fish randomly dying please help

[Roen]

hi about a month ago one of my 6 mountain minnow died after I came back from holiday for the weekend and 3 weeks later another died and now 2 weeks on another is showing symptoms I'm unsure what to do

details
tank size is 20ltr
stock is 6 mountain cloud minnow
ph is 6.8
my water hardness is soft
gh is >7°d
kh is 6°d
chlorine is
no2 is
no3 is 25
please could you help me find out what is happening and how I can't treat it
thankyou

 

[NickAu]

Hi

tank size is 20ltr

Your tank is way too small,
Aquarium Size Minimum base dimensions of 60 ∗ 30 cm

20 liter is hardly enough for a Betta.

 

[Roen]

Hi

Your tank is way too small,
Aquarium Size Minimum base dimensions of 60 ∗ 30 cm

20 liter is hardly enough for a Betta.

hi this doesn't make sense because the pet store where I got my 6 minnows said that I could have 6 and it would be fine also minnows are really small

 

[NickAu]

Your petshop lied to you to get the sale.

Check this out
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tanichthys-albonubes/

 

[snork6]

Hi! i'm sorry you are having trouble with your fish dying As stated before a 20 liter tank is not enough space for any fish except bettas, which even then prefer larger tanks. Pet stores (especial chain pet stores) will lie to you just to sell the fish. It is a common known fact in the hobby that most everyone learns the hard way. I would recommend getting a larger tank (make sure you cycle it) in the meantime you should try to relocate the fish.

 

[Roen]

Hi! i'm sorry you are having trouble with your fish dying As stated before a 20 liter tank is not enough space for any fish except bettas, which even then prefer larger tanks. Pet stores (especial chain pet stores) will lie to you just to sell the fish. It is a common known fact in the hobby that most everyone learns the hard way. I would recommend getting a larger tank (make sure you cycle it) in the meantime you should try to relocate the fish.

I understand where your coming from but why do you think my fish could be dying and there are only 4 minnow now . also update I have started found salt treatment on the tank to try and save them

 

[Roen]

Hi! i'm sorry you are having trouble with your fish dying As stated before a 20 liter tank is not enough space for any fish except bettas, which even then prefer larger tanks. Pet stores (especial chain pet stores) will lie to you just to sell the fish. It is a common known fact in the hobby that most everyone learns the hard way. I would recommend getting a larger tank (make sure you cycle it) in the meantime you should try to relocate the fish.

wha tank size would you suggest?

 

[Roen]

Hi! i'm sorry you are having trouble with your fish dying As stated before a 20 liter tank is not enough space for any fish except bettas, which even then prefer larger tanks. Pet stores (especial chain pet stores) will lie to you just to sell the fish. It is a common known fact in the hobby that most everyone learns the hard way. I would recommend getting a larger tank (make sure you cycle it) in the meantime you should try to relocate the fish.

my fish has now sadly passed away earlier

 

[Byron]

If I am correct that all the minnows are now dead, it is time to review things so you can move forward.

The tank size was a crucial factor; for the White Cloud Mountain Minnow, which need a group of six or more, a tank with a length of 24 inches (60 cm) is minimum. You can read more here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tanichthys-albonubes/

Maintenance data was not provided, and this is also critical to fish health. Water changes, feeding (amount and frequency), etc. Water changes become even more crucial in small tanks.

You mentioned nitrate (NO3) at 25, presumably 25 ppm. This is higher than one would like, and while it can weaken fish I am not suggesting it would kill them as quickly as happened here. But it is another factor in the equation, and if this is occurring solely from within the aquarium, as opposed to being in your source (tap) water, that does tell us that thee biological system was not in balance.

Salt...this is not always a good treatment, and salt does impact all freshwater fish. Was there a reason you used salt? At what level? Salt can be very effective for some parasites like ich and velvet, but one has to be sure it is likely to have some benefit before furthering stressing out the fish, which salt like any medication will do.

Byron.

