Would Like Advice

[ifarrell93]

I have a 46 gallon bow tank that until recently was empty. Why you may ask? because all of my fish up and died for unknown reasons.at the time my tank was constantly smelling and many times never totally getting rid of the smell.(plenty of complaints from my family. i was out for some reason that i forget.(i think it might of been a week long fishing trip. ) when i returned i find my tank cleaner that it had been in a while. i had cleaned it many times but i had never gotten it to this degree of clearness. It no longer had any smell. then it started to get fogy again and smell again. this time many of my fish would start to die off. at a rate of 2 or 3 a day.

my fish included
1 spotted high fined pleco about 9 inches
1 common pleco about the same size as the other
a 6-7 inch tricolor shark
a 6-7 inch iridescent shark
a pair of cat fish i have no idea what they were
they were similarly shaped to corys but about 4 or 5 inches and brown with darker brown spots. the dorsal fin rays were long. it's skin was smooth (no scales)
3 or 4 assorted rainbows
and a stripped Raphael cat 3 inches

now that i look at the list i think the tank may have been over populated. but they had been doing well for so long. why the sudden mass extinction. when they would die they would be fine one day than dead the next with no signs of illness. any ideas?

(and yes i do realize now that the plecos and sharks were too big for the tank. No more fish exceeding 8 inches for me.

 

[ifarrell93]

also this once happened before even the event described above. except that time a Bolivian ram survived, and there was no bad smell that time either.

there seems to be a cycle long period of no problems than mass death. please help break it.

 

[minnnt]

With 2 BIG plecs pumping out alot of waste it could have been ammonia, especially with the smell you mention too. You also had a fair few catfish which would have been putting a very big load onto the filter. Was there adequate filtration? Sharks shouldn't be kept together either. The Rainbow would have been fine though i believe?

 

[ifarrell93]

The filter is a penguin bio wheel 330. it should have been adequate. also when ever i cleaned the tank i would rinse waste out of the cartridges.

 

[minnnt]

Do you have a means of testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

 

[ifarrell93]

I actually planned on getting testing kits tomorrow.
i know your probably thinking i'm an extremely stupid person for trying to take care of a tank without these tools. but then again what i need and what i get was until recently dictated my my mom. (didn't get my job until about a month and a half ago.) so I've only really had a ph test kit until now.

 

[KittyKat]

Overpopulation, inappropriate stock, was it even cycled? I have never seen a HOTB filter which could have coped with that stocking.

 

[Gilli]

I think your problem is that your tank was never cycled - if you dont have a water testing kit how could it be? Until your tank is fully cycled if you dont take certain steps your fish will continue to die.

You now need to get that kit and fast and in the meantime be doing 80% water changes every day to be on the safe side until until you know your water stats! Cut right back on feeding which is making the problem worse until your tank is stable.

Do you know never to rinse anything in tap water only used tank water or any good bacteria you have managed to build up will die and also that you have to use dechlorinator to make the water safe? Have you been doing water changes and gravel vacs? Dont be tempted to buy any more fish to replace any that have died until your tank is cycled.

Read up on the article on fish in cycling on this forum

Cycling A Tank

Once your tank is cycled its always a good idea to google any fish you feel like buying find out information about them to see if they will be suitable for your tank.

Good luck!