Frusterated About Ready To Give Up!

[confused mermaid]

I was loosing about one fish a week for the past few weeks. I posted here and asked what could be the problem because my water tests were fine. My LFS and some posters here said that perhaps doing a 50% water change a week is too much shock for the fish. So this time I only did 25% A few days ago I noticed one of my sons dalmation mollies was awfully skinny while the other one was pretty plump. I kept an eye on him and he seemed pretty active and eating. Yesterday afternoon we looked and he was dead I cannot possibly figure out what the problem is, except we have well water and maybe the fish just cant live in it. Been testing once a week with the API test and ammonia, nitrites are zero...Nitrates are 5. PH is ranges between 8 and 8.5? I bought a piece of wood that I haven't cleaned and added yet to try and help. I haven't ever gotten a hardness test, but I know our well water is hard. I have no choice but to use it. My son wants another Dalmation Molly but I told him that we can't keep replacing these fish that are supposed to have a life span of years if they are just going to last a short time and die.

46 Gallon Bowfront with about 23 small fish (tetras, kuhli loaches, yoyo loaches, zebra loach, 2 tiny rescued clown loaches ( was planning on getting 125 gallon tank in the spring) dwarf gouramis, USD fish, 1 BN Pleco, Ghost cats, 2 angel fish, 1 Betta.

Tank has been established for about six months....Thought of bacterial infection but LFS said if it were present I would see signs of it. No signs of trauma on deceased fish. Slightly overstocked but the fish all get on well together and there are a lot of plants, rocks and hiding spots. Two Dwarf Gouramis, Betta, and 2 black Kuhlis I have had from the very beginning and they are fine. I have had the angels for about 4 months also and they don't have any health problems. IF I CAN'T FIGURE THIS OUT I AM GOING TO GIVE UP THE HOPES OF GETTING A 125 GALLON AND THINK ABOUT REHOMING ALL THE FISH BECAUSE WE CAN'T HANDLE THEM DYING LIKE THIS.

Any suggestions?

 

[ellena]

None, sorry, but I'm going through the same at the moment. Fish dropping like flies and no discernable cause I hope someone can help-try the emergencies section.

 

[indigoj]

Hmmm, it could be something bacterial - there would not necessarily be any external signs, another cause could be parasites - have they ever been wormed?

 

[confused mermaid]

Nope, have never wormed my fish. Wouldn't know how.

 

[fatheadminnow]

What kind of dechlor (water conditioner) are you using? How do you acclimate your fish when you first buy them? Have they been dying from the very start, 6 months ago? Are you adding anything else to the tank other then dechlor and water?

-FHM

 

[confused mermaid]

What kind of dechlor (water conditioner) are you using? How do you acclimate your fish when you first buy them? Have they been dying from the very start, 6 months ago? Are you adding anything else to the tank other then dechlor and water?

-FHM

You know, come to think of it I did switch dechlor a few months ago...I forgot what this is called, I'll look when I get home and post, I think it has added bacteria in it. When I first buy my fish I have a tank that hooks on the tank and I leave them in there for about an hour so they can get used to the water temp...then I fishnet them in. I know you're supposed to quarentine new fish, and I used to, but stopped because I had to empty/move my quarentine tank. It is not just new fish that die. The dalmation molly was around for almost two months. I have lost a couple of glass cats before that that were around for about 4. Came home yesterday and one of the clowns I rescued was dead....I almost expected that though because he was so tiny and didn't seem to be getting any bigger like the other one. Tested the water....the nitrates were a little higher than normal, but ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and ph 8.2 were all as usual.. Gonna do another 25% water change tonight and vacuum to get the nitrates back down to 5. My USD's have been in the tank for 5 1/2 months since it was farely cycled. So has the beta and two of the dwarf gouramis.... They seem fine... So I don't know WHAT IS GOING ON?! I don't see a way that any chemicals or other bad stuff is getting in the water. The only thing I can think of is that the water is too hard for them.

 

[fatheadminnow]

You say your pH is 8.2? That is too high for the type of fish you have there. Fish can adapt to different pH levels, within their target pH range. But 8.2 is way above that.

