Help My Bala Shark Died After A Partial Water Change

[eznkc]

i havea cpl bala sharks in a 9o gal tank with tinfoil and tiger barbs and after a partial water change one of my sharks died after gasping and swimming funny sort of weak acting. the other one is doing the same thing and the barbs are darting around the tank but they do that anyhow what could be wrong?i also vacumed the gravel and added tetra aquasafe in porpotion to amt of water changed.

 

[rhiannonk]

Did you temperature match the water? (Sounds like a dumb question but obviously a large temp change could cause stress). What are your water parameters? (Nitrite, ammonia, nitrate?) Do you do regular water changes or is this the first one you've done in a while? I've heard that sometimes pockets of nitrates, debris, and toxins can build up if you have a deep undisturbed substrate and don't do regular vacuuming ... could this be the case? In any case, i would check water parameters first to see that it isn't a water quality issue.

 

[eznkc]

well i do regular water changes every week give or take a day usualy every wed. i dont know the parameters i just droped off water at the store she they tested it and said it was perfect. they also looked at the dead fish to determine if it was a disease and he looked good no spots or growth on him or gills. they did say it could just be stressed to death since i used a new gravel cleaner thats real loud where the one i used before was a hand pump and this one is battery powered and looks like a immulsion blender you might use in the kitchen.
anyhow all the other fish are fine and have a vorasious appetite.the only thing now is my other shark looks sad all alone they had been raised together . now i hope to find another about the same size.
thanks for your input .

 

[rhiannonk]

Hrm ... one way to clean the gravel is just by using a siphon ... so its like a larger tube with a hose coming out of it .... you can use this to suck up water and "vacuum" the gravel at the same time (the water drains out of the hose and into a bucket, or the drain if you have a long hose like with a Python brand siphon).... this may be a simpler/cheaper solution. I've never heard of a battery powered one before Also ... when the fish store says your water looks "perfect", it really doesn't give you a lot of critical information. I think the most important investment for you to make is to buy a liquid test kit ... most people recommend the API Freshwater Master Test Kit ... it contains the tests that you will need, will last you a long time, and is very accurate. Until you can get a test kit, I would ask the fish store what they are testing for (are they checking for ammonia and nitrites? because those are the two most important readings). Ask for specific values ... are they reading 0ppm, or 0.25, etc. Even a tiny amount of ammonia or nitrite could be very toxic. Also, if they are using test strips, these are known to be quite unreliable.

 

[Noahs ark6]

Did you pour a lot of cold water into the aquarium quickly, this could shock and kill the fish. Did you condition the water?