Help, losing a number of fish every week

[*Sonic*]

I have a rekord 60 it's only a 12gal tank, that's why they are ill as you are massively overstocked the filter won't cope with them fish, the silver shark should be kept in groups to be happy and need a 120gal tank, the clown loaches also have to be kept in groups, 90gal tank, angel fish need a 30gal tank, i would see if the lfs will take then fish back.

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Hi Wilder

The rekord 60 *only* has a single paroon shark in it, its my other tank that the fish are dying on me

I take your point about the fish sizes tho

None of the fish shops told me any of this info when I bought the various fish, and yes I know I should have read up on them, but one or two where impulse buys, and I realise that this is an error on my part

Steve

 

[WILDER]

How big is the tank in gallons with the silver sharks in, as if you are overstocked the tank filter can't cope, the fish get stressed then become ill, plus fish can also get stressed and ill due to over crowding.

 

[*Sonic*]

How big is the tank in gallons with the silver sharks in, as if you are overstocked the tank filter can't cope, the fish get stressed then become ill, plus fish can also get stressed and ill due to over crowding.

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The tank the silver shark is in, is 30"x12"x15" running an undergravel filter with a powerhead, a Fluval 2, and tonight an addition of a fluval 3

The silver shark is approx 3 inches max at the moment

Steve

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons is that unless at working it out.

 

[*Sonic*]

sorry, its about 18 Gallons, 21 US Gallons

 

[WILDER]

Adding the extra filters will help abit, but you are well overstocked, plus it dosn't stop the fish getting stressed due to being overstocked, i would cure the whitespot, then look into rehoming the fish that have been mentioned, as if they are kept much longer in that tank, you will lose them all i'm afraid, is putting mistakes right that counts, good luck.

 

[*Sonic*]

Thanks for the help

Just to clarify, my Paroon Shark in the Rekord 60 has white spot, developed since moving him in there from my quarantine tank, he is the only fish in that tank, and is approx 3-4 inches in length currently

My other tank (the 18 Gallon one) all the guppies and siamese fighters appeared to have died from Finrot, which has been treated, but currently to no avail

Steve

 

[sinistral]

I worked it out to be about 23.4 US gallons, but we won't quibble about a couple of gallons here and there

I agree with Wilder about overstocking. One problem with a new tank (and a new person to the hobby, no slight on you *Sonic*) is that a tank can be set up with multiple problems (for instance, an overstocked tank, inadequate filtration, not cycling the tank properly first, an inappropriate mix of fish) that don't show up right away.

This gives rise to an unfortunate consequence, which is the belief that everything is fine. After this, since the problems aren't addressed, they slowly get worse over time. Fish are tolerant of a wide array of problems, but sadly not severe problems and not all at once-- it's just too much stress. In the new tank, eventually the problems reach a critical point simultaneously, and become catastrophic, and there are outbreaks of disease, death, unsociable behavior, and so forth.

The best solution is prevention, but since this doesn't address the current state of affairs, the best solution is to reduce stress. This can be done by choosing which species you'd really like to have (ideally those that are a good fit for your tank size), rehoming species that aren't compatible with this new aquarium plan, and doing regular water changes. You also unfortunately have to do a bit of diagnostics in terms of figuring out if there are other sources of stress (temperature mismatch, noxious vapors being emitted near the tank, overfeeding, etc etc).

Sonic, none of this is really practical advice for you-- I am very sorry to hear about your troubles. Wilder made an excellent suggestion about rehoming the angels, clowns, and shark. I'd also recommend keeping up with water testing and for sure with water changes as noted above. HTH, please keep us posted~

 

[WILDER]

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/basics.php

 

[*Sonic*]

Many thanks for that post Sinistral

Unfrotunately I do seem to have been tainted by begineers syndrome, and a case of stocking too quickly, and too much

Previosly this tank was home to my Blue Channel Catfish, for the last 13-14 years, who lived quite happily on his own in quite a variety of conditions, including moving home, 3 times, and being housed in a garage for 4 or 5 months !

I dont know how he died, I put it down to old age, in captivity in a small tank, he grew from about 2 inches to approx 14 inches, and led a very healthy (from what I could tell) life

Ive been running a pond (about 250 gallons or so) for the last 4 years, with a few Golden Orfe (who are now pretty big) and a few shubunkins, and lately some Thai Ghost Koi, albeit on the smaller side

Im not new to keeping fish, just new to Tropical fish, my dad for many many years has successfully kept many a marine fish amongst others


I know my choice of fish this time round has been based on 'what I liked in the shop at the time of my visit' without any research prior to purchase, esp ecially on the breeds I chose

ive got a close eye on the water and the fish, and am a little better armed now for the way forward

Wilder thanks for the link, I have read that over the last week or so, once I started losing my first fish

Steve

 

[WILDER]

Good luck, are the lfs any good where you go, as if you like a fish ask them what requirements they need, we all make mistakes, it's a very interesting hobby once you learn and follow the rules, if get disheartening when you break them, not that many rules, research fish,dont overstock,tank maintance weekly, quarantine new fish, feed a varied diet, keep them rules and you can't go far wrong, good luck hope you manage to sort things out

 

[*Sonic*]

Just checked my water levels again in my 3 tanks

the Nitrite Level is quite high still in my main tank, even after a 35-40% water change earlier this evening,

I had to remove the dead fish earlier too (3 guppies) and ive added some water treatment to try and reduce the nitrites

My guess is that the dead fish have increased this level, as I have have held off feeding them for most of last week

My quarantine tank was dangerously high in nitrites, and I have done a partial water change, and hoovered and removed uneaten food (i do have a fish in their at present, otherwise I would have stripped it

My tank with the Paroon shark is within acceptable levels

Ammmonia levels are 0.1mg/l across all three tanks

Steve

 

[sinistral]

I second Wilder-- best of luck. You obviously are not new to fishkeeping. I would reckon those skills are highly applicable to your current situation. Persistence and patience are two valuable allies in the hobby. Keep us posted

 

[sera]

Silver sharks grow to 12inches, the need a min of a 4ft tank