Loosing fish fast

[Waterloo Kid]

In the last month I have lost 2 rainbowfish, 2 rams, a black neon tetra and a glowlight tetra. I cannot stop the losses. The fish either show signs of fading away (listless, off colour, isolating themselves) or develop ulcers, bloat and die. I have tried treating with antibacterial medication with no luck.
I'm getting fed up with watching my fish die off one by one. Can anyone suggest any reason for this to be happening? It's getting to the point where I am thinking of stripping the tank down, disinfecting it and starting again. I've lost fish at the rate of 1 a month over the last year, all showing the same type of symptoms and now the rate is increasing.

Parameters as in my sig. Maintenance is a 25-30% change every other week (due to low stocking levels)

Advice is majorly required.


WK

 

[chatterbox]

well it might be something with the water.check there might b some chemicles.plus it might b where u r buying them from

 

[wetwetwet]

Must be something in there...

What about your decor, rocks and substrate - is it all safe?

Some stores will offer a detailed analysis of your water for other contaminants/substances...




www

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Okay, I'll tackle this one. Have you gone through and eliminated the following list of diseases......

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=10266

In addition, there is still the possibility that it could be an external parasite that's causing these deaths. I've written an article on 'anchorworm' recently, but am unable to find it. One of the Moderators has still to attach it to the above thread.

Have you seen any sign of parasitical infection on any of the fishes?

 

[KnightFire]

See if your LFS can do tests for contaminants. Check the temperature, in the summer tanks can get quite hot in the day, and then cool down to their normal temp at night (or sometimes not even cool down that far) and this can stress the fish sometimes.

Phone your water supply company and check they have not recently started adding new things to the water supply. If they have not then perhaps larger more frequent water changes for a bit might help.

Have you added any new ornaments or similar at the start of the period when things started going down hill? Sometimes they introduce contaminants (and dont I know it, GF lost every single fish over a 24 hour period after introducing a plastic plant to her tank once)

KF

 

[canarsie11]

Are you doing something different in your home?

 

[Waterloo Kid]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't been able to log on for a few days.
I'm going to do another full range of tests today.
The tank has had nothing added for ages; over a year in fact!
I'm at a loss as to what's killing my fish. I might try an anti parasitic medication just in case. Can't hurt can it?!

I'll keep you posted.

WK

 

[Waterloo Kid]

right, well the tests all came back fine. Nitrates are at 20ppm but the water change is due today so that's to be expected. The only change is that the pH has risen to about 7.4-7.6 The temperature is showing as 27.5 celcius, nothing to worry about.
After reading the HITH skicky I am wondering if it's the rocks I have in the tank. I wonder if they are leaching heavy metals into the water? It's not that the fish are showing the particular symptoms of HITH but it COULD be an issue. Maybe a time for a trip to the lfs (great, a REAL excuse!).
Any more suggestions are welcome.

WK