All My Fish Are Dead And I Don't Know What From!

[mylittlemuffy]

Hey everyone,
I recently added in 2 new fish to my tank, a green moss barb and a elephant nose fish, the latter died about half an hour after putting it in but it was obvious that as soon as I put the bag into my tank that it was dying. Since then, every single one of my fish have died. I had 3 other barbs, a silver shark, and red tail shark, a black shark, a silver dollar, a angel fish, a blue coral gourami, and 3 bristlenose. Most of the fish had raised white bumps over their fins and scales. They also had raised scaled, and they looked like they had dried skin. The also had some sort of slime near their gills and they had rapid breathing when they were breathing. None of them would eat, they were either hovering close to the bottom of the tank, and then right at the top, and then laying either on their sides or upside down at the bottom. Somtimes they would have crazy bursts of swimming, but most of the time their fins weren't moving for them to be able to swim. They seemed very lethargic. A few had cloudy eyes and some had what looked like a very, very bad case of pop eye. They also had some red on their fins, gills, and across their bellies on some of the fish. I've been told it is probably a fungal disease but that doesn't explain all the other symptoms! My ph was sitting on approx 7 although it kept either raising or lowering due to probably the chemicals I was was adding, the ammonia was good, sitting slightly above 0. Normally my ph stays on 7 and the ammonia is at 0. I was adding in a multicure type thing for bacteria, fungal and parasitic diseases which was added in on the Tuesday when I did a water change. One the Thurs I did another water change and added in Pimafix and a bit more of the multicure as well as aquarium salts and stress coat. None of this helped. Today I brought some Melafix and added that in after a water change which the Pimafix but now all of my fish are dead.
Could the disease be in the water too? I'm wondering what they might of had and when is it safe to get new fish? If someone can help that would be great!!

 

[simonas]

how big is the tank?
when did you set it up and add all those fish as theres a large amount of fish there?

 

[mylittlemuffy]

how big is the tank?
when did you set it up and add all those fish as theres a large amount of fish there?

Hi,
My tank is 65L, and I've had it for nearly a year now. They have been sick with Ich once, I brought 2 fish back then which I'm pretty sure must have had it when I brought them and they both died along with one of fish I already had at the time. I haven't added in any new fish for 5 months.

 

[simonas]

65litre... so about 24 x 12 x 12?

blimey your stocking levels are crazy!!! No wonder your fish died they must have been living in cramped aqnd polluted conditions

seriously if I've got your tank size right you have... or had... fish inthere which require a tank about 3-4 times bigger

silver dollars get big and need to b in a shoal
black harks get about 18inches if I've got my facts right
red tailed shark again about 7 inch
silver shark about 10 inches if not more and again they need a shoal and a huge tank
angels need a much bigger tank and 3 bristlenose would prob just about live in tha tank on their own
all these fish pumping out waste into a little volume of water the stats must have been off the scale. You've then added one o the most sensitive fish in aquaria which require spot on water, quite tank mates and their company of their own kind!!! no wonder it died within 30 mins

a big shame. I may sound harsh but if your tank size is correct then no wonder you have had troubles and even if youhad a bigger tank you should have researched yoru stocking as they were not kept in the correct quantities or with correct tank mates

I would seriously have a think aboutwhat fish you would like, as some advice on here on stocking suggestions and research a bit more... you may then have some success

 

[mylittlemuffy]

65litre... so about 24 x 12 x 12?

blimey your stocking levels are crazy!!! No wonder your fish died they must have been living in cramped aqnd polluted conditions

seriously if I've got your tank size right you have... or had... fish inthere which require a tank about 3-4 times bigger

silver dollars get big and need to b in a shoal
black harks get about 18inches if I've got my facts right
red tailed shark again about 7 inch
silver shark about 10 inches if not more and again they need a shoal and a huge tank
angels need a much bigger tank and 3 bristlenose would prob just about live in tha tank on their own
all these fish pumping out waste into a little volume of water the stats must have been off the scale. You've then added one o the most sensitive fish in aquaria which require spot on water, quite tank mates and their company of their own kind!!! no wonder it died within 30 mins

a big shame. I may sound harsh but if your tank size is correct then no wonder you have had troubles and even if youhad a bigger tank you should have researched yoru stocking as they were not kept in the correct quantities or with correct tank mates

I would seriously have a think aboutwhat fish you would like, as some advice on here on stocking suggestions and research a bit more... you may then have some success

Nah the dimensions are 51.5 x 31.5 x 41.5cms! I'd never had a problem before as I'd had more fish in it. My red tail was quite small, and my silver dollar and angel fish were about the same. The black shark had gotten quite big, I was going to trade him in in about half a year when he was too big, and my silver shark was a pretty good size.
Honestly I wouldn't put the bristlenose in a tank of their own.. what would be the point? I checked with 4 of my local fish stores with specialists and told them what fish I had and they all said it was safe to add new fish.
If my fish were the sizes you were saying then I definitely wouldn't have that many in there! Each of the stores I went into all ask me what kind of other fish I have, and if I mentioned I wanted something that wasn't compatible, they've all today me! So it wasn't a problem of over stocking. What else?

