Fish dropping like flies - water tests OK

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geneticbits

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Aug 3, 2013
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1. Size of tank? 44 - 55 gal, not quite sure

2. a. Ammonia? 0ppm
b. Nitrite? 0ppm
c. Nitrate? 20ppm (just did 50% water change on Saturday, was at 40ppm)
d. pH, KH and GH? 8.2pH; I don't know the KH and GH, but I know the water is hard
Test kit - API, tested today


3. Temperature? 23C - heater is set to this temp and I double checked with another thermometer just now

4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)? FW

5. How long the aquarium has been set up? I've had the aquarium for 3 weeks now, but I bought it as an established tank. I don't think the past owner maintained it well, and some people suggested that earlier my fish were dying because they weren't used to the "good" water. But now I'm losing new fish.

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?
Current popultation
- 1 Panama Red BN Pleco (about 2") 1.5 weeks
- 2 silver dollars (a little bigger than a quarter) .5 weeks
- 3 Sunburst Platies (various sizes) .5 weeks
- 3 Marigold Platies (various sizes) .5 weeks
- 2 Opaline Gourami (2.5" ish) 2 weeks
- 1 Dojo Loach (5-6") came with tank
- 4 Scissortail Rasbora (1-2" various) 1.5 weeks
- 4 or 5 Serpae Tetra (various) 2 came with tank, others


Before anyone yells at me for adding fish too quickly, the original bioload of the tank when I got it had 1 7" bala shark, 2 5" silver dollars, the dojo, 2 Serpaes, 1 7" Chinese Algae Eater, and 1 Red Wag Platy. The CAE died I think from lack of O2 in the water from the time it took to tear down, transport and set up the tank. The Bala found a new home before I added any new fish. One of the Dollars and the platy died after Day 1 (assuming from stress of "good" water). So with the loss of bioload, I felt justified in adding the number of small fish I added.

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)? No.

8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants? No live plants, but many fake ones for hiding places
b. Sand, gravel, barebottom? Gravel
c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors? A coral-like decor and a small log-like decor, both are more like arches instead of caves.

9. a. Filtration? I don't know the brand.
b. Heater? Yes

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used? No lights, just from whatever light is in the room
b. Any sunlight exposure? How long? No direct sunlight, but it does get indirect sunlight during the morning hours.

11. a. Water change schedule? I haven't established a schedule yet, but the last time I did a change was 8/17
b. Volume of water changed? 50%
c. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed? vacuumed with each water change

12. Foods? Omega One Tropical Fish Vibrant Color Flakes, Omega One sinking veggie disks, Omega One freeze-dried bloodworms
How often are they fed? 1 veggie disk per day, freeze-dried bloodworms around 10am, flakes around 4pm

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms? None, other than death
b. Appearance of poop? dark?
c. Appearance of gills? normal?

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? Not in this tank. On Monday, I noticed a small silver dollar (not included in count above) had white spots that I took to be ich. So I moved it to a hospital tank (10gal) and treated it there with some ich meds that came with the tank. The bottle looked old, so I'm not sure how good they were. None of the other fish in the tank I'm inquiring about show signs of ich.
b. What meds were used? Wardly Essentials Ich Away


Here is my issue. In the past 3 days, I've lost 4 fish. I also lost a couple last week. Last week, I lost one small silver dollar (COD unknown), 2 scissortails (COD unknown), and a serpae that got stuck beneath the bubbler that got uprooted from the gravel. The ones from last week is what prompted me to check my water quality. When I saw the 40ppm nitrates, I decided it was time for a large water change. Now, I'm still losing fish. This week, so far I've lost the other large silver dollar that was left from when I got the tank, 1 sunburst platy, 1 scissortail, and 1 serpae tetra. When I noticed the ich-y silver dollar on Monday, I immediately moved him to a 10 gal that I filled with water from the large tank (to avoid stress from differences in water) and treated with the medicine. Unfortunately, I don't have a heater for that tank. But I inspected all of the other remaining fish and they looked fine. Last night I found a serpae stuck to the filter intake. This morning, one of my students (I'm a bio & chem teacher) pointed out the dead silver dollar (he was stuck in the plants where he normally hung out, which is why I didn't notice) and then when I was fishing him out I found the platy dead on one of the small plants nearby. The scissortail that died I only noticed because the school went from 5 on Saturday to 4 on Sunday and I just today found the body. It was partially eaten. So maybe it died of something and then the fish that munched on it died too?

But the remaining fish are active and eating and don't look ich-y. So I'm stumped. What thoughts do you guys have on what could be killing the fish?
 

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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If one fish has ich, they likely all do. Just the way it works. Ich attacks the gills preferentially, so it's seldom seen until it's a full blown infestation.
 

geneticbits

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Aug 3, 2013
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Ok. I can go ahead and treat the whole tank. I was just avoiding that if I could just in case any of the fish were sensitive to the meds. From the list in my tank, do I need to be extra careful with medicating for any of them?
 

ktrom13

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Feb 4, 2013
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boston
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Loaches are scaleless and some meds can be harmful even deadly at full dose. So be careful with the loach. When you get the meds or already have them just make sure to thoroughly read the directions and apply as needed.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

authmal

Pseudonovice
Aug 4, 2011
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You can avoid the risk of medication causing complications by gradually raising temp, and adding salt. The higher temps accelerate ich's life cycle, getting it more quickly into the treatable free-swimming stage where the salt can kill it.
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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looks like most of the fish are fairly new (less than 2 weeks)
where did they come from?
personally, if the fish came from an LFS I'd put my money on 'poor' stock. most fish in or from LFS are stressed..and are usually suffering before you get them..
 

geneticbits

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Aug 3, 2013
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Yeah, they came from various local stores. The good news is I am now going to be quarantining EVERYTHING. The silver dollar that definitely had ich did eventually die and so did my remaining sunburst platies. So I took them back to replace from the warranty and the new ones are now in a separate tank for 2 weeks or until my main tank is finished with treatment, whichever is longer. I did go with the ich medication, I went and bought new so I'd know it was actually within its expiration date. It's API brand and dosed at 1/2 strength as indicated because of the loach. Is it ok to also add some melafix? Or should I wait until after this treatment is over and cleaned from the tank? I'm asking because the front fins on one of my gouramis are red at the base and red streaks are beginning to go through the fin.
 

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Wait. Melafix may impact dissolved oxygen levels, and either way, higher TDS can stress the fish.
 

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Follow the directions. If you're medicating, you'll need to dose the new water to maintain the concentration levels.
 
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