Fish Dying

[rockrocker85]

Thank you.I'll do the water change today itself. Actually I did it on sunday only. But as you guys suggest, till i buy the kit, I'll do water chnage daily.

If you have not done since fish started dying, I highly recommend my regular "do an emergency ~95% water change" routine ASAP, replacing with similar temp dechlorinated water. I suspect you are effectively "fish in cyling" because of buying new fish and regularly removeing filter pads/sponges.

Every time you are changing pads, you are risking ammonia/nitrite spikes, as said earlier only replace when they fall apart after several years use. Only exceptions are the whitish filter floss pad (every one or two weeks) and the carbon pad if you are using it for its adsorbing properties (after ~7 days it is basically just another media surface and removing then is removing bacterial colonies).

It is good practice to rinse the media gently in removed tank water once in a while, to get rid of the "gunk", the frequency of doing this varies enormously with your stocking an dfilter model. I typically strip down my internal Fluval U4s every 2-3 weeks, whereas my externals (APS2000EFs; Eheim 2078; Fluval FX5) typically get a strip down every 2-3 months.

I shall finish on another one of my common "high horse" issues: temperature. Your Guppies and Zebra Danios will do far better in a heaterless tank that changes temp through the seasons, as long as it does not dip too much below 18C (low 60s F), the same could be siad of your Platties depending upon the species. I'm hoping your tetras are temperate fish too, otherwise they should not ideally be in the same tank. Regardless, you will be doing your fish no favours by keeping them at >72F for more than a few months per year, I personally suggest you turn your heater to 72F and if the weather cools a little it will still maintain "summer" temps. Temperature has a relationship with metabolic rate (more energetic; need more food; produce more waste; possible ammonia/nitrite spikes; reduced lifespan) and inversely with oxygen levels, so in warmer periods it is best to provide extra water surface movement.

Got it. I can see, this is a big mistake I have been making. i wash the filter with tap water. Anyways I'll take care of it from now on. Thank you.

quote name='PrairieSunflower' timestamp='1344961363' post='3399487']
I don't know if it was mentioned. But don't remove or change your filter sponges when cleaning your tank. You can check your sponge and if it has a lot of slimy brown gunk on it, remove a bowl full of tank water and place your sponge into it and squeeze the gunk out of the sponge. If it is still not clean, refill the bowl with more tank water and do it again until you aren't squeezing any more brown gunk from your sponge. And ONLY do this in tank water, not tap water. I find I only have to do this about once per month, not usually any more often.

Only replace your sponges once they have begun to fall apart... and that can be years.
[/quote]

 

[Salam]

Any updates?

 

[rockrocker85]

Good morning Salam,

Yes. I took the water sample to petco. The LFS where I bought the fish refused to do a water test for me.They behaved really like AH..Anyways forget abt them. The thing is the water sample test showed no chlorine content in water. However the ammonia levels were too high. The test color changed to extreme pink in seconds. They said the water is really very high with ammonia and nitrite levels.

The lady in petco suggested me the following,

1) She said since I made a water change only on sunday, don't do a water change. It will stress out the fish. But as you guys told me it is better to do a water change, I did not strees out the fish. I removed almost 80% of water slowly and replaced fresh dechlorinated water slowly so that the fishes are not disturbed.
2) Second thing is, the petco lady told me, since I do a water change once in a week, and also changing the filter pad, I'm not giving enough time for the good bacteria to settle. So she suggested me to use "NutraFin Cycle Biological Aquarium Supplement". She asked me to add some for every water change. I know you guys told it is not that effective, But I thought I'll use it as it does not affect much in a negative way.
3) So i used a little bit of this after I changed the water. I ensured the temperature of the water was same during changeover.
4) The petco lady suggested me not to feed the fish for atleast 3 days. She said, they can live without food for 3 days and this will reduce the ammonia levels. Also we found that the spoon I use for feeding the fish is a table spoon. She said it is too much food for these sized fish. She asked me to change the feeding spoon to a tiny one form now on.

