Cardinal Tetra Dropping Like Flies :(

[SimoUK]

hi guys, i have a 40 gallon tropical, water stats are perfect, it contains these fish:

2 Anglefish
1 Panda Garra
4 Corydoras
5 Cardinal Tetra
6 Penguin Tetra
7 Cherry Barbs

so in the past 3 days i have lost 3 Cardinal Tetras, but no others! i was wandering what it could be, water stats are perfect, the dead fish showed no physical signs, but what i heard of is tetra disease? could this be it?

ANY advice / replies are greatly appreciated

Lewis

 

[Colin_T]

if the fish didn't have any faded patches or white marks on the body (particularly around the blue or red line) then it isn't neon tetra disease.

How long have you had the fish for, cardinals and others?
How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you actually had the water tested and if so, what are the results, ie: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
Is the filter cycled (developed a colony of good bacteria that keeps the water clean)?
Can you tell us what the fish looked like before and after they died?
Have you got a couple of pictures of the fish, dead and or alive?
Have you done any water changes recently and how much did you change?
Do you use a water conditioner/ dechlorinator for the water changes?
Do you do a gravel clean when you do the water changes?
Do you make the new water up before adding it to the tank?
Do you have a clean bucket (that has not had soaps or detergents in) to use for the water changes?
When was the last time you cleaned the filter and how did you do that?

 

[SimoUK]

ok heres the story: i had the fish tank off ebay + all of the fish, when i bought it the tank wasnt in very good nick, i.e it was dirty, the filter hadnt been cleaned in donkeys years. We bought ALL of the tank water back from where we had it from, i.e. syphoned it out and bought it back in big water barrels, the journey was around an hour, so the filter bacteria would have been fine. To my astonishment all the fish made the journey and now ALL except the cardinals are in very good shape, i lost a cardinal yesterday aswell, although i cant remember the colour, but the one i have lost today does seem slightly discoulored on one side, i can see no kinks in the spine. The three cardionals that i have found were all just floating around either upside down or on their sides when i found them, but they were still moving their mouths and gills, only every so often, also i i would get with the net they would bother to struggle or swim away at all. the water stats are perfect, i keep my fish tank is great nick and test the water stats every week.

I tested the water stats last night and everything was perfect, although i cant remember there results now.

The tank has been in my possesion now for about 2 months, and all the fish are looking alot better than when i got them, when i got them some were discoulured and clearly not well.

I do not have my camera right now so i cant take a picture. and the fish is now dead and i have netted it out, and i dont want to leave him there until i can get the camera later.

The last time the filter was cleaned was 2 weeks ago, i take the filter media out, and just squeeze it in tank water, i know how to keep fish, ive done my homework im not stupid, and yes ofcourse i use water conditioner and make up the water before putting it in and yes i use a clean bucket. and yes i changed the water yesterday and did a 15 % water change, which i do every week whilst i do a gravel clean.

 

[Colin_T]

have you added any new fish in the last week or so?

 

[SimoUK]

have you added any new fish in the last week or so?

I added three swords from the LFS, but iam still yet (hopefully next week) to get a quarintine tank, think these are the source of the problem? if so what should i do?

 

[Colin_T]

if the cardinals are showing a bit of white on or near the blue or red line (in the middle of their body) then they probably have a bacterial infection. Treating the tank with a broad-spectrum medication should clear it up. Be careful tho because some medications can have adverse affects on catfish, loaches and tetras.
Waterlife Protozin or Myxazin are reasonable products, and so is Wardley's Promethyasul.

Triple/ Tri sulpha can also be used. It isn't as strong as the other medications and much safer if you have catfish in the tank. But it takes longer to work.

If you have carbon in the filter then remove it before treating the tank.

 

[SimoUK]

Thanks for the reply m8, i have myxazin, i will remove the carbon and treat with that.

also, can airbourne deoderants affect the tank, i use it in my bedroom, which is like 4 metres away from the tank, could this be the problem?

 

[Ben M]

my cardinals started dying a while ago, but i looked up neon tetra disease and cardinal tetras are imune

 

[Colin_T]

can airbourne deoderants affect the tank, i use it in my bedroom, which is like 4 metres away from the tank, could this be the problem?

hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants, smoke, etc can affect fish but they usually cause a film to develop on the water surface. Then the fish gasp at the surface and suffocate.
If you have a cover on the tank that will reduce most things from getting into it. If you have an air pump running in the room, then try not to use sprays around the pump because it can pump the fumes into the tank.
Using sprays 4metres or so from the tank are unlikely to cause any problems unless the sprays are aimed towards the aquarium.

 

[SimoUK]

ok so its not that then, and about taking the carbon out, does the carbon have bacteria? so if i take the carbon out then the bacteria in there will die?

 

[Colin_T]

carbon does get some bacteria on it but most of the filter bacteria should be living in the filter sponge and on the noodles (ceramic beads if there are any). The small amount you lose from removing the carbon shouldn't make a lot of difference to the filter or water quality and the beneficial bacteria should have recovered the missing numbers within a few days of removing the carbon.

The old carbon should be thrown out and you can put some new carbon in the filter after you have finished treating the fish, (if you want to put carbon back in).

 

[SimoUK]

carbon does get some bacteria on it but most of the filter bacteria should be living in the filter sponge and on the noodles (ceramic beads if there are any). The small amount you lose from removing the carbon shouldn't make a lot of difference to the filter or water quality and the beneficial bacteria should have recovered the missing numbers within a few days of removing the carbon.

The old carbon should be thrown out and you can put some new carbon in the filter after you have finished treating the fish, (if you want to put carbon back in).

ok, so waht does the carbon do?

yh, thanks for the info, it has two carbon bags in, i will keep one and replace the other as i only ahve one new one

thanks for all your help

 

[Colin_T]

carbon absorbs chemicals from the water. It will remove medication, plant fertiliser, and heavy metals that might be in the tap water.
The carbon has to be removed before you can treat the fish with a medication.