My Fish Keep Dying

[madjoker14]

Hi everyone, im in a position where i dont know what to do, the past 3 days iv lost 1 fish each day, i have a about 5 zebra dino's left all my mollys died.

right now i have dinos, 2 glass fish and 2 platy and about 4 apple snails. my water quality is okay because i checked it this morning,

PH-7.2
amm-0.0
nitrite-0.0
nitrate-10

well i have green water after 3 days when i do a 90% water change, if i leave the water there lets say for 6 days you cant see from 1 side to the other.
others told me that i might have a bactera bloom or a algae bloom but i dont know ohh and i have 35watts of light in the tank.

if you guyd need any more info please post and i will reply thanks for any info

 

[Ficious]

your mollies might have died because of a 90% water change. i think theyd be less tolerant of temp changes and stress when doing the water change. the green water could be from driftwood tannins. if you dont have drift wood i dont know what else it would be.

dont do 90% water changes after 3 days. do 30-50% each week. you need to let your nitrates build a little more maybe? dont vaccum the gravel next time either. did you make sure you added enough de-chlorinator to do the job?


hope it works out well for your other fish


EDIT: I reread your post and realized its probably not driftwood tannins. that sounds pretty bad and is probably some sort of algae bloom. i dont have any experience with this so i cannon help you here

 

[madjoker14]

Yea well ur right im going to stop the 90% water change and should i just restart everything, remove everything, and wash the gravel, the plants, and i am using 36 watt bulb so i have 1.8wpg, maybe the high lighting, and im also planing on geting rid of the high demanding plants and keeping the low light plants, kinda sad cuz its a problem that i have no idea on how to control : (

but if it is a algae bloom or bacteria bloom what could i do to treat that??

 

[madjoker14]

What if i just drained all the water and put the fishs in another tank temp., then like wash the gravel, clean all the current plants that im going to keep so they can all be algae free, and the current filters are new so basically its like im going to have a new fish tank. so that means i have to re cycle all over again huh??

 

[LauraFrog]

to be honest I wouldn't do that. You're already losing fish, probably because of water quality (ie tank isn't cycled properly) and changing all the water will just stress them.

When you say the water quality is fine, what are you checking? If your ammonia is elevated, mollies do not tolerate it well at all. Do about a 20% water change every day unless you're certain your ammonia is 0. Other than that, 30% a week is fine. I always vacuum the gravel but not thoroughly or deeply.

 

[madjoker14]

i just lost another zerba today well what im going to do is when i get home im going to use the master test kit and report every single bit of detail on the quality of the water, also could the water be green because of an bloom, let it be algae or bacteria? i have right now 35watts in the tank could that be cousin the bloom?? ohh and its a 20 gallon tank

 

[Yoshi]

Hi madjoker.

Also a newbie but I have been suffering with algae bloom so I know where your at and have spent hours online researching it. Its probably this that has killed off the fish if its that bad but i thought mollys were fairly tough? Few ideas for you...

Firstly I would consider your lighting - you should ensure they only get perhaps 4-6 hours per day as light makes the algae grow. Also make sure not near a window with sunlight for same reason. Your water tests seem OK and as the algae comes back immediately I reckon it is light related. One random website suggested you put a thick blanket over the top of the tank for two days which sounds very odd but i tried it and it did work amazingly - it doesn't seem to bother the fish! Basically the algae die without light completely. I have also found that reduce or stopping feeding for a few days reduces algae bloom.

Yoshi

 

[madjoker14]

wow i am actually going to try that, now its any type of blanket??or even garbage black bags?? now i have some real plants in the tank, should i remove them for those 2 days or leave them in there?? but thanks for all that info and fully this will work,at least i hope it does, so 2 days complete darkness, gotcha thanks

 

[madjoker14]

quick question also, i have 2 bulbs that deliver 18 watts each and together its 36watts and it deliver 1.8wpg and my fish tank looks very nicly lit, but my problem is that its too much light for my tank, and i want to reduce the light back to around 1.0wpg but i still want to keep the lighting that it has, is there any bulbs that still delivers the same light output but not the same watts??

