My Fish Are Dying

[WILDER]

You need to be doing a gravel vac once a week to clear the debris up and rotting food.
Bacteria is in the background that why it's so important that you do water changes once a week.
Yes you can get away with it for a while, but it will soon catch up on you as now the fish are sick.

 

[DoyouWantsum]

I actually do not vaccum over the sand as there is litteraly nothing to pick up. I only have had to do 3 water changes since this tank has been set up,

wtf dude ur telling me that u have only ever done 3 water changes over 4-5months i think thats a big problem ther and what about cleaning ur filter they need a little wash out every now and then (in the aquarium water)

in my tank it looks clean as owt but i do water changed each week and even tho my surface sand looks clean its nasty what i sometimes find hidden u need to stir ur sand every now and then to help stop dangerous gasses building up

tank a water sample to ur LFS and get them to test it for you i think ur getting sommat wrong alon the line ther ...

You need to be doing a gravel vac once a week to clear the debris up and rotting food.
Bacteria is in the background that why it's so important that you do water changes once a week.
Yes you can get away with it for a while, but it will soon catch up on you as now the fish are sick.

I agree with these 2, tank maintenance is esential.

I was like you and lost fish to dropsy and finrot, thats what brought me to this forum.

You just cant be lazy or cheap with your tanks you'll get away with it for a wile but not for long.

 

[annka5]

Clearly something is wrong, or else you wouldn't be seeing dropsy etc. Despite that you're very sure that it isn't your maintanence, I would try increasing water changes to say weekly 20% including a siphoning of the sand, as there has to be an underlying cause of the issue and to me, the maintenance regime sounds most likely.

 

[MegTheFish]

Ok well I've been doing small water changes every other day for the time being, and did a 30% earlier this week. I've lost 4 of my black neons in the past few days, 1 was old and the other had a tumor, don't know if that contributed to their death or not. But the other two were fine (up until they died, lol). I have one oldy left and he looks like he's on his way out too. I am very happy to say though, that I have found a symptom!!! I saw one of my elegan cories flicking agaisnt the sand. This is the only visible sign. What meds would you guys reccommend treating with?

 

[lljdma06]

As others have said before, your maintenance regimen is generally not considered ideal. While there are some tanks that can go weeks or even months without a water changes (The low-tech planted tanks fronted by Diane Walsted come to mind), your average aquarium does not do well with such little maintenance. It doesn't make sense to keep treating fish for disease without addressing the underlying issue. Flicking could be anything from Ich and other protozoans to fungus, to just an itch.

The folowing link addresses issues with a sand substrate, which I think could be the possible cause of your problems. Pay special attention to the section on sand and anaerobic pockets. You may find it enlightening.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...lems+Freshwater

I hope you resolve this quickly and don't lose anymore fish.

llj

 

[MegTheFish]

Ok I really do understand that all this happened because of me not doing enough water changes (believe me, I've only been pointed it out by what...7 people). I've accepted that and do not need to be lectured about it!


lljdma06 I have read that article (read it before I even considered getting sand) and as I pointed out before (thats why its good to read the WHOLE topic before posting..) I do know about the "dangers" of sand, and have fish to sift it around and sift it myself quite often. I also have a very thin layer of sand so its not a big deal...But thanks for posting that anyways.

Ok well I guess I will just let my fish die off one by one until somebody can explain to me why my fish are flicking. Obviously doing water changes is NOT helping and the fish need to be treated.

 

[ImperfectFaerie]

Everytime someone suggests something or asks a question you tell them they are wrong... so I guess I'm not sure what kind of help your looking for? A better attitude might get more helpful replies- not trying to be rude, just trying to help. Maybe if you can post more about the symptoms you've observed? Have the water stats changed since you began the water changes? When you say old, how old do you mean?

 

[annka5]

With the information given, it's incredibly hard to suggest whats wrong. I appreciate that you must find it frustrating, but seeing one fish flick or scratch once with no other symptoms, and a spate of unknown deaths isn't much to go on.
Could it be aerosols, fumes, smoke, anything like that getting into your tank?
Could there be temerature changes affecting it - e.g. is it right near a radiator?
You don't have a small child /dog/cat knowcing on the tank?
How about noise levels? Sudden bangs or vibrations?
You may be able to rule out anything along these lines, but worth thinking about it first.
It's not been long since you started the more frequent water changes, it could be that it will take a bit more time for the effects to kick in.
I understand that now is not the time to add to your tank, but the shoaling fish are kept in lower numbers, which increases stress etc etc. This will exacerbate the situation.
Stick with the water changes, keep testing the water for unusual results, including temperature, and keep an eye out.

 

[MegTheFish]

I would like to apologize for being rude and for being such an ass, I've just been really stressed lately and I took it out on you guys. I ask for forgiveness and thanks for all your help.

 

[ImperfectFaerie]

I hope everything works out for you and that your fish pull through this rough spot.