She asked me to get the water sample again after 3 days to see the progress.
Hope it will be good from now on.

Any updates?

 

[slimeneo]

Well, you definitely HAVE to change the water if ammonia is sky high- or your fish die. Not sure about the supplement, she probably just wanted you to buy something lol.

The advice not to feed for awhile is good. The fact that there are nitrites shows that there's some progress at least!

 

[rockrocker85]

I hope so. Let's see. I wish no more fish die. I'll keep you posted the updates once I do the other water test in 3 days time. Also the petco lady said, the number of fish in my tank is very high. I need to get rid of few or transfer them to a second aquarium. I had 18 fish initially in a 20 gallon. All are really small. Only the tetras were close to about 2 inches (not even that much..just approx). The zebra dynos were very tiny. Out of them ow 4 died, they were two female guppys and 2 platy fish. Others are doing good so far.

And also is it ok if I don't feed them for 3 days. Sure they won't stress out or being tired right?

Well, you definitely HAVE to change the water if ammonia is sky high- or your fish die. Not sure about the supplement, she probably just wanted you to buy something lol.

The advice not to feed for awhile is good. The fact that there are nitrites shows that there's some progress at least!

 

[Salam]

I'm glad you walked out of the first fish shop. They probably know that they are harming your fish by the advice they had given you before, hence they refused to test the water. Don't go back there.

So, petco sounds better, but rule number one in fishkeeping is - never listen to what a fish shop tells you, even if it is a good one!

You haven't got your own test kit yet, or have you? I really suggest doing daily very large water changes. It won't stress the fish as long as you don't just tip the bucket in in one go, but you seem to be doing it the right way. The toxins will stress and kill the fish, so do as many water changes as you can. Sometimes you even need to do two in a row, but as you don't have a testing kit (or so I assume) best is one a day of 90%.

No feeding is fine, they can go up to ten days without food.

The bottled bacteria was a waste of your money, sorry to say. I suppose you can't do any harm, but I don't think it will make a difference.

To sum up - daily very large water changes (please don't listen to the petco lady, it has to be daily!), no food, re-test in 3 days. Hopefully you will be on 0 ammonia and nitrite then, but you really need your own testing kit to check those stats yourself at home. You just check daily and as soon as it goes up you perform a water change.

Stocking can be very disappointing for new fishkeepers. You can't really have too much in, otherwise you are putting your fish at risk of health problems, more toxins and they just wouldn't be happy if they can't swim around. Maybe return the danios for now? They ideally need larger shoals and long tanks as they are very active.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Feeding: Estimate the size of one eye per fish, that is enough providing each fish gets some food each day.

Get yourself a liquid test kit for ammonia and nitrite at least, as soon as feasible, or alternatively spend a bit more cash on a master test kit that etsts other (normally less important stuff) too.

Provide plenty of water surface movement for now, lowering the water level if needs to get the filter output at least level with the surface. While tank bacteria are playing catchup, they will use more oxygen at the expense of your fish.

If you can get hold of some Seachem Prime, this will help your fish while your bacteria colonies re-build, as extra above the standard dose (just 5ml per 200l) can temporarily soak up ammonia and nitrite for upto 24 hours.

You may well need to do 50% or even greater water changes daily for the moment, depending upon test results. In the meantime, I would do at least 50% changes every other day until you get a test kit.

 

[rockrocker85]

Ya. I'll do the water change regularly. I will also buy the kit today. Will let you know the update about the water ammonia levels as I get them.
Thank you.

I'm glad you walked out of the first fish shop. They probably know that they are harming your fish by the advice they had given you before, hence they refused to test the water. Don't go back there.

So, petco sounds better, but rule number one in fishkeeping is - never listen to what a fish shop tells you, even if it is a good one!

