Old age???? I hope so......

[ghent_3rd]

I have had my tank set up for a year now and although I will be the first to admit I did mistreat and didn' care for it as much at the start of the year.

Anyway, I am now firmly back on track with all things fishy and re-aquascaped yesterday and planted today.

However, I came home today and found one of my platys dead on the bottom of tank. There have been no symptons other than she wass slowing down a bit over the past few days and resting a lot more. I put this down to her being ready to give birth because she has done a couple of times with a male platy I have.

Anyway, what I really want to know is, bearing in mind all water parameters are fine, will it be OK to add more fish on Thursday because I have been looking forward to going to the legendary Wharf Aquatics for over a week now!!

Can I put this death down to natural causes assuming no other fish encounter or have encountered similar deaths?

I did lose a cory last week but that was through swimbladder problem because it could not stay balanced at all and the platy did not have anything like this at all.
Hope somebody can help me out!!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Can you please post your ammonia, nitrite, nitrAte, and pH? also need to know how big your tank is and exactly what fish and how many are in there.

 

[clunkster]

as tttnjfttt says we need more information it could be old age but it could be something else so if you want to add more fish i would make sure your everything is ok. you will like wharfe aquatics they have some lovley fish in stock

 

[ghent_3rd]

Tank size is 24" by 12" by 12".

Ammonia is 0

Nitrite is 0

Nitrate is approx 20

PH is 7.5

There are 4 platys now, 3 corydoras and 1 L-205 plec approx 3 1/2" long.

The tank has been planted today following the death and I am running a fluval internal filter that has had same media for the past year and gets cleaned every month in tap water.

Hope that helps!!

 

[Squishiebabe]

Whoa....You should not clean your filter media in tap water. It kills off all the good bacteria needed to process and keep your aquarium healthy and safe for the fishies. Old tank water, such as whats in your bucket after a water change is what you should use, and only gently clean it, its suposed to be dirty (there is a line though lol, big particles should be removed) Your tank may be going through a mini-cycle, and that may have killed the fish, if she was weaker. Also that with your recent changes probably caused some stress, and she caught something.
Do you do weekly water changes? I don;t know how many gallons your tank is, so I can't say if its overstocked...

 

[tttnjfttt]

Did the fish that die become very thin, where he looked like a swimming skeleton or did he have a bent spine? Did his feces look normal (not white and stringy)? Before he died, did he look like he was covered in too much slime?

I'm just trying to run through some of the diseases that tend to have more silent symptoms.

 

[Erised]

Whoa....You should not clean your filter media in tap water. It kills off all the good bacteria needed to process and keep your aquarium healthy and safe for the fishies. Old tank water, such as whats in your bucket after a water change is what you should use, and only gently clean it, its suposed to be dirty (there is a line though lol, big particles should be removed) Your tank may be going through a mini-cycle, and that may have killed the fish, if she was weaker. Also that with your recent changes probably caused some stress, and she caught something.
Do you do weekly water changes? I don;t know how many gallons your tank is, so I can't say if its overstocked...

[snapback]859576[/snapback]​

Though that information is correct, don't let it scare you too much I've been cleaning out my filters in tapwater for over a year now, and it's never caused me any problems. The benificial bacteria in the substrate should be enough to keep it cycled anyway, so I seriously doubt that was the cause of death

Your stats seem fine, and it's not unlikely that it was old age, the slowing down and all that does sound like it. Did it spine happen to bend as well? Because that too is a sign of old age.

Do you have a guaranteen tank? If not, I seriously recommend you get one. That way you'll still be able to get new fish on thursday (mind you, cycle the tank! Easily done within the hour by adding substrate from the main tank, water from the main tank and preferable filter media as well). Leave them in the quaranteen tank for 2 weeks, this way old diseases won't jump onto them, nor will any disease they might bring in jump onto your other fish

Good luck with it all.

 

[ghent_3rd]

Whoa....You should not clean your filter media in tap water. It kills off all the good bacteria needed to process and keep your aquarium healthy and safe for the fishies. Old tank water, such as whats in your bucket after a water change is what you should use, and only gently clean it, its suposed to be dirty (there is a line though lol, big particles should be removed) Your tank may be going through a mini-cycle, and that may have killed the fish, if she was weaker. Also that with your recent changes probably caused some stress, and she caught something.
Do you do weekly water changes? I don;t know how many gallons your tank is, so I can't say if its overstocked...

[snapback]859576[/snapback]​

sorry my fault!! ment to put tank water!!! don't panic, I am not fibbing!!!

 

[ghent_3rd]

I don't have quarantine tank but as far as I could see the fish didn't seem to have a bent spine but to be honest I wasn't really looking for soemthing like that.

I am still a newbie really even with 1 years experience so everything is a learning curve for me, that said all the other fish in the tank seem to be in great order and very happy in new surroundings afetr the change of gravel and extra plants I added.

I hope this is just a one off and that it may have been the stress of being netted into a bucket and then back out again that may have finished her off?

My younger cousin has a tank at his house so I may try a couple of new fish in my tank but I am really looking at getting another L-number so just to be on the safe side I may not get one or at least drop it in my cousins tank for 10 days or so. Don't want to spend all that money and have it dead within few days!!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Thats possible, but at the same time, stress often brings out disease.

I would say to wait on buying new fish for atleast two weeks. This way you will know it wasn't anything contagious in your tank and infect more fish than what you already had. I'd rather play it safe than be sorry later.

 

[Squishiebabe]

Lol, yeah sorry if I sounded so harsh, I can do that. Yes, the substrate holds alot of bacteria as well, I forgot that.
Good job for washing in tank water! Lol, hope I really didnt make you feel stupid or anything, I'm the goof now doh...
As for a quarintine tank, I seriously suggest getting one if possible, because its an amazing thing to have, although I've no money for my own my ten gallon will become one. I've infected my whole tank twice, from not qting new fish, and its really an expensive pain in the ass. No matter how trusted the lfs, theres always a chance of disease and such. I got my cories from Walmart disease-free, but I just had a barb die from parasites it came with, from the best fish store within an hour of my house lol. Best of luck, and sorry!

 

[ghent_3rd]

No probs squishee, I would be like........WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! If someone said that afetr complaining of death as well!!!

I might set up a quarantine tank at my mum and dads because I don't think my g/f will let me have another tank anywhere in the house.

Probably just get a tiny tank with small heater and filter and use media from my existing to get it going. Don't think I will be able to get it done before Thursday though.

Don't know whether to risk it or play it really safe and not get any fish at all. I think I am going to monitor tank over next 2 days and I will then make my mind up depending on behaviour of fish already in tank.

 

[clunkster]

if you like L numbers your gonna love it at wharfe only problem is your gonna need a bigger tank you will know what i mean after you have been ( you can tell me after you`ve been) if i was you i would make sure your tank was running ok before adding any new stock its better to be safe than sorry