Help! What In Gods Name Do I Do?!?!?!

[tomtomtom1230]

My little brother has been keeping fish longer than me and left me in charge of them since he's on holiday (I've been keeping fish for 2 years now and he about 4 years). He has a 15gallon with 10 Neons, 5 bronze Cories and 3 Guppies (1 male, 2 female)... I have been with them all day today - everything fine and regular.

I follow his water changing regime of 30-35% every 5 days, 7.5 hours of light and feed them once every other day. This is my little brothers' regime in keeping his fish. I haven't done ANYTHING out of the ordinary or anything that I wouldn't do to my own tank!

I fed them today and I returned an hour later to find every single one of his fish dead. Just floating at the top, no respiratory action whatsoever! Not one of them are alive and
the water quality is pristine - that's the first thing I tested!

Is this even possible?

 

[Termato]

My little brother has been keeping fish longer than me and left me in charge of them since he's on holiday (I've been keeping fish for 2 years now and he about 4 years). He has a 15gallon with 10 Neons, 5 bronze Cories and 3 Guppies (1 male, 2 female)... I have been with them all day today - everything fine and regular.

I follow his water changing regime of 30-35% every 5 days, 7.5 hours of light and feed them once every other day. This is my little brothers' regime in keeping his fish. I haven't done ANYTHING out of the ordinary or anything that I wouldn't do to my own tank!

I fed them today and I returned an hour later to find every single one of his fish dead. Just floating at the top, no respiratory action whatsoever! Not one of them are alive and
the water quality is pristine - that's the first thing I tested!

Is this even possible?

Woa for real! WOW! That is insane! I am sorry for your loss. That is never fun to run into something like that.

What is the temp of the water? Is the heater still working?

What test kit are you using and what are you testing for?

Do the dead bodies have anything on them? Decayed? fungus? any physical deformities?

I am so sad to hear about this. I hope your brother doesn't get mad. It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. For something like that to affect ALL of your fish....it would have to be something drastic....

 

[betta fish]

First thing I'd do is turn off the filter and the heater, they may have been electrocuted if all parameters are in check, check the temp the heater may also have malfunctioned, it's the only other thing unless any chemicals have been sprayed near the tank, does it have a lid?

 

[Termato]

First thing I'd do is turn off the filter and the heater, they may have been electrocuted if all parameters are in check, check the temp the heater may also have malfunctioned, it's the only other thing unless any chemicals have been sprayed near the tank, does it have a lid?

I agree, more so the heater than the filter. I would think the filter would take a bit longer to see effects from it.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

Water temp is at a steady 24 degrees celsius and the filter is running without interruption. I've checked and double checked all the fuses, all the electrical connections - everything. I try and keep everything that could harm the fish away from the tank (ie: deodorant cans and cleaning products etc since the tank is in his bedroom).

The tank has a lid, is fully planted (the plants are fine) and there isn't anything in there that's unnecessary. How do I tell him? He's gonna be sooooooo annoyed... I really don't know what's wrong though...

Another point I want to make is that I rinse my hands before putting them near/around/in/on anything that will enter the tank to make sure no soap residue or anything will get in

EDIT: I'm using the API test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. To test pH I use a test strip by TetraTec but I'm moving onto liquid tests as I plan on planting my next tank (I understand that a slightly lower pH than 7.7ish is better for the plants). So I'll keep a closer eye on that.

 

[Termato]

Water temp is at a steady 24 degrees celsius and the filter is running without interruption. I've checked and double checked all the fuses, all the electrical connections - everything. I try and keep everything that could harm the fish away from the tank (ie: deodorant cans and cleaning products etc since the tank is in his bedroom).

The tank has a lid, is fully planted (the plants are fine) and there isn't anything in there that's unnecessary. How do I tell him? He's gonna be sooooooo annoyed... I really don't know what's wrong though...

Another point I want to make is that I rinse my hands before putting them near/around/in/on anything that will enter the tank to make sure no soap residue or anything will get in

You could totally try and get him some new fish...a brand new start... that way hes not totally upset. Something more exotic could bring him more interest in it?

(Although I wouldn't get new fish until I find out what went wrong)

When rinsing your hands you want to rinse them in conditioned water or water without chlorine. Just a note. That wouldn't have killed the fish though.

So a fully planted tank, your filter is working, the heater is working, the light is working....no foreign chemicals....all normal parameters and everything is dead!?? hmmmm

What test kit are you using and what are the test results are you getting back for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate? Just want to know.

 

[Tolak]

A heater that is leaking current into the tank often won't pop a fuse or breaker. You need a meter to safely test for this.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

A heater that is leaking current into the tank often won't pop a fuse or breaker. You need a meter to safely test for this.

OK I've disconnected both the heater and the filter now, just in case.

I'm getting 0ppm for ammonia, 0ppm for nitrite and somewhere between 5 and 15ppm for nitrates.

EDIT: To be safe I'll replace his heater with a different one, I have one downstairs unboxed. 100w should cover it.

 

[Termato]

A heater that is leaking current into the tank often won't pop a fuse or breaker. You need a meter to safely test for this.

What kind of meter do you need to test this? I had no idea that could even happen.....I have an old heater in one of my tanks....this is kind of scaring me now. I don't want any dead fish.

EDIT @ Tom and Tolak

If you replace the filter, should it be safe to put fish in? The filter wouldn't really leak current into the tank as all electrical parts should be out of the water right?

 

[tomtomtom1230]

A heater that is leaking current into the tank often won't pop a fuse or breaker. You need a meter to safely test for this.

What kind of meter do you need to test this? I had no idea that could even happen.....I have an old heater in one of my tanks....this is kind of scaring me now. I don't want any dead fish.

EDIT @ Tom and Tolak

If you replace the filter, should it be safe to put fish in? The filter wouldn't really leak current into the tank as all electrical parts should be out of the water right?

Depends, my brother uses a submersible internal filter (interpet PF2 I think, could be the PF3) and the wire can go into the water sometimes. It SHOULD be water tight of course

 

[Mikaila31]

A heater that is leaking current into the tank often won't pop a fuse or breaker. You need a meter to safely test for this.

What kind of meter do you need to test this? I had no idea that could even happen.....I have an old heater in one of my tanks....this is kind of scaring me now. I don't want any dead fish.

EDIT @ Tom and Tolak

If you replace the filter, should it be safe to put fish in? The filter wouldn't really leak current into the tank as all electrical parts should be out of the water right?

Depends on the filter. HOBs and such I wouldn't worry about. But many filters have submersible motors. I honestly wouldn't worry about those as I have never heard of them causing issue before. Heaters on the other hand are the bane of aquarium equipment IMO.

 

[nicolaisam]

Is the tank running C02?

 

[tomtomtom1230]

No, it's a low-tech tank It's a complete mystery ....... Could it be that some sort of parasite or viral outbreak ravaged the tank? Something in the food? I just fed them King British Flakes and micro sinking pellets for the Cories. As I said, the food wasn't new, it's been fed to them form the same tub for about a week (by my hands). Since his bedroom isn't in use at the moment aerosols etc won't be in the air

 

[DJH584]

Is there a possibility that the food you have given them was contaminated in some way?

David

 

[tomtomtom1230]

Is there a possibility that the food you have given them was contaminated in some way?

David

As aforementioned, I don't think so but I don't know what else to point the finger to?