Newbie problem or just unlucky

[FishAreFriendsNotFood]

I have just set up a 40l tank and have been running it for about 2 weeks and have tested the water which was all ok. I stocked it Tuesday of this week with 5 silver tip tetra's as I'd read they would be good hardy starter fish. Yesterday one of the females was belly up and on removing her I noticed that it looked like blood vessels around the gill covers spreading backward for a couple of mm and fin base's had haemorrhaged.

On the Tropical Fish Emergencies forum Fishhead said in a pinned messages

Bacterial Hemorrhagic Septicemia can be diagnosed by red streaking of the fins and body

Is this something that can be passed to the other fish or could it be something completely different that could be caused by the new tank setup.

 

[jrd77]

I don't know but my guess is that that tank has only been set up for 2 weeks and its "newness" is a factor. I'm not sure its possible for it to have cycled already...Has it?

You might already know about the nitrogen cycle since you mention water parameters but if not, here's a useful link: http/faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

Also, maybe 5 at one time is too much of a load for a brand new set-up....

What are the paramters?

 

[gadazobe]

40l is about 10 gallons, not a big tank. With so many fish to start with, the ammonia will build up very quickly and most probably that's what caused the death of your fish. Red gills are also a sign of ammonia poisoning.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood]

I had another go this morning. It was belly up but when I tried to net it he swam off but in circles as if it had had a stroke and only the one side of fins was working. Again it looked as if it had haemorrhaged as there were burst blood vessels just behind the gill cover. Is this consitent with amonia poisoning?

The LFS said they thought it could be parasitic but he didn't sound too convincing.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

do a water change immediately if you have not already. running a tank with no fish for two weeks is not the same as cycling it -- sorry if you were misled. you will need to replace at 4L a day to keep the poisons down; increase the amount to 6L if you lose any more fish.

 

[jrd77]

Yes, that does sound ike ammonia poisoning...keep doing water changes like the article and others have said...good luck.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood]

Thanks for all your advice guys. Ponds are much easier aren't they!

 

[rdd1952]

If you don't have them already, invest in some test kits so you can keep a check on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. I don't know what's available in England but the Master Test Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals is very good and has all four test in it. I would advise against test strips as IMO they are not very accurate.