3 1/2 Week Cycled Tank, Fish Are Dying...

[aly2k9]

Hi, Im new to this forum.

I have a Jewel Rekord 70 and i started my tank cycling on the 25th July with 1 male betta fish, plants, sand, filter, heater etc.
I read up that Bettas dont produce enough waste to speed up the maturation, so then on the 7th Of August i got 5 Neon Tetras, everything was going well for around 6 days then 1 by one the started dying. Yesterday i got a Bristlenose Pleco , and today 2 Neon Tetras died leaving me with 1.

i Should've had:
1 male Betta
5 Neon Tetras
1 Bristlenose Pleco



At the moment i have:
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Neon Tetra


My neon Tetras seemed very withdrawn and pale before they died, but my male Betta lost colouration of his gills. They ate very healthly of 1/4 of a Bloodworm Pellet, and flakes once a day, so what has gone wrong in my tank?

Help would be appreciated.

 

[Harlequins]

Welcome to the forum
Unfortunately your tank has not cycled enough to support your fish load,neon tetras are very sensitive to new set ups and prefer a mature tank.
If you read the beginners section it tells you about cycling the tank with fish in,nitrogen cycle,water changes etc...

Do you have a liquid test kit to see what your water readings are?

I'm sure others can help you more

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome Aly2k9.
Where you are is in the middle of a fish-in cycle, whether or not you are monitoring it and making the needed water changes. Today, no waiting for later, you need to do at least a 50% water change using fresh dechlorinated water that is about the same temperature as the tank water. You may get lucky and find that your remaining neon is not quite as pale and is swimming better. Unless you have the testing kit and get the right readings, do the same thing again tomorrow.
It is time for you to read up on fish-in cycling, which is what you are doing, so that you will understand what is involved and the details of what must be done. There is a link to a thread on fish-in cycling in my signature area.

 

[aly2k9]

Thanks for the replies. I have been researching for weeks about setting up aquariums etc. I've got to say my bettas gills were red and he had a red line on his body, could it have been ammonia poisening? I have just done the water change. My remaining tetra and pleco seem ok at the moment.

 

[OldMan47]

The betta was most likely killed by the ammonia. No matter how good your present fish look, if you have not done a major water change since the last death, it is still time to do one. The only other alternative is if you have all the needed liquid type testing gear and know that both ammonia and nitrites are under 0.25 ppm. Anything short of knowing that means that your fish are at risk.

 

[aly2k9]

bump

 

[indigoj]

what are your water stats now?

 

[aly2k9]

Bn plec just dies, now filter is on the blink after cleaning it.

 

[OldMan47]

What is the problem with the filter? Is it just not pumping or is the impeller not turning?

 

[aly2k9]

The impellor is not turning. I have cleaned it to make sure nothing is blocking it but that has not helped. Its internal. It is taking in water but not returning it back out. Its also making a croaking noise. 1 Neon Tetra still ok at the moment.

 

[aly2k9]

Bump... help please

 

[glolite]

Have you tried testing the pump out of water, remove the head of the pump and watch to see if the impeller is turning. The pump on my Rekord 60l sometimes needs a sharp bang on the head of the motor to get it going. If this fails you may need to replace the impeller. Most lfs have some in stock.

 

[Marve99]

Sorry I can not help with you filter

Regarding feish deaths

You need to supply your water stats and water changes details (how much, how often) before anyone can help.

Do you have a test kit?

 

[aly2k9]

I have an interpet ipf duo 2 in this tank. I have tested it out of water and it pushes all the water inside it. If i switch it off then back on it works for about 2o seconds then stops again. Don't kniow how to fix it?

You need to supply your water stats and water changes details (how much, how often) before anyone can help.

Do you have a test kit?

I am getting the stats today as i dont own any. I will definetely buy some today aswell. But about water changes i was instructed not to do water changes when tank was cycling altiugh i did a 50% water change yesterday and about 2 weeks ago about 25%.

i only have 1 neon tetra left.

 

[Marve99]

i was instructed not to do water changes when tank was cycling altiugh i did a 50% water change yesterday and about 2 weeks ago about 25%.

i only have 1 neon tetra left.

You will have 0 tetras left unless you change water very regularly. I have recently completed a fish in cycle. I tested water twice a day and changed water at least once a day. It took me 4-5 weeks to complete, but lost no fish.

Tip - if you loose the last tetra, don't go and buy any more, but familiarise yourself with fishless cycling. This is much better for the fish as the cycling process can cause stress and long term damage.

The ammonia levels would have increased to a deadly ammount between those 2 water changes- I saw some huge increases in ammonmia in a short space of time (overnight my tank could go from relatively safe (0.1 PPM ammonia) to deadly over 0.5 PMM)