 

[Yoshi]

wow i am actually going to try that, now its any type of blanket??or even garbage black bags?? now i have some real plants in the tank, should i remove them for those 2 days or leave them in there?? but thanks for all that info and fully this will work,at least i hope it does, so 2 days complete darkness, gotcha thanks

You might want to take the plants out but mine seemed ok - it probably depends on the plants?? The blanket idea is really random - don't hold me responsible if it all goes horribly wrong please! I used a big woolly blanket - it improved the algae bloom no end and then with a couple of water changes it had all gone back to normal... Make sure you check on the fish under the blanket in case they don't like it? I am a bit late answering you and you may have been tried it by now - if so any success?

 

[madjoker14]

hahaha yea i already did it,and guess wat!! when i removed the black trashbags the water was a little less green but still not see through , i decided on removing 2 of the lights that i have, so right now im running 1x 20watt tube, and i gota say, my tank looks like crap now, its soo dull and not to attractive to look at, do u know any type of light thats really good and bright but not high in watts?? maybe its the lighting that cousin the water to be soo green then again idk

 

[madjoker14]

i was just looking around and look at what i found,this seems to be whats happening to my tank, think so??

http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/

 

[Yoshi]

i was just looking around and look at what i found,this seems to be whats happening to my tank, think so??

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/[/URL]

Hi there. Just back from hols and see you are still having probs. I have just reread your emails and notice you have put new filters - perhaps thats not helped either as with a 90% water change and new filters the bacteria will have disappeared and you may have to recycle? My local fish farm always suggests using rainwater to top up tank as it has good bacteria in it - it might be worth doing especially as it appears to have been raining non stop while I have been sunning myself in spain!? Don't know which lights you should use I'm afraid - anybody else got any ideas?

 

[backtotropical]

I'm going to copy to here a conversation i had with MadJoker over PMs, to keep this thread up to date. Hope you don't mind MadJoker?

Hi, i have been dealing with a problem for some time now, and till now i just realized what u sayd was almost exactly to whats happening to me,

http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/

so this is what i have, i have been feeding my fish 2x a day, and i drop an algae wafer everyday at night,i have 3x 18watt tubes meaning i have a 2.9wpg in a 20g tank, i do add fertilizer and did* supply co2 but stoppd,

well for about 3 to 4 weeks i have been having this reallly bad green water like u posted and when i remove the water it gets green again in about 2 days, i just did the blackout trick by puting 2 trashbags to make the tank perfectly dark and when i uncovered it today it was still green!! so do u think what u had posted is whats happening to me?? if so how long will this take?, should i feed only once? should i remove the lights and leave 1 light?should i clean the entire tank (filter,rocks,plants) to stop this bacteria from multiplying ? and also could this couse my fish to die, because everyday i have been loosing 1 fish at a time, and i even noticed that there scale seem to be poping out? maybe due to the green water ??

I know this is a lot but i would appreciates if you had some time on your hands

thanks lots for reading lol
-Irvin

Hi Irvin,

I'm afraid what you are experiencing is not a bacterial bloom, but an algae bloom. These are quite different. Bacterial blooms appear as a white 'milky' haze in the water. Algae blooms are green.

From your message, i notice a few things which may be contributing. Firstly, you are feeding twice daily. This is almost always unnecessary, and can contribute to overloading your filter which will leave detectable ammonia in the tank and cause algae blooms, and more importantly kill the fish. I would recommend you should cut back feeding to once daily as standard, but once every 2 days until you fix your problems.

Secondly, 2.9WPG in a 20g is a huge invitation for algae, especially with fertiliser and no CO2. Cut back to using 1 tube, and re-start your CO2 injection. This alone should help with the algae problems. Also, add more live plants. Fast growing stem plants like Hygrophila or Limnophila are best.

