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Fish dying not sure why

3K views 29 replies 10 participants last post by  Robin Conor Sallade 
#1 ·
So my tanks fully cycled and i got fish for it, 6 glowlights and 6 glass catfish. Surprisingly it seems the glass cats are doing fine but im losing some glowlights (2 at this point). They seemed fine and happy and their corpses don't really look bloated or have any markings my levels are all fine a ammonia is like one notch above 0 (.25ppm I think), nitrite 0, and nitrates flux a bit but it's planted so it always drops. Should I be worried?
 
#4 ·
Seems like you just set this up and did a fishless cycle? If so, you may have added too many fish too quickly which the beneficial bacteria that you established wasn't enough to handle the current bioload. You'll need to do prob daily water changes until you have built up enough beneficial bacteria to handle the bioload.


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#5 ·
Fishless for about a month and a half then had some fish in there for about 2week. The ammonia isn't actually at .25ppm, just retested, it seems too light for 0 but too dark for the .25 on the API tester. I'll up my water change schedule and give a good clean if there is excess food in there.
 
#8 ·
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That is odd then. The fishless cycle pumps way more ammonia into the tank then you would normally ever get with fish so as long as the cycle was good you should be good. You are using the top with the test tube, not your finger to shake ya? I did that and got bad readings before. Your losses may have just been new fish stressed from the store.
 
#7 ·
A good amount of plants (Val, wisteria, java fern babies, red flames, and a Lilly) also it's a 29gal I didn't mention that. I'll just up the water changes I did one a little bit ago, im just surprised the glass cats aren't having any ill effects but the tetras are.
 
#9 ·
Yea I used the top lol. Yea the only reason I didn't think it was ammonia at the get go is the more sensitive fish seems fine, the ammonia level I chocked up to being the over feeding (which at the moment is on purpose I only have flakes and the glass cats need slow sinkers and soaked flakes sink very fast) but it's entirely possible that it's ammonia poisoning just haven't seen any of it's typical signs and the levels always flux then fall within the day normally.
 
#13 ·
Okay I got home from work, checked ammonia levels they're just slightly lighter than 0 now not remotely green so my ammonia has gone down for sure. I did notice something strange with a fish one of the tetras are swimming at the surface at an angle with head up (Id say at like a 30-45 degrees off from straight up and down). It kinda looks like its gasping for air but that water definitely oxygenated (plants pearl regularly), my guess is possibly some infection I just hadn't noticed (I did get them from PetSmart so I doubt they quarantine at all). I included a picture, pardon the algae.
 

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#15 ·
+1 Algae and plants will consume oxygen when lights are out but also your beneficial bacteria that are growing consume it. Plants pearling will help but not after the light go out and oxygen is much harder to dissolve in water than C02 the best method of ensuring enough oxygen is surface agitation. I could be wrong but I think you gain more oxygen exchange through the surface agitation an air stone creates than the bubbles rising to the surface.

I'm not saying this is what's happening but then again I'm not saying it not

Dan
 
#16 ·
Plants are pearling... Are you using CO2 by any chance? Maybe just pumping too much? I'm asking because it's pretty unusual to get plants pearl without it (if it's pearling after water change, then it means nothing).
The other idea is to check if you are doing the ammonia test right. It's a pretty popular problem.
With gasping fish, whatever the reason may be, I would up water changes and in the meantime look for real problem with people here :)
 
#17 ·
Yes i know it does use O2 at night but overall it shouldn't be enough to harm a tank and it being low O2 couldn't be the case because that'd be a blanket issue and not one singular fish. I am taking care of the algae issue that is a few days growth been adjusting light levels/time. This kind of algae (mix of diatom and green) is non toxic as well (done several papers on the stuff in my area I know it quite well as an Ecology student who specialized in water quality/pollution).

Bump: I dont use CO2 and its barely been water changed since its cycle just last week and today.

Bump: I dont use CO2 and its barely been water changed since its cycle just last week and today.
 
#18 ·
The algae is definitely non toxic. Do you have any surface agitation? The reason I ask is if there is a biofilm on top it will inhibit gas exchange. It could also be that one fish suffered some gill damage at one point or another and is more sensitive to it. Again I'm not saying this is the case but rather trying to eliminate it. If you don't simply add an airstone if you have or change the filter output to break the surface of the water and see if he is still gasping after about an hour.

