Quick Deaths, Any Help Welcome

[linda1503]

A kuhli loach died last weekend, he was quite old so I thought nothing of it, just sad cos I'd had him a while. Yesterday my son was looking at my tank and said you've got a dead tetra, on closer inspection there were 4! dead neon tetras and within a few hours my other 5 neons were dead as well as another kuhli loach. Also an albino cory and a rasbora were looking a bit ropey.

Got up this morning and no futher deaths, at least I can't see any. It a 90ltr tank with a fluval 4 interior filter established for over 12 months. No new fish have been added except for letting out of the breeding net my 5 baby guppies, one of which died, but the others are fine.

I do about a 30% water change every week and changed my filter wool if needed. My stats are all fine. Not added any new plants or live food and feed only the same food as usual.

Other tanks mates are: Rasboras, guppies, cories, shrimps, platties and one gourami, general community fish, all been together for ages.

Don't know if anyone remembers me posting about George my gourami a few weeks ago. His stomach blew up and we wasn't sure whether it was dropsey or a tumour. Anyway he was recovering and his stomach returned to normal a couple of days ago, and I was very happy because he's lovely and my centrepiece fish. Unfortunately I noticed last night that his stomach is now concave and he looks very thin!

All the fish this morning look very 'subdued' as though they are just waiting for something else horrid to happen. They are all together just hanging about, not swimming round as usual.

At first I thought maybe NTD but with 2 kuhlis dying as well, it can't be. Any ideas would be helpful. I did treat with melafix last night. Going away for a week on saturday and my father-in-law will be calling in about twice to feed them but I don't want him to be faced with a tank full of dead fish on his first vist.

 

[-germ-]

No ideas as yet, bit knackered but George glad he's still going, what did you treat him with?

If fish are dieing off rapidly after Georges dropsy then i'd be going down the bacterial route, not sure though, i'll get back to this a.s.a.p
moving house today+2 week old baby+sick girlfriend=

 

[linda1503]

I know, I was so thrilled that George was recovering. I treated him with a few epsom salt baths like you advised -germ-. He didn't like it much, if he could have spoke the air would have been 'blue' His tummy has been blown up since about the 20th of last month but I noticed it going down a few days ago and was going to post as soon as he had fully recovered but then this has happened. He is now looking srawny but still feeding ok, he's the only fish now swimming about as normal. Tough little so-and-so!!

Thanks for answering -germ- and good luck with your move+baby ( ) and hope your GF is better soon.

 

[The-Wolf]

The sudden death of many fish over a short period of time with few preceding symptoms.
1) Acute poisoning.
2) Low dissolved oxygen levels.
3) Peracute bacterial disease.
http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/clinicalsigns.htm

I also believe that you have a bacterial problem.
I'd recommend a 5 day course of acriflavin at 1ml per 30ltr

 

[rust81]

I definitely think you have an internal bacteria problem too, as your experience with the gourami sounds similar to mine. I had a dwarf gourami that started acting strangely. A few days later he wasnt eating and then all of a sudden my bristlenose plec was looking ill. 2 days later and they were both dead! I dosed the tank with an internal anti-bac and all the other tank mates have been fine for the past 6 weeks or so now. I would be suprised if th gourami had passed the infection to the other fish. From reading posts on this forum it would seem that the majority of people think that the dwarf gourami strain is pretty weak