3 Of My Yoyo Loaches Just Died! :(

[ey2006]

I came home to discover 3 of the yoyos had died (or was on their way)
The yoyos that died varied from 2" to 3". Prior to the discovery, I had 6 yoyos but am now left with 3. I really really want to find out the cause to prevent any further deaths.

Needless to say, I was devastated and shocked, and frankly, still am.

Just tested water stats and they appear fine.
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
20 nitrate
pH 6.2

I've had no deaths since about 2-3 weeks ago when I lost a few danios, which, according to many, could have been caused by the yoyos. Looks like they are getting some back.

1 of them was motionless when I got back, the other 2 were swimming upside down and was struggling. When they finally gave up, I took them out and one of them had parts of his body bitten off.

Other fish in the tank include:

Clown loaches
Yoyo loaches
Bristlenoses
Danios
Rummynoses
Cardinals
Platties
Cories

As you can see, most of the fish I have are all peaceful, with the most aggressive one being the yoyos, so I find it extremely ironic that they will be the ones to go.

Of the 3 yoyos that died, one of them was the alpha one (largest one) and I've noticed in the last week that he has been constantly chasing and harrassing the other yoyos whenever they get near his hiding spot or during feeding time. As a result, my initial guess was that maybe all the yoyos ganged up on him and killed him, but that obvious doesn't make sense since 2 other smaller yoyos are also dead.

There are no signs of any diseases or ich in the tank.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Jeewhizz]

I would do an immediate water change just to be on the safe side.

Are you sure your test kit is accurate? Might be worth getting your LFS to do a test...

 

[ey2006]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm using the API master test kit which is used by and recommended by many aquarists here.

I have rechecked 3 times and I'm getting the same results.

I've done an immediate water change (25%), is this enough or should I go ahead and change more?

 

[Jeewhizz]

25% is enough imo.

your ph seems a little too acidic - i tend to keep it at 6.5 for my tank... but this shouldn't have killed three fish, unless they are very sensitive..

 

[Callum]

what size tank is it?

 

[ey2006]

tank size is 100g...apologies i eventually retested for ammonia and it was in fact 0.5...I had used the wrong testing mix.

I've since made a 50% water change and used a lot of Prime, hopefully the ammonia clears up soon

 

[MHunt]

But a slight rise in ammonia does not explain the bite marks you said you noticed. Unless the bite wasn't enought to kill it directly.