Now With Test Pics!new Fish Added To My Tank Die Within 24 Hours..

[MrsM]

Tank size:75 litres
pH:result was blue in petshop test..."ok" according to the pet shop lady, think it was an api test she used(liquid)
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:lady in petshop said...fine...it was the same colour(yellow/orange) as my tap water result in her test tube...
kH:not tested
gH:not tested, think the man in the "better" aquarium shop said its no more than 14g..think thats what he said..?
tank temp:75

Fish Symptoms: ok for first few hours then stay around the top of the tank until death(within a day)

Volume and Frequency of water changes:30% weekly or a 15% change after a death(quite often lately)

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:none..

Tank inhabitants:2 zebra snails, 1 cory catfish and 1 pleco(suckerfish) not sure what he is..man in fish shop said our tank was more than big enough..

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):3 danios...died within a day.....3 guppy...same, died within a day....no more sine then(7th oct) and no more until tank is sorted!!!


firstly thanks for reading this...i started my tank a few month ago...we didnt know about a fishless cycle(man in shop forgot to mention this)so we bought a tank filled with dechlorinated water..left to stand for a day, chucked in some clear ball things, he said they make the tank fit for fish immediately! TWIT! of course these fish seem fine at first so we throw in some more..gourami, guppy, danio, tetra, and they all come down with ich....most die but i did treat the tank with waterlife protozin, and then a stretch of 10 days at 30, id read on here to do so as ich wont reproduce at that temp..anyway..over the following days i return the temp to a more average range of 25-26(ish) add 3 danio(again) and BAM! they die within the day!, so i do a 15% water change and leave the tank, in my tank at this stage i still have a cory cat fish and the little sucker plec.....i test the water for ammonia...0 test for nitrire...0 so think whatever killed the danio has cleared...so i add 3 smallish guppies....again dead within a day....i did another 15% water change..and did some research.... could it be nitrate poisioning? i read that is a possibility..i never bought a nitrate test, was told it wasnt an important test..so yesterday i went to a chain store to get my tank and tap water tested...she did a ph test..result was blue, she said it was ok...and she did a nitrate test...it was yellow orange result on both tank and tap water..she used api liquid test...so not sure of the numbers but she said its odd to see the nitrate result of a tank be the same as tap water...she said it was brill, so off i go thinking im none the wiser but at least my water is ok...well now i know the result should have been different from tap water..my tank should have had more nitrate in...right??? was her test faulty?? i have another aquarium shop that i use he seems to be clued up so i rung him and explained everything!! he said he was a bit stumped but its a possibility that nitrate test was faulty so im taking in a cup of tank water to get him to test for everything..he is hopeful it is a simple problem that can be fixed..im not so sure any ideas what could be the problem..also i had an algae break out, had to have a 3day blackout, it cleared it but ive read that high nitrates will cause bad algae problems..seems it is high nitrates...do you think...

 

[Aquascaper]

Sounds like your tank isn't cycled, I would suggest getting your own test kit asap (the API Freshwater Master Test KitIs a popular choice) and check your Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels to be sure and post the results here and we'll go from there.

Although your LFS has tested the water and said it's fine, they are trying to sell you fish, we aren't

 

[MrsM]

Im so confused with my tank....i watched her do the test so im not sure she was trying to get one over on me...but i do know ill be getting my own nitrate test, ive tested ammonia today...0 ive tested my nitrite...0, as i said before no nitrate test yet....may have one by the end of the day though....its doin my head in! Thanks for the reply..

Meant to ask...would fish die that quick in an uncycled tank thats got no ammonia or nitrite? I mean 6 fish have died...2 seperate occasions, different shops...but all within the day....

 

[Aquascaper]

Unless your water parameters are drastically different from the LFS or you didn't acclimatise them properly then there must be some form of toxin in the tank.

Did you de-chlorinate the water before filling the tank each time?

Until something is worked out keep up with large regular water changes and keep posting results.

 

[MrsM]

I used stress coat to dechlorinate tap water in ratio to the instructions.....the lfs is testing water for everything tomorrow...i only have plastic plants and a plastic shipwreck, so its not like i picked a rock up from the beach and threw it in, i dont use sprays scented candles or plug ins...all perfume deo and toiletries are used upstairs....when i got the new fish i floated for 25 mins then added some of my tank water to the bag, floated for another 10 mins added more of my water...floated for a further 10 mins then netted them and added to tank.....was this the right way?

