Fish Dieing For No Reason

[Don Trinko]

I have never been able to keep neons in the water we have. They start to die one by one after a week or two and within a month they are all dead. I have many other fish including Angels, Discus, Serpae tetra, Cory, Swordtales, etc. They do fine. I have 3 black fin teras that are over 6 years old. I suspect there is something in our water that neons can't tolerate. Don T,

 

[rdd1952]

I would suggest smaller water changes. Large water changes can swing the parameters too much although it sounds like her tank pH is very close to the tap pH but I don't know if the stats you gave were right after a water change that would have brought them together again. If the tank pH is rising due to something in the tank then large water changes can swing it too much and cause problems. Unless she is terribly overstocked, a 15 to 25 percent change once a week is plenty.

As for aeration, usually it's not required. If the fish aren't gasping for air at the top of the tank, oxygen generally isn't an issue. I don't run airpumps on any of my tanks except the 2.5 gallon that my betta is in and that is only on the very lowest level just to create some surface disturbance to keep a film on the water broken up (something with my tap water).

 

[krazie2004]

Test result for yesterday 15.04.07 after a 50% water change:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate ~15mg/l
pH: ~7.8-8.0

pH looks a bit high to me, any ideas on how to reduce it?

 

[Jozlyn]

Test result for yesterday 15.04.07 after a 50% water change:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate ~15mg/l
pH: ~7.8-8.0
Always do your tests BEFORE you do a water change, doing it after will give you diluted inaccurate results.

pH looks a bit high to me, any ideas on how to reduce it?
Do NOT atempt to mess with your ph, fluctuating ph is harder on fish than a stable ph out of their normal 'comfort' zone, the vast majority of fish will handle it ok. Or simply buy fish to suit the water

Nice to hear that everything is going better for your gf

Keep us posted

 

[rdd1952]

Since your tank pH is higher than your tap pH, there is most likely something in the tank that is raising it. It is quite uncommon for the pH to go up in the tank. Most likely it's some type rock or ornament that is causing it. As mentioned though, don't try to adjust it with chemicals. That can cause real problems.

 

[Squid]

I know how frustrating this can be, i also had two angels die for apparently no reason.

But.. the truth of it is that both neon tetras and Angelfish shouldn't be put into tanks that are not mature. The question of what is a mature tank comes up quite frequently. see here. But to a number of tanks it means about 6 months of problem free fish keeping. Some people may just say a tank of six months after being set up, but personally, I think it's nearer to 6 months of a stable tank.

I lost other fish too for reasons that I could not find, but now after over a year the tank is rock solid. It's such a nice feeling to be able to do it properly, add fish and not have any of them die. Now i know sometimes fish like neons die if you were to buy a load of them, but the numbers of deaths should be low.

Another reason for losing neons is Neon Tetra Disease (NTD), which can be found by searching this forum for info.

Good Luck
Squid

 

[loachman]

just something that alot of people don't think about. . .

Are cleaning chemicals used near the tank, especially aerosols. Windex, Pledge, etc?

Any air fresheners in the room? The autospray ones that shoot fragrance into the air every x minutes are known to kill off fish. The others I'm unsure of, but they can't be beneficial to fish.

 

[Squid]

just something that alot of people don't think about. . .

Are cleaning chemicals used near the tank, especially aerosols. Windex, Pledge, etc?

Any air fresheners in the room? The autospray ones that shoot fragrance into the air every x minutes are known to kill off fish. The others I'm unsure of, but they can't be beneficial to fish.

good point.. even scented candles are advised against.. even saw a warning from the candle manufacturer, now theres a consiencious one!!!!