2 Unexplained Deaths

[Mimi]

Hi! New to tropical fish keeping and in need of advice. My husband and I are enjoying our fish currently and have set our tank up it's levels were good. So filter sorted. We have 4 guppies well had as one died today. We also had 2 platys but one has also died. We do not know why. We have carried out water changes, have our own test kit and like I said level were fine. We also have no fry from guppies which I think odd as they got big and square we put them in a breeding tank thing for days like books and Internet suggested but nothing and still nothing, guppies back in main tank now.
Anyway very concerned with unexpected deaths as all seem happy and well. Any ideas?
We do water changes weekly and change between 20% and 50%. Water is always treated and temp is at 25.

 

[clgklg]

how long have you had the fish? How long did you have your tank set-up before you put your fish in? How did you cycle your tank? Do you have a test tube (api) test kit? What were your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate levels? What size tank do you have? That information should get you some reliable answers...

how long have you had the fish? How long did you have your tank set-up before you put your fish in? How did you cycle your tank? Do you have a test tube (api) test kit? What were your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrate levels? What size tank do you have? That information should get you some reliable answers...

 

[Mimi]

The tank has had fish in it for nearly two months, my husband set it up before that. The guppies were the first fish we got then the platys. The tank is 82 litres. We have a test tube kit. Tested water other day levels were fine. Changed some water even tho it was not required according to test results. Thought better to change than not. Tested today All levels 0 except ammonia which was 0.25. Did water change after these results this morning.
Fish do seem happy with no signs of illness so why the loss any ideas?

 

[roadmaster]

The tank has had fish in it for nearly two months, my husband set it up before that. The guppies were the first fish we got then the platys. The tank is 82 litres. We have a test tube kit. Tested water other day levels were fine. Changed some water even tho it was not required according to test results. Thought better to change than not. Tested today All levels 0 except ammonia which was 0.25. Did water change after these results this morning.
Fish do seem happy with no signs of illness so why the loss any ideas?

VERY unusual for a cycled aquarium to have ammonia readings other than zero and no nitrAtes.
Sudden appearance of ammonia which may well have been higher at some point than when tested, could be result of bacterial clony being compromised by cleaning filter material in water containing chlorine,from over feeding if more than one person is feeding,from cleaning too much at one time (ie) gravel ,filter,decor.
Guppies and platy's prefer hard alkaline water with 10 to 12 dgh and ph between 7.5 and 8.0 some do poorly in softer acidic conditions.

 

[Mimi]

Well husband did testing and said levels of nitrates and nitrites were perfect but only ammonia being 0.25 which he was not happy about but said levels could be higher. Always wash filter in tank water when changing and we do clean gravel when change water, well Hoover it up with one of those gravel cleaners. We have hard water where we are. I'm completely lost and confused. Thanks for help.

 

[clgklg]

how did you cycle you tank before you put the fish in? For fishless cycling not all pre-bacteria kits work, some of the products out there do not even have the right bacteria for freshwater cycle requirements. I'm not sure if the cycling is even a possibility but it can sometimes take up to 3 months to cycle. Also, if you test your water right after a water change it's likely you got a false ammonia reading, and even if you did have a .25 I can't see that having a fatal reaction on your fish in such a short time