Advice If Possible Please

[C6ckneyGeezer]

First off, hello to all. I would like to ask for some help and advice if possible.

My setup is as follows. I have a fully established Rio 180, fully planted with around 12 plants. Along with some bog wood and moss balls. Most of the plants are now grown to the top of the tank. I do, without fail, weekly 50L water changes.

3 Hatchets
2 Graoumnis(spellcheck)
5 Neons
5 Glowlights
4 Guppies (Did have 5)
2 Mollies (Did have 4)
3 Plattys (Did have 4)
1 Ancest' Plec'

25 fish as it stands now.

Using the API droplet testing kit.

Amonia is at 0 ppm
NitrAte is at 10/20 ppm
NitrIte is at 0 ppm
PH is at 8.2
Temp shows up as 24/25/26*C on the temp chart. Goes up to 26/27/28*C if I have the heating on in the house for long enough. Slow increas/decrease though.

In the last month I have lost 1 Guppy, 2 mollys and as of today a heavly pregnant Platty, thought she was going to drop today. Wow as im typing I just see a baby platty/fry swimming around so I think she managed to drop out somthing. Around about a week ago I had a breakout of whitespot. I lost the Guppy and one Molly around a week or two before the outbreat, after getting rid of the whitespot I lost another Molly and today the Platty(1 week after whitespot).

Now anybody got advice on why I lost the fish? Im guessing the Platty got too stressed during birth. Maybe the one Molly due to whitespot but why did I loose the Guppy and Molly before the outbreak?

Is my PH level anything to worry about?

Also I have a spider web like substance on a couple of my plants.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any help or advice is much appreciated.

Thank again,

Adam


PS - I think the fry just got eaten by a glowlight. I didn't think she dropped anything

 

[C6ckneyGeezer]

Just netted out two Platty fry/babies. They are now in the nursery tank along with a 3 week old Platty fry. Least she didn't die for nothing

 

[KittyKat]

Temp shows up as 24/25/26*C on the temp chart. Goes up to 26/27/28*C if I have the heating on in the house for long enough. Slow increas/decrease though.

What exactly is a temperature chart? Do you mean a liquid crystal thermometer? If yes, I recommend that you invest in an alcohol thermometer which is to be placed inside the aquarium because a liquid crystal thermometer measures the air temperature and the temperature of the glass, not the water.

Now anybody got advice on why I lost the fish? Im guessing the Platty got too stressed during birth. Maybe the one Molly due to whitespot but why did I loose the Guppy and Molly before the outbreak?

One possibility is that they were old, another is that they died of a disease that you did not see, stress is also possible. If they were ever exposed to ammonia, this could be a delayed result. If they were ever not acclimatised properly (i.e. not drip acclimatised), could be a delayed result from that. If the tank is generally bare, it could be stress.

Is my PH level anything to worry about?

It is perfect for livebearers, but you also have some soft water fish. It is considerably more dangerous for hard water fish to be in soft water than for soft water fish to be in hard water, although it is less than ideal to keep fish in not the ideal parameters for them.

Also I have a spider web like substance on a couple of my plants.

Cyanobacteria?

General feedback on your stocking: shoaling (and schooling) fish should be kept in shoals (or schools), which means in groups of at least 6 and ideally in groups of 10-15+. Schooling species include hatchetfish, some species of gourami (probably not yours) and tetras (neons and glowlights).

About water hardness (and acclimatisation): http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/importance-of-acclimatisation/
How to drip acclimatise: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/methods-of-acclimatisation/
Cyanobacteria: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/2011/09/24/cyanobacteria/

 

[C6ckneyGeezer]

Thanks for the reply, very helpful info

I have a thermometer which is stuck on the outside of the glass/tank. It's like a sticky strip, I think it's make is Marina. Would it be a good idea to get an internal one? For example the digital Juwel one? Or glass? I just didn't like the idea of an internal one if it ever did break or crack.

From reading your link it could be Cyanobacteria, however it is only on one of my plants. I have now removed it and will keep an eye to see if it returns. I have never heard or come across it before. On the same plant however it does have quite alot of brown alge, when the other plants do not.

I think I will add some more hactets and some gouramis shortly to try and keep them happy. The tank is far from bare when it comes to hidey holes and such. Can't really fit much more decor in the tank.

Im guessing my Nitrate is at a good level?

Thanks so much for your reply and advice. Much appreciated.

 

[KittyKat]

I have a thermometer which is stuck on the outside of the glass/tank. It's like a sticky strip, I think it's make is Marina. Would it be a good idea to get an internal one? For example the digital Juwel one? Or glass? I just didn't like the idea of an internal one if it ever did break or crack.

That sounds like a liquid crystal thermometer that you have now, you can confirm by doing an image search for it. External thermometers are not really of any use, so yes, I think it would be an excellent idea to get an internal one. I suspect that digital ones need calibrating, so are not accurate for very long as a result, which is why I would recommend an alcohol one. It is very unlikely for an alcohol thermometer to break unless you smashed it against the glass quite viciously… at least I have not broken one in as long as I have kept fish.

From reading your link it could be Cyanobacteria, however it is only on one of my plants. I have now removed it and will keep an eye to see if it returns. I have never heard or come across it before. On the same plant however it does have quite alot of brown alge, when the other plants do not.

Does that plant get any extra light? Is the brown algae diatoms? Here's what I wrote about them: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/diatoms/

I think I will add some more hactets and some gouramis shortly to try and keep them happy.

Which species of gourami do you have? Most common gouramis are quite aggressive and territorial, only the less common species are shoaling (like sparkling gouramis) and even they are territorial.

The tank is far from bare when it comes to hidey holes and such. Can't really fit much more decor in the tank.

Décor in itself is not necessarily enough. For example, the line of sight across the tank needs to be broken, some species require shelter from floating plants, some species require caves, some need tall grass-like plants… it depends a lot on the fish. By the way, if you can count the number of actual plants (not species), then the tank is not heavily planted.

Im guessing my Nitrate is at a good level?

Nitrate is fine, I consider up to 25 ppm to be fine for most species of fish (even though some can survive much higher levels).