Fish Keep Dying

[fishface1]

Hi, i have had a 60L biorb for 6 months.. i have 4 danios, 2 mollies, a platy & a bottom feeder
Lately fish keep dying at least 1 a month, 2 within the last week.
we do a 30% water change once every couple of weeks, i regularly check the nitrite/nitrate ammonia etc levels and all seem fine... we had some baby fish appear, but unfortunatly they did not survive either.
It seems that every time we replace a fish, another existing one dies.. Am trying very hard not to give up, but running out of ideas..... any help please?
i know biorbs do not have the best reputation, but would like to try a perserve.
thanks!

 

[balajake]

your water changes should be done weekly.

 

[Fishy friend2]

What are your exact readings concerning nitrites and ammonia, in a 60 liter biorb, cycled I can see a high ammonia content buildup there with only 30 percent water changes very few weeks

 

[fishface1]

What are your exact readings concerning nitrites and ammonia, in a 60 liter biorb, cycled I can see a high ammonia content buildup there with only 30 percent water changes very few weeks

nitrite and ammonia were definatly 0ppm, the nitrate was a little darker than 0, but not dark enought to reach the 5ppm colour on the chart, we have since done another water change to try and sort that out.....
everyone says different things about how often and how much water should be changed!!

 

[holidayinn]

What filtration do you have? Do you get good water flow?

Water can be changed on a daily basis, the factor is what % of water is changed and how established the filter media is.

 

[Fishy friend2]

I believe you should be doing larger water changes, more frequently then you do now. Mollies and most algae eaters have a high bio load and really affect the readings. Another possible reason to as why your fish could be perishing for no appear reason could possibly be due to stress, as mollies usually have longer fins and danios are nippy in small numbers, they will most likely mess with the mollies and any other fish in the tank, and this so called algae eater is most likely a Chinese algae eater which are known to attack and suck the slime coat off other fish leading them defenseless to diseases. Another important piece of important information to identify what's wrong would be the fish's symptoms and appearance before it died, also is your filter cycled? Do you change the filter media? And the fact that you are getting almost no nitrates alarms me a bit. You should be getting a nitrate level of around 5-10 ppm to indicate you have benifitail bacteria in the filter that converts toxic substances such as ammonia and nitrites to less harmful substances such as nitrates

 

[fishface1]

I believe you should be doing larger water changes, more frequently then you do now. Mollies and most algae eaters have a high bio load and really affect the readings. Another possible reason to as why your fish could be perishing for no appear reason could possibly be due to stress, as mollies usually have longer fins and danios are nippy in small numbers, they will most likely mess with the mollies and any other fish in the tank, and this so called algae eater is most likely a Chinese algae eater which are known to attack and suck the slime coat off other fish leading them defenseless to diseases. Another important piece of important information to identify what's wrong would be the fish's symptoms and appearance before it died, also is your filter cycled? Do you change the filter media? And the fact that you are getting almost no nitrates alarms me a bit. You should be getting a nitrate level of around 5-10 ppm to indicate you have benifitail bacteria in the filter that converts toxic substances such as ammonia and nitrites to less harmful substances such as nitrates

both fish before they died were quite lethargic and were resting on the bottom a lot, no change in colour. unusual as both were quite lively, we do not change the filter media, though have added some more than came with the tank to increase the fitration area and yes, filter is cycled.
what about food? again a greatly discussed topic, we feed them every other day...?
thanks

 

[fishface1]

What filtration do you have? Do you get good water flow?

Water can be changed on a daily basis, the factor is what % of water is changed and how established the filter media is.

we have an amount of ceramic media, small rocks on the bottom of the tank, and i would say water flow is quite good
all filter media has been in there for the whole time we have had the tank, so for 6months

 

[Fishy friend2]

What type of test kit do you use? The fish's symptoms sound very similar to ammonia poisoning. I'm guessing that you use the strip test kits as in your tank with that stockingI would expect a higher level of ammonia and Nitrites in there, so it might be worth it to purchase a liquid test kit then examine your results

 

[fishface1]

What type of test kit do you use? The fish's symptoms sound very similar to ammonia poisoning. I'm guessing that you use the strip test kits as in your tank with that stockingI would expect a higher level of ammonia and Nitrites in there, so it might be worth it to purchase a liquid test kit then examine your results

no, i do use a liquid test kit

 

[the_lock_man]

this so called algae eater is most likely a Chinese algae eater

How on Earth can you say that? It might be a Siamese, it might be a BN, it might be hillstream loach. The OP actually said "Bottom Feeder", so it could also be a cory.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Could be a number of factors including...

Nippy danios because of low numbers (but if you have Zebra/Leopard they deserve a 4-foot tank)
Aggressive Platy (quite common)
Aggressive Molly (definitely needs bigger than a Biorb 60l, they should reach 10-12cm)

The whole design concept of Biorbs mean there is very little surface area for gaseous exchange, so they need to be understocked, a 60l version should have <25cm of adult fish (you have ~48cm plus whatever the bottom feeder is)

What is the "bottom feeder"? Please tell us it is not a singleton Corydoras, Bristle Nose Catfish... Or a Common/Sailfin Pleco!

Your nitrate reading will be a lot more than 5ppm, the test kits for this compound are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, with the amount of fish in there plus your low maintenance regime (you should be doing at least 50% weekly water changes without fail, even that is unlikely to stop nitrates building up to the toxic 300mg/l over time with that stocking)



My advice is to...

Grab your "fish only bucket", quarter fill it with Biorb water and then net all your fish into the bucket.
Disconnect the filter and heater (allow them to cool for ~15 minutes) and then empty your tank of all the water.
Refill the tank with fresh, similar temp water to what was in there (I would suggest 22C max without knowing what your Danio species is or the ID of your bottom feeder).
Turn the filter back on.
Acclimitise the fish to the new water, ideally using the airline "drop method" (~4 drips per second), alternatively adding upto 10ml every 10 minutes.
Once the bucket is nearly full, net the fish back into the tank.
Turn the heater back on if it is below the water.
Top up the tank with more similar temp, fresh dechlorinated water.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I'm thinking you must have high nitrates and your test in incorrect. Regent #2 in the API nitrate test is notorious for separation resulting in a false low reading. Make sure you shake bottle #2 for at least 2 minutes, even banging on a table to ensure it is completely mixed. Here is the exact response from API Technical Service and Research, Nathan Fakula:

LiquidNitrate Test Kits from any manufacturer can have a common problem with theirlast test solution. For some companies, it is bottle number 3, but for usit is bottle number 2. Oneof the ingredients wants to solidify out of liquid solution. If the testbottle sits for any period of time, this can happen. If this does happenand the test is performed without Bottle # 2 mixed properly, then you can get afalsely low reading. I have never heard of falsely high readings withNitrate Kits. I would try tapping your Bottle # 2 a few times on a tableor counter top. This should loosen-up anything that has solidified. Then I would shake this bottle for about 2-3 minutes, to really mix itup.

 

[snazy]

As AbbeysDad said, make sure you are shaking the hell out of bottle two of the nitrAte test if you are using the Api test kit.

As for ammonia being the reason, this is a long shot considering the OP said ammonia and nitrIte were 0 and tank is 6 month old. It's possible considering the constant addition of new fish depending on how many fish were added at one time, but the symptoms of fish lying on the bottom not being active is actually not really pointing only to ammonia poisoning but rather the fish being sick from something else. Also, if you add new fish so often to the tank the chances of catching a subsequent disease are greater and all of it may have added up together to contribute to the situation.