Updated Thread: My Rummy Nose Tetras Doing Well But.....

[Lazerus]

Hi all,

I bought four Rummy nose tetras last Tuesday, very, very healthy specimens....full of life and flying around.

I brought them home to my prepared & fully cycled quarantine tank. Where they’ve been getting on great for the past week…

I fed them miniscule amounts once daily….as I do with my other fish.

This morning, there are two dead and it’s completely out of the blue?

The dead fish look healthy, no apparent signs of death or infection….the water stats in the tank are:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm

The other two are looking ok, although one is looking more sluggish than the other…so I’m expecting the worst here.

What have I done wrong?

We've dropped below zero here in Ireland so I'd been watching the thermometers closely too in case the temperature drops in both tanks, so that can't be it either.

The only thing I can think of is that there isn’t an aquarium light in the tank…the light was filtering in from my other aquarium which is right beside it…but the quarantine tank was much darker than in the established tank.

Could this be it? Or would that matter?

 

[smegforbrains]

It's possible they had something wrong with them when you bought them. Do you have any pictures of the deceased?

 

[waterdrop]

One of the frustrating things about fish is that sometimes you just never know what it was. They can be pretty delicate little critters, often very wedded to their environment in minute ways. While it might have been a bit due to some sensitivity, like tiny changes in combined KH and temperature during the changeover, it also could just as easily be some illness or genetic weakness that had nothing to do with the changes in bringing them home.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Lazerus]

Hi again,

Well, I do have the two little guys, they are outside...frozen stiff now! So well preserved!

I notice in death their wonderful red colouring disappears, how sad! They were so vibrant yesterday!

Hmmm, I suppose I'll have to put it down to 'unknown cause'

Now, only thing is, since this morning, I notice one of the remaining two appears to be pointing upwards and has an erratic swim pattern....could it be a possible internal bacterial infection perhaps?

 

[Lazerus]

Well, that dodgy fella passed away during the night...so now I'm left with one...who at the moment appears to be in good health, but then clearly, what do I know.

Its terrrible.

I need to buy more fish now, so I'm just wondering...

Is there any benefit in putting an anti-internal bacterial dose into the tank the minute the fish come home as a precautionary measure?

My thoughts on this is that it would treat any possible future illness that might be incubating before it gets to the point that I lose the fish.

Or this is not a good idea?

 

[vinylman]

On the rare occasions I add fish, I take a bottle of Waterlife 'Protozin' to the shop and add a drop to the bag before it's tied up. I also add a couple of drops to the bucket whilst I'm acclimatising the fish before they go into the tank at home. Never had any problems.

 

[Lazerus]

Well, maybe thats what I'll do too.

I'm so thankful that these fish are in the quarantine tank and not in my main tank...I would be having a heart attack by now!! I know I've only a few fish but still, they are with me 6 months and I don't want to introduce anymore problems into that tank.

At least I know its isolated to those three fish...the last remaining fish is looking just fine and is swimming around strongly.

 

[vinylman]

If you only have a single Cardinal left, it's probably a good idea to get another five and let them have a week or two in the Q tank together, rather than let the one remaining one get better then put it back in the tank on its own; that'd probably stress it and leave it open to disease again.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

oh Lazerus, I'm so sorry! you do seem to have had terrible problems nearly every time you bought new fish. it obviously shows how a q tank is a valid choice for you but i'm, starting to think that the stock you are getting may be poor quality or something like that as you seem to be doing everything right.

just to be on the safe side can you please explain the whole process of acclimitising the fish including the journey home. how long it all takes, every detail really just incase there's something funny going on. highly doubt there will b but worth a quick sanity check.

you can certainkly do as vinylman said and give a precautionary dose of an anti bac med if you like. if it was me i'd be very wary about future purchases from here though, might be worth trying somewhere like tri-mar

 

[vinylman]

if it was me i'd be very wary about future purchases from here though, might be worth trying somewhere like tri-mar

I think that's probably the best bet. I'm sure someone like Tri-mar would make sure all their fish are properly quarantined before they get anywhere near a sales tank. Not every shop has the space to do it and of course that doesn't make them bad shops, but with something sensitive like Cardinals can be, I think you have to go with shops that can quarantine their stock before putting them on sale.

