Help With My Fish

[dee13140]

In my tank I currently have 2 Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami, 2 platy, 12 neons, and 10 ghost shrimp. I've noticed that my ghost shrimp have been dying off rather quickly, so I've watched my fish to see if they had anything to do with it, which they didn't. They just keep dying and I'm not sure why. What other bottom feeder would you suggest? I would like something that will do its job eating all the stuff on the bottom. I also have another question, my female platy is pregnant and looks like she's ready to pop! She's been like this for about a month now. I've posted a pic. Of her down below, does she look ready to give birth soon? Thank you for all your help

 

[Meeresstille]

Is your tank cycled? Do you have a test kit that could show us the readings of your tank? How big is your tank?
 
When you look at your platy from the top, does it looks like her scales are standing out like a pine cone? If so, she could have dropsy!
 
I don't know how sensitive Ghost Shrimp are, but I added some Crystal Red Shrimp to my tank when I was still new at this, and they all died because my ph had crashed. 

 

[zoopkamol]

Ammonia spike possible?

 

[dee13140]

I don't use any chemicals in my tank, never really had to because my fish always seemed so happy. I have a 35 gallon tank, so they all have plenty of room. Also my platy does look a little spiked up, but not too much.


Also I've had cory catfish in my tank about 7 already but they all died, so there kind of out of the picture.

 

[the_lock_man]

Do you not use a water conditioner?
 
As per Meerestille's request, what are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels, and pH?
 
How long has the tank been set up, and how did you cycle it (ie grow the bacteria colonies in the filter)?

 

[dee13140]

No I don't, I've had my tank going for a year now. I don't know what any of my levels are in my tank because I never checked them. I change my filter every month to every other month.

 

[the_lock_man]

Oooh my. OK. Does your water come from a supply company, or from a well?
 
When you say you change your filter every 1-2 months, are you saying ALL of the filter media, or just some parts?

 

[dee13140]

I use town water, I only change some parts. Like the bag and the .
Charchol

 

[the_lock_man]

I'm actually quite surprised you haven't lost any fish as well, to be honest.
 
The town water will be treated by the supply company to ensure that it is consumable by us humans. They use chlorine and chloramine to do so. These 2 chemicals are harmful to aquatic life. It is also harmful, in some ways, to the bacteria we grow in the filter to process the ammonia produced by the fish.
 
Did I mention those bacteria? Yep, I think I did They grow on the parts of the filter you keep throwing away.
 
Your shrimp are being killed, I would say, by a combination of chlorine and ammonia poisoning.

 

[dee13140]

Oh my gosh! I thought since they werenr dying everything was ok, I guess not. But I don't want to treat the water and then put them at risk of dying, or would they be ok? How often should I change my filter? And if I would put live plants in the water, would they be killed? Because I was going to buy java moss for the baby platies when their born.

 

[the_lock_man]

You need to use a water conditioner when you do your water changes. This will neutralise any chlorine or chloramine. If you buy a decent one (I recommend Seachem Prime) it will also sort out any heavy metal pollutants, copper and the like that happen to be in your water.
 
If you currently have a charcoal filter in there, leave it. It also removes heavy metals, but has a limited lifespan, which is why the manufacturers tell you to change it so often. And, gosh, they have to sell them to you, ah well, that's a shame, you having to keep giving them money.... Just leave it in there. Only change it when you have to remove a medication from the water.
 
If you have any ceramics, biomax, etc., then leave those in there forever.
 
If you have sponge, wool, floss, etc., leave it in there (you're spotting a theme here, I'd imagine) until it is literally falling apart. And that, to be frank, is a very long time.
 
That's the best way to care for all the life forms in your tank, fish, shrimp and plants.

 

[Meeresstille]

I think your platy has dropsy http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_dropsy
 
If you get a test kit you can react to something that may be going on in your tank a lot quicker. The liquid test kits are much more accurate than the test strips. You get to test for ammonia (needs to be at 0) nitrite (also needs to be at 0) and nitrate (there are different opinions on what acceptable levels are, anywhere from 5 to 20 ppm is pretty safe). Usually there also is a ph test in the kit, it is good to know what level your tap water is at, as well as your tank water. If you know your base readings then you have something to work with should you think something is going wrong with your fish.
 
As to bottom feeders, Kuhli Loaches and shrimp are great at picking up lost food. Or maybe otocinclus, they like to clean the biofilm off glass, plants and ornaments. But I'd recommend waiting until your tank is properly cycled and you haven't had any more deaths in your tank for a month. Just to be on the safe side! 
 
Quarantining new fish helps to prevent introducing any illnesses to your main tank, so if you set up a quarantine tank now, you could put them in the main tank once your main tank is ready for them. Keep in mind though that you have to keep an eye on the toxins in that tank as well, or you run the risk to lose them also! It's a good idea to keep an extra filter on your main tank so you have a cycled filter for your quarantine tank whenever you need it. Hope this helped some. 

 

[dee13140]

Thank you for all your help! It was very informative! I'm going to look into the test kit for my fish and see what all I need to do to help them in the future I had taken my platy to the pet store to see if she had dropsy, they concluded that's she's a healthy pregnant fishy thank goodness. But ill look into everything so then I know the babies will be healthy fish thank you