Put New Gravel In Aquarium And Fish Started Dying

[mwjohns3]

I have a 20 gallon freshwater tropical fish aquarium in my room. It's been there for about 10 months and I've not had any problems that are as bad as this one. I have had the same gravel, blue and green, in the tank for the entire time I've had it. But today, I decided I wanted a change in color so I went to buy white gravel. After doing so, I started to clean out the tank. I got my usual containers, filling them with the water already in the tank before putting the fish in so I could continue cleaning. I took out all the decorations and stored them away except for my bubble blower. I had to take out all the water and the blue/green gravel, giving it a thorough wipe down without soap to get all the old gravel out. Then I rinse, sifted, and put the white gravel into the tank. After that, I filled the tank back up as usual, put the filter in, turned the heater back on, made sure the air compressor for the bubble blower worked, and conditioned the water with AquaSafe. I then put the fish back in, but noticed one of the fish had a red sore on him. I then took the filter out and put MelaFix and PimaFix in the tank so that they would work without getting absorbed by the filter. I had about nine fish then. Well I went out of town to get more fish and new decorations, came back, and saw one fish dead (not the one with the red sore). I immediately took him out, but noticed some others were acting strange as well. They were sitting at the bottom or just staying in one spot. Then the fish with the red sore died, as well as another one very soon after. Now it looks like two more are about to see the same fate. What happened? Was it the gravel, or was it the open sores infecting other fish? I'm very confused because I've never had this problem and I did everything exactly the way I've always done it aside from change the gravel out. Help as soon as possible please

 

[watertown28]

umm... did you happen to be using a under the gravel type filter? If you were you just killed out the good bacteria and restarted a cycle.

you mentioned soap. Did you clean your tank with that water too?

Heck, a huge change in your water chemistry along with all those meds might have shocked your fish... this would be my first guess. Mine do the same thing when I add algaefix to the tank. Thats only half dose too. They lay in a group on the bottom looking dead. I have to watch them close to make sure they adjust and if not, do a quick 20% water change to get some of the chemical out.

That sore could have just been something that might have happen while the transfer either from tank to bucket or bucket to tank.

What kind of fish BTW?

 

[Tolak]

Please fill this out to help us help you;

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):


One problem I'm seeing is completely removing the filter. Another question; did you keep the filter media wet while switching out the gravel? Please describe your usual maintenance procedure, water change amount, frequency, filter cleaning procedure & so on, in detail.

 

[mwjohns3]

umm... did you happen to be using a under the gravel type filter? If you were you just killed out the good bacteria and restarted a cycle.

you mentioned soap. Did you clean your tank with that water too?

Heck, a huge change in your water chemistry along with all those meds might have shocked your fish... this would be my first guess. Mine do the same thing when I add algaefix to the tank. Thats only half dose too. They lay in a group on the bottom looking dead. I have to watch them close to make sure they adjust and if not, do a quick 20% water change to get some of the chemical out.

That sore could have just been something that might have happen while the transfer either from tank to bucket or bucket to tank.

What kind of fish BTW?

No I didn't use any soap while cleaning out the tank on anything. I completely wiped out all the old gravel and put all new fresh gravel in after I wiped the sides down with a wet cloth.

Another fish has died since I've posted this. I now have a shrimp, a snail, a platy, a testra, a catfish, and a some other fish I can't remember the name of. It starts with a P.

 

[mwjohns3]

Please fill this out to help us help you;

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:


Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):


One problem I'm seeing is completely removing the filter. Another question; did you keep the filter media wet while switching out the gravel? Please describe your usual maintenance procedure, water change amount, frequency, filter cleaning procedure & so on, in detail.

I can't answer some of these because I don't have the testing kits. But here's what I can answer


Tank size: 20 gallon
tank temp: 80 degrees F

Symptoms: Laying on Bottom of tank before dying. Not eating. Not much movement around the tank.
I usually change out around 2/3 of the tank water every 2 to 4 weeks, putting in a new filter each time. But this time I took out all the water and all the old gravel. I then put in all new gravel and all new water.

This time I put 4 tsp of AquaSafe in the tank and 2 tsp of MelaFix and PimaFix

It was two tetras, two platies, a shrimp, two fish I don't know the name of (starts with a P and they're red/pink), a barb, a catfish. The snail and molly are the recent additions along with three new medium sized decorations.

I have a power filter. I put in the MelaFix, PimaFix, and Aquasafe everytime I clean the tank.

 

[pablothebetta]

Tank size: 20 gallon
tank temp: 80 degrees F

Symptoms: Laying on Bottom of tank before dying. Not eating. Not much movement around the tank.
I usually change out around 2/3 of the tank water every 2 to 4 weeks, putting in a new filter each time. But this time I took out all the water and all the old gravel. I then put in all new gravel and all new water.

This time I put 4 tsp of AquaSafe in the tank and 2 tsp of MelaFix and PimaFix

It was two tetras, two platies, a shrimp, two fish I don't know the name of (starts with a P and they're red/pink), a barb, a catfish. The snail and molly are the recent additions along with three new medium sized decorations.

I have a power filter. I put in the MelaFix, PimaFix, and Aquasafe everytime I clean the tank.

