[DeerFriend]

Hi,

I had 7 Black Phantom tetras and now I'm down to 5. 2 of my females started shimmying and gasping one after another. They wouldn't eat and would stay mostly in one place. Neither of them seemed to have any signs of parasites, fungus or sores.

I check their water and the water seems fine as far as I can tell. No nitrates or nitrites, 0ammonia, slightly acidic PH, slightly soft water.

I looked up what could be up with them but whatever their symptoms were from progressed faster than what people were saying. I tried doing the things the people suggested. Water change, changed out the filter, turned off the light, increased airation. It didn't seem to be the chlorine based on the other fish but they suggested adding a few drops with the symptoms so I tried that but nothing got better.

I moved them in a quarantine tank where they died a bit ago. Someone suggested that as well and they lived in it for a few hours but died one after another, about 20 mins apart. I tried using salt as well but it didn't seem to do anything.
The others seem perfectly fine. I have no idea what caused their deaths. They're in a 29 gal tank. I've had them for a few months now with no issues.

Thanks for any assistance. I apologize if I did something stupid.

 

[Chris_Produces]

Hi,

I had 7 Black Phantom tetras and now I'm down to 5. 2 of my females started shimmying and gasping one after another. They wouldn't eat and would stay mostly in one place. Neither of them seemed to have any signs of parasites, fungus or sores.

I check their water and the water seems fine as far as I can tell. No nitrates or nitrites, 0ammonia, slightly acidic PH, slightly soft water.

I looked up what could be up with them but whatever their symptoms were from progressed faster than what people were saying. I tried doing the things the people suggested. Water change, changed out the filter, turned off the light, increased airation. It didn't seem to be the chlorine based on the other fish but they suggested adding a few drops with the symptoms so I tried that but nothing got better.

I moved them in a quarantine tank where they died a bit ago. Someone suggested that as well and they lived in it for a few hours but died one after another, about 20 mins apart. I tried using salt as well but it didn't seem to do anything.
The others seem perfectly fine. I have no idea what caused their deaths. They're in a 29 gal tank. I've had them for a few months now with no issues.

Thanks for any assistance. I apologize if I did something stupid.

Could we see a picture of the nitrate test results? I've rarely seen a tank with absolutely no nitrates.

 

[DeerFriend]

Yeah, it's not exactly 0. The only test I have for it is one of those test strips so it's whatever they deem "none". I'll see if I can get a picture. It may take a bit as I have no idea where the connector for my phone is. The ammonia test is liquid though, thankfully.

Edit: upon retaking the test, I got 20ppm Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 75gh hardness, 80kh alkalinity, 7.2ph. I took the old one several hours ago and I may have read it incorrectly or done something wrong (I found the issue at 2am when I got up for work) I'll still see if I can get a picture but it will likely take awhile due to the connector being lost for some time now. Would any of the above readings cause an issue?

 

[mnemenoi]

Looking at the readings nothings seems amiss from a water parameter point of view. That being said, most disease/parasites/ect. take quite some time to finish their dirty work and its a long process. In general, when numerous fish are having issues and expiring in a short time many aquarists look for the closest common denominator and it eventually boils back down to water/pollutant. How are your temps? Have you had a heater fail and possibly miss it? Strip tests are just not very good and I have seen quite a few folks get incorrect readings, thus the reason many recommend bottle test kits. They cost a bit more, but you get accurate and hard numbers to look at. Beyond that, what recent stuff has occurred in the tank? Water Changes? Anything new added, possibly something in the hardscape? How long have you had these? If its any length of time over a few months I would still be leaning toward some water issue. How is your surface agitation? Some protein buildups can cause a barrier in the oxygen exchange and lower oxygen levels, try aiming a discharge to ripple the surface. Are you running CO2? Double check rates and possibly reduce until the situation is resolved.

 

[DeerFriend]

I've had the fish about 2 months. The biggest issue I had was a batch of plants which died quickly so I had to take them out and replace them. They were a species of stem plant but I can't remember the name. That happened awhile ago though(about 3 weeks). I use low light and floating plants on the surface. The plants that died were supposedly good for my tank according to the store but they didn't do well. I had them in the quarantine tank and they did ok but they died 2 weeks later after being moved to the new tank. The other plants in the tank are fine. The store said the plants didn't need special parameters or fertilizers but I'm not sure now.

I've been doing water changes weekly. I'm not sure the exact % but the tank is 29g and the water from the siphon is expelled to a 2.5g bucket. The bucket is almost full when I'm done.

Water agitation is pretty good from what I can tell. The tank has a very slight current from the filter and the bubbler breaks up the surface in the middle of the tank well. There are also several floating plants and a couple small snails. The snails have also been there a long time and haven't seemed to cause an issue.

If the heater failed, it did so very sneakily overnight. I have 2 thermometers on the tank and they both read 76. When I saw them start showing symptoms, it still read normally.

I plan on getting more accurate tests. I have tried several times before to get them and the store was out. I'm thankful for the ammonia one I have. (I live sort of in the middle of nowhere so that may be why) I'll go to the store again today to check for them.

