Fish Dying One By One

[petemc1973]

Hi guys, i have a problem with my fish, i've had the fish for a few months but since last week nearly every morning there is one dead. i had the water tested yesterday and results were clear, any ideas?

 

[betta fish]

Need a bit more information than this before we can begin to help, please give us the tank size in litres and the number and type of fish present as a start.

 

[petemc1973]

It's an 80 litre tank, 2 male guppies, 6 neons 3 platty 5 mollies 1 red tail shark (looks really unwell today) 1 pleco and 1 frog

 

[betta fish]

The tank sounds over stocked to me, what heater/filtration do you have? where did you get the water tested? lfs usually do strip tests which are inaccurate better to use api liquid tests and do them yourself, I would start with a 50% water change and see how you go but def try to reduce the stocking, red tail sharks get rather big I think and what type of pleco do you have as the tank is too small for a common.

 

[r.w.girard]

Stocking may have something to do with it.  But might we know how long the tank has been set up? What the filtration is? When fish have been added? Do you have any plants or hardscape? I lost a bunch of fish despite all tested parameters being spot on because I had a plant-bulb buried in the back of my tank which started to rot, leaching hydrosulfide.
 
Also what are you testing for? And what are you using to test with?
 
In short, the more information you can give us, the better we will be able to help sort out any problems.
 
And welcome the forums - wish it were under better circumstances.

 

[petemc1973]

You'll have to forgive me guys i'm new to this as you can probably guess, tank is 2 months old filter and heater came with the tank so not sure what it is, the water was tested at my local pet shop they used liquid tests not strips, ammonia 0.25 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 ph 7.6, i used convertor on here the tank is actually 94l (26 us gallons) was told while buying the plec won't grow over 6 inches, the shark won't get big as he died last night.

 

[daveg6529]

Just a quick question,
If the tank is two months old how long have you had the fish?
It could be that the filter hasn't yet caught up.

 

[r.w.girard]

That's what my guess would have been... And the low levels of ammonia and non-existant nitrate/nitrite might confirm that.  Was the tank "cycled" before fish were added? And I am sorry about your shark, that is unfortunate. You should probably start doing small, daily water changes [25%], using a good declorinator [Prime is great as it is more concentrated than some].  That will also help with the ammonia.  And get a testing set [ideally liquid rather than test-strips], and start testing the water before you do the water changes.
 
Just some thoughts.  But generally speaking, you shouldn't trust people at the LFS.  Not that they don't know what they are talking about, by any means, but that, as we are dealing with living creatures, research before hand is critical.  Although, it is hard to know that starting out.  There is a great thread on here where people admit to their worst mistakes both as beginners and experiences fish-keeps.  Don't know where you are on the spectrum but it might be worth taking a look.  Always better to learn from other people's mistakes than to make them oneself.

 

[misterpro]

That's what my guess would have been... And the low levels of ammonia and non-existant nitrate/nitrite might confirm that.  Was the tank "cycled" before fish were added? And I am sorry about your shark, that is unfortunate. You should probably start doing small, daily water changes [25%], using a good declorinator [Prime is great as it is more concentrated than some].  That will also help with the ammonia.  And get a testing set [ideally liquid rather than test-strips], and start testing the water before you do the water changes.
 
Just some thoughts.  But generally speaking, you shouldn't trust people at the LFS.  Not that they don't know what they are talking about, by any means, but that, as we are dealing with living creatures, research before hand is critical.  Although, it is hard to know that starting out.  There is a great thread on here where people admit to their worst mistakes both as beginners and experiences fish-keeps.  Don't know where you are on the spectrum but it might be worth taking a look.  Always better to learn from other people's mistakes than to make them oneself.

 
This
 
Also, just in case.  Don't replace your filter media and don't wash them in tap water.  You can rinse them in old tank water if needed.

 

[petemc1973]

Thanks for the tips appreciate it, i was naive starting the tank wish i'd looked on here first, my lfs said put water in leave for 2 days then add fish slowly, the first ones i put in are still fine its the ones i added later that are going, its cruel for fish to suffer for the sake of a few weeks to get the tank right,still like you say you learn from mistakes,thanks again.

 

[r.w.girard]

Glad that we found the cause.  Just keep up with regular water changes and the filter should eventually start to catch up.  Get a testing kit to check the progression.  You are now in what is called a "fish-in cycle."
 
Actually, best thing you could do is see if you can't get hold of some old filter medium to stuff into your filter.  It would help jumpstart your bacterial colony.  You could try here or a the LFS.  They might be willing to give you some.  Just keep up on the water changes until everything settles down.