Fish Are Dying !

[Joanne_]

Hi,

I have had my tank set up since November, it's all cycled and have tested the water with an API master test kit. All is good.
However, I added 3 Dwarf Rainbow Neon fish (I already had one male in my tank), the new male I added died a couple of days after but the two females are fine. I was thinking, maybe the original male killed it or it just didn't like the change from the pet shop.

About 5 days later I find one dead guppy and one dead neon tetra and the next day one dead angel fish and one dead guppy and now today I find one dead molly. (The guppies were at least one year old).

I am due to replace my filter pads, do you think this could be the cause ? The water looks clean and clear and as I said before all results from the water tests are great.

What do you think is wrong ?

Thanks !

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Hi Joanne, sorry to hear you're having all of this trouble.

What, exactly, are your water tests saying (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH)? Just so everyone is on the same page What size is your tank? What is your water temperature? Are your fish showing any symptoms before you find they have died? What is your stocking both before your problems started and now?

Sorry for all of the questions!

You shouldn't replace your filter pads unless they are actually falling apart in your hands. If they need to be "cleaned" just gently rinse them in old tank water.

 

[Joanne_]

Hi,
Ammonia is zero, nitrite is zero, nitrate is 40. Not sure on pH, it has normally been high 7.
Tank is about 175 litres and the temperature moves between 18C in the morning / evening to 25C during the day.
The instructions that came with the tank and the people who sold the tank to me (they have been dealing in fish for over 30 years) say to replace the filter pads every 8 weeks. The bacteria live in the sponges and ceramic noodles that are also in the same compartment as the filter pads (which are made of wool and carbon).
Before the fish die, the only thing in common that I have noticed is that they stop eating, otherwise they look healthy. However I have come home tonight and have noticed that my original Dwarf Rainbow Neon fish now appears to be slightly swollen on the left hand side of his mouth and he did not eat when I put food into the tank. I don't what to lose him too but I don't know how to help him.

Stock:
1 bristlenose pleco
2 pakistani loaches
1 sailfin molly
2 mollies
3 dwarf rainbow neon
4 neon tetras
9 white cloud tetras
5 guppies
1 pearl gourami
1 male fighter
1 female fighter

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Ok! We've got something to work with here

1. Filter pads - trust me when I tell you to NOT replace your filter pads or media. It's something that we commonly hear on the forum and I can only attribute it to pet stores and manufacturers trying to make more money! You're correct in that this is where your bacteria live and it is for this reason that you don't replace the media, unless, like I said they are falling to bits, but this takes years to happen. All you need to do, is every 8 weeks or so, rinse the media in some old tank water that you've taken out during a water change. That's it! Easy Peasy and better on your wallet!

2. Temperature - all of the fish in your tank are tropical fish meaning they need warm water. So there are tow things happening here. First, is they need to be kept at a steady 26 degrees so you need to get yourself a heater, they aren't very expensive Second, is the current changes in temperature, there is quite a large swing in temperature happening which may cause stress to your fish. Because you say that they have shown no easily spotted symptoms, I think poor temperature conditions may be part of the problem.

3. Your stock - Everything looks good until I get to the bottom of your list. The bettas. I love them and I have a male betta myself BUT your male betta is not compatible with your gourami OR your guppies and having them together can lead to fighting or even just general stress. Also, you should never keep a male and a female betta together as, eventually, one will kill the other or they will become ill due to stress. Your angel fish was also not very compatible in your tank.

I don't know a lot about some of the species in your tank but I do reccommend you rehome the female betta and possibly the male unless you could get another small (maybe 5g) tank for him. I could make further reccomendations on your stock but that is getting a little off topic!

I hope you've found this helpful! Please get a heater in your tank ASAP.

 

[eggo]

agree with the temp that is a big swing in temp, is your tank in direct sunlight during the day or next to a room heater ?

 

[nicoleandthebee]

We wanted guppies but read that they don't live well with Gourami's so that could be a problem but fingers crossed they won't bother each other

 

[Lettybetty]

We wanted guppies but read that they don't live well with Gourami's so that could be a problem but fingers crossed they won't bother each other

I have got guppies and dwarf gourami's together and they are fine

 

[Lettybetty]

However I have come home tonight and have noticed that my original Dwarf Rainbow Neon fish now appears to be slightly swollen on the left hand side of his mouth and he did not eat when I put food into the tank. I don't what to lose him too but I don't know how to help him.

hi this sounds like what I had at the weekend I found most fish just dead for no reason, but my gourami's had like a swollen top lip and didn't eat,
I had tested the water and it showed nothing was wrong so phoned the aquatic centre they ask me to take a sample in as there tests show more up to my surprise it did I had a nitrite spike so was advised to do a 50%+ water change, as I was doing this I decided to wash the filters in the water taken out as I hadn't done it for 2 weeks on doing this I found my filter was only working at half power and that was what caused the problem
I am not saying this is the same but it might be advise able to clean your filters and do a water change and see if this improve

 

[Joanne_]

Okay, tonight I will rinse the filter pads (I won't replace them) thanks for the tip I will add the heater and change 20% of the water. Hopefully, the fish will be okay after this !

I just hope it's not a disease that I have brought into the tank when I added the 3 dwarf neon rainbow fish

This morning I found another dead guppy (also over a year old) and I can't find my dwarf neon rainbow fish (the one that didn't eat last night) ...