A Very Sad Night.. And Troubling Death

[RainboWBacoN420]

So, if you read my last couple of posts, i've been making the plans for the planted aquarium, this meant taking my fish out of the 15 gal and putting them in a temporary quarentine tank until the planted tank gets established. My poor dwarf Gaurami had just died, but not peacefully. I had a feeling he wouldn't hold out in the process... But he seemed okay with the transportation at first. But then, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, he began jetting back and forth, he would stop and start floating on his side. He was trying to fight death. But the strange part about this is when I took him out of the tank when he finally died. He was blue! His face was completely blue, I'm not sure what this could indicate. A virus maybe, lack of oxygen? Very frightening to see my little buddy like that. :c
.

 

[Vethian]

What are the water stats in the temp tank?

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

Temperature: 77°
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: .05
Chlorine: 0
pH: 7-7.2

 

[BiggTexx]

Temperature: 77°
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: .05
Chlorine: 0
pH: 7-7.2

Did you test for ammonia?

 

[Munroco]

Its a strange thing, but often when fish die their colours are at their most vibrant. I have no idea why this is so but I do know I've seen it often. What I'm saying is I don't think the colour has anything to do with why the fish died.

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

No, my test strips don't test for ammonia, just nitrites and nitrates unfortunately.

I think the poor guy was just over stressed from how small the tank was. But the blue was spreading very very slowly. Like if you looked closely, you could see the blue developing over his body.

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

Well, I just did another test.
.05 nitrates
1-1.5 nitrites
0 chlorine
7-7.2 pH

This is the next night, about 24 hours after dear Gaurami's tragic death.

 

[Vethian]

high nitrites can cause that behavior according to what I am reading.  It looks like your tank isnt cycled.  since your nitrites are climbing, that tells my your ammonia is as well.  invest in the liquid test kits as they are mush better.  I compared a test strip i got from my mother to my liquid test and the strips were a bit wrong.  

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

I have been cycling the tank for about 3 weeks now using API Stress-Zyme to support the biological filter. And I know, they were the only test strips at the store, unfortunately. The nitrite build up is probably from all the fish in the enclosed space. And I've been testing the tank twice to three times a week during the cycling process. The tank was looking very good until the fish were added to the tank. The other fish are all doing fine. The tetra are beginning to swim around and school again and the catfish are doing their normal run around of the bottom, scavaging anything they can. Once the planted tank is done cycling, it's return to home for them.
And if you're comparing test strips and something is wrong, it could be the test tubes you're using to out the strips in. I always make sure the test tubes are scrubbed good (no soap of course) before I test the water. People just put the test strip directly into the aquarium, but for some reason I am completely against that and prefer scoping a little bit of water out to test it. The tap water you use to rinse it out can effect the results. And yes, if there's nitrites, then there's definitely ammonia.
I made this post to explain the weirs blueness on my gaurami once he died. Because I had never seen something like this before. It was a very odd sight. I read that this is a sign of a common disease, a spwfic disease that targets from Gauramis, mollies, platies, and other species of fish.

 

[BiggTexx]

If you are still cycling this tank, then testing for ammonia is a must. I would advise you to invest in the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.
 
As for the Stress-Zyme, that is not something I would be adding during a cycle (or to my tank at all really). That is just a waste control product that is not needed when you care for an aquarium correctly and is not designed to kick-start your nitrogen cycle.
 
Have you gone over the "Cycling a Tank" threads?

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

It says right on the bottle, "helps boost the natural aquarium cycle". So, taking trust into the product, I tried it out. But yes, I've read it. And no, I'm not cycling the tank anymore. I've already said that all the fish are in there, the gaurami is the only fish that died and showed problems. He was a pretty nice size Gaurami,too. So I'm guessing that it was the ammonia build up from all the fish in the small tank, plus the stress of being that big and in that tank.
The point is, the gaurami had a strange blue coloration when he died. Something I have never seen before. It blue took over his whole face and was spreading fast. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this in their Gaurami.
And I would love to get test strips that tested for ammonia too, but all the stores in my area are PetSmart and Petco and none of them had test strips that tested for ammonia. Like everything but ammonia. I visited 5 stores and nothing. I should of ordered them online but I needed them at the moment.