URGENT HELP NEEDED

[hollywoodH]

Hello i have lost 6 of my Malawi's in just four days.

tank size - 48 x 18 x 18 inches
ph = 8.2
gh = 16
amonia = 0
nitrate = 0

I have two airstones in for extra filtration. temperature is at 78 degrees. The dead fish have had no marks on them as a sign of over aggresion from other fish and to me it looks like the fish i have are losing some of their colour. What could it be??

 

[William]

How long has this tank been set up and how old would you reckon the fish are.. and do you have any other fish in the tank?

 

[hollywoodH]

the tank has been set up for about two months and i have two bristlenoses and 6 malawi's left.

my nitite is at 0
my nitrate is at 25

according to my new not so local lfs the water companys may have added something to their system because it has been so cold. As this is the only reason why they can think there is a problem. The fish are all very young the largest being aprox 1.5 inches in length. The owner of the lfs drove to my house this morning to do a second test on my tank and has confirmed my own reasons. the fish have been in the tank aproximately 4 weeks. And i have had no other abnormal readings.

 

[semper fi]

how were the fish acting before you lost them? were they hiding? the lack of color could be from stress. since they were only in for a few weeks you may have noticed the bully since they were still getting used to you being there also and hiding when you approached the tank. just another possibility. what types of malawis were they?

maggie

 

[hollywoodH]

it is official its my water company putting crap through the system. Cheers The water Company

 

[William]

it is official its my water company putting crap through the system. Cheers The water Company

Sorry to hear it

 

[semper fi]

sorry to hear that you had to learn the lesson the hard way. ALWAYS a good habit to get into is to check out your water from the tap before adding it to the aquarium.

 

[hollywoodH]

thing is what would i have checked for? All my readings are ok. But the water system ran to waste (whatever that means)

 

[semper fi]

you did not post ammonia readings. did you check for those? if it was running waste (?) the levels may have indicated it. waste makes ammoia. here in the states, they flush the pipes every 6 months or so and the levels are elevated. don't fill my tanks when this is the case.

 

[Macquatic]

Real sorry about your losses hH, I lost a lot of fish the same way with the water co. puting chems in the water.
I now use a water purifier (not an RO unit) which removes all the nasties without changing pH or hardness. Mac.