Think I'm doing everything right - but 4 fish died in 2 weeks :( HELP please

[newaquaentusiast]

Hey all,

Brand new to the fish hobby and loving it so far (exept from the dying part...)

Can't seem to understand why my fish are dying and would very much appreciate any help!

Background:
Two month old - 65 Liters / 17 gallons open top Aqua El fish tank with live plants
cycled for a couple of weeks - and after water checks - starting populationg about a month and half ago (2 weeks after start) -

Fluval 107 filter
Air pump
Automatic Temp regulator at 26C / 78F

pop:
3 black molly's, 5 rainbow's, 3 cleaner fish and a couple of small tetra's

1 molly, 1 cleaner and 2 rainbow's died in the 2 weeks.

Checked the water a few times recently, no ammonia, no nitrite.
nitrate roughly 20-30PPM before the weekly water change.

Any idea? thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Fishfunn]

If all your water parameters are good, what are the symptoms of the fish that are dying? Any visible signs of disease on the fish? Did you add new fish lately?

There is a bacterial disease called columnaris that is deadly and very aggressive. It quickly spreads and kills all the fish suddenly, with no signs. This is the reason you only buy fish from a reputable fish store rather than from a big box store like Petco, Petsmart, etc.

 

[jaylach]

Nitrates are rather high at 20-30 PPM. What is the PH? What are you using to test the water; strips or liquic and what brand?

 

[Myrkk]

As fishfunn said, what are the symptoms they show before dying?

 

[jaylach]

As fishfunn said, what are the symptoms they show before dying?

Personally I'm more concerned with water conditions than disease. Unless filter media is added to a new tank a two week cycle just isn't likely to happen. Since this seems to be a first tank there would be no established filter media to transfer to 'jump start' the nitrogen cycle I strongly suspect that the water conditions are killing the fish. I also question the water test media as there is no way that I see zero ammonia and nitrites yet 20-30 on nitrates in the time span indicated.

 

[newaquaentusiast]

Personally I'm more concerned with water conditions than disease. Unless filter media is added to a new tank a two week cycle just isn't likely to happen. Since this seems to be a first tank there would be no established filter media to transfer to 'jump start' the nitrogen cycle I strongly suspect that the water conditions are killing the fish. I also question the water test media as there is no way that I see zero ammonia and nitrites yet 20-30 on nitrates in the time span indicated.

As fishfunn said, what are the symptoms they show before dying?

Personally I'm more concerned with water conditions than disease. Unless filter media is added to a new tank a two week cycle just isn't likely to happen. Since this seems to be a first tank there would be no established filter media to transfer to 'jump start' the nitrogen cycle I strongly suspect that the water conditions are killing the fish. I also question the water test media as there is no way that I see zero ammonia and nitrites yet 20-30 on nitrates in the time span indicated.

Thank you all for your answers.

I started the tank with a little food to rot in the first two weeks,
added a few starter fish after 2 weeks (2 black molly)

added the rest of the fish after another two weeks after water checks...

fish bought from a popular fish only store near my house...

these are the products used to check water ( liquid checks - photo attached)

i think the water in my area is base 20PPM nitrate...

also using water conditioner and anti chlore (photo attached)
so i think water is OK... .


No sypmtoms on fish..

just found them up side down at the bottom of the tank.

1 first. 2 days later another, a week later 2 more.....

 

[jaylach]

Can't really comment on the products you are using as I am not familiar with them except for the API product.

 

[Lcc86]

How often are you doing water changes? It might be a spike in ammonia that is killing them as the tank is new and still getting used to the bioload. Either that or potential illness which can be quite common when buying new fish. If you have another death try and get a picture of the fish and upload as it might help some here identify anything abnormal.

Don't add anything else while you're trying to get to the bottom of what's going on.

 

[Fishfunn]

No sypmtoms on fish..

just found them up side down at the bottom of the tank.

1 first. 2 days later another, a week later 2 more.....

We need to know more water parameters: what are the pH, KH, and GH.

Also, just so you know, do this procedure when adding fish to a new aquarium to prevent pH and water parameter shock:
The proper acclimation of new fish to a tank is very important for their immune system. After acclimating the water temperature in the holding bag to the tank water, add 1/2 cup of tank water into the holding bag every 10 minutes until it’s full. This ensures that no water parameter shock is done to the fish after release into their new tank water.

 

[Naughts]

Water conditions appear ok and salifert test kits are fine IME.
I always use the plop and drop transfer of fish, after temperature equalising, as this avoids the risk of converting ammonium to ammonia. It gets the fish out of the dirty water into clean water quickly.
The yellow glo tetra on the right looks to have a cloudy eye and red gill. Can you get another photo of it?

 

[Fishfunn]

Water conditions appear ok and salifert test kits are fine IME.
I always use the plop and drop transfer of fish, after temperature equalising, as this avoids the risk of converting ammonium to ammonia. It gets the fish out of the dirty water into clean water quickly.
The yellow glo tetra on the right looks to have a cloudy eye and red gill. Can you get another photo of it?

I have killed fish before by dropping fish into the water without acclimating to the differences in pH between the holding bag and the new tank water. Its called pH shock.

 

[Naughts]

Fish do not acclimate to different parameters in a few minutes or hours. Some can do it over weeks or months, often fish never acclimate to water parameters as they are outside of their range. Thousands of years of evolution cannot be overcome or reversed in an hour.
pH shock refers to fluctuating and yo-yo ing pH and can be caused by using water buffers. Ammonia is a much bigger risk in transporting fish.

 

[Fishfunn]

Fish do not acclimate to different parameters in a few minutes or hours. Some can do it over weeks or months, often fish never acclimate to water parameters as they are outside of their range. Thousands of years of evolution cannot be overcome or reversed in an hour.
pH shock refers to fluctuating and yo-yo ing pH and can be caused by using water buffers. Ammonia is a much bigger risk in transporting fish.

I got to check that, I had never heard of the method of dropping fish sitting in different pH water but same temperature into new water safely. I have two close friends, each owning a fish store, that I will check. I know one shop explicitly tells customers to acclimate the fish not only to temperature but also to mixing water into the holding bag before release.

 

[Naughts]

I got to check that, I had never heard of the method of dropping fish sitting in different pH water but same temperature into new water safely. I have two close friends, each owning a fish store, that I will check. I know one shop explicitly tells customers to acclimate the fish not only to temperature but also to mixing water into the holding bag before release.

Yes lots of stores still give that advise. I suspect they have little understanding of fish parameter requirements and, given that they are not providing the fish a 'forever home', have little motivation to to so. After all, it is easier to pass blame to the buyer if they can say 'your fish died because you acclimated quickly' rather than 'we buy from highly commercialised fish farms and sell diseased fish'.

 

[Essjay]

I have just searched for and found a post by Byron on fish acclimation. It is now in the 'Byron's legacy' thread, post #6

Byron's Legacy

Byron Hosking was a long standing member of the forum. He was very knowledgeable about many aspects of fish keeping with many years spent in the field researching and was always willing to share his knowledge. Many members of the forum have benefited from his expertise. Sadly Byron passed away...

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