help!

[tim_martyr]

Hi.

Today I just lost another fish and I have no idea whats causing the deaths.

The other day one of my small angel fish and my bristle nose catfish died so I took them back to the petshop and got him to test my water. He did a PH and a Nitrate test and he said the water was fine so he replaced the two fish that died on me. Today I noticed that one of my panda corydoras was dead I tested the PH and it seemed good (7.2). What can I do

If it helps I have a 3 and a half foot tank with 1 bristlenose, 3 albino corys, 2 panda corys, 2 small marbeled angelfish, 2 blue gourami, 4 platies and 5 tetras.

Also I've noticed one of my platies has a huge stomach, could it be that she is gravid? or got that adominal bloating disease. How can I tell if the platy is a female? and pregnant?

thankyou!

/Tim

 

[mrV]

he said the water was fine

Water can't be fine, there is always numbers too. You should test pH, GH, NO2-, NO3- from your water.

NO2- must be 0,0 mg/l
NO3- under 12,5 mg/l is "fine"

Platies need basic, harder water than other fishes you have.

... one of my platies has a huge stomach, could it be that she is gravid? or got that adominal bloating disease. How can I tell if the platy is a female? and pregnant?

Females are bigger and chubbier than males. Male has narrow gonopodium (Look from some books/internet what it is.. It means that back-fin of male has changed into narrow gonopodium.. Hard to describe it better.)

Platy can be sick or be female.

 

[Alien Anna]

Tim - is this a new tank? In which case, what are the ammonia and nitrite readings? NitrAte and pH are very unlikely to cause this spate of deaths, but a tank that isn't properly cycled (ie. where the beneficial bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrite, and nitrite into nitrate, haven't had time to develop).

You will need to have your own testing kits. I need to know ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. If you tank is properly cycled I'd expect the first two to be zero, and nitrAte to be at some level above zero.

The fact that your gouramis (who can breathe air in an emergency) are the only ones not suffering, and the fact that the low water fish (corys), who are the least able to get to the surface for more oxygen, would seem to confirm my theory.

In the meantime, do a 10-15% water change every day and feed your fish very sparingly every other day (as cold blooded animals they don't have anywhere near the calorie requirement of a mammal, and more food means more ammonia). This may be a rough ride, so prepared yourself for some heartache, but stick around this group and we'll try to help you through it.

Do read the pinned articles on Fishless Cycling as that should give you some background to the possible problem.

 

[tim_martyr]

It is a old tank which I have had running for about a year, but at one stage it got neglected and went all cloudy and green. I fixed this by doing water changes, cleaning the gravel roughly and the filter. I then let it all run for about 1 week then introduced my fish.

The guy at the fish shop said my Nitrate reading was low (healthy). I dont really own any home testing kits (just cant affordthem ) but I do own a PH tester.

I just got back from doing a 15% water change. What else can I do in the meantime?? It seems a platy is getting ready to die soon too

Should I just so a 15% water change everyday? And for how long? should I clean the filter or leave it so the good bacteria grows inside the foam?

When should I take a sample up to the LFS? Weekly?

Please help

thanks

Tim.

 

[tim_martyr]

Also, I have this Nutrafin Cycle product. I think its supposed to release loads of beneficial bacteria. Should I use this product at this current stage I am in?

/Tim

 

[tim_martyr]

*bump*

 

[Alien Anna]

It is a old tank which I have had running for about a year, but at one stage it got neglected and went all cloudy and green. I fixed this by doing water changes, cleaning the gravel roughly and the filter. I then let it all run for about 1 week then introduced my fish.

Should I just so a 15% water change everyday? And for how long? should I clean the filter or leave it so the good bacteria grows inside the foam?

When should I take a sample up to the LFS? Weekly?

Tim,
I'm not interested in your nitrate levels and pH at the moment, just ammonia and nitIte.

These chemicals are produced from fish waste and in a "cycled" tank there should be beneficial bacteria that break the ammonia down into nitIte, and the nitrIte down into nitrAte. It seems your tank is having to re-cycle, probably because the beneficial bacteria live in the gravel and filter, and you cleaned them out far too thoroughly. Did you dechlorinate the water you used for the clean up? If not, the chlorine in the water probably contributed to losing your beneficial bacteria.

Ammonia and/or nitrite are the most likely causes of your fishes deaths. However, since you haven't tested for them I'm going to assume the levels are elevated. Any level above zero is potentially lethal for your fish. So, do a 10-15% water change every day, being careful to dechlorinate your water.

The reason I suggest you need your own home tests is that you really need to be checking the ammonia and nitrite levels at least once a day and your LFS don't seem to be giving you the information you need. An ammonia test kit and a nitrite test kit shouldn't break the bank - if they do, I would be really concerned that you cannot afford to keep fish. It is not a cheap hobby.

Please don't clean your filter - that's about the worst thing you can do about now. If it gets clogged, rinse it out in used tank water, but only just enough to remove the blockage. That "gunk" in the filter is the stuff you need to break down the ammonia and nitrite in your tank! Also, clean your gravel (with an aquarium gravel cleaner) only superficially - no deep cleaning until the beneficial bacteria have had a chance to revive.

Don't feed your fish today and feed minimal rations only every other day - the more you feed your fish, the more waste they'll produce and the higher the ammonia levels are likely to rise. You may get some algae bloom and green water, but that is often a sign of either the filter "crashing" (i.e. the beneficial bacteria dying off) or insufficient water changes leading to very high nitrates and phosphates. We'll deal with the algae problem later - it's largely cosmetic. In the meantime, let's get that tank properly cycled and save the fish, if we can.

 

[Ob1]

tim_martyr I would follow Alien Anna advice!