5 dead fish in the last 2 days, all parameters are fine, no idea what to do?

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lindabrooke

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Hi guys! Tanks been established for years, 65 gallon freshwater. Did a ~30% water change like I do every week or so 2 days ago, dechlorinated, etc. Woke up yesterday morning to 4 dead fish, some of which that were many years old. Boyfriend tested the parameters, all were normal. Nitrites were 0, Ammonia was 0.25, Nitrates were 0, so he did another water change since all the fish were at the surface, ~40%, and the fish continued to stay at the surface. I woke up to another dead fish this morning. I'm not really sure what to do/whats going on?
 
It will help members if you can provide more data.

How often are regular water changes (before this started), and what volume of the tank? Are you using a conditioner? EDIT: I see this in post #1...

Filter? Live plants? What is the pH and is this normal? Anything new added to the tank recently (fish, decor, plants)?

What fish species and how many of each?
 
The fish have been poisoned by the new water or the container that was used to add the new water.

Add some Activated carbon or Highly Activated carbon to the filter.

Make sure any buckets used for the fish are clean and free of chemicals.

Dechlorinate the water before adding it to the aquarium.

There have a been a few reports here recently with fish dying after water changes. I am wondering if the water companies have been working on the pipes and increasing the chlorine/ chloramine.
 
It will help members if you can provide more data.

How often are regular water changes (before this started), and what volume of the tank? Are you using a conditioner? EDIT: I see this in post #1...

Filter? Live plants? What is the pH and is this normal? Anything new added to the tank recently (fish, decor, plants)?

What fish species and how many of each?
Cascade 1000, live plants, pH was ~7.6, normal for my tank. Nothing new added. 2 large angels, 1 platy, and 1 tetra (and another tetra today) were found dead. Currently housing 3 platys, 1 betta, 2 black skirted tetras, 3 rosy tetras.

The fish have been poisoned by the new water or the container that was used to add the new water.

Add some Activated carbon or Highly Activated carbon to the filter.

Make sure any buckets used for the fish are clean and free of chemicals.

Dechlorinate the water before adding it to the aquarium.

There have a been a few reports here recently with fish dying after water changes. I am wondering if the water companies have been working on the pipes and increasing the chlorine/ chloramine.

I think you're right with the new water, as no buckets are used (python). It's the only thing that makes sense with the time frame. Can I find activated carbon at the pet store do you know? It was also recommended to do an RO water change, so that's something I'm going to go out and purchase as well.
 
Carbon can be bought from any pet shop or online. Highly Activated carbon is best, then Activated carbon, and normal carbon is the lowest grade.

Carbon normally has a fine black dust in it so should be rinsed under tap water before using otherwise the tank can go black.

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Reverse Osmosis (R/O) water is not normally necessary unless there are chemicals and lots of minerals in the water and you keep soft water fishes.

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Pythons are not the safest thing to use for fish. They are fine for draining the tank but adding untreated tap water to an aquarium is extremely risky. The water companies can do work on the pipes at any time and they can add extra chlorine/ chloramine without giving you warning. Then you do a water change and kill fish.

Your best bet is to fill up a large plastic container with water, add dechlorinator and aerate it. After 30 minutes add a filter with carbon in, and let it run for 24 hours. Then use that filtered water for water changes.

If the water doesn't normally have heavy metals and only contains chlorine/ chloramine, you don't need to filter it with carbon, and can get away with putting it in a container, adding dechlorinator and aerating it for 30 minutes. Then use it to fill the tank.
 
You did not answer all my earlier questions, but from the mix of fish and their numbers I can see serious issues causing stress, and stress is the direct cause of 95% of fish deaths. You have tetras that are known aggressive fish, fin nippers, and this is not good with angelfish. And before you say it, the stress can be caused with no actual physical evidence. I'm not saying this is the issue, but it is certainly a factor that is part of the problem.

Water changes need to be increased to once each week, and given the fish and tank size I would change 50-60% of the tank.
 
As others have said you should always dechlorinate your water.

I have discovered that my water supplier treats the water on Fridays in anticipation of weekend demand. I'm not sure if this is a weekly treatment or if they use extra for the weekend. The smell is noticeably stronger too. Knowing this I always fill my water containers on a Wednesday (in case they do a day early). Your supplier may be different but its worth asking...
 

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