Fish mysteriously dying

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9tails

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May 12, 2004
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I lost two fish yesterday, female Swordtails, who seemed in perfect health the day before. They both seemed to have split at the belly, though this could have happened post mortem.

I've checked all the parameters, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm, KH 153Dh. I was injecting DIY CO2 but have now taken this out just in case. I haven't checked GH yet. PH is high, always has been, at about 7.8.

The last water change was weekend before last, 50%.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm doing a 50% water change tonight.
 
dry food that swells?

Are you feeding dry pellets that swell when they get wet? Test to be sure. If so, then pre-soak the pellets. OTOH, it may be an internal infection. Is the food new and kept dry? No damp fuzzy mold?
 
The KH test kit says to add one drop and shake, I added 9 drops before the water went yellow. The kit says that for each drop this equates to 17 Dh.

The fish were quite young, I'd only had them a couple of months.

I fed them all a freeze dried tubifex cube the night before. They are very light, less than 1cm square and break up when they get wet. Do you think this might have been the cause? The instructions didn't suggest soaking them but it does seem a coincidence that you mentioned it.
 
I have a sneaking suspicion that your test kit tells you to add the number of drops and multiply by 17 to get the hardness in ppm, and not in degree hardness (I've never heard of water being as hard as 153 dH)
 
Have your water tested

Take your water to a local fish store and have them test the water for you. Your test kit may be off.

I don't keep those types of fish. My experience with livebearers are limited. But my suspicion seems to be directed at the possibility of an internal infection. Stop feeding for a while. Observe the fish closely and see what information you can learn.

If you want, you can medication. It won't hurt anything, but it also may not help if the problem is something else.
 
freeze dried food (in particular tubifex) is known to cause bloat as the food swells a bit in the fish's stomach. also i have read that tubifex can sometimes have parasite in it but i use the freeze dried cubes myself sparingly and have never had any problems. I brak each cube into at least quarters if not smaller bits that i will either crumble onto the top of the water or stick a tiny chunk to the side and then smoosh it around untill all the lil worm pieces are seperated and floating about.
Personally I prefer frozen bloodworms, more pricey but I think the fish like it better.
 
I am never feeding freeze dried tubifex again! I haven't lost anymore fish since then so I reckon it must have been them pigging out on the food and bursting. Shame, they were a couple of nice fish. I may replace one this weekend.
 
With any kind of prepared food i fill a cup halfway with aquarium water, drop the food in there, and swirl it around until it dissolves into little bits. Let's me add it in small portions as the fish eat it, and make sure it's all in little bits for them to eat.
 
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