Random Fish Dying

[Night Crawler]

I have a 60ltr tropical tank.
In it were some Tetra Neons, 2 black widdow tetras, a male betta and 2 Plecs (No idea exactly what they were).
Its being filtered by an external filter capable of doing a 300ltr tank.
I have an air stone in it thats always on.
There are some plants in there as well. Java fern being one of em, the other I cant remember.
I have some plastic decore and a piece of bog wood with some blue gravel on the bottom.
Water quality is good.
The tank has been setup about 6 months ago and about another 6 months before that (I moved house).

Now, my problem...
A few weeks ago, 1 of my plecs decided to just randomly die. Didn't show any signs of illness or anything. I just found it dead one morning. Then, about a week later, the other decided to die. Again, no signs of any illness or anything.
I tested the water each time and it was ok, but I decided to do quite a large water change each time, just incase.
None of my other fish have been affected. I have since brought some more neons and a couple of cown loaches. 1 loach has already died, but all the other fish are fine.

What couldave caused the 2 plecs to just randomly die?

 

[fatheadminnow]

This is just a "theory" non-the-less...lol

They could of been starved. They are bottom feeders, so did you provide food that sank to the bottom, and made sure they ate it before the other fish ate it?

Or old age? You dont really know how old they are when you buy them, so that is always a possibility.

What test kit are you using, and what are the water readings

-FHM

 

[Night Crawler]

To be honest, in the 12 months that Iv had the plecs, I have never seen them actually eat. I did seen them cleaning the glass, plants and decore a lot though. Food did sink to the bottom of the tank sometimes though.
As for age... They were given to me and were quite a size. The biggest one being around 9 or 10 inches long, but I have seen them a LOT bigger. I have had them for about a year, but Im not sure how long my friend had them before me.

Oh, Im using one of those API test kits. I'll have to come back to you on the readings though.

 

[ALEXF]

Even if food sinks sometimes, you should provide algae wafers that sink to the bottom as well. Also another thought would be how aggressive is your betta? Some people are able to keep them with other fish some arent. I so far have had no problems with mine. Also after looking at the liter gallon conversion. your tank is packed. Even if you were to go with the 1" of fish rule to every gallon, it is still crowded. A 9 inch pleco in a 15 gallon tank is no good. Plus plecos are naturally messy eaters and produce large amounts of waste. What kind of testing kit are you using to test the water? I would suggest a liquid test kit if possible. Hope everything works out for you.



api is what i use but yes reading would be good.

 

[fatheadminnow]

To be honest, in the 12 months that Iv had the plecs, I have never seen them actually eat. I did seen them cleaning the glass, plants and decore a lot though. Food did sink to the bottom of the tank sometimes though.
As for age... They were given to me and were quite a size. The biggest one being around 9 or 10 inches long, but I have seen them a LOT bigger. I have had them for about a year, but Im not sure how long my friend had them before me.

Oh, Im using one of those API test kits. I'll have to come back to you on the readings though.

Okay...that is a good test kit.

Yup...just post the test results so we can have a look at what your water is doing.

Like stated above...a 9-10 inch plec is pretty big for a 15 gallon...so that might be another reason as well.

-FHM

 

[Night Crawler]

I used to have them wafers and pellets, but they were always left, so i never bothered with them. I have noticed that I now have to keep cleaning my glass since they have died. So they musthave been eating. Oh, ant there isnt as much waste in the tank anymore either.
Yea, its one of those liquid API test kits. has 4 test tubes and 5 different tests in it.
I have read up on that 1" per gallon rule and to be honest with you, I have had more fish in my tank before and never had a problem with it. But then again, I do have a large filter thats for tanks up to 300 litres so it has plenty of surface area in it for the bacteria and my water has always been crystal clear. I also have one of those electric gravel hoover things that I use quite often as well.
I do test the water quite often anyway, just incase, and its always good. I cant give you readings now though because I'm not at home, but I will post them up tomorrow for you.