Replacing the filter each time gets rid of most of the tanks beneficial bacteria - there's no need to replace it unless its falling apart and even then it should be done gradually. I imagine your fish are dying because of high ammonia levels if you've replaced everything in the tank. If I am correct, you'll need to do some huge water changes - by that I mean 90-95%. Then, you'll need to do other w/cs more regularly (every few days, perhaps) to keep the ammonia down while you go through what is known as a fish-in-cycle as bacteria builds up again. This could take weeks. I'd consider making a post on here asking for some cycled media - some people may have some they can give you to help you out. I would buy a test kit asap so we know what's going on with the water quality.

The tetras and barbs should definitely be in larger groups too. Unless you have an issue with disease, there's no need to dose melafix or pimafix each time you do a water change. Mollies are also more brackish fish and sometimes do better in such a setup opposed to freshwater. Once this issue has been resolved, I'd sort out your stocking imho. Any pictures of the fish you do not know the name of?

 

[mwjohns3]

Since all of this happened very late at night, I couldn't do anything about it and most of my fish died overnight. I only have the shrimp, I think the snail (can't tell if he's dead), and the catfish which looks like he's going to die too. I'm going to go buy some test kits for the tank today to see what exactly is in the tank and what needs to be done. I'll post up here to let people know so I can get some help. Can't help but feel stupid even though I have no idea what's wrong. It probably is ammonia, but I guess this is just a lesson learned. I thought that when cleaning the tank, it needed to be cleaned thoroughly. But I guess I don't have to clean nearly as much as I do each time.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If anything is still alive, get that water changed pronto, removing all but enough to cover the fish on the tank floor.

 

[fluttermoth]

It sounds like ammonia poisoning, probably because you removed the filter, which allowed the ammonia to build up, although if you have been replacing the filter cartridges, there won't have been many of the beneficial bacteria in there anyway. Maybe there was some on your old gravel.

All you can do for your remaining fish is, as N0body of the Goat says, big water changes. Tanks don't need to be that clean; fish come from rivers which are never scrubbed to within an inch of their lives! Your just looking to remove the larger bits of waste and any uneaten food and changing the water to keep it fresh, add in trace minerals and reduce the build up of nitrate.

 

[mwjohns3]

If anything is still alive, get that water changed pronto, removing all but enough to cover the fish on the tank floor.

Once I change the water, what's gonna be different though? If I take all the water out and put new water in, that's still just a bunch of new water that has the potential to do the same things. I put Correct pH and Ammonia Clear tablets in the tank just now. It seems that the alkaline and the ammonia were a bit off from the testing. The nitrate and nitrite were fine and the pH itself seemed okay as well. The only reason I put the pH correct in the tank was to get rid of the alkaline. Also, should I take the filter out while all this stuff is working in the tank or leave it in?

 

[fluttermoth]

Ok....

It's not the water that's damaging the fish, it's the ammonia. There won't be any ammonia in your tap water, because those toxins are produced by the fish and there aren't any fish living in your water supply (well, not after the treatment works anyway, I hope!).

So when you change water, you're getting rid of all the ammonia the fish are producing, and replacing it with ammonia free water, which stops the fish poisoning themselves.

You should probably stop using the pH adjuster. If your water is quite alkaline, then it's probably quite hard, so anything you do to adjust the pH levels down will soon be undone by the minerals in the water pushing the pH back up. Unless you're keeping very delicate or wild caught fish it's best not to try to change the pH. I wouldn't place any faith in ammonia removers either. Do enough water changes to make sure the ammonia never rises above 0.25ppm

You should never remove the filter from the tank. It needs to run in there all the time, or the beneficial bacteria you need to deal with the ammonia will die off, or never start to grow. Most fish medications do not harm filter bacteria.

 

[mwjohns3]

okay so what is the best way to solve the problem now? i have the shrimp still and he seems to be doing fine.

how often should i treat the water for everything?

should i put the ph and ammonia corrector in and how often?

should i just let the water keep cycling or change it?

how long should it take, with or without treatment, for the tank to return to normal again?

okay so what is the best way to solve the problem now? i have the shrimp still and he seems to be doing fine.

how often should i treat the water for everything?

should i put the ph and ammonia corrector in and how often?

should i just let the water keep cycling or change it?

how long should it take, with or without treatment, for the tank to return to normal again?

 

[fluttermoth]

Don't treat the water with, or for, anything, apart from dechlorinator. No ammonia removers, no Melafix, or Pimafix, or pH adjusters.

It's not the water that cycles, it's the filter media. You can change as much water as you like without affecting the cycle. You never need to totally strip down the tank to clean it, nor change anything inside the filter.

It's impossible to say how long it'll take your tank to return to 'normal', as that depends on how much, if any filter bacteria you have left, or long it takes any to grow.

Do you have your own test kits for ammonia and nitrite? If you do, test the water every day, and do as many water changes as needed to keep the levels of both of those toxins below 0.25ppm. If you don't, you'll need to change about 50% of the water every day, temperature matching and dechlorinating, until you can get some.

Water changes are your best friend right now.

 

[mwjohns3]

okay thank you so much for the help. i will do this for a couple days or weeks and keep you posted on the results.

 

[fluttermoth]

You're welcome, hope things go well