Woke Up To 4 Deaths!

[BPB]

My tank stats are in my signature, 75 us gallon. My Eheim 2026 has been not working so well for the past few months. After researching a bit I discovered it was missing the pipe that connects the input down to the bottom of the canister, so I had been running on almost full bypass. Yikes. I ordered the part online, and also added a 750 gph powerhead to beef up the flow. The fish seemed instantly happier with the flow. and found currents to swim against in schools. I have the powerhead and the canister spray bar positioned in a way that basically creates a circular whirlpool with a couple dead-ish spots in the front and rear corners. No big deal. I was hoping that fixing my canister's bypass would also make my water crystal clear, which upon inspection this morning, it has.

However in spite of these two successes something horrible happened. When I woke up FOUR of my tiger barbs were dead. 3 were stuck to the filter intake strainer, and the fourth was stuck to the back of the powerhead (koralia 750). They are strong fast swimmers so I cant imagine they died from stress due to current, but I suppose anything is possible. I just don't see how improving my tank's conditions could have caused so many deaths in one night. I made the repairs to the tank about lunch time yesterday so I had a chance to watch them throughout the day. I'm a little bummed out, and really angry about it. I have 2 lonely tiger barbs left. My buenos aires tetras and zebra danios are doing fine. Even the #41#### guppies are all still going strong. I'll be doing a water test once everyone is off to work, and I'll post the results. Any ideas?


Please watch your language!

 

[KittyKat]

It was probably the shark.

What are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and water hardness?

 

[fluttermoth]

It was probably the shark.

What are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and water hardness?

I agree, it was quite likely the shark. They may have lived together quite happily previously, but it can sometimes only take some change in the tank to set an aggressive fish off on a rampage.

I experienced something very similar last year. I added some hatchet fish to my tank and suddenly started losing green neons at the rate of three a day. Took me three days to discover it was one of my rams

 

[BPB]

I should update my sig. I returned the shark a while back, otherwise the signature is accurate. Tested all parameters, first time in a while I may add.

Temperature - 78 degrees F
PH: 8.0
KH: 25
GH: 0
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm

I have a few plants, but by no means is it a jungle, Just some java fern

Out of my tiger barbs who remained this morning, the other two died when I took my son to school. They were just swimming very lethargic and drifting about in the current. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm not over stocked. I do weekly 25% water changes. My filter is working adequately now. I have strong flow, my lighting is good, and I feed enough to completely get consumed with no leftovers. I don't see how one particular species could die overnight like that. Since I added the plants, and the powerhead, I did remove my airstone, but I don't see how that could have effected anything. Airstones do nothing but add a small amount of current, and surface agitation, which I get WAY more of now with the powerhead. With plants in the water, and the current level I have, I cannot see how the problem could be low oxegenation in the water. I've always thought of tiger barbs as hardy fish, but mine all died overnight. Perhaps I just changed too many things at once? Are they weaker swimmers than I thought. If I start experiencing mass deaths over the next couple days I have no Idea what I'll do at that point.

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, ok, not the shark then...

How odd; that really is a bit of a mystery.
It's always possible there's something in your water that we don't/can't test for that the tigers are sensitive to in a way the other fish aren't.
If in doubt, water change is probably the best advice I can give in the meantime.

I'm sorry for your losses; I have tiger barbs and they're one of my favourites

 

[Monty-2010]

thats bad sorry mate.

I'd do a water change just in case, one of the first things i do if i find a dead fish.

were ther any signs of illness?

 

[BPB]

Going to do a water change now I suppose. No signs of illness. They were doing great at last night's feeding. Acting completely normal. Times like this make me want to tear down the whole tank and sell it off and use my stand as a kitchen island. This is ridiculous. I would like to replace them with more, or with something different, but I can't justify going out and spending $40 or $50 on more fish when I just lost 7 overnight!!!! #41####.


Please watch your language! This is a family oriented forum.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm sorry to hear about your losses. Given your water tests showed nothing suspect, I wonder if the introduction of the 750gph powerhead and the fixing of your filter (perhaps increasing its flow too) did change your fish's environment too rapidly.

Last September, I bought a Koralia Magnum 8 (12500lph)for my 120 gallon 5-footer and I lost three fish within ten days of its installation (with no bad readings), so what was supposed to be treating my fish to something like the flow they would have in the wild turned into a disaster. In hindsight I concluded (perhaps wrongly) that even though most of my fish came from rivers with strong current, their bodies had adjusted to much more sedate conditions in the LFS for months, so suddenly having to swim strongly was a massive shock... Like a human athlete stopping exercise to become a "couch potato" and then suddenly trying to go back to the levels of fitness they used to have.


Perhaps continue to check toxin readings (from different areas of the tank), just to be sure. If it was something else in the water, hopefully your water change has flushed it out.

 

[BPB]

I'm sorry to hear about your losses. Given your water tests showed nothing suspect, I wonder if the introduction of the 750gph powerhead and the fixing of your filter (perhaps increasing its flow too) did change your fish's environment too rapidly.

Last September, I bought a Koralia Magnum 8 (12500lph)for my 120 gallon 5-footer and I lost three fish within ten days of its installation (with no bad readings), so what was supposed to be treating my fish to something like the flow they would have in the wild turned into a disaster. In hindsight I concluded (perhaps wrongly) that even though most of my fish came from rivers with strong current, their bodies had adjusted to much more sedate conditions in the LFS for months, so suddenly having to swim strongly was a massive shock... Like a human athlete stopping exercise to become a "couch potato" and then suddenly trying to go back to the levels of fitness they used to have.


Perhaps continue to check toxin readings (from different areas of the tank), just to be sure. If it was something else in the water, hopefully your water change has flushed it out.

This is probably the most likely explanation as to what happened. The athlete/couch potato is spot on. It is still a shame. At any rate...any recommendations on some colorful, bold, semi aggressive community fish that can withstand a strong current? I really liked the tiger barbs, but am afraid to go that route again. Definitely would like something similar.

 

[KittyKat]

Danios, but if you're getting then from a shop, you might have the same problem. 6+ zebra or leopard danios for a 3+ ft tank; 6+ giant danios for a 4+ ft tank are good options.

How much turnover have you got in total?

 

[c-dub]

Very sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[BPB]

Right now my turnover is somewhere between 700-800 gph realistically. My tank is 4 ft 75 usg, with an eheim 2026 filter and a koralia 750 powerhead. According to the stats of those two units I should be at around 1000 gph, but stats are never quite what they claim. I have strong flow and adequate filtration. I've got 10 zebra danios right now, and was going to get giant danios, but opted for Buenos Aires tetras instead. Same adult size and attitude but more colorful. Would sword tails work with a strong current? I know gouramis are out of the picture as they are not strong swimmers. My Guppies are having no problem at all with the current.

 

[KittyKat]

Actually, for powerheads, the rated turnover is exactly what is stated because they don't have any media to interfere with the measured rate and the Eheims have a "full of media" flow rating which is stated *somewhere* too.. I would imagine that your flow is somewhere in the 850 gph range, because of that.

I am quite surprised that the guppies can cope with the flow, I've had them struggle in 5* turnover before, let alone in 10+*! For that reason, I would not imagine that the swordtails would do that well either, but if your fish shops can take your fish back.. then it's worth a try.

Is there any particular reason you have such high flow rates?