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

[MrsM]

yea i agree ill get a pump today theyre only a few quid..

so if my tank IS cycled..i can add new fish..that puts an awful fear inside me...i just cant watch another fish die! ill get the pump and some new carbon today, have a 25% WC either tonight or tomorrow morning....then maybe get 1 fish....and if that dies!!?? what then...

 

[Aquascaper]

Only time will tell unfortunately, I think you've covered all the bases apart from going down the route of a mystery toxin/parasite and stripping the tank down.

It does sound like your tank is finally cycled so slow & steady when adding more fish. Follow your normal routine of acclimatising new fish as it's spot on and, fingers crossed, all will go smoothly.

If you need advice/opinions on what to add next then post your choices and you'll get feedback.

 

[snazy]

Make sure you acclimate them properly too. One fish for a start would be better to test. But in the long run you need a few more friends for that cory from the same species. 3-4 at least.

 

[MrsM]

3-4 corys?? Cool! I love that fish so ill deffo get him a buddy

Ive got an air pump and some new carbon...... hopefully this will oxygenate water more and take out any toxins....

Only time will tell unfortunately, I think you've covered all the bases apart from going down the route of a mystery toxin/parasite and stripping the tank down.

It does sound like your tank is finally cycled so slow & steady when adding more fish. Follow your normal routine of acclimatising new fish as it's spot on and, fingers crossed, all will go smoothly.

If you need advice/opinions on what to add next then post your choices and you'll get feedback.

Stripping the tank down??? That doesnt sound good...do you mean bleaching or replacing all the stuff? Ie....start over?

 

[Aquascaper]

Stripping down entails removing everything and sterilizing it all.....not something many people face thankfully but sometimes the last resort for a mystery problem.

 

[MrsM]

Great i just KNOW ill have that to look forwrd to......i bet thats my next question.....how do you steilize a tank and deco etc....

Im doing the waterchange, adding carbon and putting in an airbrick this evening.....when do you think i hould risk a fish...and what fish do you think?

Ive read some crappy made aquarium deco could lead to toxic water, i got some from ebay.....?? Another possibility?

 

[snazy]

You've got a living pleco and a cory, so whatever is affecting the new fish, isn't affecting these two. It could be oxygen, it could be some toxic build up the living fish are used to. I'd say it's not about stripping down the tank at this stage and recycling it. With all the measures you've taken now, confirming that your tanks ammonia and nitrIte are at constant 0, you can try 2-3 fish very soon providing you acclimate them properly too. Why not corys anyway? Also, they love more flow and having showers in the bubbles the air pumps make. (But don't listen to me because I love corys )

Edit: Forgot to ask, but what temperature do you keep the tank at?

 

[MrsM]

i also love my cory..hes going to get another friend or 2!! i darent put any fish in though my tank is 24-25...my cory hides most of the time...he dashes up and down the tank when i have the lights out...is he getting oxygen when he does this...

 

[Aquascaper]

I would say you'd be good to add another fish on Sunday, 24hrs with carbon and an airstone running will be enough for it to start doing what it needs to do if anything.

I would not advise getting more than one fish as a precaution seeing as its still unclear what the cause was. If that one survives fine then more the following weekend.

What fish were you planning on?

 

[MrsM]

i have no idea...something with a small..harlequin?? guppy? any suggestions...hardy and small?

 

[snazy]

i also love my cory..hes going to get another friend or 2!! i darent put any fish in though my tank is 24-25...my cory hides most of the time...he dashes up and down the tank when i have the lights out...is he getting oxygen when he does this...

Yes, they shoot to the surface for oxygen. It's normal from time to time but too often is a worry. From the 13 corys I have, I'd hardly see one or two of them do it a couple a times a day. Also, the more the corys the better, 3-4 more will make them a lot more outgoing.

 

[Aquascaper]

Maybe stick with the idea of increasing your cory shoal to 4 - 5 first and add one this time round just to be safe. If everything goes to plan maybe add two next weekend?

 

[MrsM]

ive just done the tank, 20-25% waterchange, added carbon to filter, put an air stone in and removed some of the crappy fake plants.....theres the good news...the bad news...i found the plec dead in the filter...and 1 of my snails have died...so i now have 1 cory and 1 zebra snail.....

question....is this a sure sign my tank is cycled...im sure i should have had an ammonia reading with 2 dead creatures in the tank??

question 2...if my tank is not cycled can i cycle it with the cory and snail still?.....

thanks

oh and double dosed the fresh water with stress coat...

as for the cory shoal......i do hope i can give him a friend.....this is soul destroying..my stupidity leading to so many fishes die...

 

[Aquascaper]

Keep calm and learn from the mistakes, everyone makes them and I've heard a lot worse than this trust me.

Do you know how long the Plec has been dead? Is there any signs of disease/damage?

Answer 1: If the Plec has died and you haven't seen an ammonia spike then this should mean your filter is coping and therefore cycled, nothing is a certainty though.

Answer 2: Your tank will cycle to the available level of ammonia produced. If you have one fish then the beneficial bacteria colony will grow/die back to the size big enough to deal with the waste produced. This is where the fishless/fish-in differences come in.....

If you cycle fish-in then the filter will be able to cope with the waste of the fish you've cycled the tank with, nothing more. Adding more fish means having to wait for the filter to catch up to deal with the extra.

If you cycle fishless then the filter will be able to cope with the ammonia added which is controlled by you. If you're planning a tank full of fish then you would cycle the tank to be able to cope with 5ppm ammonia for example, if however you were planning a tank with a few specific fish you may only cycle it to cope with 3ppm, etc. Once cycled you replace the ammonia you 'feed' with a tank full of fish.

If your filter is indeed cycled then it will be dealing with the waste from a Plec and a cory, the longer it's left with just the cory the more the bacteria will die back as the waste produced is lower and not enough to sustain the colony. Due to this you should be able to add the 3 - 4 planned cory straightaway and not see a spike (or possibly just a small one).

I can't advise you what to do here, all I can say is I would add the cories this weekend.

 

[MrsM]

ill get another cory tmoz...the plec and snail could have been dead up to 3 days.. the plec had no sign of damage...a slight white film was on him, i really didnt expect to see him in the filter..maybe a good job i had to open it to replace carbon...

i dont was a huge amount of fish a dozen at the most so i think 1 each wkend is ok for stocking... thats if i dont loose any more fish in the mean time....

not sure if it matters...after the waterchange my tank clouded up a tiny bit...normal?