Need Help

[Chris K]

i have have had a 30 gallon tank running now for 5 weeks. now i know the cycling process is probably either just starting or is already in process and getting close to the end. but the question that i have is my fish keep dying. i have tried many different types and they all turn up dead. one day they are all fine, eating, playing, swimming and having a great time and the next day belly up on the bottom. i first started out with a 2 1/2 gallon tank in which i first started the fish in. all seemed fine in that tank so i moved them to the 30 gallon tank and for about 1 week they were fine ( 2 guppies, 3 neons). all neons died in 2 days, and my guppie just died at the beginning of this week. swelled up and virtually exploded. i run daily water tests on my water and even bring water samples to pet stores and all tests are good. i have even asked the pet stores what could be killing them and they dont have any answers. 3 days ago i bought another guppie and a penguin tetra and yesterday when i came home from work they were both dead. any help in this strange matter would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for the help in advance and hopefully somebody can shed some light on the subject.

 

[Pleco-Heaven]

The neons died because they can't be put in before 10 weeks, and I'd go fishless (fishles cycling) if I were you, but if you want to do fish cycling, I heard platys are good.

 

[heyimeugene]

What are your conditions?

5 Weeks huh? I got my 29 gal cycled in about 3-4 weeks. I cycled it with alot of live plants and 3 Zebra Danios.

Hows your filtration? Heating? Over feeding? Anything else I couldn't think of you might be able to add would greatly help us diagnose your situation.

Good Luck!

 

[Chris K]

What are your conditions?

5 Weeks huh? I got my 29 gal cycled in about 3-4 weeks. I cycled it with alot of live plants and 3 Zebra Danios.

Hows your filtration? Heating? Over feeding? Anything else I couldn't think of you might be able to add would greatly help us diagnose your situation.

Good Luck!

well i have a ugf and a power filter, i have 3 live plants, heating is fine as the temp is 24 deg cel or 78 f, feeding is only done 1 a day and only what they can both eat in 3 minutes, and all water checks are good as i have the fish store do that for me. other then that if there is something that you can think of that i havent mentioned let me know

my ph bounces between 7.2 and 8.2 depending on how often i do water changes
my nitrite right now is at 0.3
and there is no amonia that the test can detect anywayz.
only other thing i can think of is my hard water as it is a little high but i am trying to take care of that also

 

[heyimeugene]

Very very odd.... I really can't put my finger on this one... I want to say amonia poisoning but from what your telling me you don't have any... I'll sleep on this and give it some more thought.. mean time good luck!

-- EDIT --

Does your LFS have a fish guarantee? I know my LFS Petco/Petsmart let me return dead fish within 15days. They test my water before giving me money back but I've never been denied. (I assume they test the water for amonia and other bad things that might kill the fish.) But back to the main point, have you returned your fish - that have died?

A UGF? Hmmm... I don't like those for some reason or another. But I hear when setup they run fine so nothing wrong there. Any known diseases ni the tank?

 

[carrcn]

Your pH seems to be swinging a little too much. What are you doing to lower your pH??? I've got extremely hard water where I'm at, with a pH of 8.2-8.3, never changed. Could be your pH swings being too much. When changing pH there's a safe way to do it without stressing your fish too badly, I just can't remember if it's a tenth of a point or a whole point per 24 hour period. I'm sure someone will help out on this. Your pH should stay fairly level unless you're adding something to the water. If so, I'd stop using it immediately and let your water parameters settle down.

 

[Dori]

I have always been told that messing with your ph is a very tricky thing, even for the most experienced aquarist, that you are better off leaving it alone, because your lfs probably has the same ph in their water as you do at home, and that it will most times result in dying fish.

 

[FishDan]

I would also lean toward pH swings killing or weakening your fish. If your ammonia/nitrites are "good" (I assume 0 is good) than the pH can be a factor. I have a very high pH at home, about 8.2. Out of the tap, my water pH is just about 7.0. When I do water changes I let my water age for 24 hours so the pH balances (it raises to its true value of 8.2 during this period). Try letting your change water sit for 24 hours prior to doing a water change and see if that helps.

If you are not sure where you are in the cycle process however that could be the cause of your fish deaths. Ammonia and nitrItes will usually swing up rapidly and cause a lot of stress. And fish like neons are very suseptible to the cycle process. It seems you are relying on your LFS to test your water. During the cycle this should be done every day. I would invest in at least an ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte test kit and test daily. It is the only way to know where you are in your cycle.

\Dan

 

[Chris K]

the only reason my pH is changing is due to the water changing. i get my pH down to around 7.2 gradually and slowly, about .2 per day, but when i do a water change it shots the pH up again. but recently i havent touched it in 3 days as the levels have been fine. now i just had another fish die on me last night and when i looked it over i noticed that it had blood around its belly. it was swimming around fine all day and all week and i went out to the fair here in my town and came home and it was dead at the bottom of the tank. i was only gone for 3 hours. when i do a water change it usually comes straight out of the tap and i dump it back into the tank. but i will now try and let it sit out for 24 hours like you suggested and see what happens.