Hi - I'm at a real loss as to what I am doing wrong. I would like to give a brief synopsis of what has happened in the tank since we started it a couple of months ago and see if anyone can help with any insight as to how to get my fish to quit dying.
First of all, the weirdest part of this is that the fish are dying ONE after the OTHER...one fish seems ill, all other fish seem perfectly fine, ill fish dies, and the VERY next day the next fish starts acting wierd, all others fine, that fish dies...the VERY next day another fish starts acting weird...we're on our third (almost fourth) cycle of this! We've NEVER had two fish acting wierd at the same time...they take turns and then die.
Ok, set up 10 US gallon tank about 2-3 months ago. Cycled the tank with 4 zebra danio and one cory, one snail. They all did fine. About 1 month later, added 1 more cory, did fine. About 1 month later added 2 zebra danio, 3 tiny dwarf platy (info said 1 1/2 inch max size, smaller than the others at the store). I was still doing 10% water changes once a week. Ok, I realized that I overstocked the tank and decided to keep doing once a week water changes.
About 8 days after adding the last of the fish, one danio started hiding in cave, wouldn't eat. It died about 2 days later. Changed water 25%, tested fine at the fish store. The NEXT day, another danio started hiding in cave, stopped eating...died about 5-6 days later. The NEXT day, a third zebra danio started hiding in cave, not eating. I kept with 10-25% water changes once a week, sometimes more like 5-6 days. That zebra danio "snapped out of it" after 4-5 days and now acts fine. About 1 week went by...next zebra danio started hiding, not eating, died after about 3 days. The next zebra danio stopped eating the NEXT day. That was about 4 days ago. I went and got my own strip testing kit, a gravel vacuum, and some antifungal/antibacterial tabs for the tank. Tested water, all parameters fine, did 25% water change, drop in tab 2 days ago. Now that ill zebra danio is still not eating and swimming very near the top of the water, and not moving too much. I am tesing the water daily and it is still fine. Today I vacuumed the gravel, rinsed the filter (hadn't done that yet with the new tank) and did about a 30% water change. I don't know what else to do. Oh, and today, there are bubbles (eggs?) all around the top of the tank.
I hope being honest in my mistakes will help someone know what is going on. If simply overstocking the tank was the issue, wouldn't the nitrates/nitrites be high as an indicator?? I thought that if I kept up with regular water changes, it would be ok, but I guess not. Is there any way that something else coudl be going on? Is is normal for the to die one after the other in such a pattern instead of all being sick/ill acting at the same time? I'm at my wits end with this... I'd so appreciate any insight.
1. Water parameters. today - nitrate 20 ppm, nitrite 0, hardness 75 ppm (soft), alkalinity 80 ppm (moderate), pH 7.2. Before a water change a few days ago, the nitrite level was ALMOST in the 0.5 range (my strip says caution level), but other than that, the parameters have always been the same. I don't have amnonia strips.
2. A full description of the fishes symptoms. (above...hide, stop eating, death, repeat)
3. How often you do water changes and how much. (above)
4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water. (just AquaSafe or something like that, yellow bottle)
5. What tank mates are in the tank. (above, 6 danios, 2 cories, 3 platy -> 3 danios, 2 cories, 3 platy)
6. Tank size. 10 US gallons
7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish? (above, is has been at least 3 weeks since adding fish)
Again, I really appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Jay
First of all, the weirdest part of this is that the fish are dying ONE after the OTHER...one fish seems ill, all other fish seem perfectly fine, ill fish dies, and the VERY next day the next fish starts acting wierd, all others fine, that fish dies...the VERY next day another fish starts acting weird...we're on our third (almost fourth) cycle of this! We've NEVER had two fish acting wierd at the same time...they take turns and then die.
Ok, set up 10 US gallon tank about 2-3 months ago. Cycled the tank with 4 zebra danio and one cory, one snail. They all did fine. About 1 month later, added 1 more cory, did fine. About 1 month later added 2 zebra danio, 3 tiny dwarf platy (info said 1 1/2 inch max size, smaller than the others at the store). I was still doing 10% water changes once a week. Ok, I realized that I overstocked the tank and decided to keep doing once a week water changes.
About 8 days after adding the last of the fish, one danio started hiding in cave, wouldn't eat. It died about 2 days later. Changed water 25%, tested fine at the fish store. The NEXT day, another danio started hiding in cave, stopped eating...died about 5-6 days later. The NEXT day, a third zebra danio started hiding in cave, not eating. I kept with 10-25% water changes once a week, sometimes more like 5-6 days. That zebra danio "snapped out of it" after 4-5 days and now acts fine. About 1 week went by...next zebra danio started hiding, not eating, died after about 3 days. The next zebra danio stopped eating the NEXT day. That was about 4 days ago. I went and got my own strip testing kit, a gravel vacuum, and some antifungal/antibacterial tabs for the tank. Tested water, all parameters fine, did 25% water change, drop in tab 2 days ago. Now that ill zebra danio is still not eating and swimming very near the top of the water, and not moving too much. I am tesing the water daily and it is still fine. Today I vacuumed the gravel, rinsed the filter (hadn't done that yet with the new tank) and did about a 30% water change. I don't know what else to do. Oh, and today, there are bubbles (eggs?) all around the top of the tank.
I hope being honest in my mistakes will help someone know what is going on. If simply overstocking the tank was the issue, wouldn't the nitrates/nitrites be high as an indicator?? I thought that if I kept up with regular water changes, it would be ok, but I guess not. Is there any way that something else coudl be going on? Is is normal for the to die one after the other in such a pattern instead of all being sick/ill acting at the same time? I'm at my wits end with this... I'd so appreciate any insight.
1. Water parameters. today - nitrate 20 ppm, nitrite 0, hardness 75 ppm (soft), alkalinity 80 ppm (moderate), pH 7.2. Before a water change a few days ago, the nitrite level was ALMOST in the 0.5 range (my strip says caution level), but other than that, the parameters have always been the same. I don't have amnonia strips.
2. A full description of the fishes symptoms. (above...hide, stop eating, death, repeat)
3. How often you do water changes and how much. (above)
4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water. (just AquaSafe or something like that, yellow bottle)
5. What tank mates are in the tank. (above, 6 danios, 2 cories, 3 platy -> 3 danios, 2 cories, 3 platy)
6. Tank size. 10 US gallons
7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish? (above, is has been at least 3 weeks since adding fish)
Again, I really appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Jay
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