Peculiar Fish Losses

[Disco_Stu]

Hello, hello.

So I've had a tropical tank for about two months and fish in it for about a month and a half. As I said in my previous post, I have a combination of guppies, mollies, barbs, silver shark, etc, etc.

It is obviously a newish tank but we've had the odd fish loss which is totally unexplained. i do regular water changes of about 10-20% and check the nitrite levels. We have had unusually warm weather and the temperature gauge is registering about 32C/90F. Now, I don't that really has much of a bearing on it since they come from tropical climes but I can't think of any other reason why their dying.

Any advice?

 

[WILDER]

Tank size would be good in gallons or litres as you have bala sharks in there, also water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph, which fish did you use to cycle the tank with and have the died.

 

[Disco_Stu]

Hi,

It's a fair size, about 160litres (not sure what this is in gallons, sorry). Nitrites are below 0.3m mg/l, not sure about ammonia, nitrate and ph, is this important? Not sure what you mean about cycle either but I'll give you a rundown on what fish we currently have and have lost.

we have black mollies, salt & pepper mollies, orange mollies, neon cardinals, blue widows, guppies, guarmis, rosy barbs, a silver shark and a pleccy. i think that's about it.

We've lost two mollies, two guppies and a rosy barb. None of these losses have been at the same time and have appeared from out of nowhere. all the other fish seem content and happy.

I can't understand it.

 

[WILDER]

Bad water stats as nitrite should be 0, i would take the bala or silver shark back as they should be kept in group to be happy, plus they need large tanks of 100gal.
Also i would take a sample of your water to the lfs and tell them to write the readings down for you.
I would do an immediate water change for now, good luck.

 

[Disco_Stu]

Hi there, thanks for your reply.

I'm pretty sure the nitrate level is at 0 but I only have one of those kits to test with.

I did a water change on the Saturday and by Sunday afternoon lost the fish. Will do another water change today but I have been doing regular changes. I guess i'll simply continmue to do them more regularly.

Not sure what the lfs is I'm afraid. Can you tell me a bit more about this please?

thanks.

 

[scubadoo]

OK

lfs = local fish shop

Before you go any further, can I suggest that you go to the beginner forum and look at the pinned topics there. They explain quite clearly about cycling a tank and the FAQ section has lots of good links in it that will answer tha vast majority of beginners questions.

You need to ensure that your tank has cycled ie that it has enough bacteria to process all of the ammonia being produced by your fish (its in their wee & poo). It takes time for your filters to develop the right amount of bacteria - especially since you started adding fish after 2 weeks and already seem to have quite a lot in there.

Hope it helps

 

[Kentfish]

Hi,

It's a fair size, about 160litres (not sure what this is in gallons, sorry). Nitrites are below 0.3m mg/l, not sure about ammonia, nitrate and ph, is this important? Not sure what you mean about cycle either but I'll give you a rundown on what fish we currently have and have lost.

we have black mollies, salt & pepper mollies, orange mollies, neon cardinals, blue widows, guppies, guarmis, rosy barbs, a silver shark and a pleccy. i think that's about it.

We've lost two mollies, two guppies and a rosy barb. None of these losses have been at the same time and have appeared from out of nowhere. all the other fish seem content and happy.

I can't understand it.

Hi Stu,

from the sound of it you seem to have over stocked your tank or at the least filled it too soon. In the past I have found that a certain number of fish will die off until the balance is restored, then it will settle. It's an easy mistake to make and we have all done it.

In terms of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, this is basically a process of nature briefly explained thus:

1) Ammonia will build up in the tank as a result of fish waste, decaying foodstuffs and plants. (Watch those feeding levels - only as much as they can eat within 5 minutes). If the ammonia level level is too high - fish will die. There is not much tolerance so aim for a zero reading. Ammonia converts naturally to:

2) Nitrites, there is slightly more leaway with these but if they are too high - fish will die. Aim to get as close to zero as you can. Nitrites convert naturally to:

3) Nitrates, there is debate over this but general feeling is that these cause fish very little harm unless present in massive quantities.

You hasten this natural process via your filter and the bacteria that build up naturally and you aid via additives. I don't think you said what filter or additive you are using? Also, do you have plants? These will help and will be showing signs of wear if it is ammonia (which I don't think it is btw).

Also, regular water changes will remove all three of these, I usually do 25% every week but this may be considered excessive! 10% per week is good for an established tank. Once you have checked levels I would do 50% immediately if ammonia is too high followed by 10% per day until levels are down. These things can be subjective, use regular readings to judge.

Hope this helps Stu. Did you get my PM? If you are the guy I think you are give me a call - quite happy to come round if it helps.

Cheers,

K.