Help! Fish Dying Quickly.

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kgdavis9

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Joined
Jul 8, 2009
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Location
California (US)
tank specs:

new tank i got from a friend, fully cycled the tank myself

30 gal tank
405 Fluval filter (canister)
heater (78 degrees F)
plenty of air
2" of sand for substrate with 1/2" of pebbles under sand.

fish:

dead -

3 neon tetra
1 male betta (my sons favorite :byebye: )
1 khuli loach (got stuck in filter unrelated to mystery)

still alive -

3 khuli loaches
2 drawf gouramis
3 golden snails
2 african drawf frogs
25 tetra (mix of glo-light and neon/cardinal)


checked my water after adding fish a week ago...0 ppm nitrites and ammonia, 20 ppm nitrates, ph 7.8., checked water again yesterday 8/27/09 same results.

water is clear i have good water flow on one half of the tank and calm water on the other. some live and fake plants. the tank doesnt look crowded. plenty of hiding places for all fish.

two days ago tetera started to die, no signs of truama or sickness. when i would wake up they would be floating around the tank dead. i removed them right away. last night i could'nt find my betta. i finally saw he come up for air during feeding time, he did not eat. he looked like his lips were bloated and white. i couldnt get him because he went into a log and hid. this moring approx 10-12 hours later my wife called and told me he was dead. i havent seen him yet. all the other fish look fine, they are active, and eating.

please help!
 
Oh dear, that's very sad. How long have you had the fish?
 
did you wash the tank when you picked it up?
had the tank been running and if so, were these fish from the tank or are they all new purchases?
 
Oh dear, that's very sad. How long have you had the fish?


ive had the fish for a little over a week...any idea whats killing them?

I have no doubt that your betta was killed by his tankmates. Tetras are prone to going for bettas' long, flowing fins and dwarf gouramis and bettas do not get along. Also, bettas like still waters, so if your filtration is acceptable to other fish, it is probably too much for the bettas.

Kuhlis are also prone to getting stuck in filters... try tying some pantyhose or a sponge around the intake to prevent them from being 'beamed up'.

Your tank also seems pretty crowded... its really possible that the fish are picking on each other a little... espescially tetras.

Another possiblility is that harmful chemicals are getting into your tank... are you spraying any household cleaners around them?

Sorry about your fish :(
 
did you wash the tank when you picked it up?
had the tank been running and if so, were these fish from the tank or are they all new purchases?


cleaned the tank everything in the tank is new, ran the tank for a month while i cycled it.
 
Oh dear, that's very sad. How long have you had the fish?


ive had the fish for a little over a week...any idea whats killing them?

I have no doubt that your betta was killed by his tankmates. Tetras are prone to going for bettas' long, flowing fins and dwarf gouramis and bettas do not get along. Also, bettas like still waters, so if your filtration is acceptable to other fish, it is probably too much for the bettas.

Kuhlis are also prone to getting stuck in filters... try tying some pantyhose or a sponge around the intake to prevent them from being 'beamed up'.

Your tank also seems pretty crowded... its really possible that the fish are picking on each other a little... espescially tetras.

Another possiblility is that harmful chemicals are getting into your tank... are you spraying any household cleaners around them?

Sorry about your fish :(

thx for the response....i already fixed the filter problem with some screen around the intake...is it possible the strong flow killed the betta? and should i take some of the tetra out?
 
what did you clean it with?

sometimes, something silly like an air freshener will kill your fish. Is there anything diffusing something in the air?
did you clean the room recently with some sort of chemical agent?
 
what did you clean it with?

sometimes, something silly like an air freshener will kill your fish. Is there anything diffusing something in the air?
did you clean the room recently with some sort of chemical agent?



rinsed it out with water, i just remembered i clean the glass with windex (glass cleaner) but i only use a little on the outside
 
thx for the response....i already fixed the filter problem with some screen around the intake...is it possible the strong flow killed the betta? and should i take some of the tetra out?

Could have been both factors that killed the betta... fish are definitely capable of dying of pure stress... I had a pair of Dwarf Gouramis where the male was really persistent... he harassed the female all the time, no matter how many caves/plants I hid her behind. One day I found her dead-- no even belly-up, just motionless, upright, and resting between two leaves. Not a scratch on her, but her gills weren't moving :/

I would just refrain from putting another betta in that tank. If you want another one, get a mini-bow for him or something.

I would also take some tetra out... you could sell them in local classifieds or on this site, give them to a friend or bring them to a LFS- they will sometimes give you a store credit in exchange for your fry, surplus, etc.
 
thx for the response....i already fixed the filter problem with some screen around the intake...is it possible the strong flow killed the betta? and should i take some of the tetra out?

Could have been both factors that killed the betta... fish are definitely capable of dying of pure stress... I had a pair of Dwarf Gouramis where the male was really persistent... he harassed the female all the time, no matter how many caves/plants I hid her behind. One day I found her dead-- no even belly-up, just motionless, upright, and resting between two leaves. Not a scratch on her, but her gills weren't moving :/

I would just refrain from putting another betta in that tank. If you want another one, get a mini-bow for him or something.

I would also take some tetra out... you could sell them in local classifieds or on this site, give them to a friend or bring them to a LFS- they will sometimes give you a store credit in exchange for your fry, surplus, etc.


thank u all for ur kind words and advice. i did a 50% water change removed my dead betta and plan to take some tetra out.
 

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