You haven't got your own test kit yet, or have you? I really suggest doing daily very large water changes. It won't stress the fish as long as you don't just tip the bucket in in one go, but you seem to be doing it the right way. The toxins will stress and kill the fish, so do as many water changes as you can. Sometimes you even need to do two in a row, but as you don't have a testing kit (or so I assume) best is one a day of 90%.

No feeding is fine, they can go up to ten days without food.

The bottled bacteria was a waste of your money, sorry to say. I suppose you can't do any harm, but I don't think it will make a difference.

To sum up - daily very large water changes (please don't listen to the petco lady, it has to be daily!), no food, re-test in 3 days. Hopefully you will be on 0 ammonia and nitrite then, but you really need your own testing kit to check those stats yourself at home. You just check daily and as soon as it goes up you perform a water change.

Stocking can be very disappointing for new fishkeepers. You can't really have too much in, otherwise you are putting your fish at risk of health problems, more toxins and they just wouldn't be happy if they can't swim around. Maybe return the danios for now? They ideally need larger shoals and long tanks as they are very active.

Ya. I understood I have been over feeding. I will change and feed them as directed by you. Also I'll buy the test kit today. Thank you for your inputs.

Feeding: Estimate the size of one eye per fish, that is enough providing each fish gets some food each day.

Get yourself a liquid test kit for ammonia and nitrite at least, as soon as feasible, or alternatively spend a bit more cash on a master test kit that etsts other (normally less important stuff) too.

Provide plenty of water surface movement for now, lowering the water level if needs to get the filter output at least level with the surface. While tank bacteria are playing catchup, they will use more oxygen at the expense of your fish.

If you can get hold of some Seachem Prime, this will help your fish while your bacteria colonies re-build, as extra above the standard dose (just 5ml per 200l) can temporarily soak up ammonia and nitrite for upto 24 hours.

You may well need to do 50% or even greater water changes daily for the moment, depending upon test results. In the meantime, I would do at least 50% changes every other day until you get a test kit.

 

[Salam]

That's great. Good luck with it. Once you have your kit you can stay on top of water changes. Just check daily, as soon as it is over 0.25 ppm you change the water.

It's all about maths. Let's say you have 1ppm of ammonia. You take 50% of the water out and you are left with 0.5ppm of ammonia after a change. Hence we are all recommending taking as much out as possible and possibly consecutive water changes in order to get it to zero. Hope that makes sense. Good luck again, and please keep us updated.

 

[balajake]

Ignore the silly woman in petco and do a 95% water change. Test every day and do massive water changes depending on the results. It is more harmful to fish if they are left to endure high levels of ammonia and nitrite than frequent water changes. Infact I'd say once fish are used to it they love water changes. And the best declorinator IMO ( if you can get it) is a product called seachem prime.

Hope our advice is helping you

 

[rockrocker85]

I got the test kit yest. Checked for Ph and it is in 7.0 range. So the water ph seems ok for now. The ammonia levels are also below 0.25 ppm. So i did not do a water change yest. But one strange thing happened. I stopped feeding fish for two days. They are generally used to having food at night before i turn off the lights. So when i turn the led lights to blue the fish know, I'm going to feed them and all of them get active and guppys and zebra dynos come to the top of the water.

But I did not feed them for two days now. Yest when i turned the blue LED lights and turned off the room light, one of the glowing tetra really became angry. It was moving very fast and started hitting the glass and gravel and seemed really irritated.It took almost 5 mins for it to settle. All other zebra dynos are very busy searching food in the gravel.

Should I feed them today or wait for another 2 days as initially I decided not to feed for 3 to 4 days as ammonia levels were hing on monday.

That's great. Good luck with it. Once you have your kit you can stay on top of water changes. Just check daily, as soon as it is over 0.25 ppm you change the water.

It's all about maths. Let's say you have 1ppm of ammonia. You take 50% of the water out and you are left with 0.5ppm of ammonia after a change. Hence we are all recommending taking as much out as possible and possibly consecutive water changes in order to get it to zero. Hope that makes sense. Good luck again, and please keep us updated.

