Pictus Died On Same Dame Day

[silver1956]

Hi ,I am looking for advice/help/explanation if possable regarding a problem i found today ,3 weeks ago i purchased 3 pictus cat fish and to day all three were dead in the tank , they looked to be a little white in colour and all 3 were in an upright position which i found to be strange ,i`m due to do a water check tomorrow when my new test kit arrives but up to last week the water readings were ok,any help ,explanation would be gratefully recieved many thanks

 

[KCB]

Welcome to the forum.

How long have you had your tank? And was it properly cycled? How often do you change the water and by how much?

 

[silver1956]

i have had the tank for a few months and i`have been doing water tests wekly ,all have been ok ,i changed 50 ltrs last week (its a 240ltr) tank,i`m just a bit confused as to why 3 of the same species died at the same time and were bought at the same time ,i am going to change water again tomorrow ,i have not cleaned my filter yet , should i do that also as well as water change and clean the gravel? thanks for your time

 

[KCB]

I wouldn't touch the filter, you don't want to wipe out your good bacteria. Do you have any other fish in the tank? I'd do a large water change and gravel vac.

 

[silver1956]

THANKS ,KCB i did a water test today and change a large amount of water teras have died today and2 pencil fish,my ammonia reading was 0.4 ,all others were ok. i have had a lot of plants growing in the tank very quickly and i dont have a pump with an airstone fitted ,i have the fluval ext filter ,do you think it could be an oxygen issue.

 

[fluttermoth]

Raised ammonia will affect the fish's ability to absorb oxygen from the water; it looks like they haven't enough oxygen, but it's really the ammonia that's the problem.

You need to carry on doing water changes, making sure the new water is temperature matched and dechlorinated, until you get the ammonia (and nitrite, if that's present) down to zero.

As to why just the pictus died, well some fish are more sensitive than other, even in the same species sometimes. But that level of ammonia will be affecting all your fish, even if they're not showing signs of it (yet).

 

[KCB]

As fluttermouth said, 0.40ppm ammonia is not a good reading. Carry out what has been advised until readings are zero. Have you got a nitrite test as well? That can be toxic too so you need to check for that. Are there any fish remaining?

 

[silver1956]

Thanks for all your help and assistance in earlier posts ,this were i am up to now,i have 2 pltys and 1 tetra plus 2 plecos remaining in tank ,plec look ok but other 3 fish have got white spot on them,i have some
anti white spot and fungus no 8
being delivered today ,what is the best way to go about using this and also my readings are ammonia 0.25. ph 7.6. nitrite 0.nitrate 0
Ihave also taken all my plants out of the tank as they were growing wild and i thought this might be an issue regarding ammonia etc,i also have a pump and air curtain coming today to help agitate the the water ,but i`m not sure which way to go now .do i do a big water change and vac the gravel ,put the pump to work when i refill the tank then put the whitespot medication in ,any help and advice would be gratfully recieved,,,ps my filter has been running since Tuesday 6th November and has not been cleaned ..and i have no where to move the fish to while all this goes on.........regards

 

[KCB]

Don't clean your filter, you don't need to unless its clogged (if this happens just rinse the media in used tank water). You don't really need an air pump if your filter is rippling the water . I would do the water change, remove any carbon from your filter (as this removes meds), then half dose the anti white spot treatment and treat for twice as long as suggested in the directions (tetras and catfish are sensitive to this medicine).

This is what I've learned from the forum so please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[silver1956]

many thanks ,just one more thing if you could ,does white spot survive in gravel ,will i be able to just vac the gravel and part water change then dose ..thanks if i start from scratch and not touch the filter will it be like a new cycle ,not very well up on this yet but willing to learn ,lol cheers

 

[KCB]

The parasites will eventually drop off and search for another host, so yes they could survive on the gravel for a couple of days. I'd carry out tank maintenance as usual (water changes and gravel vacs etc.) I'm not sure what you mean by start from scratch, could you explain?

Here is a good article on white spot: http/www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_88/white-spot.htm

 

[silver1956]

i now have no fish in my tank ,what would be the best way to go about making it safe ,i have the white spot and fungas treatment but am unsure wether i need to put this in the water now ,or just change some water and vac gravel and leave to stand,if so how long would you recommend to leave it till its safe for the introduction of new fish,,thanks for all your time in helping me out ,appreciated so much

 

[silver1956]

Hi ,this is where i`m up to now , and any advice would be welcome ,tank been fishless for 3 weeks now just done approx 30% water changed and gravel vac ,unfortunatly the filter had been switched off for a number of days ,( will this have any affect on the tank) when i do the water tests later if they are ok do you think it might be safe to introduce a couple of fish in the next few days , many thanks ..

 

[silver1956]

water change done readings are ph 6.8, ammonia 0.25, nitrite 0.00, nitrate 0.5

 

[KCB]

3 weeks is a long time without a significant ammonia source and having the filter off without a supply of oxygen from the water may have killed off the bacteria. I would probably follow the fish-less cycling guide (in my sig) and see how it goes. Hopefully it won't take long to re-build the bacterial colony .