Clean away as much algae as possible by hand and keep doing so, and continue the water changes. All of these measures combined should send you on your way to a clear tank, but if not, you may wish to consider a UV steriliser.

Remember, once the algae is gone, it will only return if you don't identify why it was there and treat the cause. Algae blooms are almost always caused by the presence of ammonia, and you should consider whether the filtration you are using is sufficient. Out of interest, what are your water parameters? Ammonia? Nitrite? Nitrate? pH?

If the fish's scales are popping out, this is a sign of an underlying infection, Dropsy i believe, but someone could maybe clarify this in the 'Emergencies' section. You must provide the correct treatment straight away.

Hope this helps you. Good luck!

BTT

HI, and thanks for responding to my PM, i did the black out trick as someone had suggested, and after 2 days the water was still very green, and now i removed 2 bulbs and i am left with one 18w bulb for my 20g tank, i havnt done a water change but these are my parameters

The only problem besides maybe my water is that fish tank doesn't look appealing, what i mean by that is that the current single 20w bulb doesn't have enough power to brightly lite my fish tank like you would see at your LFS, like lets say for a saltwater tank, i want my tank to look something like that (well lit that is) have any advice on how i can archive this without promoting algae or any bad side affect of high light wattage,

Thanks again for your time
-Irvin

Hey im sorry about the last mesg, i didnt include my water parameters, guess it sliped my mind but here they are now

PH-7.2

Amm-.25

Nitrite-0.0

Nitrate-10

what you think...

ohh and i changed my filter about 2/3 weeks ago so the amm will be up a little but all these problems happened befor i changed my filter

Thanks again for your help.
-Irvin

As i suspected, you do have detectable ammonia. This is very bad for the fish, first and foremost, and you need to find out the reason for this and fix it. Meantime, perform a 50% water change every day, and clean as much algae from the tank as you can. The ammonia is almost certainly what is causing the illness and deaths in your tank.

It may be that your tank is overstocked or that your filter simply isn't coping and you need an additional filter to help it along. What ever the reason for the ammonia, it needs rectified. This is the most important thing for you to do. Getting rid of the ammonia source will not only save the fish, but will also go a long way towards ridding the tank of the algae bloom.

You are probably best to start a thread in 'Tropical Discussion' or 'New to the Hobby' and i'll be glad to contribute. It's always good to get someone else's point of view.

Also, have a read of the thread i have linked to below. Emma is having much the same problems, and Dave Spencer gives some good advice.

http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...er-Help-Please/

Hopefully see you on the boards soon.

Cheers

BTT

 

[Yoshi]

I'm going to copy to here a conversation i had with MadJoker over PMs, to keep this thread up to date. Hope you don't mind MadJoker?

Hi, i have been dealing with a problem for some time now, and till now i just realized what u sayd was almost exactly to whats happening to me,

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/25...ould-Cause-It-/[/URL]

so this is what i have, i have been feeding my fish 2x a day, and i drop an algae wafer everyday at night,i have 3x 18watt tubes meaning i have a 2.9wpg in a 20g tank, i do add fertilizer and did* supply co2 but stoppd,

well for about 3 to 4 weeks i have been having this reallly bad green water like u posted and when i remove the water it gets green again in about 2 days, i just did the blackout trick by puting 2 trashbags to make the tank perfectly dark and when i uncovered it today it was still green!! so do u think what u had posted is whats happening to me?? if so how long will this take?, should i feed only once? should i remove the lights and leave 1 light?should i clean the entire tank (filter,rocks,plants) to stop this bacteria from multiplying ? and also could this couse my fish to die, because everyday i have been loosing 1 fish at a time, and i even noticed that there scale seem to be poping out? maybe due to the green water ??

