Dying Fish

[mrpizz]

Hi all, I have recently set up my first tank it is a jewel vison 260l. I planted it and ran it for approx 3 weeks adding cycle each week. After 4 weeks I added 4 white cloud mountain minnows and 4 black ruby barbs, after 1 week water perameters were:

Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 5
ph 7
Temp 26

I carried out a 20% water at the end of the first week and all was well. After another 3 weeks i decieded to increase the fish population and added 3 Panda Corys and 4 cardinal tetras. After 1 day 1 of the pandas was swimming upside down and bashing in to the aquarium glass, it died shortly after. I had carried out a water change that morning and thought i may have injured it with the siphon. tonight (3 days later) 1 of the tetras is showing similar symptoms, and 1 of the other pandas is motionless on the substrate even when the other fish are practicly on top of it.
Water tested tonight:

Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
ph 7
Temp 26

I dont want to lose any more fish but i think i am about to pay the price for not yet having a quarentine tank!
Does anyone have any ideas?
Sorry this post is in the wrong catagory....i couldn't post in the emergencey section for some reason.

 

[Lynda B]

Well, your tank isn't cycled yet. You should have a 0 ammonia reading. I don't have your particular fish and so can't comment on their natural behavior.

Am I correct in reading that you didn't do any water changes until your 4th week? And then, you have only done a 20% change? What's your normal water change schedule these days?

 

[backtotropical]

I agree. Your filter doesn't seem to be cycled properly yet. You should definitely have a 0 ammonia reading. I suggest cycle should be added daily until your levels come down. DON'T ADD ANY MORE LIVESTOCK and feed very sparingly and only flake food. Also do 20% water changes every 2-4 days as neccesary. Keep an eye on your water parameters throughout. This should lower your levels reasonably quickly.

Once ammonia and nitrite levels are 0, I would wait at least another week before stocking your tank further, to let your water settle a bit. Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Andy

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jul 10 2007, 09:00 PM) [snapback]1686361[/snapback]
Well, your tank isn't cycled yet. You should have a 0 ammonia reading. I don't have your particular fish and so can't comment on their natural behavior.

Am I correct in reading that you didn't do any water changes until your 4th week? And then, you have only done a 20% change? What's your normal water change schedule these days?[/quote]

 

[mrpizz]

Thanks for the replies, i have carried out a 20% water change every week since the first fish were added. I will add cycle now and step up the water changes as suggested. Thanks again.

 

[Lynda B]

If you have fish in there, you don't need to add any "cycle". Your fish are cycling the tank.

 

[-germ-]

Agreed, cycle is useless, try seachem prime as a dechlorinator, this should help although in some peoples opinions you are adding unneccesary chemicals to your tank, IMO you are giving your fishthe best chance at life. Or look for a product called bactinettesor bio-spira, in many aquarists opinion these are the only worthy cycle bacteria promoters.
Step up the water changes, ideally, until cycled you should be doing at least 20% a day.
Good luck.

 

[mrpizz]

[Thanks all, went to the LFS this morning and spoke to the guy there, he tested a sample of the water and said it seemed fine. He sold me a bottle of treatment called Myxazin which i have used straight away, however while there i did notice a dead panda in the same tank mine came from! On Saturday they all looked fine. I told the assistant this but his reaction was that they have so many fish that inevitibly some do die, which i suppose is a fair comment but it doesn't make me feel any better about the whole thing.