Rapid Breathing Then Death - 1 Dead, 1 On Deaths Door

[KCB]

Hi everyone,
 
Quick background: Got new tank for Christmas, set up on Thursday and fish swapped over from old tank that evening. Today I've lost one Black Phantom Tetra this morning (had to euthanise, she looked too far gone) and now I have one going the same way; not moving, breathing rapidly at first then only taking the odd gasp.
 
Tank size: 64 litres
pH: ~8
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 20-40ppm (using master kit, hard to tell but no more than 40)
kH: Unknown
gH: Unknown
Tank temp: 23oC
Fish Symptoms: Rapid breathing, no movement, then death
Volume and Frequency of water changes: Was 25% every 1-2 weeks
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: De-chlorinator, sponge media, melafix
Tank inhabitants: 3 Black Phantom Tetras and 3 Endler Guppies
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Whole new set-up; argos play sand, fake plants, new filter (Eheim Biopower), new heater (Interpet) and bog wood.
Exposure to chemicals: None that I know of.
 
Any help would be appreciated, it's looking like I will have to euthanise the second ill BPT but I'm hoping to save the rest

 

[noobgamers]

i think ive had the same with a neon tetra today actually i cant deduce what it is but my ammonia was non existent and my nitrate and nitrite was very low mine was gasping mainly at the surface and had reddend gills (R.I.P)

 

[KCB]

i think ive had the same with a neon tetra today actually i cant deduce what it is but my ammonia was non existent and my nitrate and nitrite was very low mine was gasping mainly at the surface and had reddend gills (R.I.P)

 
Nitrite should be 0ppm, did you do a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle? Reason I ask is because inflamed gills can be due to ammonia/nitrite poisoning which can happen if you cycle your filter using fish.
 
 
And bumping my topic before bed time. Will be euthanising my BPT before hand .

 

[noobgamers]

i did use a fish in cycle but i cycled it 9 months ago and i did a check on nitrite nitrates and ammonia and they were all low 0.5 nitrates 35ppm nitrites (soz not great im working on it) my ammonia was 0.1 ppm

 

[star4]

Was all the new stuff washed before you set it up? if not it might be some contamination.
Did you swap your old media over?
Is the new filter set near the surface for aggitation?, could be lack of oxygen if they are gasping.
 
I would suggest a large water change or add some carbon to your filter in case of contamination and add an airline or alter the filter to get more oxygen in the tank see if there is any improvements.
 
Fingers crossed

 

[KCB]

I lost my male BPT in the night, so out of the 4 I had on Thursday I now have just 1 and she's not looking well
 

Was all the new stuff washed before you set it up? if not it might be some contamination.
Did you swap your old media over?
Is the new filter set near the surface for aggitation?, could be lack of oxygen if they are gasping.
 
I would suggest a large water change or add some carbon to your filter in case of contamination and add an airline or alter the filter to get more oxygen in the tank see if there is any improvements.
 
Fingers crossed

 
No I just assumed it would be safe as it's made for aquariums 

, the only thing I washed was the sand and the fake plants as they had some algae on them. It's weird because my 3 Endlers are looking fine; no gasping, active as usual and have good colour.
 
I swapped the sponge media over but not the ceramic media and the filter is agitating well, I actually had to turn it down slightly because the flow was too fast.
 
I'll add the carbon as suggested and hope for the best really.
 
Thanks for the help star!

 

[star4]

, so sorry. It sounds like contamination then, which could be anything. A large water change will dilute what ever is in there and hopefully the carbon can remove the rest. I would leave the carbon media in for 3-4 days then change it. If you can I would set up your old filter in the tank for the carbon save disturbing your new filter as the bacteria from the sponge will be colonising the new filter. If you have used new media as well I would wash that through just in case, but not your old media, use fresh dechlorinated water not tank water just in case the contaminant is in the water.
 
Just a suggestion for your water change, when emptying the tank put your gravel vac/hose pipe near the bottom of the tank just in case its a heavy contaminate that is remaining in the lower levels of the water, which could be why your endlers are not as affected as the phantoms, but that is just a guess it might help it might not and add new water slowly and carefully so you dont disturb the bottom too much.
 
Best of luck

 

[star4]

I forgot to add, keep a check on your stats, with moving only part of the media over the tank may go into a mini cycle, it shouldnt but just keep an eye on it

 

[KCB]

Thanks for your help star. Unfortunately I had to euthanise the last BPT as she was just floating around the tank . I'm going out to buy some carbon now as the one I have at the moment is too large for the new filter, I'll do the water change then. Fingers crossed my Endlers will be ok! Although one is hanging around at the bottom at the moment...

 

[star4]

Oh dear that doesnt sound good , If the large wc and carbon shows no improvement after a few hours I would be tempted to move the remaining endlers in to your QT tank in your sig and let the carbon try and remove the contamination. The trouble is you do not know what it is, you might have to strip down the whole tank and clean it, but fingers crossed it wont come to that. WC asap

 

[KCB]

Oh dear that doesnt sound good

, If the large wc and carbon shows no improvement after a few hours I would be tempted to move the remaining endlers in to your QT tank in your sig and let the carbon try and remove the contamination. The trouble is you do not know what it is, you might have to strip down the whole tank and clean it, but fingers crossed it wont come to that. WC asap

 
I've done a 50% change and added the carbon, do you think 50% was enough? And the QT is a little full at the moment, I have a 10 litre hospital tank though so I can put them in there if necessary 

The Endler is a little more active now though still hanging around the bottom. I'll update if the situation changes.

 

[star4]

50% is enough in one go with loosing fish and changing the filter your bacteria will need to catch up again. It sounds positive that the endler has responded so quickly with a wc and carbon, hopefully he/she will improve more, so fingers crossed, he/she may hang around the bottom for a while if it is still feeling sick though. It wouldnt harm to do a small wc again tomorrow say 10% daily for 3-5 days just to ensure you do remove everything and help the carbon along. Then leave it for a couple of days and monitor the fish's reaction any sign of heavy breathing do a water change straight away. Its going to be difficult to know what has caused the contamination and how much of it is in the tank or worryingly how long it will last. My suspicion would lie with the new filter media if you didnt wash that first, although fish safe there could be dust or harmful particles from manufacture on it.
 
I'll check back later, hopefully for good news

 

[star4]

How are the remaining fish doing?

 

[KCB]

How are the remaining fish doing?

 
Much better! The Endler was at the top of the tank this morning before I turned the light on, he was hanging around with the others. He's near the bottom now but not touching it and is more active than yesterday. He ate this morning as well . I'll do the water changes as suggested though just to make sure whatever it was is gone.

 

[star4]

Great news so sorry about your other fish though but thankfully it looks like you are on the way to making sure the endlers get through it