I know this is a lot but i would appreciates if you had some time on your hands

thanks lots for reading lol
-Irvin

Hi Irvin,

I'm afraid what you are experiencing is not a bacterial bloom, but an algae bloom. These are quite different. Bacterial blooms appear as a white 'milky' haze in the water. Algae blooms are green.

From your message, i notice a few things which may be contributing. Firstly, you are feeding twice daily. This is almost always unnecessary, and can contribute to overloading your filter which will leave detectable ammonia in the tank and cause algae blooms, and more importantly kill the fish. I would recommend you should cut back feeding to once daily as standard, but once every 2 days until you fix your problems.

Secondly, 2.9WPG in a 20g is a huge invitation for algae, especially with fertiliser and no CO2. Cut back to using 1 tube, and re-start your CO2 injection. This alone should help with the algae problems. Also, add more live plants. Fast growing stem plants like Hygrophila or Limnophila are best.

Clean away as much algae as possible by hand and keep doing so, and continue the water changes. All of these measures combined should send you on your way to a clear tank, but if not, you may wish to consider a UV steriliser.

Remember, once the algae is gone, it will only return if you don't identify why it was there and treat the cause. Algae blooms are almost always caused by the presence of ammonia, and you should consider whether the filtration you are using is sufficient. Out of interest, what are your water parameters? Ammonia? Nitrite? Nitrate? pH?

If the fish's scales are popping out, this is a sign of an underlying infection, Dropsy i believe, but someone could maybe clarify this in the 'Emergencies' section. You must provide the correct treatment straight away.

Hope this helps you. Good luck!

BTT

HI, and thanks for responding to my PM, i did the black out trick as someone had suggested, and after 2 days the water was still very green, and now i removed 2 bulbs and i am left with one 18w bulb for my 20g tank, i havnt done a water change but these are my parameters

The only problem besides maybe my water is that fish tank doesn't look appealing, what i mean by that is that the current single 20w bulb doesn't have enough power to brightly lite my fish tank like you would see at your LFS, like lets say for a saltwater tank, i want my tank to look something like that (well lit that is) have any advice on how i can archive this without promoting algae or any bad side affect of high light wattage,

Thanks again for your time
-Irvin

Hey im sorry about the last mesg, i didnt include my water parameters, guess it sliped my mind but here they are now

PH-7.2

Amm-.25

Nitrite-0.0

Nitrate-10

what you think...

ohh and i changed my filter about 2/3 weeks ago so the amm will be up a little but all these problems happened befor i changed my filter

Thanks again for your help.
-Irvin

As i suspected, you do have detectable ammonia. This is very bad for the fish, first and foremost, and you need to find out the reason for this and fix it. Meantime, perform a 50% water change every day, and clean as much algae from the tank as you can. The ammonia is almost certainly what is causing the illness and deaths in your tank.

It may be that your tank is overstocked or that your filter simply isn't coping and you need an additional filter to help it along. What ever the reason for the ammonia, it needs rectified. This is the most important thing for you to do. Getting rid of the ammonia source will not only save the fish, but will also go a long way towards ridding the tank of the algae bloom.

You are probably best to start a thread in 'Tropical Discussion' or 'New to the Hobby' and i'll be glad to contribute. It's always good to get someone else's point of view.

Also, have a read of the thread i have linked to below. Emma is having much the same problems, and Dave Spencer gives some good advice.

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...er-Help-Please/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...er-Help-Please/[/URL]

Hopefully see you on the boards soon.

Cheers

BTT

Hi all. Some good advice there! I now only feed my fish once a day and this seemed to help with the algae bloom. I have led lighting - daytime lights are white and on for only 4 hours at mo to try and ensure algae is under control and then have blue led lights for the evening (grant you they don't light up the fish really well). Also have bogwood which i think helps and of course live plants but not ones which need huge amounts of light. I seem to have got mine completely under control now. Even the death of my large angelfish seems to have helped which suggests to me that overstocking was part of my problem also. Madjoker - whats your tank info and fish stock out of interest?