Help- Neons Dying And My Other Fish Too!

[sallyshark]

Hi Folks, i am new to this forum and in real distress at the moment as my tank is dying before my eyes!!!

its a 64 litre/ gallon?, 2 year eastablished tank with only a handfull of deaths early on in set up- but nothing unusual there.

in it i had 4 neon tetras
1 plec ( quite big)
2 zebras
2 other tetras ( the see through ones)
few tiny snails
all of which had been happy for over a year

i decided to add 5 more neons to try and make a shoal and over a week they NEARLY all died and my own old fish are dying daily? no white spot etc evident, but the newly added neons when scooped out dead only had one eye- not sure whether this could be thru disease or trauma?


my nitrate etc is fine, Gh slightly raised but normally is and has never been a prob since tank set up.

so were on forum i read tetra disease can spread to all other fish

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD I GET RID OF 3 ReMaINING TETRAS ASAP???as i dont want to loose my whole tank.


any advise ppplllllleeeeassseee!!

thanks
leann

 

[grimmy]

get parasite clear and aquarium salt they will help alot to heal sick fish and prevent disease i would perfer the saltya i think aquarium salt is the ticket for this

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi Folks, i am new to this forum and in real distress at the moment as my tank is dying before my eyes!!!

its a 64 litre/ gallon?, 2 year eastablished tank with only a handfull of deaths early on in set up- but nothing unusual there.

in it i had 4 neon tetras
1 plec ( quite big)
2 zebras
2 other tetras ( the see through ones)
few tiny snails
all of which had been happy for over a year

i decided to add 5 more neons to try and make a shoal and over a week they NEARLY all died and my own old fish are dying daily? no white spot etc evident, but the newly added neons when scooped out dead only had one eye- not sure whether this could be thru disease or trauma?


my nitrate etc is fine, Gh slightly raised but normally is and has never been a prob since tank set up.

so were on forum i read tetra disease can spread to all other fish

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD I GET RID OF 3 ReMaINING TETRAS ASAP???as i dont want to loose my whole tank.


any advise ppplllllleeeeassseee!!

thanks
leann

Hi and welcome to the forum .


What are your exact stats for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph? Are any of the fish which are dying showing any odd symptoms before death, whether behavioral or physical?

Symptoms after death are not important, since fish can decompose so quickly (in the right conditions, a neon tetra make take as little as 24 hours to almost completely decompose in a warm tropical tank).


How many fish have died in the last month and what were they? How are the other fish in the tank behaving at the moment?

What sort of filtration do you have and how do you go about keeping the tank clean exactly (water changes, clean substrate and filter etc) in detail and how often do you do it?

get parasite clear and aquarium salt they will help alot to heal sick fish and prevent disease i would perfer the saltya i think aquarium salt is the ticket for this

Never use salt with fish like plecos, they are very intolerant of it and it will cause a lot of stress to the fish internally, not to mention that you have just advised treating the tank for parasites when you haven't even asked for the symptoms of the dying fish etc.

 

[rdd1952]

That is why it is always a good idea to quarantine new fish before adding them to your tank. It sounds as if you hae definitely introduced some type parasite or disease into your tank. Removing the remaining tetras probably own't do any good at this point. If they brought in something, i has already infected the tank now. Have you tested your ammonia and nitrite? Adding new fish can cause a mini cycle but it shouldnt be a problem for the few fish you added.

I would stay away from the aquarium salt. Personally, I don't think it is that beneficial as a medication and can actually cause more damage to fish depending on their osmoregulatory capacity. And I wouldn't add any type medications until you have figured out what type disease or parasite you are dealing with. Even then, be very careful as some medications will completely wipe out your bacteria colony leaving you with an uncycled tank.

 

[grimmy]

no salt is a real good med my mlly was dying so i put in a seperate container with salt and the molly survive not only that the colors where even more bright and pretty

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

no salt is a real good med my mlly was dying so i put in a seperate container with salt and the molly survive not only that the colors where even more bright and pretty

Thats because salt is beneficial to mollys because they thrive best in slightly brackish/salty conditions, however this is not the case for most other freshwater fish. You should read up on this thread called "Is Salt beneficial?";

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=210955

 

[grimmy]

oh ok im sorry but then use parasite clear or lifeguard http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=TT101

 

[sallyshark]

[[/quote]
What are your exact stats for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph? Are any of the fish which are dying showing any odd symptoms before death, whether behavioral or physical?

Symptoms after death are not important, since fish can decompose so quickly (in the right conditions, a neon tetra make take as little as 24 hours to almost completely decompose in a warm tropical tank).


How many fish have died in the last month and what were they? How are the other fish in the tank behaving at the moment?

What sort of filtration do you have and how do you go about keeping the tank clean exactly (water changes, clean substrate and filter etc) in detail and how often do you do it?

REPLY

thanks for your thoughts......some answers

fish swimming fine and happy- no change in behaviour- dead on the bottom in the morning.
i have not lost any fish for a year , except the last week since intro new ones
all the whose that diead have been tetras either neons or transparent ones- sorry cant remember what their called.

i do monthly 10% water change and 2 monthly filter & tank clean/gravel with hand syphen cleaner- cant spell either!!!

using my 5 in 1 test kit the curent status is
NO3 less than 10
N02- 0
Gh- greater than 10
ph- 6.8
Kh-3


thanks!!!

 

[rdd1952]

oh ok im sorry but then use parasite clear or lifeguard http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=TT101

As Tokis has already stated, you should never treat a tank for parasites or any other disease for that matter until you diagnose what needs to be treated. Adding a parasite medication does nothing for the fish if they happen to have a disease like white spot for instance.

I think part of your problem is your maintenance schedule. Doing 10% water change monthly can lead to build ups of minerals and other items that you don't want in the tank. Do you top off the tank as the water evaporates between water changes? Doing that causes the levels to rise since only water evaporates and leaves all the minerals and other items behind. It can take time for this to become a problem and maybe the iintroduction of new fish set things off. That's just conjecture but a possible problem.

Also, I know you have had your tank for a while and apparently had no problems. I would suggest getting a good liquid test kit rather than the strips. Strips are terribly inaccurate and the 5-in-1 strip don't have a test for ammonia, probably the most common toxin that causes problems in a tank. In the long run, liquid is much cheaper than strips and only takes a few minutes more to use.

 

[sallyshark]

Hi,

thanks for your ideas.

i dont usually top up tank inbetween water changes as it doesnt drop that much. how often would u suggest water change

ive just done a 50% change in light of deaths

how can i get the Gh level down? i asked in the pet shop/aquarium and they said there was no remedy and as long as other levels ok just leave be.

L

 

[rdd1952]

The frequency of wter changes really depends on the stocking level. The heavier the fish load, the more often you need to do them. One of the main reasons for WCs is to lower nitrates. If you arent experiencing much evaporation and your nitrate level isn't getting about about 20 ppm then your monthly WC may be enough. Most people seem to do 15 to 25 percent every week to 2 weeks. The GH isn't that important in the overall scheme of things. I wouldn't worry about trying to lower it. Here is a pretty good article about the relatinship between pH, Gh and KH.

 

[Musho3210]

if your having problems with your ph dropping a lot try more water changes.

What are some symptoms? NTD?