WTF is going on??

nursie

nursie

AC Members
Jan 15, 2005
916
0
0
Peoria, IL
Real Name
michelle
I have had a horrible weekend ~ fishwise that is.
I am setting up my 75 gallon tank. I had it running for a week..and put in a few plants and 3 kuhli loaches becasue I had to move them out of the quarentine tank to put other fisn in. Everything was fine...fish healthy etc.
Thurs night I get my shipment of plants planted. I took the water level way down so I could plant, then filled back up. Friday I worked all day, so didn't ahve much time to look at the tank. When I did look in the evening, to my horror I saw 2 of my kuhli loaches dead on the bottom of the tank. I was very upset. Trying to think things through....I finally realized that when I refilled the tank Thurs night I had not declorinated the water.

Saturday I went to Petsmart to get roottabs (which my dog ate but that's another story) and saw a tiny pleco I just had to have. He had an unusual coloration. Took him home, put him in the tank...dead by bedtime. The lone remaining kuhli loach is swiming around doing fine. So is my cherry shrimp. This little guy has rather a pinched abdoman, and is kinda crooked. Maybe there was something wrong with him already?

The chlorine from Thursdays mistake should have been gassed off in 24 hrs, but just in case I put in Amaquel...

Sun am. I take back the dead plec for a replacment. I go on to another fish shop looking for more root tabs. I see a golden nugget plec and buy him. Now...it's a pet store I hate to get fish at...but I really want the golden nugget. I get him home...turn him loose ( after acclimating to tjhe tank) and leave for town. Come back...he is dead on the bottom of the tank. WHen I pick him up to remove...I notice his abdoman is blackish.green. I don't recall him looking this way when I bought him.


SO...
ammonia: 0
mitrites: 0
nitrates 5
and ph 8
I used a new test kit...

what the heck is wrong with my tank of death?
Yeah, I know I should have waited to add the fish...but ...
 
wish I had a good answer on what your water might be doing, but since your numbers look ok it doens't seem like a regular param type thing. I would guess that the chlorine might have done it with the first few fish, but I have no idea on the last one. In my experience if you know a place to be disreputable for buying fish (I have one where i live) you probably should listen to your gut and not buy fish there. no matter how bad you want that fish.

a similar story from several years ago: I needed feeders for my green terror and my usualy LFS was out of them and had been for a while. the other place in town at the time was superpetz, and they had plenty of feeders. however, I'd heard from a friend that thye had bought feeders there once and they were sick or something and thye had lost a rather old pirahna because of it. well, even though my gut was telling me to heed the warnings I went and got them anyway. 3 days later my terror was dead and 2 feeders were still swimming around the tank (I'd bought 4 or 5).

moral of the story: if you know a place sells sick fish, you probably shouldn't buy fish there.
 
That's the thing....did I get unluckly and buy 2 sick fish in a row? I usually never buy fish from either place...but got sucked in becasue I wanted that fish and thought I could take care of any problems.
OR..is there something hinkey going on on my tank I haven't thought of?
And what's up with the fish's tummy being black (the second one)? Does that give anyone a clue?
 
It's a long shot, but my guess is that the Kuhli Loaches released a poisonous toxin into the water.
White mucus in the tank is a probable sign of this.

At loaches.com there have been a few discussions that some loaches (mostly clown loaches) may have a defense mechinism where they can release toxins that are deadly to some fish. The toxins are released through the slime coat and/or the subocular spines.
This is all speculation though. Nobody has done the research to prove or disprove this.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=566

Anyways, I suggest a 100% water change followed by a 100% water change.
Something in the water is killing the fish.
 
The black tummy is not a good thing, nursie. I was reading something about that just recently -- lemme do some more reading and I'll throw some links at you later today, kay?

Keep an eye on the remainder of the fish and please don't add anything else -- new or old -- into the tank until I double check what I read. Just in case.

Roan
 
Amaquel...

Nursie:
I am not familiar with the captioned product. Out water utility uses chlorine and in addition they use chloramine. Most declor agents do Not deal with chloramine. I use a product called "Prime" as it eliminates both chlorine and chloramine. I would suggest that even if you water utility is not using chloramine you should convert to Prime. Chloramine is significantly cheaper than chlorine and the utility is likely to convert at any time and the conversion will be without notice to water customers.
Cheers;
:dance2: :dance2: :dance2:
 
THere was no white mucus that I noticed in the water, but the 2 dead kuhlis were ****ish. One kuhli did live...would he be immune to the toxins from the other kuhlis?
Is this an automatic release of toxin at death? would they release it if in distress?
This would explain why both plecs diec within hours of being put in the tank

What about my driftwood? Would it being releasing anything? I would think not, the kuhlis were ok for a week.
 
here's a thought: when you added the new fish did you put any of the LFS water into your tank? If so it's possible something bad from the store tank moved in and wrecked up the place.

and another: where di the driftwood come from? if it wasn't boiled well maybe something rode in on that?

you probably didn't, but I thought I'd mention it since it just popped into my head since the loaches had been in there for a week and seemed ok.
 
I sure think the 100% water changes sound like a great idea...and I've had some good suggestions in chat. I may not have acclimated either fish from the pet store long enough.
the other thing..I'm not sure if my heater is working. My thermometer says the water in in low 80's...I checked to see if the thermometer is good, it's one of thise glass floaty ones. It seems ok, but the tank seems cool when I put my hands in it, and i never see teh indicatir light on. Would that have contributed this problem?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom