Suffering sudden fish loss. Please help

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BC Space

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Aug 8, 2013
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I have a 55 gallon setup w/ all the appropriate equipment. I do monthly water changes of about 33%. About a month ago I lost my 5 or 6 year old plecostomus. I did not notice the fish was gone for a while and was only able to remove the skeletal remains. Shortly after I bought a new one from Petsmart. The fish did not last long. Not sure if it was just eaten by my other fish or if it was sick, again I just removed the remains. It's been a couple of weeks since then. Two days ago I lost my 6 year old Bala Shark and today I came home to find one of my Tinfoil barbs rolled over(this fish is was only about 6 or 7 months old). Is there anything I should be worried about or that I can check. None of the fish have seemed ill. Remaining in the tank are 4 tinfoil barbs, all about six months old. A redtail shark also the same age, a albino rainbow shark, and a fish that I'm not sure what it is, about 6 years old.
Thanks!
 

huapala

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Jul 25, 2013
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what are the nirite and ammonia levels and could the rotting fish corpse caused an ammonia spike that resulted in another death and thus another decomp and ammonia spike?

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jasonfishaddict

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Jun 18, 2010
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I have a 55 gallon setup w/ all the appropriate equipment. I do monthly water changes of about 33%. About a month ago I lost my 5 or 6 year old plecostomus. I did not notice the fish was gone for a while and was only able to remove the skeletal remains. Shortly after I bought a new one from Petsmart. The fish did not last long. Not sure if it was just eaten by my other fish or if it was sick, again I just removed the remains. It's been a couple of weeks since then. Two days ago I lost my 6 year old Bala Shark and today I came home to find one of my Tinfoil barbs rolled over(this fish is was only about 6 or 7 months old). Is there anything I should be worried about or that I can check. None of the fish have seemed ill. Remaining in the tank are 4 tinfoil barbs, all about six months old. A redtail shark also the same age, a albino rainbow shark, and a fish that I'm not sure what it is, about 6 years old.
Thanks!
Anytime you deal with sudden fish loss you have to consider your water. Have you tested your water? What are the results; ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH? Along the same line, do you have adequate filtration and aeration? Monthly water changes are fine for tanks that are lightly stocked but plecos, Bala Sharks, and Tinfoil Barbs produce a lot of waste and grow much too large for a 55g. Aggression is a possibility but I believe you have a water quality issue caused by your bio load. Your current stock is more suitable for a 150g or 200g. Also, the Red tail Shark will become more aggressive with age as will the Rainbow. I would suggest you research adult size and compatibility before your next purchases.


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tanker

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One dead fish could have caused a major ammonia spike. A 6+ year old pleco can do major damage to water quality if it rotted and "you did not know the fish was gone for a while".
 

BC Space

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Aug 8, 2013
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I will definitely be doing more research next time. Filtration is adequate along with aeration should be good to.
 

BC Space

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Aug 8, 2013
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I will have to check the ammonia levels. Without having the means to test it right away is there anything I can do in the mean time to try and fix the situation? It was only two or three days between the last time I saw the fish and when I cleaned the tank and discovered the remains.
 

jasonfishaddict

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Weekly water changes should help in the short term. For long term success, I would rehome the Tinfoil Barbs and decide on one kind of shark. Then plan the tank around it; being semi aggressive, there are a lot of possible tank mates to choose from. Try to keep fish with an adult size of 6" or less. A school of Tiger Barbs would do well.


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authmal

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Aug 4, 2011
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I will definitely be doing more research next time. Filtration is adequate along with aeration should be good to.

What exactly are you calling "adequate" filtration? In asking for help, I recommend you don't use adjectives when you can use specifics, since what you think is adequate may be inadequate, thus causing your problems.
 
Last edited:

authmal

Pseudonovice
Aug 4, 2011
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Phoenix, AZ
I will have to check the ammonia levels. Without having the means to test it right away is there anything I can do in the mean time to try and fix the situation? It was only two or three days between the last time I saw the fish and when I cleaned the tank and discovered the remains.
I would start with weekly water changes. Since you've been doing monthly ~33% changes for so long (since you didn't indicate monthly changes as a new maintenance schedule), I'm pretty sure your water quality is pretty much off the charts bad, and you have "old tank syndrome" meaning that your fish that have been in it for years will be fine, but new additions (quarantining is a whole other topic) are being thrown into bad water quality, and have a hard time acclimating, usually dying quickly. I'd recommend starting with weekly ~10% water changes. After a month, go to ~20%. After another month, you should be fine to adopt a 30-50% weekly water change schedule. The gradual increase is to reduce the level of nitrates gradually, and give your existing fish a chance to acclimate to the change gradually. I fear your results will likely be literally off the charts bad.

I've gone the infrequent water change route, and had horrible water quality, and watched way too many fish die as a result of it. I now know better, but did learn the lessons painfully.
 
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