I have a 30 gallon tank that I planted about 3-4 months ago. It has low light about 35 watts. Everything was doing fine and then all of the sudden the plants started looking terrible, they quit growing and started dying. Algea has taken over and is covering everything. Also I have had a Corydora, a Neon, and an Apple Snail die, plus another cory who looks like he is ready to die. Even the Java Fern looks bad and ready to die. What is my problem? Why is everything dying? Please help!
NEED HELP
- Thread starter sswiger
- Start date
houndour
Twiglet and Eeyore
hi, have you tested your water? It would give us an idea if you could tell us nitrate, ammonia, nitrites and pH?
Test your water as Houndour said, it is very difficult to give any advice with no information to work on.
Do you perform regular water changes, if so, how ofton and how much?
Do you dechlorinate the water you add to your tank?
You may have a nitrate build up, you may not, there are so many variables that can be eliminated with more information.
If you dont have test kits i would advise you get some or you will probably continue to have problems until you can eliminate the source of the problems you are having now.
Post your results when you have tested your water.
Do you perform regular water changes, if so, how ofton and how much?
Do you dechlorinate the water you add to your tank?
You may have a nitrate build up, you may not, there are so many variables that can be eliminated with more information.
If you dont have test kits i would advise you get some or you will probably continue to have problems until you can eliminate the source of the problems you are having now.
Post your results when you have tested your water.
I have tested the water and everything seems normal. No Amonia, No Nitrites, Nitrates were 20. The only difference I remember is the PH has slowly risen to around 8.2 and the Kh was slightly lower than normal. I always dechloronate the water before adding it.
It is summer time and my water changes are now monthly because I have been so busy outside.
Also before I got my Air Conditioner in I noticed the tank got really warm around 84 degrees F. I shut off the heater and have A/C now so it is back to 76/78. Would the spike in temperature cause my problems? I have 2 Oto's I bought a couple of weeks ago but they don't seem to be helping
I hope this help you guys.
It is summer time and my water changes are now monthly because I have been so busy outside.
Also before I got my Air Conditioner in I noticed the tank got really warm around 84 degrees F. I shut off the heater and have A/C now so it is back to 76/78. Would the spike in temperature cause my problems? I have 2 Oto's I bought a couple of weeks ago but they don't seem to be helping
I hope this help you guys.
I dont know about the temperature spike 
I dont know why your fish are dying if your water parameters are ok, maybe just natural causes.
Your plants maybe dying off because you havnt fed them.
Read gf225s pinned article about algae at the top of this page you might get some tips there.
Do you have anything in your tank to make your ph rise, limestone rocks for example.
Regular water changes will help a lot to try and keep disease at bay, once a month is probably not enough if you are loseing fish on a regular basis, do it more ofton.
Anyway sorry cant be more helpful.
I dont know why your fish are dying if your water parameters are ok, maybe just natural causes.
Your plants maybe dying off because you havnt fed them.
Read gf225s pinned article about algae at the top of this page you might get some tips there.
Do you have anything in your tank to make your ph rise, limestone rocks for example.
Regular water changes will help a lot to try and keep disease at bay, once a month is probably not enough if you are loseing fish on a regular basis, do it more ofton.
Anyway sorry cant be more helpful.
houndour
Twiglet and Eeyore
What is your total stock of fish? Which types of fish and how many of each?
Have you put lots of fish in at one go? This can cause a mini cycle and might make fish ill and die.
Neons I find are quite sensitive, and are particularly vulnerable when first put in.
Which cory was it? Certain species of cory are very sensitive. One in particular is the Panda. I've never had luck with them.
I agree, once a month water changes is probably not enough. I do a 20-25% change once a week.
Other things...I'm clutching at straws here. Are you rinsing your filter in tap water? It should be rinsed in tank water so as not to kill the bacteria. Also when replacing filter media, never do all of it at once.
Have you put lots of fish in at one go? This can cause a mini cycle and might make fish ill and die.
Neons I find are quite sensitive, and are particularly vulnerable when first put in.
Which cory was it? Certain species of cory are very sensitive. One in particular is the Panda. I've never had luck with them.
I agree, once a month water changes is probably not enough. I do a 20-25% change once a week.
Other things...I'm clutching at straws here. Are you rinsing your filter in tap water? It should be rinsed in tank water so as not to kill the bacteria. Also when replacing filter media, never do all of it at once.
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