It really helps. Thanks for your advise and responses.

Ignore the silly woman in petco and do a 95% water change. Test every day and do massive water changes depending on the results. It is more harmful to fish if they are left to endure high levels of ammonia and nitrite than frequent water changes. Infact I'd say once fish are used to it they love water changes. And the best declorinator IMO ( if you can get it) is a product called seachem prime.

Hope our advice is helping you

 

[slimeneo]

I think since the ammonia is nearing 0, it's okay to feed them a little bit.
What are your nitrite and nitrate readings?

Your tetra was probably annoyed at you because he knows you're not feeding them hahaha, but in all seriousness I'm not sure why he threw a fit. I've seen it happen to one of my platys, once when I had a bunch of my friends over and they were surrounding the tank and I guess one of my platies felt a little claustrophobic. Hey, maybe it proves fish have feelings after all

 

[rockrocker85]

Hahaha....true...they have feelings i guess...I'll feed them today a little bit...

I think since the ammonia is nearing 0, it's okay to feed them a little bit.
What are your nitrite and nitrate readings?

Your tetra was probably annoyed at you because he knows you're not feeding them hahaha, but in all seriousness I'm not sure why he threw a fit. I've seen it happen to one of my platys, once when I had a bunch of my friends over and they were surrounding the tank and I guess one of my platies felt a little claustrophobic. Hey, maybe it proves fish have feelings after all

 

[Salam]

Yes, it's safe to feed them just a little. It shows that fish are like any other pets. They know when it's feeding time and they try and communicate with you Mine go bonkers as soon as I near the tank, they know!

PH is great, nice neutral. And glad to hear that the ammonia and nitrite are going down. Keep an eye on it and do water changes when needed and soon it will all settle and you can relax and go back to weekly water changes only.

 

[rockrocker85]

Guys, Now that i have bought the testing kit, I'm checking the water quality and changing water as required. Now a new problem has started. On saturday, suddenly my two male colorful guppies started behaving weirdly. They went to bottom of tank and looked like dying. So i checked the water quality, it was good. Still i replaced the water. They became active again. But again in 15 to 20 mins, they went down and looked like struggling. Then i put some food flakes, they again were very quick to grab the food and were active and again did the same thing after having the food. So i was not sure waht was going on. Later, in the day, i noticed their colorful tails were all torn and I also saw the tetras and zebra dynos were bullying these two guppys. I did not know what to do at first. Quickly within an hour, their tails were almost gone. I guess these tetras ate them, because they were chasing them like anything. These poor guys were hiding a lot, but the zebra dynos would disturb them and when they come out, the tetras attack them. So I filled a bucket with the tank water, checked the quality of water, it was good and transferred these two guppys to the bucket. They are doing good in there for the past two days, but am not able to set up heater and stuff there and also, they lost most of their tail. They don't look good anymore. But am just hoping to save them without dying.

The problem is I can't sell these fish back to any LSF as they are not looking bad. But I can't have them in my aquarium, as they are getting bullied. I'm not sure really what to do with them. When they were in the tank, they turned pale and black in colour. I guess it was due to the stress from other fish. But after changing them to a bucket, they were doing good and the pale and black color went off. today the weather is good, so they can stay, but how long can I have them without heater.

Is it ok if I can have a small 2 gallon bowl to have these guppies. I don't have space for setting up another aquarium. So thought can I buy the bowl that we use to grow the beetel fish for these guppies?

Yes, it's safe to feed them just a little. It shows that fish are like any other pets. They know when it's feeding time and they try and communicate with you Mine go bonkers as soon as I near the tank, they know!

PH is great, nice neutral. And glad to hear that the ammonia and nitrite are going down. Keep an eye on it and do water changes when needed and soon it will all settle and you can relax and go back to weekly water changes only.