One fish dying after another!!! HELP!!!

Empathy

I can empathise. I just lost all of my fish to culmanaris. Wasnt much I could do because I didnt have a spare tank to isolate any of them. I have learned a valuable lesson about quarantining new fish. I am sorry that you lost your fish. Unfortunately these forums during work time hours arent the greatest sources of help. I would encourage you in the future to call or go to the LFS of your choice and try to get some help.
I now have to stare at an empty tank in my living room, knowing that it was my own fault taht those fish perished (none to pleasantly-if my ghost knife's struggle to breathe his last breathes were any indication) I will have to start from scratch, just as you will. I can understand your anger and frustration, but I wouldnt abandon this forum based on this incident. just my five cents.
 
SpecialV said:
I can empathise. I just lost all of my fish to culmanaris. Wasnt much I could do because I didnt have a spare tank to isolate any of them. I have learned a valuable lesson about quarantining new fish. I am sorry that you lost your fish. Unfortunately these forums during work time hours arent the greatest sources of help. I would encourage you in the future to call or go to the LFS of your choice and try to get some help.
I now have to stare at an empty tank in my living room, knowing that it was my own fault taht those fish perished (none to pleasantly-if my ghost knife's struggle to breathe his last breathes were any indication) I will have to start from scratch, just as you will. I can understand your anger and frustration, but I wouldnt abandon this forum based on this incident. just my five cents.
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Thanks SpecialV. How did you know your fish had culmanaris?

I just feel totally lost. I don't know what to do because I don't know what's wrong. If all my fish die, does that mean I need to dump all the water and sterilize everything before starting over? Can they test water for diseases? Or what if some of my fish survive? Then what? Can I SLOWLY start adding fish again?

I'll try to think of this disaster as a learning experience. Sometimes these things happen for a reason.

Let me ask one other thing. I've never quarantined fish before. If I were to quarantine a fish, would I need a whole other tank for that? And how long should a fish be quarantined for, and what kind of signs should I look for?

Thanks
 
I can answer part of the questions. Yes you would need a seperate tank to quarantine. Separating the fish in the same aquarium and all using the same water flow would provide an avinue to spread whatever the illness is between fish. As for how long to isolate the fish? I'm not sure,I would say a couple of days after they look healthy again. IMO.
 
kjr928 said:
I just feel totally lost. I don't know what to do because I don't know what's wrong. If all my fish die, does that mean I need to dump all the water and sterilize everything before starting over? Can they test water for diseases? Or what if some of my fish survive? Then what? Can I SLOWLY start adding fish again?

I'll try to think of this disaster as a learning experience. Sometimes these things happen for a reason.

Let me ask one other thing. I've never quarantined fish before. If I were to quarantine a fish, would I need a whole other tank for that? And how long should a fish be quarantined for, and what kind of signs should I look for?

Thanks
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I know this seems very overwhelming. At this point I would not do anything other than normal water changes and just wait to see what happens. As far as quarantining new fish. Yes you need another tank to do this. I usually quarantine new fish for 2-4 weeks and watch for any signs of illness or abnormal behavior.
 
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kjr928 said:
Before I give another update, I just want to say how disappointed I am in the lack of replies I've gotten. I've always gotten lots of help in the past, but this go-around I couldn't even get anyone to tell me if I should isolate any of my fish or not. My whole tank is dying. And the only replies I got to this thread were people asking me questions, all of which I answered (yes I know I made mistakes), and I got no suggestions. I will look for a new fish forum starting today.

So, one of my 2 remaining catfish was dead when I woke up this morning. Now I am down to one.

I don't know how my fish tank can recover from this. I don't know if I should have done a huge water change. I don't know if I was supposed to quarantine any suspicious looking fish, and if I was, how would I have done that without an extra tank. I don't know if I should have bought something from a store.

Soon I will have no fish left, and there's nothing I can do about it but sit back and let it happen. It's too late now, because I'm going to London tonight, and I'll be at work all day. All I wanted was for someone to tell me what to do.
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Just because you are not getting replies don't just assume that nobody wants to help you. Sometimes fish just die for no apparant reason and nobody can seem to figure out why. That seems to be the case here. Imagine how annoying it would be if every single person who didn't know the answer replied with a thread saying "I don't know." There would be so many of threads that you would never be able to find any information, lol.

I am sorry about your fish. They probably are dying from stress from being overstocked.
 
Thank you H3D. I will really try to do a water change tonight before I leave. I will also get a smaller tank for quarantine once everything gets back to normal. What a nightmare.

Thanks for all your help guys. I'm sorry if I lashed out a little before, I was just overwhelmed and desperate. I'll let you know if there's anything still alive when I get back from London on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
 
I don't think your tank was over crowded, the neons were just added for a day, and you did a water change, and sounds like you have adequate air exchange. The cories would have occupied the bottom space mostly.
You must keep the water warm. Preferably 78 or so.
If the fish are too cool they will stress and be more apt to get disease.

In a tank that small, I would have treated the whole tank instead of moving the sick one to a quarantine tank. Moving fish should not be done unless you have a large tank or it is absolutely needed. Moving them is stressful to them and can cause them to go down hill quickly by stress.

You should be careful treating with medications if you have scaleless fish as they are sensitive to some meds and will die. If you have to treat a whole tank in those circumstances, moving the catfish would be ideal.
Look at your petstore for something safe for scaleless fish.

Also you should get a breeders net or a small five gallon tank for your babies.
The mamas will eat them, the beta will eat them, they get lost in the filter, or lost in water changes easily. The babies will most likely not survive if left in the main tank.
IME livebeareres such as swords and mollies, and platys are short lived. They are easily diseased, and I have had females die giving birth or shortly after. Also the males tend to harass females to stress or death.
How are your friends fish doing? the one you got the neons for? If the neons were the culprit, her tank is going down the toilet like yours?!
If her fish are good, then you know to look for another possible cause.

Dipping out dead fish right away is vital. If the healthy fish pick at the dead one with a fungus or bacterial infection they could get it.
 
H3D has a good suggestion..do water changes to provide the best water you can..

unfortunately it is diffcult to prescribe a course of action without seening the fish..and even then it is difficult.
there are a lot of unseen problems that can occur. bacterial infections, parasitic infections, even viral infections, there is possible bad food , possible bad water, to boot.
I know a guy who had his angls dies for no apparent reason..water parqameters were good, water change schedule was good, used proper water conditioners. etc..etc..but his angels would die.
finally he had his water tested by a professional resource..turned out he had high Fe(iron) in the water...not really any feasible fix.

so the best course of action is to follow H3D and go with the flow.

btw..if it is viral(just an fyi) you will need to sterilze the tank . there is no course of action with viral infections other than let them run the course.
 
kjr928 said:
Thank you H3D. I will really try to do a water change tonight before I leave. I will also get a smaller tank for quarantine once everything gets back to normal. What a nightmare.

Thanks for all your help guys. I'm sorry if I lashed out a little before, I was just overwhelmed and desperate. I'll let you know if there's anything still alive when I get back from London on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
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Definitely do a water change before you go. I would look in to getting a bigger tank.
 
I would do a small water change before you go - just to clear the poo at the bottom. Seeing as you'll only be gone a few days, your fish should be fine without daily food. As ghastly as it sounds, they could eat the new born fry. And if they are sick they might be eating less anyway.
 
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