-FHM

 

[indigoj]

That's rubbish - mollies are hard water fish and it seems to be them dying. All fish are pretty adaptable, especially if always kept in the same conditions - the only exception is the glass cats they can be pretty sensitive. As long as conditions are stable and water stats good then the ph shouldn't cause a series of deaths. I'd go back to quarentining new fish.

Can you give a list of what has died and what is left and the condition of the living fish along with any extra symptoms you can remamber?

 

[fatheadminnow]

That's rubbish - mollies are hard water fish and it seems to be them dying. All fish are pretty adaptable, especially if always kept in the same conditions - the only exception is the glass cats they can be pretty sensitive. As long as conditions are stable and water stats good then the ph shouldn't cause a series of deaths. I'd go back to quarentining new fish.

Can you give a list of what has died and what is left and the condition of the living fish along with any extra symptoms you can remamber?

It depends on how he acclimated them, too. If you read the first post, he says that his pH was 8.5.

If he is just netting the fish up and putting them into the tank after he buys them, they can be susceptible to pH shock. He says he matches the temp, but does not mix water to adjust the pH level. It is just a thought. And sorry, this is far from rubbish!

-FHM

 

[indigoj]

Ph shock occuring is different from 8.2 being unsuitable.

8.2 is certainly high but not deadly to any of the fish mentioned. Ph shock tends to happen quite quickly (IME) and shouldn't happen over a period of months unless it was fluctuating a lot.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Ph shock occuring is different from 8.2 being unsuitable.

8.2 is certainly high but not deadly to any of the fish mentioned. Ph shock tends to happen quite quickly (IME) and shouldn't happen over a period of months unless it was fluctuating a lot.

You are right about that.

-FHM

 

[drobbyb]

You say you have well water? There might be heavy metal contamination. Some dechlorinators neutralize them, but not all. Which dechlor are you using?

 

[confused mermaid]

That's rubbish - mollies are hard water fish and it seems to be them dying. All fish are pretty adaptable, especially if always kept in the same conditions - the only exception is the glass cats they can be pretty sensitive. As long as conditions are stable and water stats good then the ph shouldn't cause a series of deaths. I'd go back to quarentining new fish.

Can you give a list of what has died and what is left and the condition of the living fish along with any extra symptoms you can remamber?

Since the deaths have started, I have had two powder blue DG's die....one from Dropsey and I believe the other got stuck and drowned behind a rock cave but I'm not sure. I think those deaths were different though. This was about 2 1/2 months back. The others that have died are 4 glass fish, 3 ghost cats, 3 banded kuhli loaches, (mind you I have two black ones that are in the tank from the beginning and they are fine) 1 dalmation molly, 1 clown fish. Approx. two per week. The clown and molly died yesterday and the day before. (Mind you also that these were not all in the tank at one time. When one passed I do tend to get another one of the same kind to replace it, I have since currently stopped that practice since I don't know what's wrong) Aside from the clown and molly (who appeared emaciated before and when they died) I have had no signs of illness from the glass fish, the glass cats or the loaches. I would just go to feed or check the tank and they are flipped over on the bottom. No signs of trauma, fighting, nipping or illness. I observe all my fish especially since this has been happening and see nothing, then find them dead.

The fish currently in the tank range from two to three each of the following.....USD, Dwarf Gouramis, glass cats (4), yoyo loaches, kuhli loaches, angel fish, dalmation molly, 1 male betta and 1 BN Pleco. OH and 1 Zebra loach that was recent and is hyper as ever! And the remaining clown which has been in there for about two weeks or so. I especially feel bad for him because now he is the only clown, hopefully if he survives he can hang out with the yoyo loaches (who he seems to like) till I figure this out.

I don't remember what the water treatment is I changed to so I will look when I get home and post it then. I really appreciate your help sorting this out. I hope it gets figured out and someone can tell me what to do about this because it's sad for me and my son. Also the remaining molly looks stressed because they were hanging out together the majority of the time in the tank.

 

[confused mermaid]

Hey, I just looked down at my hands and thought of something I polish my nails every so often. I never have fresh polish on when I vacuum out the tank.....but even with old polish on....do you think that could have something to do with why my fish are dyin? Does any ladies out there stick their hands in their tank with polish on?

 

[drobbyb]

That begs another question... Do you use air freshener in your home? The plug in types and the spray types (incense even) all work their way into the water, and most are poisionus to fish.

The fumes from nail polish can do the same thing.