Bristlenose Dying

[rust81]

I'm on my second batch of bristlenose and these have started to die and I am at a complete loss as to why.

My tank is 130 litres with a sand substrate and lots of live plants. I have a tetra ex1200 external filter so I am massively over filtered along with a small internal filter to help with polishing the water. The tank consists of 4 baby bns, 8 mollies, 2 clown loaches and 10 neon tetras.

Water parameters are
Ph: 6.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Temp: 27

The same scenario keeps happening. I have the bristlenose for about 2 months and then they start clinging to the back of the tank on the glass - quite high up. They generally seem less active. Then in the next few weeks they are dead. No sunken bellies or any obvious signs of anything wrong. They are fed hikari algae wafers at night so I can't be sure if they are getting to them or not but I can't see the long trail of waste that normally hangs from them when they are eating all the time! There are lots of hiding places in the tank including the amazon swords that they used to love sitting on. All other tank mates are fine and bone are gasping. The tank is well aerated with a spray bar coming off the filter. Can anyone shed some light on what they think it could be? I'm at a complete loss

Thanks,
Russ

 

[fm1978]

First impressions are that the 2 clown loaches aren't suitable for that tank. They get big and they're very active. Your BN might well be totally stressed by the over active behaviour of the clowns. 
 
Clowns need at least a 5-6ft tank, something like 400 litres and are classed as semi aggressive. These guys are your culprit, I think. They'll be badly out competing your pleco for food most likely as well as space. He's probably climbing the tank wall to get away from them...

 

[rust81]

Thanks for your reply. The clowns are only about 2.5" long so not too big. Could they really be causing the problem? I wondered if there was something in my tank like a particular plant that BNs don't get on with.

 

[rust81]

Another dead one tonight when I get home from work today . I've taken the rest of
the remaining BNs out and put in a Q tank with only a piece of bogwood. Fingers crossed!

 

[fm1978]

Sorry to hear that, rust. Perhaps this will be a good 'test' to see how they get on in their own tank away from the clowns for a while.
 
Let us know how they get on.

 

[stanleo]

Just a thought. Do you have driftwood in the tank? I read that most plecos need driftwood because they constantly rasp and eat to aid in digestion. Some species eat nothing but driftwood, not the BN but they do need it. I think to though that it could be the clowns because BNs are a very shy fish.

 

[rust81]

BNs still alive today but still not eating. My friend who is a marine biologist thought that my issues could be down to using too much RO water. I tend to use a mix of RO/tap water of about 50/50. However the BNs need the calcium and other minerals in the water for their skeleton etc. I've done a 20% water change with tap water to try and bring this back in line. No idea if this will work but thought its worth giving it a go.

Stanleo - yes have bogwood in the tank but they don't seem to be rasping on it.

 

[stanleo]

They sell calcium blocks for turtle tanks. I used to do 50/50 RO/tap for my tank with a BN and he was fine and I use a calcium block once a month. I Didn't know they were good or the fish, I did it for the inverts. You could try those, see if that helps.

 

[stanleo]

I had a thought too. There is a product called R/O Right that adds the good minerals back into the water without raising the pH. You could try that.

 

[rust81]

Thanks for the tips. I've ordered a GH test kit so I can't test the hardness. Meanwhile I'm introducing more tap water to help raise the GH slowly. I think the problem with stripping all the minerals is that the water can't buffer which means feeding and plants can cause ph swings which is what kills the fish ultimately. I'm going to get some of that RO right too so I can re mineralise the RO water. Thanks again.

 

[DoubleDutch]

BN's are, as the most 'algae-eaters", omnivores instead of herbivores. Think especially juveniles also need (some) protein / meaty food to grow / stay healthy.. Could be a diet "problem"as well. Try some Corypellets instead of algaewafers.

 

[rust81]

I bought 3 replacement BNs last weekend and out them in my main tank. The first few days they were feeding all over the glass and I noticed lots of waste from them on the sand substrate. The last few days they haven't been very active at all. They are hanging at the back of the tank on the glass on or near the heater and spray bar. I'm afraid that these BNs are exhibiting the same behaviour as the last BNs that died. What can be going on in my tank? Water parameters all fine. Could it be down to the plants or algae that's I. My tank? Plants are amazon sword, anubais and java fern.