a chance that the rh fish in the rh photo might be a peacock goby, just based on the vague body shape, but no way of being sure.

The other thing to point out that if you don't know what fish it is (they are), you don't know whether they are suitable for your tank and other fish - it could be that it's these fish that are the problem. For future reference, it's always a good idea to check what fish you want to get before you get them - buying a fish on a whim or impulse often leads to disaster.

I'd suggest you get a better photo up pronto to help ID them.

Prime Ordeal · Jan 24, 2012

I would stop using the tonic salts. This is a freshwater aquarium and so needs no salt. It may be that you've accumulated enough over time to make the water unsuitable for your freshwater fish. I would do several water changes to be sure there is no chance of excess salt being the problem, and it will reduce other toxins at the same time. So change 50% each day for four days (so as not to shock the already suffering fish too much).

snazy · Jan 24, 2012

If it is not the salt and water quality, you may have some type of parasite that hits weaker and stressed fish. Do the fish hide or anything from time to time, white poop stuff, etc..?

What did you use the protozin for? With so many new fish there maybe an internal disease.

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