 

[Chris_Produces]

I've had the fish about 2 months. The biggest issue I had was a batch of plants which died quickly so I had to take them out and replace them. They were a species of stem plant but I can't remember the name. That happened awhile ago though(about 3 weeks). I use low light and floating plants on the surface. The plants that died were supposedly good for my tank according to the store but they didn't do well. I had them in the quarantine tank and they did ok but they died 2 weeks later after being moved to the new tank. The other plants in the tank are fine. The store said the plants didn't need special parameters or fertilizers but I'm not sure now.

I've been doing water changes weekly. I'm not sure the exact % but the tank is 29g and the water from the siphon is expelled to a 2.5g bucket. The bucket is almost full when I'm done.

Water agitation is pretty good from what I can tell. The tank has a very slight current from the filter and the bubbler breaks up the surface in the middle of the tank well. There are also several floating plants and a couple small snails. The snails have also been there a long time and haven't seemed to cause an issue.

If the heater failed, it did so very sneakily overnight. I have 2 thermometers on the tank and they both read 76. When I saw them start showing symptoms, it still read normally.

I plan on getting more accurate tests. I have tried several times before to get them and the store was out. I'm thankful for the ammonia one I have. (I live sort of in the middle of nowhere so that may be why) I'll go to the store again today to check for them.

...On a side note, I would take out more than 2.5 gallons when doing a water change on a 29g tank. What you're doing isn't even 10%. I would shoot for removing 7 gallons and don't forget to use a conditioner like Seachem Prime to detox tap water (if that's what you put back in the tank). Hope that helps!

 

[The Trigger]

Aside from a disease...a toxin could have gotten into your tank somehow. A few years ago I had a string of mysterious deaths in a well established tank over the course of 2 weeks. After testing the water and observing for diseases I ruled out almost everything except they were poisoned somehow. I never found out what caused it but the deaths ceased after about the second week. Could have been moisturizer on my hands, some kind of chemical or something that was sprayed into the air like an air freshener.....who knows.

 

[Chris_Produces]

Aside from a disease...a toxin could have gotten into your tank somehow. A few years ago I had a string of mysterious deaths in a well established tank over the course of 2 weeks. After testing the water and observing for diseases I ruled out almost everything except they were poisoned somehow. I never found out what caused it but the deaths ceased after about the second week. Could have been moisturizer on my hands, some kind of chemical or something that was sprayed into the air like an air freshener.....who knows.

I read on here that one guy couldn't figure out what was happening to his tank, and come to find out, someone had used his plant pruning scissors to cut the top off one of those flea/tick tubes for his dog. He unknowingly ended up using the scissors and killed quite a few of the inhabitants of his tank...:icon_frow

I try to remember to rinse anything I'm going to put in the tank first, especially my hands.

 

[The Trigger]

I read on here that one guy couldn't figure out what was happening to his tank, and come to find out, someone had used his plant pruning scissors to cut the top off one of those flea/tick tubes for his dog. He unknowingly ended up using the scissors and killed quite a few of the inhabitants of his tank...:icon_frow

I try to remember to rinse anything I'm going to put in the tank first, especially my hands.

Yeah that will definitely do it. My tanks in my bedroom so even when I spray something like cologne on, I will walk into the hallway to do so. That's the only down side with open top aquariums. You have to be overly cautious about anything you spray in the room. In my own experience I noticed my fish began acting strange like hiding, swimming erratically and gasping. Within a day of observing these symptoms, death shortly followed.

 

[mnemenoi]

Bengal roach spray from across the living room and along a floor board nearly wiped out a shrimp tank that was full. After that it made me wonder just what we were breathing in... We now cover the tanks and I get the kids out for the afternoon after much better controlled spraying

 

[DeerFriend]

I'll remove 7 gal from now on. Thanks for telling me that. I was told before to only do the 2.5 gal by my boyfriend's brother who keeps fish. He must have miss heard the gallons I told him. I always use a conditioner when changing the water so chlorine or chloramines shouldn't be an issue hopefully.

Now that you mention toxins, it's possible that a toxin may have gotten in there when my boyfriend was cleaning over the weekend. The tank is in an odd place for it at this point and we specifically try to avoid the tank by being wary of it and not using sprays around it but who knows. Considering the time frame, it's very possible.

So far, the other fish are still doing well. I did a water change a few minutes ago in case more needed to be removed in case of toxins and following Chris_Produces post.

 

[Imaginary1226]

I feel like when fish are dying like that you should do a large water change to remove or lessen whatever the problem is. At least 50% I would probably remove almost all if it to clear out whatever is in your tank. Normally 7 gallons would be ok though....desperate times call for larger water changes.

 

[roadmaster]

Sometimes new plant's that were perhap's grown emmersed rather than submerged at wherever we/you buy them from,,are sprayed with chemical's to keep insect's from eating the leaves.
If we then do not give them a good rinse before placing them in our tank's,,then chemicals could be introduced in this way.
Ain't sayin this is what happened,but would rinse anything and everything before placing it in the tank just for peace of mind.