 

[malakye]

Did you check the ph level? Only reason I asked is I have a 2ft tank I use for shrimp and tiny fry, last week I had a couple of babies die on me and couldn't figure it out as they had been doing great, for some reason my ph level had plummeted from 7.4 to 6.4 yet the water in that tank had originally been taken from my big tank and its ph level sits great all the time. I don't know what caused the plummet I did a 75% water change and ph is back up and no more dead babies so I can only assume it was the low ph.

 

[Lazerus]

Hi again,

Yes, you know what, I’ve been very unlucky with the fish from this particular shop….my very first Cardinals were bought from a shop elsewhere and they are still alive today 6 months later.

The only fish I have been successful with from this shop have been my two Otos. I have had these for about 4 months now. Maybe they are just hardier fish?

So far from this ‘suspect’ shop I have had:
11 Cardinals…all dead within 3 days after a horrible rapid flesh eating disease, also taking down 3 of my other cardinals with them. That was horrific to say the least.
4 Rummy Nose Tetras…3 dead within the week and one still remains…
My sister got a Betta Splenden from this shop also and he died within the week.


As for my acclimatising routine:

|Edited to add: The shop is a 15min drive away, after the lad takes the fish out of the tank, he puts 'Stresscoat' in the bag, and puts it in a brown paper bag to keep it warm. I put the bag in a shoe box so it stands upright on the passenger seat. I don't put the radio on in case it frightens the be-jassis out of them. So, its all quiet and calm bar a bump or two driving home.

I remove the bag from its brown insulating paper and float it in the tank unopened….I leave it there for about 30-45mins. (Usually because I’m trying to usher two children in and get them fed & sorted)

Then, I open the bag, and add some of my tanks water to the bag with a cup…I leave it for another 30mins.

Then, I add another amount of tank water to the bag making it half of shop tank water and half my tank water, and leave it for another 15mins or so.

Then, I net the fish out one by one into the tank….and away they go. I throw the bag of shop water away. I never mix the shop water into my tank.

So, what do ye’s think? Does that sound ok?

As for this shop Tri-Mar…I live in Ireland. I don’t think they are here? Also, I’m in a rural area so it usually means a good 45min drive from any where reputable.

But I guess, it’s worth a try. Anything has to be better than this!

So now I’m left with 3 Cardinal tetras and 1 very lonely Rummy nose tetra…and neither make a decent shoal…what a mess!

Oh, and I didn't check the Ph...will do that now. Our water is usually quite high at 7.8, but my cardinals don't seem to mind...it never changes. (Bet I'll be in for a surprise now when I check! )

 

[Lazerus]

Yep...the PH is 7.8.

 

[jay2k6ie]

Hi Lazarus. Sorry to hear of your troubles! Im living in Dublin and have a great store I get all my fish from and in my opinion they are the best around.. Its called 'fintastic aquatics' in Dun Laoghaire.. Really knowledgeable staff and they dont sell sick fish.. If any of their fish are in any way unhealthy they will not sell them...On numerous occassions I have asked about certain fish only to be told they are not for sale as they are not 100% yet..

As far as your situation is concerned it really sounds to me like this store your getting your fish from is dodgy.. Also I dont know if its a good idea to accclimatise the fish for so long.. Being in the bag for an hour and a half cant be good for the fishes stress levels especially with fish like rummys who are quite sensitive to the accclimatisation process.. As an alternative to the rummys maybe try 'harlequin rasboras' as your next schooling fish. They are far cheaper than rummys and much hardier.. They are also great schoolers and beautiful fish..

Good Luck!

 

[Lazerus]

Hi Jay26ie.

Hmmm Dun Laoghaire is a fair drive for me...about 30 miles (50km) I'd say. I'd have to head over on the M50....it would take over an 1hr or so home provided there was no traffic at all...and there's always traffic!!!

I'd love to go and see it though.

Ok, well, there's two other places I might try also and they are in Lucan (The Fishbowl) and in Newbridge (Tinas pets)...both are not so far away. (I got my first 6 cardinals in the Newbridge place so thats promising.)

So you reckon I should cut back on the acclimatisation time then, Ok! I'll try that next time. I may get a few more tomorrow...I might have a window of opportunity in the afternoon!