Dan

Bump:
Plants are pearling... Are you using CO2 by any chance? Maybe just pumping too much? I'm asking because it's pretty unusual to get plants pearl without it (if it's pearling after water change, then it means nothing).
The other idea is to check if you are doing the ammonia test right. It's a pretty popular problem.
With gasping fish, whatever the reason may be, I would up water changes and in the meantime look for real problem with people here :)
I agree its odd to see plants pearl without Co2. Water changes definitely won't hurt. I think your referring to the nitrate tests... the one you have to shake for 30 seconds like a bat out of hell?

Dan
 
#19 ·
Yea Ive got the canister filter's spray bar pointed almost straight up (real easy reminder the filter is on during water change as you get sprayed in the face). There is almost no biofilm on the top just some right near the driftwood branches that break the surface (its got that white slime on it cuz its still new so I imagine that is the source).

Bump: It pearled during the fishless cycle and i had an airstone in there for a while before i had fish thats probably the cause. Fundamentally pearling means tandem to nothing other that theres allot of O2 in there. Since the addition of fish and stone removal its pearled 2x but not for like a long period of time also it was mainly the Val pearling at a specific height (1-2.5in from the top).
 
#20 · (Edited)
Yea Ive got the canister filter's spray bar pointed almost straight up (real easy reminder the filter is on during water change as you get sprayed in the face). There is almost no biofilm on the top just some right near the driftwood branches that break the surface (its got that white slime on it cuz its still new so I imagine that is the source).
Well he may just have permanent gill damage, at this point idk what else to try but hopefully others will. The white slime on the wood is more than likely a fungus that is non-toxic and will go away on its own some fish eat it although I haven't seen a pic I'm pretty confident about that.

Added: without Co2 an airstone will actually benefit the plants as it will increase gas exchange for not only o2 but also Co2 they are independent of eachother

Dan
 
#22 ·
Just get ammonia/nitrite to zero. If they are not then you're overloading the bb. I know low levels aren't overly harmful but you should always have zero on both if you're within your limits on bioload. Also make sure your nitrate is less than about 40ppm. Handle that first and then worry about the fish after that. Buying a fish from petco/petsmart there could be bunch of reason as to why there is something wrong. But you can see the ammonia is wrong so fix that. Also, if you are getting pearling that means the water has reached maximum saturation of oxygen so unless your running co2 through out the night I doubt that's the problem.


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#24 ·
The one from last night is dead, here are the other 3 (atleast as good of a photo as I can get they don't like staying still). As of a few minutes ago my readings are all 0s and pH is 7.6-7.8 (gotta love tap water). Gave it a good clean and a 33% WC which if nothing else pissed the glass cats off. The dead body was slightly bloated in the abdominal area.
 

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#25 ·
I'm going out on a limb and saying columnaris - and it's infecting the gills. Easy to diagnose when the fish displays the classic white saddle, not so easy when it's not.
 
#26 ·
Was just going to say that myself, it fits the bill with the tetras dying and floating at the surface but the glass cats are fine. Where did you buy the fish from? I bought a school of Colombian tetras from Petsmart and they had columnaris, half the school died, and the other half survived (the columnaris also spread to my dwarf gouramis, killing them). It doesn't seem to affect bottom feeders as much, as my cories never got it (save one, who was already sick). The best way I found to deal with it was to add salt daily until it went away (I used a full dosage every day, so I'd recommend you do the same)

Columnaris is one of those illnesses that will make you think it's something else entirely, which leads to more fish deaths while people try to figure out whats going on
 
#28 ·
Ya, it seems PetSmart is notorious for Columnaris outbreaks. As for salt, use about a teaspoon per every 5 gallons daily. I can't say until when to do this, as it is often hard to tell when it has retreated form the livestock in the tank. In my fish, it manifested as mouth rot, which made it easier to tell when it had gone, but as it hasn't manifested physically in your fish, its better to be safe than sorry. One necessity whilst treating Columnaris is reducing stressors for fish, which means no tank rearrangements or heavy cleanings for a while. reduced number of water changes can actually be beneficial because they are often stressful on fish. Another necessity is Lower water temperatures, as Columnaris thrives in hot water (think the opposite of ick). It;s important to note as well, that Columnaris is one of the few bacteria that actually prefers cleaner water (this is probably due to the fact that Columnaris is present in most tanks, and is harmless most of the time).
 
#29 ·
I used the dipping method of 3Tablespoons salt per gallon Ina different container for 30min because after adding one dose of salt to the tank the plants were visibly not enjoying life, should I preemptively salt dip new fish I don't have a QT tank available and PetSmart is kinda it for fish around me otherwise it's internet purchasing.
 
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