Help! Lost 10 Fish In 2 Days....

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ice maiden

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Got a real amonia problem that I just cant get to the bottom of.....

these are my readings

PH 7.2
Amonia 8 :sad:
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10

the tank was cycled before fish were added, all that was in there were 5 guppies, 5 endlers, 4 swordtails, 1 common plec, 1 baby bristlenose plec, 10 neons, and 5 whiteclouds.

But they are dropping like flies, I know this is down to the amonia but how can I control it?

my tank is a 190L one so not overstocked, found no lingering dead bodies, I have upgraded to a fluval 205 external filter, as well as my jewel internal one. Am doing daily 20 % water changes......

But none of this is helping.......please please has anyone got any ideas????
 
How was the tank cycled & what was the ammonia reading at it's peak.
Have you got access to a mature tank, or filtered pond even, to get some bacteria to boost your tank?
 
What do i need to check in the water supply????? Amonia

I cycled as recommended on here, it took about 5 weeks, highest amonia ever got was 2.5

got about another 4 fish who I dont think will make the day.......am so upset
 
Got a real amonia problem that I just cant get to the bottom of.....

these are my readings

PH 7.2
Amonia 8 :sad:
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10

the tank was cycled before fish were added, all that was in there were 5 guppies, 5 endlers, 4 swordtails, 1 common plec, 1 baby bristlenose plec, 10 neons, and 5 whiteclouds.

But they are dropping like flies, I know this is down to the amonia but how can I control it?

my tank is a 190L one so not overstocked, found no lingering dead bodies, I have upgraded to a fluval 205 external filter, as well as my jewel internal one. Am doing daily 20 % water changes......

But none of this is helping.......please please has anyone got any ideas????

Sorry to hear of your losses. :sad:

I say keep up with the water changes, 50%, maybe even 2 times a day, if ammonia stays high, but check the water supply for pH and ammonia.

What was the pH of the water the fish came from? How long did you acclimatise the fishes? Did the fish come straight from LFS then to your tank?

My experience: I lost 3 of 4 juvenile bala sharks (3") in 36 hours because of pH shock. They came from a tank with ph of 6.3 to new 220L tank of pH 7+. I saved the 4th bala only because I returned it to its old tank.


:huh:
 
I cycled as recommended on here, it took about 5 weeks, highest amonia ever got was 2.5


Sorry to hear this.. its gutting after spending a lot of time on a fishless cycle to prevent this...

However.. i am a little confused with the method you used to fishless cycle the tank... (although i am new to this too.. just done my first fishless cycle).. Both the add and wait method, and the add daily method recommend that you start by adding 5-6 ppm of ammonia into the tank. So the fact that the highest ammonia you ever got was 2.5 is a litte bit of a concern. I did the add and wait method, so the higher levels of ammonia are totally in your control in this way.. obviously i cant lower the ammonia levels, thats the job of the bacteria (in af fishless cycle that is). But.. raising them above 2.5 was my job.. What was your ammonia source.?

With the above in mind I suspect that your tank may not have been cycled properly, and the ammonia present with no nitrites indicates that your tank is cycling again. By all means check your tap water, but i dont think the problem lies there.

Keep up the water changes as recommended, and i wish you the best of luck with getting through this. Is there anyone local to you who could provide a temporary home to some of the fish for a while?

Squid
 
This tank has been up and running for 5 months now, and none of the fish are new, so it cant be down to that
 
This tank has been up and running for 5 months now, and none of the fish are new, so it cant be down to that


ok.. sorry.. didnt realise that.. hmm.. that does make it odd doesnt it..

so.. either extra ammonia is being introduced somehow, or the tank has uncycled (bacteria died off).. tis a tricky one isnt it...

Have you done any water changes and forgotten to put the dechlorinator in? im guessing now... and its a bit of a daft question. i'll keep thinking..

Good Luck.
Squid
 
some of the fish now have no balance, they are swimming upside down help

have done a 50 percent water change, so maybe that will help
 
Get them out of the tank if you want to save them...set up a hospital temporarily or ask your LFS if they can give your fish a 'hotel room' until the ammonia spike is resolved.

This is odd. Was the new Fluval cleaned? Contaminated? Something bumped off part of your biological filter or did something contaminate your water? Sorry to hear this. SH
 
Is there any one in your house (a kid) who could be feeding your fish? I had this problem 4 years ago, found out my Grandma was feeding my fish 9 times a day! I was never so happy to see the holidays over and was able to send her to my mothers for a vist!
 
no one is here all day, and my children are older and know not to feed the fish

SH the filter was bought to try to help aleviate the problem, as I thought that maybe my internal filter wasnt doing its job properley

no dead fish this morning, but still got a couple that arent looking to good....
 
Keep changing out the water. I'd add aquarium salt if possible. SH
 
It sounds like something must have killed of all the nitrifying bacteria and the cycle has restarted, or you've done a water change and there are high levels of ammonia in the tap water, but if this is the case, the water company is in serious breech.

If the nitrifying bacteria has been lost, the main source of the nitrifying bacteria in your tank would have been your mature Juwel sponges....

Has anything happened to the sponges and is the Juwel powerhead still working properly ?

Have you washed or replaced any of the sponges recently and has any bleech or soap product got near any of the fish stuff ?

Have you treated and diseases recently with medications of any kind ?

Your best bet would be to try to get hold of either Bactinette or Bio-Spira. Both are live bacterial cultures for starting a cycle and both work. Bio-Spira comes refrigerated and you just add it straight to the tank, but is only available in the U.S currnetly (although I got some from ebay); Bactinette are dispensed from a living bacterial cultured tank as pearls that you add to your filter, so you could just put them in the fluval - just remember to rinse the pearls in a little tank water before adding them to your filter, because to keep the bacteria alive they're dispensed in ammonia.

I don't know where you are in the UK, but I know an outlet in Leicester that stocks Bactinette, I can send you their details if you want.

Hope you manage to get to the bottom of it.
 
Your best bet would be to try to get hold of either Bactinette or Bio-Spira. Both are live bacterial cultures for starting a cycle and both work.

I don't know where you are in the UK, but I know an outlet in Leicester that stocks Bactinette, I can send you their details if you want.

Good point... bactinettes is also available in badshot lea garden centre in farnham if your further south...
 

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