Dead Bristlenose

[prue07]

wow, i find im having more and more things to post on this forum...bad luck? i hope not. So, recently i purchased 2 bristlenose catfish. One of them died within 2 days, the other died in 7. Why??? They dont appear to have any diseases, they both died in the same manner; suddenly 'unstuck' themselves from the side of the tank and floated upside down to the bottom. They remained flitting around in little fish 'epileptic fits' and then just stopped moving. I just dont know what to say. In the tank i already have 3 glassfish, 4 danios, 6 noeon tetras and one peppered cory and they all have survived fine. I've gone over the conditions in my tank; pH 7.4, Nitrate 0 but im unsure about my ammonia levels but i dont see this being a problem..? I was wondering about copper poisoning? I know this seems random, but recently i treated my tank for whitespot and the copper in the medication i was usng stained the joints in my tank blue. Both bristlenoses seemed to like this one particular corner..so could this be it?
would really appreciate any input..

Prue

 

[WILDER]

How many water changes have you done since the med, did you run some black carbon for a few days.
Was the plecs eating.
Did you notice what it looked like when they went to the toilet.

 

[prue07]

um, probably about 4 water changes since the med? Haven't run any black carbon, my LFS told me to get rid of it alltogether. No, i haven't seen it go to the toilet. I was worried it starved to death? i haden't seen either of them eat at all. The one that only recently died (about an hour ago) had been sticking to my bogwood alot and i figured this could be why he lasted longer than the other. The other one only seemed to stay on the glass.

 

[WILDER]

With some catfish and plecs it hard to get them eating.
It could be a number of things why they fitted brain damage, internal parasites can cause brain damage, bless them R.I.P.
I would preform a few water changes on your main tank.
Always best to issolate new fish never know what they are fetching into the main tank.
Just keep a close eye on your fish for long stringy white poo.
Fish can fit when they are dying sadly.

 

[rust81]

Just keep a close eye on your fish for long stringy white poo.

Sorry to hijack this thread - but what is the matter if there is stringy white poo? My BN does this occasionally and he seems fine (touch wood)?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You really need to check the ammonia and Nitrite to see what levels theres are at. unless you have a heavily planted tank it is not normal for your nitrate to be zero and it would tend to indicate that the tank is not cycled.

That aside I bought 3 BN plecs for my tank (was well established, no ammonia or nitrite) and all three died within a couple of days (one was dead when I put it in the tank, the other died within a few hours and the last one held on for a couple of days before dying). I didnt try any more after that but every other fish I have have put in there (including a whiptail, cardinal tetras and Blue rams, all of which I would consider to be sensitive fish) have been perfectly fine.

 

[prue07]

wow, ive heard of a few people that have had trouble with BNs, i had no idea they were so picky. At the moment i have an airstone at the back of my tank which the danios love. Im thinking of giving the tank a rest of any new fish for a while, just until i get my water tested and recycled! I think i'l do another water change tomorrow. Its so dissappointing losing fish, i always feel like ive done something wrong! After my ich break out ive been parranoid about any sad looking fish!!
In a while im hoping to invest in a pictus catfish..recommended? Does anyone know if they are better in groups of tqo or three or will one wth my cory be ok?
I think this wont be for quite awhile though as i couldnt stand to lose any more
Thnks so much for the input really appreciate it,

Prue

 

[WILDER]

Its not normal for a fish to have long stringy white poo.
Means constipation, internal parasites, to bacerial infection.
What do you feed the fish.

 

[prue07]

Um, i feed my fish normal fish flakes for the neons/danios and catifsh tablets for my cory and my late bristlenose. I tried somee cucmber and cabbage for my BN as i heard that was supposed to be good for them but they both ignored it completely.