My fish are disappearing

[Richee]

had 10 porkchop rasboras , 10 phoenix rasboras , 5 cherry shrimp, 3 ghost shrimp, and various snails that have come in on plants in a 20 gallon long, very heavily planted .

the other day I noticed that when I was counting the porkchop I could only find 8 of them , and same with the phoenix . Today I inspected and pulled out my pre filter sponge and found a little fish skeleton on it ; so I am assuming that the other fish I can’t find have met the same fate. But I cannot figure out why. I tested the water , I’m showing 20 nitrates , 0 nitrites , ph is at 7.5 hardness is around 80-120
Temperature sits at 78-79. I also can’t find the bodies of any of the other fish either , just the one skeleton . What do I do ? What could it be? Could it be that my light is too bright ? It’s on a 24/7 timer and when it hits its peak in the afternoon, it is really bright . Also with the fish dying and no ammonia spike that would indicate that the BB is established I’m assuming right ? Should I keep looking for the bodies or just let the shrimp and fish eat them since I can’t find them ? I know I asked a lot of questions but I’m worried all this time and money is about to fail on me. The phoenix rasboras are staying in the corner by the sponge pre filter and surfing up and down and I don’t think that’s normal .
They are just swimming up and down by the bubbles .

 

[Fishmanic]

can you double up the prefilter? Or perhaps your filter has an adjustment for flow....if so, turn it down.

PS: you've been hiding that tank from us. You MUST ENTER that tank in our November Tank of the Month contest which is for tanks sized at 31 gallons and larger.

 

[Richee]

can you double up the prefilter? Or perhaps your filter has an adjustment for flow....if so, turn it down.

PS: you've been hiding that tank from us. You MUST ENTER that tank in our November Tank of the Month contest which is for tanks sized at 31 gallons and larger.

The filter is pretty weak as is , it is a marineland penguin 75 for a 10 gallon tank, it only runs 75 gallons an hour , I’m thinking they died and then got stuck to the filter , or they were sleeping in front of it and the plants and got stuck somehow ? Idk .
And now all of a sudden all of the phoenix rasbora are surfing the glass in the back corner by the filter
Thank you, I’ve been working hard on it ; it is only a 20 gallon though

 

[Fishmanic]

TOTM for 17 to 30 gallon tanks starts in January

 

[Fishmanic]

can you add more media to the filter..that might slow it down a bit

 

[Richee]

can you add more media to the filter..that might slow it down a bit

You think that’s what could have happened ? They just got stuck to the filter ?

 

[Fishmanic]

what is your ammonia level? How long has tank been set up?
do you add dechlorinator when doing a water change?
I would do another 75 % water change.
@Colin_T may offer additional help when he comes online

 

[Fishmanic]

How old are the fish? are they fry size? Frys could get sucked into the filter, but not established grown fish.

 

[Richee]

what is your ammonia level
do you add dechlorinator when doing a water change?

I don’t have an ammonia test kit just the other parameters and a sea chem ammonia alert , nitrate is at 20 and the alert badge is in normal range . I also don’t do many water changes just top offs , and it is well water , and chlorine chloramine levels are virtually 0

 

[Richee]

what is your ammonia level? How long has tank been set up?
do you add dechlorinator when doing a water change?
I would do another 75 % water change.
@Colin_T may offer additional help when he comes online

Tank has been set up about 2 months

 

[Richee]

How old are the fish?

I wouldn’t even begin to be able to guess their age , I know I’ve had them personally for about a month

 

[Richee]

How old are the fish? are they fry size? Frys could get sucked into the filter, but not established grown fish.

No the fish are adult size or close to it

 

[Fishmanic]

@Colin_T is online now
Maybe he has some ideas as to cause?
Do another large water change with dechlorinated water

 

[Fishmanic]

try changing out 75% of the water now and then do 50% per week if possible...see if things improve
you should buy an ammonia test kit..don't rely on that alert thingie

 

[Colin_T]

If fish are dying, it's either something in the water or a disease. If the remaining fish appear fine and don't show any signs of disease, then it's most likely a water quality issue.

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FIRST AID FOR FISH
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Post clear pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases.
You can upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.