All My Fish Are Dying, Can Anyone Help?

[samiam9818]

Hello,

I've had my tank (10 gallons) for about 3-4 months now. All the fish were doing fine up until 3 weeks ago when my tiger barbs started dying. After the initial 4 barbs died i had the water tested and they said it was fine to add fish so i added 3 more tiger barbs (2 died after about 2 weeks). I then took another sample to the store and they said to wait a few days then add some more fish so i added 3 mollies and an algae eater. So far the mollies and algae eater are alive but another barb died yesterday.

Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite levels are all 0.
Ph and water temperature are fine.
I have tried a broad spectrum medicine, parasite tablets, and bacteria medication.
Every week I do a 10-15% water change and every 4 weeks I do a 20% water change and vacuum the gravel.

So far I have lost 7 tiger barbs and 1 algae eater. Currently in the tank I have 3 mollies and an algae eater.

The dead fish have no visible spots or scale discoloration. But, whenever they seem to be near death they stop eating, stay away from the other fish, and swim near the top of the tank at odd angles.

Does anyone know what may be wrong with my tank? All suggestions are greatly appreciated!


Thanks so much!

 

[drewry]

when the fish died did you buy from the same lfs were you got ure water tested ?
and was it the same lfs were you originaly bought the fish

 

[samiam9818]

if lfs is referring to the store i purchased them from then yes, all the fish i've purchased have been from the same store where i had the water tested

 

[drewry]

im no exspert on disease wilder is the one to ask
but i lost most ov my stock a wile back to gill flukes wich you dont know you have untill its to late

regards dave

 

[WILDER]

Can you answer the questions drewry has asked as it sounds like the tiger barbs might of been deseased when you bought them.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Any fish look thin or bloated.
What do the fish gills look like. Do they look pale with excess mucas or red and inflamed.
Do the fish look pale or darker in colour.
Are the fish acting listless and lethagic.
How long to you climatise the new fish for.

 

[craig855s]

I'd steer clear of the LFS if i were u,and buy ur own API master kit so u can take ur own readings as the LFS may be lying to u to make u buy more fish

 

[WILDER]

What your tap nitrate reading and do you have live plants as it rare to have a nitrate reading of 0.

 

[samiam9818]

this fish don't seem to be thin or bloated
the gills seem to be fine, they aren't moving super fast, aren't red/inflamed
one of the tiger barbs seemed a little darker in color when he died, but all the others haven't had a noticeable color change
the fish seem to be very lethargic before they die, they barely swim around and when they do it is near the top of the tank where they seem off balanced
I climatise the new fish for about 20 min before releasing them into the tank
When they go to the bathroom it is white in color and looks like a short thin string
I thought the same thing about the store so i purchased my own testing kit and everything is still normal.

the tap nitrate was pretty high along with the ammonia level so i switched over to jewel-osco spring water which has nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels at 0. i dont have any live plants. Thank you everyone for you help!

 

[WILDER]

Long stringy white poo can be constipation, bacterial infection, internal parasites.
What do you feed your fish?
Going darker in colour can be a sign of a bacterial infection, but can be other things too.
Check the anus of the fish to see if its enlarged or red and inflamed.
Do any fish swim on there sides.
Do any fish spit there food out.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.

Whats the ph of the spring water.
What the ph of the lfs. As if there a big difference in ph your fish could be dying of ph shock.

 

[samiam9818]

i feed my fish tropical flakes and algae flakes
i haven't seen any of the fish swim on their sides but a few of them swam upside down
most of the fish i've had spit their food out before eating the whole flake
i haven't seen any signs of flicking or rubbing

As for the spring water i'm not sure what the ph level is. When i took a water sample in they said it was a little high but nothing to worry about.

 

[WILDER]

Did the new fish swim upside down as it can be a sign of ph shock.
I would test your spring water in ph.
If there was a big difference in ph twenty minutes it to quick to climatise them for.

The fish need a more varied diet of frozen foods and veg.
Cook some frozen peas for a few minutes, let cool down and then pop out of shell. Mush into small peices and add to the tank. See if the peas clears the long stringy white poo up.

pH Shock

As its name suggests this condition occurs when a fish is introduced to quickly into a new environment which has a very different pH from the one it came from, when the pH is adjusted to quickly and the fish have little or no time to adjust themselves, or when the pH is to far outside the fishes normal range.

It is very important that any change in water chemistry is made slowly and fish should never be exposed to changes of pH greater than 0.5 of one unit on the pH scale in either direction.

Avoidance is by far the best solution because in most cases the symptoms don't appear until the second or third day by which time the damage has been done and the fish will probably die.

A fish suffering from this condition will show all the typical signs of shock -

Lying on the bottom and paying little or no attention to its surroundings and ignoring potential threats.
It may even lay on its side or go upside down completely.
There could be other signs to, related to Acidosis and Alkalosis
Excessive mucus production.
Rapid breathing.
Swollen abdomen. (Alkalosis only).
If the condition is allowed to go on for one or two days then the chances of a successful remedy are greatly reduced because a lot of damage will have taken place. If the symptoms are spotted early enough there are a couple of things that will help.

Begin to return the pH to the original pH in steps of 0.4 of one unit on the pH scale and allow 3 hrs in between the adjustments. Make these adjustments until the pH is returned to a safe and satisfactory level.
Treat the tank with a broad spectrum anti-Bacteria/Fungus compound to prevent secondary infections of the Skin and Gills.
Prevention is easy. A successful treatment isn't!
PH SHOCK LINK
http/groups.msn.com/FishHealth/phshock.msnw

 

[samiam9818]

None of the new fish swam upside down. Only two have done so and they were the original fish i had in the tank. The next time i'm near my tank, it's at my friends house, i'll make sure to check the ph level of the spring water. If that is the case do you have any recommendations as to what type of water i should use in my tank? My friends tap water has an ammonia level of 4.0 so that's out of the question of possible water sources.

I'll try the frozen pea idea too. At the fish store i've seen them put slices of cucumber in the water. would that work too?

 

[WILDER]

What country are you from as ammonia that high not acceptable.
Peas are good for constipation its like a laxative for fish.

 

[samiam9818]

I'm from the United States. And yeah, i agree that level is really high. I was shocked when i tested his tap water and found that out. It's a good thing they only use bottled water.

 

[WILDER]

For now I would feed the peas.
Get your spring water tested.
Seen members have problems with high ammonia readings in there tap water so do a thread in tropical discussion. Members will put you on the right path.

If the fish are still producing long stringy white poo in two days get back to the board.
Also the fish might turn there noses up at them the first time you feed them, but keep trying. Just remove the uneaten peas.