Mind Boggler

[bmxweeman]

hey all, my brother had managed to convince me to take his fighting fish as he was keeping it in a gold fish bowl which he thought was cruel, so i thought as it was just being kept in a bowl with no heater or filer that i could put it in my tank and it would cycle it through eventually. so after 10 weeks or so i thought i could add some other fish as the water stats seemed fine, though water was slightly on the acidic side, but everything i put in dies, after it had claimed a shark and a plec, i thought id get danios as ive heard they are quite reiliant to water conditions but they all died and sank this morning, cant figure it out, thefighting fish is fine though.

Water stats:
Amonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm
pH: 6.8

and a 75l tank

any help would be appreciated, cheers

 

[MermaidMel]

Perhaps the fighter has killed them

 

[bmxweeman]

i had thought that but but there is no wounds our evidence of fin nipping, plus i dont think it would have been a match for the shark and plec that died to

 

[oscars r ace]

what is the temperature? what method do you use for introducing new fish into the tank?

 

[WILDER]

How many fish do you have in the tank, and which type.
What type of shark was it as they need big tanks.
How long do you climatise the new fish for.

 

[bmxweeman]

hey sorry i didnt get back sooner. i only have one fish in the tank. the temperature is around 26/27C. and the method i use for introducing fish is turn lights off, untie bag and let the water aclimatise for half an hour then i add a little tank water to the bag for anoyher half an hour then i let the fish in and keep the lights off for an hour. and it was a rainbow/ruby shark i had

 

[WILDER]

Whats the ph of the store to your tank.
How many gallons is the tank.
How long after adding fish do they take to die.

 

[bmxweeman]

i didnt think to check the pH of the store, its 75 litres but dont know what that is in gallons. the first danio looked poorly after a few hours and all but 1 had died by the time i got home from work, around 5pm, so roughly all dead in 24hours. the shark i had lasted 4 weeks but died shortly after the pleco was added, the pleco only lasted a few days, i did about 50% water changes after they all died but there is still something not quite right.

 

[WILDER]

What type of shark was it as they need large tanks.
Check bag water in ph and temp.
Did your fish show any of these symtoms.

pH Shock

As its name suggests this condition occurs when a fish is introduced to quickly into a new environment which has a very different pH from the one it came from, when the pH is adjusted to quickly and the fish have little or no time to adjust themselves, or when the pH is to far outside the fishes normal range.

It is very important that any change in water chemistry is made slowly and fish should never be exposed to changes of pH greater than 0.5 of one unit on the pH scale in either direction.

Avoidance is by far the best solution because in most cases the symptoms don't appear until the second or third day by which time the damage has been done and the fish will probably die.

A fish suffering from this condition will show all the typical signs of shock -

Lying on the bottom and paying little or no attention to its surroundings and ignoring potential threats.
It may even lay on its side or go upside down completely.
There could be other signs to, related to Acidosis and Alkalosis
Excessive mucus production.
Rapid breathing.
Swollen abdomen. (Alkalosis only).
If the condition is allowed to go on for one or two days then the chances of a successful remedy are greatly reduced because a lot of damage will have taken place. If the symptoms are spotted early enough there are a couple of things that will help.

Begin to return the pH to the original pH in steps of 0.4 of one unit on the pH scale and allow 3 hrs in between the adjustments. Make these adjustments until the pH is returned to a safe and satisfactory level.
Treat the tank with a broad spectrum anti-Bacteria/Fungus compound to prevent secondary infections of the Skin and Gills.
Prevention is easy. A successful treatment isn't!
PH SHOCK LINK
http/groups.msn.com/FishHealth/phshock.msnw