 

[kornel351]

I would say it could have been a combination of many things as stated before the tank was too small for basically any fish .The fact that the tank was too small with 6 minions in their can indicate Ammonia poisioning due to high levels of Ammonia .But a next thing I also would maybe not rule out is parasites mostly internal parasites because petstores have so many minnows that they usually arent well taken care of well first thing u should do anytime u get a new fish is to treat them for parasites that could have been a reason as well.

 

[Roen]

I would say it could have been a combination of many things as stated before the tank was too small for basically any fish .The fact that the tank was too small with 6 minions in their can indicate Ammonia poisioning due to high levels of Ammonia .But a next thing I also would maybe not rule out is parasites mostly internal parasites because petstores have so many minnows that they usually arent well taken care of well first thing u should do anytime u get a new fish is to treat them for parasites that could have been a reason as well.

there are actually 3 minnow left

my routine is to clean them out fully every two weeks by using a syphon and clean out the filter and then add back in dechlorinated tap water

I added the salt because I read on the salt box that it improves gill function make the fish go back to its vibrant colour and provide them with essential electrolytes I used salt once when I changed the fish at 1 tsp of salt I the. dissolved in a litre of decchlorinated water

are you saying that it's wise to add in an extra three minnows to make the others safer and healthier also are when minnows die supposed to have a curved back

 

[kornel351]

there are actually 3 minnow left

my routine is to clean them out fully every two weeks by using a syphon and clean out the filter and then add back in dechlorinated tap water

I added the salt because I read on the salt box that it improves gill function make the fish go back to its vibrant colour and provide them with essential electrolytes I used salt once when I changed the fish at 1 tsp of salt I the. dissolved in a litre of decchlorinated water

are you saying that it's wise to add in an extra three minnows to make the others safer and healthier also are when minnows die supposed to have a curved back

No what you are doing is what could have killed them .Never remove all the water out of the tank only remove 25-50% of the water and that needs to be done every week because by second week ammonia was probably skyrocketing high there is sonething called Ammonia posioning which kills fish which is also why water changes are effective.Do not add any more fish and your. tank was probably not cycled either as in u didnt keep the tank running to get beneficial bacteria to break down Ammonia before u put the fish in.

 

[Roen]

I

No what you are doing is what could have killed them .Never remove all the water out of the tank only remove 25-50% of the water and that needs to be done every week because by second week ammonia was probably skyrocketing high there is sonething called Ammonia posioning which kills fish which is also why water changes are effective.Do not add any more fish and your. tank was probably not cycled either as in u didnt keep the tank running to get beneficial bacteria to break down Ammonia before u put the fish in.

there's been a misunderstand I don't take all the water out I do 50% and I am well aware of ammonia poisening as my goldfish have had it in the past

do u think it could be nitrate poisening because I read when they die they get an arched back

so treatment wise what do u suggest

 

[Byron]

I concur with post #12. You need to leave a tank once it is cycled so the biological system establishes. Every time you do what you were doing you are in effect re-starting the whole process, killing off bacteria. Regular (once each week on the same day) partial water changes of half the tank volume is all that is needed. You can siphon the substrate to remove some of the detritus.

Second, do not use salt in freshwater fish tanks. It will not benefit anything, and it will harm the fish over time. Salt is useful for some diseases, but not as you have been using it.

Third, this tank is too small for these fish, so no, you cannot add more. You need a larger tank, a 24-inch (60 cm) length tank minimum, like a 15 gallon long or a 20 gallon high, both have a length of 24 inches (60 cm). Once you get one of these, and cycle it, you can add more minnows, to have a group of six, seven, or eight. But not in the present tank.

 

[Essjay]

Third, this tank is too small for these fish, so no, you cannot add more. You need a larger tank, a 24-inch (30 cm) length tank minimum, like a 15 gallon long or a 20 gallon high, both have a length of 24 inches (30 cm).

Just to point out that 24 inches is 60 cm not 30 cm. I would not like to see anyone just looking at the metric size and getting a tiny tank