 

[MrsM]

hello again..ok so i re tested the tank water...see pics below...

the pics are a clear representation of the test in reality...im thinking maybe a slight hint of ammonia... also my nitrite test has been more "yellow"...so possibly a hint of nitrite too....gosh! so maybe my tank isnt cycled...is that why the nitrate test yesterday showed the same as my tap water?? is that a reason for so many fish to die that quickly though?? here are my tank inmates...do you think they show signs of stress?

i know the pic of the plec isnt too clear but he swims and sucks just fine...

 

[MrsM]

could i have new tank syndrome??...ive just read this and it seems...this is it??...
http/www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/new_tank_syndrome/

 

[Aquascaper]

Yes, basically you're tank is not cycled enough to efficiently deal with the sudden increased bioload that happens when you add a lot of fish at once.

If your water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and rising nitrates consistently then the tank is cycled.

Because (I presume) you did a fish-in cycle the filter is only matched to the bioload in the tank, when you add more fish you need to allow the filter to catch up so add few and gradually to get to full stocking.

 

[MrsM]

so...what do i do? obviously wait until the tank id FULLY cycled...ie..ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and rising nitrates... do i do waterchanges? if so how much..would large WC hinder the cycle? by larger i mean 50%..

 

[Tizer]

Just do a 50% water change daily for a week, keeps the water fresh, the fish happy and the filter will slowly catch up. its not like 75 litres is a lot of water, swapping out half of it only takes a few minutes. just remember to dechlorinate new water.

 

[Aquascaper]

Large water changes ( 50% - 75%) will not disrupt your cycle, the only thing it may do is upset the fish if you don't match the water temperature (as you're doing large water changes).

Once your tank is back to [0, 0, rising] you can add another fish or two but monitor closely for a mini-cycle as the filter catches up (water changes again will help prevent this). Then leave again until the filter has caught up before adding more.

If you list what you have in the tank and what you would like to end up with I can maybe suggest a stocking order.

The only other thing I can think of is a bacterial/parasitic infection in the tank but that wouldn't explain the original fish being unaffected.

 

[WILDER]

When the fish stay around the top of the tank do they show any of these symptoms.

Gasping at surface of tank.
Laboured breathing.
Darting, signs of erratic swimming.
Turning upside down.
Spinning in circles.
Headstanding.
Flicking and rubbing.
Unable to maintain balance in the water.
Red inflamed gills, purple gills, pale gills.
Fish look pale, or darker in colour.
Swimming on the spot.
Resting on bottom of tank.
Fish looked bloated.
Eyes are swollen and sticking out.
Cloudy eyes.
Cloudy substance on fish body, fins.
Greyish film on fish body.
Fish not noticing there surroundings.
Fish seem to be listless and lethargic.

Sorry for all the questiins. But need to rule out toxins, ph shock, bacterial, parasites.

 

[MrsM]

to aquascaper....i have a 17(ish) gallon tank, so im thinking 17 inch of adult size fish?? so theres my first question...id like guppies 2 female 1 male, platys 2 female one male, gourami(a dwarf one).will he be ok alone or will he need a "friend".i was thinking that would do it.....maybe a few neon tetras...

to wilder i only have the 2 fish left now...a cory catfish and the plec...also 2 snails...zebra ones..the fish i have do not gasp at the surface i dont see any rapid gill movement from the cory, he does not of the things you listed apart from his gills are slightly red..(see above pic, in a previous comment)he rests on the bottom but im assuming this is ok for him, he does swim around a bit when the lights go out or if i drop him some food(an alage pellet thing, well a tiny bit broken off, the size of his eye )
not sure if its normal but when i lift the hood on my tank it whiffs abit...not like a BAD smell just a bit..boggy...

 

[WILDER]

As long as the tank water doesn't smell like rotten eggs. As this can be a sign of bad bacteria running rampant in your tank.
Earthy peat smell is fine, it's normal for tank water to smell this way.


Red inflamed gills can be due to bad water quality, gill flukes, bacterial gill rot.
Just keep a close eye on him.

Also I would recommend you find another LFS to buy your fish from.
Test fish bag water for temp, and PH. This way you know how long to climatize the new fish for.

 

[MrsM]

yea ive moved on from that lfs...a smaller one closer to home as it goes

silly question...how do i know the snails are not dead, i really dont wanna keep poking around in the tank...ive seen one move around today but not seen the other since yesterday, there are ALOT of hiding places in my tank though and just to clarify...you actually agree that my test results show my tank isnt cycled??