Emergency: Healthy Tank, Fish Died

[lkunz]

We use Chlor Out, made by Wardley Watercare, to dechlorinate all our tank and decontamination water.

Here are the readings for our water straight from the tap:
pH - 7.0
Alkalinity - 60 ppm
Hardness - 200 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 10 ppm

We actually have been monitoring all our levels from the time we started each tank. We test every three days and keep a log. T he current readings are as follows:

From our 10 Gallon:
ph - 6.8, Alkalinity - 20, Hardness 200, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 60 ppm
The alkalinity in the ten gallon has fluctuated between 60 and 20 in the past month.

Readings from the 5 gallon:
ph - 7.0, Alkalinity 40, Hardness 200, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 60
The alkalinity in the five gallon has fluctuated between thirty and sixty.

The ammonia in both tanks reads zero.

 

[sumoschro]

hmm.....did you add any medicine/other treatments to the water or fish that you might have overdosed?

 

[lkunz]

Here's an update on our ten gallon. This morning two of the Red Eyes were dead but the rest appeared fine. We did a water change, as was suggested, about an hour ago. Now, one more is dead and the other Red-Eyes seem to be folllowing suit. Our two Mystery Snails and Black Skirt appear to be doing fine at the moment. There is no definite sign of any sickness. Their gills are colored normally, they are just at the top gasping for air. This morning they all happily ate tubiflex worms. We attempted to feed them tropical flakes tonight but none ate except the Black Skirt. We truly have no idea what is happening but it is sad to watch.

 

[yashinfan]

The fish are at the top gasping for air?!! This is not a good sign at all!! Were your fish doing this in the other tank before they died?? Okay, do you have enough surface agitation? ie: air pump, powerhead, etc... ?? Something is causing these fish to gasp and that's probably what is causing them to die!

 

[anonapersona]

Weird weather?

Has the area had any strange weather recently? Floods? Has the water company done any major work -- call them. They might use different chems after major line repars.

 

[Ghetto2k4]

what kind fish u got in the tank? and how many?

when was the last time u did a water change?

have u test the tank tonight? for ph,ammonia, nitrite, nitrate

how long as this tank been setup? is it new?

 

[lkunz]

And then there were three...

We went out to get some bloodworms for our frog (and we were tired of watching our fish died slowly). Upon our return, there are only three still breathing. Two Red-Eyed Tetras and our Black Skirt Tetra. Our two mystery snails seem to be okay for now. Our plants don't seem at all bothered either.

The only strange weather was the hurricane about 6 weeks ago. The repairs from that have been competed for weeks. (We lost two fish to the hurricane during the power outage, but that wasn't as puzzling as this.)

The most upsetting thing is we cannot seem to figure out what we have done differently than before. At the pet store, we asked about any other people had complained of dying fish. They replied "no." We haven't changed any cleaning supplies, hand creams, aerosoles, etc. that we've used before.

At this point, I'm ready to take everything out (that's not living) and boil it. I'd rather start from scratch than deal with this mystery.

Thank you to everyone that has given advice and support. I'll keep you posted on any changes.

 

[OrionGirl]

The fact that they died so quickly after a water changes makes me think the water source may be contaminated, or more heavily chlorinated than previously. If you know there are not chloramines in the water, try aging the water for 2 days in a large open mouthed container, prferably with some agitation from an air stone. Frequently, the water company will increase the amount of chlorine treatment following repairs, and they do not announce this. If others in your area use the aging process to remove chlorine, they wouldn't have had any problems.

 

[lkunz]

We called the water company and they said no changes have been made in the last few days. However, since the hurricane the entire makeup of our water has changed (lower kH, harder, and higher nitrate levels). I did request a report from the lab and will get a makeup of the chemicals used, so that should be helpful.

Anyway, two of our fish in the ten gallon have survived, one red-eye and one black skirt. They are in need of companionship but do not seem to be any worse for the wear. We will add about three more red eyes this weekend.

We are keeping the ammonia levels up in the five gallon and will wait a week or two before adding more fish. We are also doing as suggested and “aging” our water before adding it to the tank.

It was very sad and shocking to watch twelve fish die in twelve hours, but thank you to everyone for advice and help. We will continue to update and post on the status of the tanks. Thanks again.

 

[anonapersona]

Originally posted by lkunz
Thank you both for the input. Three of the tiger barbs were purchased on Friday, so we returned them to the pet store.

So, the fish deaths are following the addition of new fish to the tank?

Perhaps we are all looking at the wrong thing, it may be just a coincidence that the water change was on Friday also.

You took new fish from the pet store and added them to a tank that had 60 ppm nitrates, that might be rather shocking to a fish. A badly stressed fish could be subject to all sort of normally benign parasites, especially if recently netted and perhaps having minor abrasions on the slime coat. So, parasites or bacteria attack, polluting the tank and this is transfered to the other tank, by nets or other shared items like siphoning hoses.

I suggest that you start using the 5 gallon tank as a quarantine tank, with separate nets and hoses and so on.

Pick out the new fish, but do not add them to the large tank, hold them in the small tank for 4 weeks, then transfer them to the bigger tank. Repeat until the bigger tank is fully stocked. You will be limited in how many fish you can buy for the 5 gallon tank.

As you have found out, the fish store guarantee will cover the loss of the newly purchased fish, but it will not cover the loss of the other established fish you lost after introducing new fish to the tank. If you use the Q tank, you will not lose any established fish.