Fish keep dying?

[Gloria]

Hi,

Please help! My fish keep dying and I don't know why?

1. Water parameters. (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, PH, temp', Hardness etc)
All perfectly fine according to a test kit

2. A full description of the fishes symptoms.
2 baby neons - found stuck in filter in the morning
1 baby neon - found gasping on it's back at the bottom & did not recover
1 adult neon - found gasping on it's back at the bottom & did not recover
2 guppies - 1 found on the bottom of tank, 1 found in filter (were adults & had been living in the tank with the rest for around 9 months with no problems)

(Although I did see the 2 black phantoms acting like they were pack hunting and toying with the dying baby neon but I had NEVER seen them previously doing anything like this to any of the other fish)
I feed them all a medium sized pinch of fish food every day... could they be hungry..?? But isn't a slightly hungry fish better than an overfed fish??


3. How often you do water changes and how much.
I got them off a friend and I moved them very carefully, ensuring the water levels were okay etc.... I've had them 2 weeks so they haven't had a water change. Before that they were very well looked after, 20% water removed every 5 weeks. All the fish that I inherited are adults. Could it be shock from the move?

4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water.
A few drops of fungus treatment for the cotton wool type thing found on tail of fish (if very cautiously applied)

5. What tank mates are in the tank.
9 guppies (now 7)
3 baby neons
2 red phantoms (I think, they look like them and have a black spot on their back)
2 black phantoms (I think, they look like them too or they are black widows/petticoats.?)

6. Tank size.
20 gallon, 30h x 30d x 60w

7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish?
I've added 3 neons (all dead now) & 2 algae eaters (which went back to the LFS before anything died!!)

Additionally I added 2 plants, 1 of which died within 1 week and had to be removed. The guppies were picking at it and stripped it of all foliage! And sometimes the guppies like to position themselves on the filter without moving, makes me think they've died!!??

Any help would be appreciated!

G

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

Maybe you're putting a little too many fish in the tank. Overcrowding isn't good. This is a possibility, i'm not really good with "how fish die". I know how you feel. I had a fish that just died recently.

 

[ed946]

I've had them 2 weeks so they haven't had a water change. Before that they were very well looked after, 20% water removed every 5 weeks.

I would be inclined to say that this isn't being well looked after, I, as well as most of the people on here, will do a 20% change every week, but I don't know how this sort of timescale effects the fish, but you said the water is fine.

Other then that, I don't really know...sorry

 

[Alien Anna]

If ever you get unexpected fish deaths the first thing you need to do is a water change of at least 20-50%. You should be doing a waterchange of at least 20% per week anyway, otherwise you can get build ups of nitrates, phosphates and various fish and plant hormones.

The fact that your plant died after only a week is rather worrying - it suggests that there is something toxic in your tank. I would personally remove any bogwood, rocks and ornaments and thoroughly clean your gravel.

You mention that your water parameters are fine. Could you please give us the actual values for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH? I'm particularly interested in the first three, particularly nitrate since very high nitrates can be harmful to fish, particularly if they come from a low nitrate environment.

You could try treating your tank with Melafix in case you have a bacterial infection in there, and do try to vary the diet of your fish to make sure they're as healthy as possible. You could try freeze-dried bloodworms and daphnia, frozen food, cooked, shelled frozen peas, blanched zucchini/courgette... Ring the changes as a varied diet is a healthy diet. Try feeding a small amount twice a day, rather than a larger amount once a day.

Good luck!

 

[platypus]

Hi Gloria,

One other thing - what is the temperature in your tank? If it's too high, like over 82ºF, then there may be a lack of oxygen in your tank. This would explain your fish gasping. I lost 2 neons over the summer during the heatwave because my temperature got ridiculously high, and their symptoms sound similar to yours. Do you have live plants in your tank? This will help to oxygenate the water, and also help to get rid of nitrates if you do have high levels.

This is just to go on top of what the others have already said, an immediate water change is definitely the way to go