Strange death

[dany83]

Hi, I have been having this problem with my tropical fish. I have 33 gallon tank, FW, and I'm changing the water and doin everythin im supposed to do. But some fish, only the small ones like tetra are dying. They began to sort of suffocate on the bottom of the tank. They cant swim properly, start to lie on the gravel and somtimes go crazy before they die. I searched the net for diseases and symptoms of such but I couldnt find much. If not a disease, it must be a problem with temperature or water. Im gonna check the water again at the local pet store, and my temp is 77-81. I hope anyone knows anything about why they are dying. Thanks

 

[skimpy]

You say you'll check the water again at your lfs. I assume by that you do not have your own testing kit. Some lfs's are not always good at testing water.

I would suggest you get your own test kits for at least PH Am NitiIte NitrAte, I personally find API test kits very good.

For us to help further with your problem, please post test results, and more details, i.e. what size water changes, how often, do you use dechlorinator, is the tank cycled, how long has tank been running for, what fish do you have and how many.

Good Luck

 

[dany83]

I change 20% of the water every 2 weeks or less. I used Aqua Plus on the tap water before placing it in the aquarium (right away). Im not sure what u mean by cycled. I use Cycle and Waste Eliminator always. it has been running for almost a month now, and i have 7 neon tetras, two other tetra i do not know the name of, 4 mollies, and 3 small angel fish. I have my own test kit but I dont think its that good. here are the results:

NO3 = 5 ppm
3 degrees dkh (carbonate hardness)
PH level is about 7.6

 

[Inchworm]

Hi dany83

From the information you have given, I can tell you that your tank is not cycled. This should be the first thing you work on to get things in order.

I suggest you throw out the Cycle and Waste Eliminator and add nothing to your water going into your tank except a good dechlorinator. Forget about the pH and hardness readings. These are seldom problems for most fish. As first aid, do a big water change and gravel cleaning - perhaps 50% - and read the following article:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

This will give you good basic information about why a tank is cycled and just what that means. Then, since we be better able to understand each other, ask lots of questions so we can help you get your tank in order and your fish in good health.

 

[skimpy]

Hi Dany83

Inchworm is absolutely correct. Your reading of NO3 = 5ppm is the one causing you a problem. This is a high reading of NitrIte and the symptons your fish are showing are NitrIte poisoning. You really do need to do a 50% water change immediately you need to get this figure down to under 1ppm maximum or your fish will most probably die.

Remember the first stop for any strange behaviour is to check the water parameters. Water quality and stress are the main causes of fish disease it lowers the fish's immunity to all sorts of things. NitrIte and Ammonia are toxic to fish and during the cycling period you have to watch these carefully because they do rise. After the tank is cycled they will be at a reading of 0, unless you have a problem, overfeed, or overstock your tank the ammonia and NitrIte should then stay at 0ppm.

If you have read the topic that Inchworm suggested you will have a better understanding of why your fish are dying. The details of my tank when I cycled with fish may be helpful to give you a guide of how readings go up and down and what effect water changes have to readings during cycling. HERE Remember though your tank will have different figures but it does give an idea.

I suggest you read the topics at the top of the beginners section they are all very helpful.

Let us know how you get on, post the readings of the NitrIte after your water change. You may find that at this stage you need to continue doing water changes for a while, to try and save your fish. But if you have had your tank going for one month then hopefully it should be cycled in a few weeks time and things will get easier.

Good Luck, I know it seems a lot to take in at the beginning but it does all make sense in time

 

[dany83]

Ok the only problem with doin a 50% change is how to dechlorinate the water. I can take out 50 percent of the water, but then is it ok to add dechlorinator to tap water and immediately place it in the tank? What I mean is how long does water need to be dechlorinated, because I cant leave the tank half empty for so long.

 

[skimpy]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you dany83. Dechlorinator works almost instantly. Get you water ready, make sure its close to the temperature (2/3 degrees different can be a bit of a shock to the fish) and then add the dechlorinator, swill the water round with your hand to make sure it mixed well and say 30 seconds later you can put the water into the tank.

Personally for me I've got into a system. I use two buckets. I get new water ready first and add the dechlorinator. Then remove the dirty water from the tank into a second bucket. Removing the dirty water takes a few minutes so by the time this is done the dechlorinator has well and truly worked.

Good luck with the water change, it's a bit difficult the first time but it does get easier with time, a system just starts falling in place for you.