Beginner Of Tropical Fish

[meatball871]

hi i have a problem with fish dying i have lost 3 fish today 1 male swordtail 1 neon and 1 female betta. i have a 90 litre tank with 1 male guppy 4 female guppies neons 1 male betta 1 female swordtail several baby swordtails and 1 frog. i have done a water change this morning about 20% and have checked amonia and nitrate levels and they are ok water temp is 25 degrees c. can anybody help many thanx

 

[hollyp0p]

right firstly can you post your tank dimensions....and list all fish that were...and are still in there...
secondly that male betta should not be in with females....they can't live together, only for breeding and that's not a permanent set up.
Also we need to see your water stats...ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and water temp please!
How long has the tank been set up, and have you cycled it before the fish went in?

 

[meatball871]

my tank dimensions are 60 cm long 30 cm wide 35 cm deep the fish that are still in there are 1 male guppy 4 female guppies neons 1 male betta 1 female swordtail several baby swordtails and 1 frog.my nitrite is 0ppm (mg/l) my amonia is 0ppm (mg/l) my nitrate is 40 ppm (mg/l) the tank has been cycled when i got it it came with 2 fish which were trasported seperately and i kept most of the water in the tank so it was like doing a water change i cannot tell you the ph level as i dont have a tester kit but the pet shop said it was ok my water temp is 25 degrees c many thanx

 

[blackguppy]

Hi MB, still missing from the info is how long this tank has been set up at your place, and how long since the fishes were added. Even though a tank may have cycled, that only means that it's cycled to the point of accepting the bio load it had at that given time. adding new fishes/life, requires the tank to keep cycling. I'd test that PH myself if I were you, some LFSs are notorious for bad testing. Also, with the nitrates being what they are, I'd do some more water changes. Also, what signs of distress are the fish showing before they die? Rapid breathing, lack of appetite, flashing against objects?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

so did you buy the tank all set up and running with fish in. Then took it to yours. Can you give us some more details on how you did this, what did you do with the filter media and how long did it all take you to set up. Then how long was it running before you put some more fish in it?

What test kit are you using?

 

[meatball871]

Hi MB, still missing from the info is how long this tank has been set up at your place, and how long since the fishes were added. Even though a tank may have cycled, that only means that it's cycled to the point of accepting the bio load it had at that given time. adding new fishes/life, requires the tank to keep cycling. I'd test that PH myself if I were you, some LFSs are notorious for bad testing. Also, with the nitrates being what they are, I'd do some more water changes. Also, what signs of distress are the fish showing before they die? Rapid breathing, lack of appetite, flashing against objects?

sorry bout that the tank has been setup 3 weeks and i have been adding the fish in small groups once a week. the fish have been resting on the bottom then swimming eratically then sinking back to the bottom hope thats better info for you

 

[Miss Wiggle]

sounds like they could have a bacterial infection or swimbladder problems. when did the fish first start to exhibit symptoms

 

[meatball871]

sounds like they could have a bacterial infection or swimbladder problems. when did the fish first start to exhibit symptoms

about 5 days after they were put in the tank

 

[meatball871]

so did you buy the tank all set up and running with fish in. Then took it to yours. Can you give us some more details on how you did this, what did you do with the filter media and how long did it all take you to set up. Then how long was it running before you put some more fish in it?

What test kit are you using?

yes the tank was all setup and running i took the fish out and put them into a transporting box and left roughly half of the water in the tank. when i got it home i refilled with tepid tap water and added water treatment and put the fish in about an hour later not sure about the make of the treatments no makers name on it

 

[Miss Wiggle]

after the fish started showing symptoms, did you add any more fish?

have you cleaned the filter media at any point?

what test kit are you using?

 

[meatball871]

after the fish started showing symptoms, did you add any more fish?

have you cleaned the filter media at any point?

what test kit are you using?

i have cleaned the gravel yesterday with the tube but not the filter as the indicator has not shown its ready the tester kits im using are amonia nh3/nh4 test kit, nitrite n02 and nitrate n03

 

[Miss Wiggle]

What brand of test kits, are they liquid or strips?

 

[meatball871]

What brand of test kits, are they liquid or strips?

liquid sorry about that

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok, that's a good start. i was concerned that if you were using test strips the results you gave us could be very inaccurate (all test kits available to those of us without a science lab at home are inaccurate to some degree, some are worse than others however and generally the liquid ones are ok)

sounds like a bacterial infection to me, the fish could have had it before they even came to you so it may not be your fault.

you need to get an antibacterial med, i'd try melafix to start off with, if you don't get good results you may want to move to something stronger. While you're treating make sure you test the water every day and do more regular water changes than you would normally do to keep the water in tip top condition. Make sure you are feeding really good quality food and giving the fish a good range of nutrition.

 

[meatball871]

ok, that's a good start. i was concerned that if you were using test strips the results you gave us could be very inaccurate (all test kits available to those of us without a science lab at home are inaccurate to some degree, some are worse than others however and generally the liquid ones are ok)

sounds like a bacterial infection to me, the fish could have had it before they even came to you so it may not be your fault.

you need to get an antibacterial med, i'd try melafix to start off with, if you don't get good results you may want to move to something stronger. While you're treating make sure you test the water every day and do more regular water changes than you would normally do to keep the water in tip top condition. Make sure you are feeding really good quality food and giving the fish a good range of nutrition.

what good range of nutrition do you suggest im feeding them flakes once a day and bloodworm once a week