Fish dying one by one - Cycled tank

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, the new fish, did they die first or show any symptoms of anything, same goes for the other dead fish, did they show any symptoms at all?

That tank has been running for 6 months then, sorry to keep asking this as simply want to know if this is an established tank is all really.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

without further info im not sure of this

but i would definitely say there's chemical problems at play here

looking at the amount of death and the species list and the apparent time frame

 

[suicidal_maniac]

Totally appreciate the help here
gravel vac once a week, 24% water a week, tank had been fine for 6 months, then I added a couple of new fish…and boom, the grim reaper now lives in the tank

The gavel is quiet deep at the back and I did give it a good turn over cleaning it one time recently

 

[fishyfun&fans]

@Ch4rlie is your man from here

ive said what i think is relevant so far

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Looking at the aquarium, the aufwuchs level is low, which would be the case in an aquarium that is not matured to around 6-8 months before Otto's had been added....thus it would be totally unsuitable for Otto's if 6 months or under and/or partially or crashed cycle. They do not tolerate bad water chemistry or an aquarium too immatured/not fully cycled/crashed cycle.

The plants/moss balls also look like they are in distress, again the water chemistry would be a suspect along with either a crashed cycle or incomplete cycle

24% is a weird amount for a water change, ideally to keep the water chemistry at as close to its best, a 50% water change each week would be advised

What filtration have you got and how often are you servicing the filter and how do you service it?

 

[suicidal_maniac]

The filter is an external fluval 102 I normally wash the sponge in tank water maybe once a month as its never too bad but after the fish stated dying I bought a refresh kit and changed all four sponges...probably not a great idea in hindsight. I also added more ceramic media at the same time, so maybe I did crash the system, but I thought the fact its a planted tank it would be ok.
The 24% was meant to be 25%

The fish I added died first, then the neons then the ottos, fish seemed ok just lost interest in life and died over 24hrs, the neons had bumpy bellies before then swam off to the tank in the sky, was so sad, but I'm getting the feeling your not buying the parasite problem.

Your right the plants dont look great, with curled up leaves on the big one and the others the leaves loose colour and die, think I need to go back to basics !

 

[Ch4rlie]

The only thing that comes to mind that fits most of those is OTS, Old Tank Syndrome but am not 100% certain of this.

Would suggest you have a research on that to see what you think and see if that fits with what you've been through.

Here is an example from a reliable source (Nathan Hill is a reputable writer who does have a lot of experience and knowledge tbh)

How to avoid 'old tank syndrome'

How to avoid 'old tank syndrome'

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

And you're right, am not buying the parasite problem as it seems your plants is suggesting its a water condition issue as well as the deaths of your fish, starting with the new ones which made me think its a water issue hence me thinking OTS straightoff.
I could very well be wrong of course and worth researching nonetheless even just to discount that theory.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

all over 24 hours would definitely suggest you crashed the tank-sorry for your losses.

although the plants help maintain the balance in a cycled tank and help slightly with cycling.

they still needed the good bacteria from the filters created in the initial tank cycling as that's essential to life in the aquarium

ideally you could of changed 2 of them waited a week or 2 then changed the others.

this is somthing you know now and that's great

as for the bumps they could of been all manner of things and could of been diagnosed sooner if you had of contacted TFF when they appeared or looked them up on the internet

 

[suicidal_maniac]

Once again I can only thank you for the advice.

Sorry when I say 24hrs I mean each fish got ill then in a day or so died, its been a one by one process over 3 or 4 weeks with the fish going, which even that puzzles me, why not all die at once if the water had gone off...wierd

 

[Guest14017]

Even if the water goes off - each fish can have a different tolerance to the bad water quality. They won't all die at once. They'll all slowly begin to die just like you're seeing here. Your test tubes DEFINITELY show ammonia and nitrite so your cycle seems to have bumped or crashed.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Once again I can only thank you for the advice.

Sorry when I say 24hrs I mean each fish got ill then in a day or so died, its been a one by one process over 3 or 4 weeks with the fish going, which even that puzzles me, why not all die at once if the water had gone off...wierd

Different fish have had different life journeys and then there's genetics involved.
It could also be that they died of different causes, with some conditions taking quicker to manifest themselves than others.

 

[suicidal_maniac]

I suppose the question then is, if I have a little ammonia, no nitrites and no nitrates I can assume the cycle has crashed.
So what would you suggest I do now? leave the tank for a week or so and see what happens?

Thanks again

 

[Slaphppy7]

I suppose the question then is, if I have a little ammonia, no nitrites and no nitrates I can assume the cycle has crashed.
So what would you suggest I do now? leave the tank for a week or so and see what happens?

Thanks again

Daily WC's until ammonia and nitrIte are zero...what kind of water conditioner are you using?

 

[suicidal_maniac]

 

[suicidal_maniac]

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