Water Change = Dead Fish

[Etrigan]

Just did a water change and cleaning of the tank. The two platies I had have been looking poorly so I figured I needed to freshen up their home. Unfortunatley both have died within the 2 hours since this was all done.

I added Tetra Safe stuff to the water before filling the tank. Didn't do anything differently from what I normally do. Can a water change sometimes be too much trauma for them? I've tested the water and everything seems to fall within safe parameters...

 

[Myuu]

The platies might have been goners and the stress of a water change could have put them over the edge. How big of a water change was it? Is the pH in the tank radically different from straight out of the tap?

 

[L4byr1nth]

Water stats before and after the change?

What do you normally do with the water? Leave it overnight to come up to temperature?

Ben.

 

[backtotropical]

................and details of your water change routine prior to the water change in question would also be helpful. ie. how often do you usually do water changes. What % of water do you normally change. When was the last water change etc.

Regards

BTT

 

[Etrigan]

It was 50% or more since I haven't done much to the tank over the holiday season. I know, that's a bit much but have done it before and had no problems like this. Was looking yucky and the fish were not looking good. All water test levels were good a few days ago as well as today. Not a big difference any any test readings... might even be a little better than the other day.

The platies might have been goners and the stress of a water change could have put them over the edge. How big of a water change was it? Is the pH in the tank radically different from straight out of the tap?

 

[waterdrop]

How are you making your test readings? WD

 

[Etrigan]

um... using one of those test strip thingies...

How are you making your test readings? WD

 

[waterdrop]

Test strips are worse than useless, they lead to misunderstandings and wrong decisions and occasionally... dead fish.

There are many good test kits that we trust more. Salifert make the gold standard, but actually, many of us like and use a middle-of-the-road kit called the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. So many of us use it that in the beginners section we often banter about colors that are actually only specific to the API kit.

There's a reasonable chance you've had some ammonia and/or nitrite(NO2) issues that were hidden from your awareness. It's not the only possibility but it is definately one to be checking on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Etrigan]

thanks for that bit of info!

Test strips are worse than useless, they lead to misunderstandings and wrong decisions and occasionally... dead fish.

There are many good test kits that we trust more. Salifert make the gold standard, but actually, many of us like and use a middle-of-the-road kit called the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. So many of us use it that in the beginners section we often banter about colors that are actually only specific to the API kit.

There's a reasonable chance you've had some ammonia and/or nitrite(NO2) issues that were hidden from your awareness. It's not the only possibility but it is definately one to be checking on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Etrigan]

ok, only 1 died - the sickly one. maybe it was stress after all... hopefully.

 

[waterdrop]

By far the most common underlying cause of tropical fish death is either gill damage from exposure to ammonia or red blood cell destruction followed by nerve and brain damage from tiny amounts of nitrite(NO2). Neither of these types of damage are initially visible by simple observation (eventually, with more damage from ammonia, gills will become red and eventually either one will cause the fish to lose it's color, languish, not eat and possibly display more abnormal behavior.. but initially the fish look fine, even while sustaining significant permanent damage.)

It's true that the final step to death can be pushed by hardness or temperature shock but usually that is only the last thing after the groundwork has already happened. This is why we really try hard to encourage both newcomers to the hobby and even second-time arounders, like myself, to get this fundamental thing about aquariums (the fact that ammonia and nitrite need to be well looked after) solidly in our minds. Only a decent test kit, used on a regular basis to back up your hunches, can get you past speculation in this area.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Etrigan]

The only place close to me with any fish stuff is Wal Mart. Don't have easy access to a 'real' pet store. On that note however, we are going somewhere today where there are several shops and I am going to check into better water testing methods.

 

[waterdrop]

The obvious advantage of finding good Local Fish Shops (LFSs as we say) is that you can directly observe fish and plants before purchase, a huge advantage. For many of us, this warrants some support of such places in the form of being willing to pay a slightly higher price for some of the needed supplies - at least this is true in my own case.

I usually don't extend this to places that are really not special or helpful however, and if I had no LFS that I respected or if my LFS did not have the exact supply I needed, I would not hesitate to order the specific item from one of the many warehouse operations readily available in both the UK and USA and many other areas that our members come from. Many of our members have found discounts amounting to as much as 50% on good test kits from ebay and other online methods. I'm sure, whereever you happen to be located, the members could help with details.

~~waterdrop~~