2 sudden deaths in a day.

[BigFishSmallPond]

Hello! I started my 10 gallon fresh water tank on the tenth of Jan. So its been running about a month. I HAD 3 electric yellow (african cichlid) and a pleco. Everything has been fine til yesterday. I heard a loud CRACK in the tank. I looked to se one fish going crazy all over the tank and the other two wanted nothing to do with him. I tried to seperate him in a net to protect him andthe other fish. But he kept getting himself out of it. After an hour or two of lying vertical nose to the gravel or upside down on his back, he passed. Physically he looked healthy no marks on his body or signs of damage. His face looked a little darker than the normal bright yellow almost like he got soot on his face or something. then like 8 hours later my wife noticed a second one start doing it ( there were two large and a small fish the first was the largest the second was the next largest) and when i awoke in the morning he too was dead. So now I have one electric yellow and one pleco. I do not have nitrate testing or anything like that so i dont know the levels (sorry im new to this i assume i need to get the test kits)
The ONLY thing i can think is my wife tried to feed them a few days ago (maybe even a week ago) and she OVER FED them. I immediately cleaned it out, and did a 25% water change. I didnt get to vacuum the gravel yet cuz i think the vaccum i got was too large for my tank and dont seem to function properly. Any help that u may give in this situation would b much obliged. If any further info is required let me know. =]

 

[WILDER]

Do an immediate water change, it sounds like your tank hasn't cycled, take a sample of your water to the lfs and tell them to write the readings down.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

Thanks for the quick reply. I will do as suggested. Outta curiosity, what does it mean to "cycle" just curious what it didnt do and how I can avoid it. Thanks for fillin a newb in.

Hopefully i can save my pleco and my (now, quite depressed looking) last cichlid.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.thefishworld.co.uk/id63.htm

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

Gotcha k thanks. Spoke to the lfs they said it should have cycled in a month. Said possible "heart attack" type situation, but unlikely due to the fact that it happened to two of the fish. Another thing to note, after the first fish died i rinsed the filter in tap water ( i thought it might have been clogged with bacteria) only to find at the link u provided that I absolutely should NOT have done that. But that was after the first fish so that isnt the cause but may cause me further headache. LFS also suggested i bring in a sample.
Will do thanks for the info. =]

 

[WILDER]

You have destroyed your bacteria colony by rinsing it in tap water, you shouldn't touch your filter for a while, you have started the cycle now again, buy some test kits then you no where you are with the water quality,You shouldn't touch your filter while it is cycling, only rinse the floss in old tank water once a week, good luck.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

Hmmm hope that doesnt spell disaster for the remaining two fish. =[

Just curious how do u change a filter without killing the cycle? You are supposed to change the filter every couple of weeks, but how do u do that without killing the good bacteria? Does it harm the fish?

 

[WILDER]

What's your location is it one of them cartridge filters.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

Yes hooks to the back of the tank with an intake tube going into the tank, and the filtered water free flows back into the tank. The filter cartridge sits back to back with the bio fiber. =]

 

[WILDER]

Sorry no nothing about them type of filters, do a thread on chit chat they will tell you what to do the american fish keepers.

 

[endilliteracy]

Is there anyway you could get some filter media from your LFS? Like some of their gravel or something you could buy that already has bacteria on it? If you have completely rinsed the filter sponge in tap water, all of your bacteria is most likely destroyed so your tank has to start all over again. This is probably what killed your fish. Plec's poop alot and you need that bacteria to be able to break it down so it is not poison to your fish. Maybe you can take them to the LFS and they could "hold" them for you while your tank cycles. I can't think of anything else at the moment. But the best thing would be to get some filter media or gravel from one of the tanks running in your LFS.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

fish died b4 i cleaned the filter. thanks for the info =]

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

so far so good. the last remaining cichlid is still alive and swimming. =]
I read that after a water change they can go into a mating cycle. I had done a water change shortly before. I was wondering, my wife had put a mirror beside the tank is it possible they were in sum kind of mating cycle and the two males attacked their own reflection through the glass thinking another fish was entering their territory? Cuz i find it strange that the two larger ones just went nuts and died but the smallest one is still left. All guesswork i spose...

 

[sylvia]

Umm also read through the links in my signature.

You can't keep eletric yellows in a 10 gallon. Also, the plec will probably out-grow your tank (if it's a common, it can get to 18") and you need to re-think your stocking if you want healthy fish.

Good luck

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

Strange. The remaining two fish show no signs of discomfort,distress, illness, etc.

I think my tank had "the Shining" effect for a day and went back to normal
thanks for the tips!