Please Help

[challdog]

in the period of 24 hours
ive lost
1 hong kong plec (tank 1)
i platy (tank 1)
and a glass shrimp (tank 2)

from 2 different tanks !


ive tested the water recently, and it was absolutely fine,
i did large water changes yesterday and today (once on each tank)

i just cant work out why these fish are dropping dead !?



PLEASE HELP ME

 

[fluttermoth]

As far as I can see you have two options; the deaths are unrelated and it's just a coincidence that they've happened at the same time (hong kong plecos and shrimps are both species that are prone to dying if conditions are not perfect for them).

Or there could have been some thing we can't/don't test for in your new water.

I'd suggest another water change with some 'safe' water; run the tap for a good 5 or 10 minutes before you start to use the water or boil it if your tanks are small enough (let it cool first, of course!) or filter it through some carbon.

 

[challdog]

CARBON!

i have noticed that i may be needing more carbon soon...
could that be the cause, or is it unlikely...
i heard that carbon wasnt needed, but i could have heard wrong...?

 

[fluttermoth]

That won't be the cause, no; carbon doesn't leach stuff back. I was just suggesting you filter water for your next water change through some, as a precaution as we'e not quite sure why your fish fish have died atm>

 

[challdog]

oh okay

i guess when it comes to buying fish...
you get what you're given 90% of the time...
so who knows... they could have been 10 years old


it sucks that i dont know why they've died though...
because now im terrified i might lose my khulli's

 

[KittyKat]

More information please: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/2330-please-read-before-posting-to-emergency-section/

you get what you're given 90% of the time...

That should not be the case. A good LFS will pick out the individual fish you want (some even let me catch out my own fish) and will answer questions about the fish, including what size they came in at and how long they've been in the shop.

 

[challdog]

^^^
hmmm...
i guess i may have to re-think where i shop then

the farthest i can really get at my LFS is
me- "i'd like that one"
them- "which one?"
me- "THAT one"
...
...
them- "ummm... i got you this one"

Tank size: 30 L
pH: 7.5
ammonia: 0.15 i think
nitrite: n/a
nitrate: n/a
kH: 19/20
gH:
tank temp: 26-28

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): really cant see anything

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 30 % each week

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: ummm... aqua safe, standard filter (sponge,balls,carbon)

Tank inhabitants: platys, 4 khullis, one bumble goby, one pleco (small)

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): plants... vallis

Exposure to chemicals: none other than aquasafe



i know this is still vague ^^^
but i cant really give much more info
all i know is the nitrates and nitrites are very low... we tested yesterday, i just cant remember the numbers

 

[fluttermoth]

Any reading at all for either ammonia or nitrite is too high; they ought to be zero. Do some big water changes to get them down; I think you've solved your mystery anyway; poor water quality.

 

[KittyKat]

That ammonia is quite high, as are nitrites, if they're over 0 ppm, that is what's causing the problem. You need to up your water changes to daily and use a dechlorinator which deals with ammonia until the filter can keep ammonia and nitrite at 0 ppm.

Edit: 30 litre tank is far too small for khulis and plecos

 

[challdog]

okay guys,
thanks for the advice
i'll up to 60% changes every 2 days...?

 

[KittyKat]

50%, 60%, 95%.. whatever it takes to get ammonia and nitrite unreadable (so as close to 0 ppm as possible). I would expect to do daily water changes. Also, check your tap water for ammonia and nitrite.

 

[Blubble37]

only problem with that is that like me, you might not have 0ppm ammonia tapwater mine tests out at

Ph-8.5
Ammonia-0.1ppm
Nitrite0.1ppm
Nitrate-50ppm

So my tank never goes down to 0 on anything.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The tank should be able to deal with that small amount of ammonia/nitrite in your tap water in very short order, once it is mature. If your tank doesn't do that, then the filter probably isn't mature yet.

 

[Blubble37]

it is mature media but i have a lot of fish.

the levels of ammonia and nitrite stay the same mainly over the week, its only the nitrates that go from 50 to 75.