I’ve lost a few fish in the last two weeks.

[car.nelian]

Hi guys.
So I have a ten gallon fish tank, and I’ve had it running for about 2 years now. It had three corydoras, 5 ember tetras, and a female betta. But over the last few weeks, my fish have been dying off one by one. First, one of my embers passed, then my albino corydora who I’ve had since I started the tank. Every time after I’ve found them, I removed them and did a water change on the tank, and got the water tested the next day. Both times the water had come back without issues. No ammonia, Ph right at 7.0, No Nitrates or Nitrites. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want to keep losing fish. The reason I posted this in the emergancy section, is cause one of my gray cory’s didn’t look like he was doing well when I went down to feed him a few minutes ago. He was having difficulty staying upright, and was flipped over on his side when I found him. It looks like swim bladder issues to me, so I was going to go get some peas to give them tomorrow. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what I could be doing wrong here. I really don’t want to lose anymore fish.

 

[Colin_T]

Any chance of pictures of all the fish and the tank?
Also a video of the sick fish?

You can upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.

If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone horizontally so the footage fills the entire screen.

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How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
Do you have buckets, hoses, etc, specifically for the fish that are only used for the fish?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Did you do or add anything to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started?

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If you are going to take a water sample for testing, take it before doing a water change because the water change can dilute any problems with the water. Just fill a glass with tank water and put a lid on it, then do a water change. Then take the sample for testing.

 

[car.nelian]

I try to do water changes every week, normally around 40%. I clean the sand every two weeks. Yes, I dechlorinate the water before putting it in my tank. I normally mix it up in a 5 gal bucket and let it sit for a few hours to get it to room temperature. Yes, I have buckets and hoses specifically for my fish. They haven’t been used for anything else since I got the tank set up. I have a Tetra Whisper IQ for 10 gallon tanks. I normally clean the filter pad every time i do a water change. I only clean it in dechlorinated water, and replace it when it starts thinning out. They normally last a few months. I haven’t added to or taken anything from the tank in, i wanna say 2-3 months.

That’s the pic of my tank, and a picture of the fish. He’s moved from where he was a few hours ago, but he’s not reacting to much, unless i go in and touch him with the net. I can still see his gills moving, but nothing else.

 

[Back in the fold]

You know what ? Sometimes it's just one of those things that there is no explanation for. It comes and goes in spurts. Maybe it was just your turn. Sudden Unexplained Fish Death is a real thing.

 

[car.nelian]

You know what ? Sometimes it's just one of those things that there is no explanation for. It comes and goes in spurts. Maybe it was just your turn. Sudden Unexplained Fish Death is a real thing.

That’s what one of my friends told me. I just wish there was something i could do. And I really don’t like that they’re happening so close to one another.

I did get my grey cory to eat a little bit of a pea i boiled and skinned. I’m gonna try to give him a little more before I go to bed tonight.

 

[Byron]

It is certainly true that a fish can just die, but when it is this many in so short a timespan, it begs the question why. [Edit, "this many" may give the wrong impression, I meant that when one fish dies, then another within a few days, etc.]

Has anything changed with your municipal water supply? In summer they may add more chlorine/chloramine, or whatever, due to higher bacteria. I've had this problem. Again, we are confirming or eliminating things.

Have you noticed any even mild aggression from the betta?

Is any additive being used aside from the conditioner, and which brand?

 

[car.nelian]

Not that I know of, but i’ll double check. No, I haven’t noticed the betta getting aggressive with any of my other fish. Honestly she does a pretty good job of avoiding the corydoras entirely. Doesn’t seem to mind the embers whatsoever. And I’ve been using Seachem Prime as my water conditioner. Nothing else is being put in the water.

 

[Colin_T]

Is there any other filter media besides the filter pad?
If not, you might be getting an ammonia spike when you replace the pad and that could weaken the fish.

What do you feed them and how often do you feed them?

Does anyone smoke, paint, use perfume, deodorants or any other types of chemicals/ aerosols in the room?

Do you use hand sanitiser at all?
These can leave a poisonous residue on your skin that can wash off in an aquarium.

Do you use perfumed soap?
These can also leave a residue on your skin that is harmful to fish.

Maybe add some carbon to the filter and see if it helps.

 

[car.nelian]

Is there any other filter media besides the filter pad?
If not, you might be getting an ammonia spike when you replace the pad and that could weaken the fish.

What do you feed them and how often do you feed them?

Does anyone smoke, paint, use perfume, deodorants or any other types of chemicals/ aerosols in the room?

Do you use hand sanitiser at all?
These can leave a poisonous residue on your skin that can wash off in an aquarium.

Do you use perfumed soap?
These can also leave a residue on your skin that is harmful to fish.

Maybe add some carbon to the filter and see if it helps.

Normally when I replace the filter pad, I run the old and the new ones together for a few weeks before throwing out the old one. I haven’t completely replaced the filter pad in around 2 1/2 months now.

My ember tetras get omega one super color flaked food and brine shrimp, my betta has her pellets and bloodworms as a treat, and My corys get Hikari sinking pellets, and Omega one Shrimp pellets. I feed once daily.

I think my dad wiped down the bottom of the bookshelf my tank is on with some bug deterrent last week, but my ember and albino cory were already dead at that point.

I don’t use hand sanitizer (I have severe eczema, and it drys out my hands). My soap has a light scent, but i’ve been using the same soap for, like, 3 years? So i doubt that that’s what’s causing problems.

I normally replace the carbon inside of the filter pad every time i clean it, but I could look into getting something extra?

 

[car.nelian]

My gray cory passed away this morning. (
And these aren’t the best photos, but i did notice my betta has a few marks on her. I’m not quite sure what the mark in the second pic is, but the first kinda looks like a fungal infection/wound. I didn’t notice that on any of the others.