 

[pippoodle]

if you get another plec put a couple of algae wafers/bottom feeder pellets in just as you turn the light off , they also like butternut squash , cucumber and courgette -
Although my plecs nibble around during the day , when i turn the lights off they are straight on the pellets and munching the veg i put in for up to an hour after the lights are turned off

 

[fatheadminnow]

I used to have them wafers and pellets, but they were always left, so i never bothered with them. I have noticed that I now have to keep cleaning my glass since they have died. So they musthave been eating. Oh, ant there isnt as much waste in the tank anymore either.
Yea, its one of those liquid API test kits. has 4 test tubes and 5 different tests in it.
I have read up on that 1" per gallon rule and to be honest with you, I have had more fish in my tank before and never had a problem with it. But then again, I do have a large filter thats for tanks up to 300 litres so it has plenty of surface area in it for the bacteria and my water has always been crystal clear. I also have one of those electric gravel hoover things that I use quite often as well.
I do test the water quite often anyway, just incase, and its always good. I cant give you readings now though because I'm not at home, but I will post them up tomorrow for you.

Okay sounds good...just post the results up here and we will have a look.

And yes...the ammonia being produced is going to be less now, which is a good thing because you will have ample beneficial bacteria in your filter, and they will die off a little now in relative to the "bio-load" in your tank.

if you get another plec put a couple of algae wafers/bottom feeder pellets in just as you turn the light off , they also like butternut squash , cucumber and courgette -
Although my plecs nibble around during the day , when i turn the lights off they are straight on the pellets and munching the veg i put in for up to an hour after the lights are turned off

Same with my catfish...they seem to eat during the night when the lights are off.

-FHM

 

[kribensis12]

Test results will help.

 

[Night Crawler]

I'll post the results up tomorrow as soon as I get a chance. I remember makeing a note of the results somewhere. I'll also put the results for testing the water tonight as well. Although I do remember that everything was pretty low.
Looking at some of the charts online now and...
Ammonia was around 0
Nitrate was between 5-10mg/L
PH was between 7.6-7.8
Nitrite was 0
Im just doing these off memory though so the aint 100%, more like 90%.
The PH has always been high though. Well, ever since I have moved to Stoke. It used to be around 6.8 where I used to live (6 months ago). When I moved, it never affected the fish at all.

Im just puzzled as to why they have just randomly died. Nothing has changed in the past 6 months.

 

[Night Crawler]

Just a quick update.
The above results are right and they are pretty much the same today as well.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Just a quick update.
The above results are right and they are pretty much the same today as well.

mmmm.... Well your water stats are looking really good, so that is not the case.

I would say it either could of died form old age, or that it was really stressed out being in too small of a tank.

-FHM

 

[Night Crawler]

I thought that at first, but they have been in that tank for about a year. Ok, 6 months ago I moved house, but they went back into the same tank, with the same plants n stuff. Well, less actually, because I trimmed the plants down.
Just a lil confusing, because they have been fine all this time and they all of a sudden just die. I never noticed any difference in their behavoir either. Seemed to be fairly active, sucking on the glass a lot and comeing up for air sometimes. Well, thats what it looks like. But they have done that all the time.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I thought that at first, but they have been in that tank for about a year. Ok, 6 months ago I moved house, but they went back into the same tank, with the same plants n stuff. Well, less actually, because I trimmed the plants down.
Just a lil confusing, because they have been fine all this time and they all of a sudden just die. I never noticed any difference in their behavoir either. Seemed to be fairly active, sucking on the glass a lot and comeing up for air sometimes. Well, thats what it looks like. But they have done that all the time.

Your water parameters are looking good!

The only logical answer I have for you is old age. Possibly stress, but you would've been able to see signs of that.

I am sorry I can't be more help, but maybe someone with a little more knowledge will come through and give you another reason as to why your fish have died.

-FHM

 

[Night Crawler]

If it was old age, how come 2 die in the space of about a week? Just so confusing, especially when they are 2 different types of plecs.
Just did a quick google image search and found what types of plecs I had.
The smaller of the 2 was a Royal Plecostomus (I had royalty in my tank??)
The big one was I think just a common plec. Big, black...

Thanks a lot for your help though. Lets see if anyone else could shed some light on the scene