PLEASE HELP!!! all my fish are dying.

[HammIamm]

In the past week I've a fish die everyday. I don't know why. I've had algie eaters, and barbs go belly up. why would this be??? they've showed no signs or symptoms. well Some act a little more hyper then usual, but those ones are still alive. i noticed one of the barbs swimming with its tale up.. so we put him in the hospital tank.. and added medication. still he died.
i think this really started happening after i cleaned the tank... if that may or may not have anything to do with it.

please help!
thanks

 

[Kryten]

First of all, we need to know a bit about your tank. If you can provide the nitrate, nitrite, pH and ammonia levels, this will help. What sort of pump, how long it has been cycled for etc. Do you have any much larger fish like huge Plecos etc. Anything else you can tell us will help to save your tank

 

[bigfish]

I agree with kryten, we need more info could be a case of water quality or new tank syndrome.

We will help soon as we have the info

 

[HammIamm]

Al right this may sound silly.. I know how to check the PH.. its netural.. the nitrate. i guess i need a test kit for that? and i didn't have any huge fish in the tank like the ones you said. its a 25gal tank too..
the pump just got cleaned last week... with sum water and mild dish soap... now that i look at the tank there seems to be an orage film building up on the glass behind the filter... does that help more.

 

[CFC]

How long has the tank been set up? Unexplained deaths are normaly attributated to poor water quality so you need to be testing for ammonia,nitrite and nitrate,PH is less important unless at the extreems but should be tested for every now and again anyway.
You say you cleaned the pump with soap,why?And i am presuming that you rinsed it thoroughly before putting it back?
The orange film sounds like brown algea,usualy caused by insufficiant lighting but this shouldn't be the cause of your fish deaths.

 

[bigfish]

You definately need to buy a testing kit mate, otherwise your going to have more problems in the future. Interpet do a master kit for £24-99 and contains 20 tests for ammonnia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph

Worth the money

 

[StiX]

the pump just got cleaned last week... with sum water and mild dish soap...

Thats ur problem right there! All of the 'good' bacteria will have been killed, and so ur tank is now more than likely re-cycling. The orange film may be the re-mains of the soap of algae

 

[Kryten]

When you rinse the pads in the filter out, you MUST rinse them out ONLY in a bucket in a small amount of water from your tank, which will make sure that all the good bacteria that have built up will be lost, as Stix pointed out, as for the orange film, Stix is also correct there, as a friend of mine found out.

You are going to need to do several things to try and rescue the tank.

1. Clean the orange film away straight away.
2. Take a couple of cups of water frokm the tank and wash the filter pads thoroughly, then replace them
3. Do a big water change, perhaps 30%, as you need to get the toxic chemicals from the water out. May be wise to use carbon filters in your pump for a while, as this will help to filter other chemicals out of the water quickly

Let us know how you get on

 

[catman]

Add to that i would also add bio start, to help speed up the recycle proccess of the tank..

You may need to perform water changes every other day to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels d own. (remember to use dechlorinated water).

 

[HammIamm]

thank you so much for the help.. I'm going to get on it right away.. I'll let you know how it goes.


hamm

 

[bigfish]

1. Get a Master test kit
2. Get some Bio Start
3. Regular water changes
4. Regular testing of ammonnia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph is essential to maintain a correct balance.