Random fish die

oldshovelhead

AC Members
Mar 6, 2010
11
0
0
Ohio
Hello!
I'm new to the forum but not to keeping fish. I was keeping Pygo Natts for about 3 years and decided to go with a community tank.
The tank-
75 gal, Rena XP3, Magnum 350 Pro, 1 32w aqua-glo
PH 7.5
Ammonia 0
can't test my NO2 as I just ran out of solution
3 air sources
Water change 10-15% weekly
Gravel vacuum weekly
Tank has been up and running for 3 years.

After I found happy homes for my last 2 11" reds we added the following over the course of 3 months;
1 a. ulvaceas
2 red water rose
2 valls gigateas (which sprouted two shoots that I replanted and they're now sprouting new shoots!)

4 neon tetra
2 white skirt tetras
2 red tail sharks
2 albino corys
2 rosey tetras
2 marble angels
2 silver dollars
1 albino pleco
2 gouramis - 1 red 1 blue
2 marble hatchets
The fish were added at about 2 week intervals so we didn't just dump them in at once.
We lost a silver dollar about a week after we got it, the other is thriving.
I could repeat that for each of the fish - after about a week of the fish being introduced we would loose one of them - as follows;
silver dollar
angel
hatchet
and now gourami
The others are doing fine - neons, roseys, corys, white skirts, and the pleco.

Any ideas?:huh:
 
Is your source reputable? What about your method of transportation.. Is it a long drive, are they shipped, etc? A week is close enough to possibly classify those as a loss from the store/transportation etc., especially given the great condition of other tankmates, including those introduced simultaneously.
 
Thanks for the reply!
Yes, very reputable LFS - I've dealt with them for years and know many who've dealt with them longer. Nice clean operation, primarily fish.

The store is less than 10 miles from my home and we always come straight home, float the bag for probably 20 minutes to acclimate temps and then release.

Real head scratcher
 
Acclimating to your water is more critical than just adjusting temp. Add litle bit of tank water to water in the bag.
Better yet, acclimation in cat litter pan or bucket, dripping tank water into the pan is better method. Depending on fish and method of shipping, i done such acclimation for days, not just minute.

Since your lfs is close proximity, probably same water source but check the difference in pH of lfs water and your tank water. Depending on the lfs filtration system, each bag orfrom different tank may register different pH.
If difference is great, longer accliamtion should be given.

Hope all goes well.
 
The lfs is quite an operation and they use a central filtration system.

I've been over and over this looking for some clue before I brought it to the forum.:confused:
 
Did you do a complete tear down and sanitization after you got rid of the Piranhas or just a quick changeover to maintain cycle? Did the fish exhibit any symptoms before they died? Were they feeding normally, & holding good body weight? What are the rest of your water parameters, particularly your nitrates? More info is definitely needed.
 
Thanks SubRosa -
Parameters; nitrates-trites are flat, ph 7.5, ammonia 0, temp 75.
My research on the breakdown and recycling vs. switchover lead me to conclude a switchover would be acceptable. I've maintained a quality water standard that my p's lived and thrived in quite well. I grew out 6 from 3/4" to all into the 9-11" range in 3 years.
I spent some time with the people at the LFS over the weekend, but came up with no definitive conclusion. :huh:
 
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