 

[lily-rae]

65litre... so about 24 x 12 x 12?

blimey your stocking levels are crazy!!! No wonder your fish died they must have been living in cramped aqnd polluted conditions

seriously if I've got your tank size right you have... or had... fish inthere which require a tank about 3-4 times bigger

silver dollars get big and need to b in a shoal
black harks get about 18inches if I've got my facts right
red tailed shark again about 7 inch
silver shark about 10 inches if not more and again they need a shoal and a huge tank
angels need a much bigger tank and 3 bristlenose would prob just about live in tha tank on their own
all these fish pumping out waste into a little volume of water the stats must have been off the scale. You've then added one o the most sensitive fish in aquaria which require spot on water, quite tank mates and their company of their own kind!!! no wonder it died within 30 mins

a big shame. I may sound harsh but if your tank size is correct then no wonder you have had troubles and even if youhad a bigger tank you should have researched yoru stocking as they were not kept in the correct quantities or with correct tank mates

I would seriously have a think aboutwhat fish you would like, as some advice on here on stocking suggestions and research a bit more... you may then have some success

Nah the dimensions are 51.5 x 31.5 x 41.5cms! I'd never had a problem before as I'd had more fish in it. My red tail was quite small, and my silver dollar and angel fish were about the same. The black shark had gotten quite big, I was going to trade him in in about half a year when he was too big, and my silver shark was a pretty good size.
Honestly I wouldn't put the bristlenose in a tank of their own.. what would be the point? I checked with 4 of my local fish stores with specialists and told them what fish I had and they all said it was safe to add new fish.
If my fish were the sizes you were saying then I definitely wouldn't have that many in there! Each of the stores I went into all ask me what kind of other fish I have, and if I mentioned I wanted something that wasn't compatible, they've all today me! So it wasn't a problem of over stocking. What else?

i could be wrong but raised fins sounds like dropsy. sorry you lost so many

 

[Super Dude]

it's unfortunate, but lfs's make their money off noobish, misguided mistakes that result in mortality. i would consult this forum before ANY lfs employee.

 

[simonas]

crikey that makes your dimensions 21x12x16 inches!!!

I may sound harsh but I;d like you to understand where you have gone wrong so that if you try again you make a success o it rather than fallingout with thi great hobby. There is nothing more discouraging for fishkeepers than dying fish. I have a lot of fishkeeping experience and I can tell you now that combination of fish was not alright and will be the root cause of what has probably been terrible water conditions and a build of pollutants due to the small size of your tank.

The smaller the tnk the harder it is to maintain good water quality

In a tank like that you;d be loking at keeping some tetras, bettas, livebearers ( not all at the same time) so that there was not too much waste going in the water leadingto a build up of pollutants

as super dude said you cannot trust often unknowledgeable shop staff and ask on here before you set up again. we won;t bite,the advice is free and at the end of the day if your fish don;t die your saving your own money by not having to buy more

 

[mylittlemuffy]

Well as I said... they aren't unknowledgable, they are all fish experts.. perhaps maybe some of you guys don't know what your talking about! Everyone has different opinions, and frankly just because you have kept fish for a while doesn't make you any more intelligent, and I'd rather stick with the 'experts' as not only do they keep fish.. but they know their knowledge on all the fish!

 

[sneezy]

Jeez. Talk about overstocking. Those poor fish. I had a 65l and it looked overstocked with 20 rummynose tetra.

Local stores may have experts but they are also retailers who are there to make a profit. Why do you think there are still so many goldfish in bowls!

 

[Anna Robinson]

There are a lot of varying opinions in fishkeeping - this is because hard scientific studies are sometimes lacking, so people go on experience, and everyone's experience will be a little different. If you're not sure who to trust, try buying or borrowing some fish books. Some shop staff are very knowledgeable, others not.

It sounds like you may have had a disease in there, but you probably did have water quality problems as well. The tank does sound over-stocked, especially as you said you previously had even more fish in it.

Your silver dollar, angel, and all the sharks are too large for that size of tank, even as babies. Even the bristlenoses would have out-grown it. The elephant-nose is also too big, but is very much a specialist fish anyway. Never count on being able to give a fish away when it's too big - big fish are harder to re-home than small.

 

[youngfisher]

I would just like to say lets not put a downer on every LFS, as some are rather good.

 

[pippoodle]

Can you test your water now and tell me you stats

ammonia , nitrites and nitrates

what size filter do you have on the tank ?

 

[simonas]

Well as I said... they aren't unknowledgable, they are all fish experts.. perhaps maybe some of you guys don't know what your talking about! Everyone has different opinions, and frankly just because you have kept fish for a while doesn't make you any more intelligent, and I'd rather stick with the 'experts' as not only do they keep fish.. but they know their knowledge on all the fish!

I wasn't being rude to you I was trying to encourage you to start again and make sure you did it properly so that you don;t get discouraged and give up this great hobby.

I wasn;t referring to intelligence and if i was I'd be more than qualified lol but as far as experience and knowledge is concerned I have a fair bit and that is far inferior to others on here. This site has a wealth of knowledge so I would use it to ensure your next attempt is successful. AS i said it will save you money and hassle in long term.

Lots of shop staff are knowledgable but I'd say 7 out of 10 aren;t and the simple reason is economics.... its usually a low paid job that youner people tend to do and not always fish keepers in those jobs. I wince at some of the advice I hear given in the LFS.

Please don;t get offended by comments that have been made, your tank does sound far too overstocked for people like me who think we know better. Try again and research what the best fish combinations would be

 

[shelaghfishface]

Well as I said... they aren't unknowledgable, they are all fish experts.. perhaps maybe some of you guys don't know what your talking about! Everyone has different opinions, and frankly just because you have kept fish for a while doesn't make you any more intelligent, and I'd rather stick with the 'experts' as not only do they keep fish.. but they know their knowledge on all the fish!

i have no idea why people like you join forums like this.. did we ask for your debit card details at the door? have those that have offered advice asked anything in return
ill have you know that simonas has about 16yrs of fishkeeping under his belt, that DOES make him pretty close to being an expert, tho to anyone and i mean anyone ( especialy those "experts" that keep selling you those poor fish)its more than obvious that your tank is in appaling state...but then whats wrong with "experts" with £££ signs in there eyes??

but of course your free to take the "experts" advise

i dont make a habit of being rude to memebers, but your attitude is down right offensive!!