Why have my fish been dying

[Teddylfc]

Hi all

I am new to this site and I am hopeing that I can get some help

I have had my tank (125lts) for 5 months now and this is what has been happening

I have 3 danios (young) I have 5 gold barbs (young) 3 kribs (young) and a rainbow shark ( not young as he is about 2-3 inchs) a platie and a rainbow fish (young and he is nuts)
2 live plants and some rocks/caves and gravel

I have taken advice from the local aquatic store(not really commercial more a family store) everytime I have added fish. I follow all rules and take care. I water change 25% every 10 days or so and feed the fish approx once every other day wit a mix off pellets , lugworm (frozen) and flake.

The above feed like mad but the shark never seems to feed although is always munching around the bottom of the tank.

Recently I have lost 2 kissing guarmis 2 blue guarmis and 2 sharks. Also a krib that seemed big and fine. I lost these fish one by one and they did slow down for a day before they died. I have had my water tested and all seemed. The fish don't really fight and I want this to stop. I woke up this Mornin and the shark was nibbling on the guarmi( kissing) as it was dying. As I turned on the light he scarpered quick.

I am not going to add anymore fish for a while but want them to stop dying as I care about life and I won't have fish if I can't care for them.

The rainbow fish goes ape and is black( nearly ) and orange when he is not silver and colourfull ( is this a prob ) the danios are ok and kribs seem to be darker in colour than before. Shark and platy seem well and barbs seem well.

What's going on....

Sorry for the long post but I want to paint the true picture to you experts so I can learn.

Thanks

Teddy

Ps temp is about 25-26
Lights on about 6 hours a day
Arrgghhhhhhhhh help

[Miles69]

What are your water test reading.. Using a quality test kit post your Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, and PH readings. What type of filter are you using?

[Teddylfc]

Re: Why have my fish been dying

Thanks for the responce

I don't have a testing kit myself I used my local store and they said all is perfect on a few occasions although I have not been in for two week or so.

I can't understand why the rainbow fish and others are sometimes black, is that normal

My filter is what came with the tank... A fluval 125. New

If it's the water I will sort it.... Just concerned if those fish can be kept together.

Is the rainbow fish a nuts fish ... Seems to be in panic mode all the time and goes mad alot. Is that normal. He don't stop still or chills out. Will he be upsetting the others

Can't beleive the shark was nipping the dying guarmis .... Is that normal.
Am I feeding the right they always look hungry

Cheers

I want to learn alot and fast hence the questions

[armthehomeless]

What type of rainbow fish is it?

Sharks are scavengers . . so that is normal to a certain extent.

[Teddylfc]

Re: Why have my fish been dying

Not sure what type it is. It's got a small mouth and little head and big body. It keeps displaying it's fins out and it. It's one that's in most shops I have been in. Don't know if that helps. It's about an inch or so long

[Mzungu]

The rainbow fish sounds like he's nervous and getting used to his new environment at your home. How long have you had him? When everything's settled in your tank, maybe consider getting him a few friends of the same species. That could make him less "jumpy."

And like armthehomeless said, sharks are bottom feeders and most fish are scavengers when given the opportunity. So I believe this behavior is normal.

The next time you go to the LFS, can you ask for the specific readings they're getting from the tests? Then write them down and post them for us - that could help us enormously. Either that, or go and buy a couple test kits for yourself and post the results here. The most important ones are ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

Last of all, welcome to HFB! Hopefully we can help you get this tank stable! :)

[Mzungu]

P.S. Are you located in Houston?

[Teddylfc]

Re: Why have my fish been dying

Hey thanks for that reply , nice of u to take up your time.

I have had the rainbow fish now 3 months and only very rarly is he not going nuts. When he is calm he has beautifully colours. Maybe when the tank settles I will get a couple more...

My favs though are the shark and cribs although the barbs are growing on me.

I will get a kit and will let u know the readings so thanks

I live in Manchester , England . I found this site through taptalk. I guess keeping fish has the same rules no matter where u live lol

Do u get many people on this site from uk ??

Thanks for the welcome !!

[imagirlgeek]

Hi Teddy - welcome to the Box. Hang in there, we'll get you sorted out.

I thought you might be in the UK, or someplace like that since you are speaking in liters, celcius, and said 'mad' instead of 'crazy'. :biggrin:
For any of our US members wanting to help, keep in mind that the 125 liter tank is equal to about 33 gallons. And the temp is equal to about 77-79F.

Teddy, here are some questions I have...

- Do you notice if the rainbow fish calms down at all after you do your water changes? Fish can be pretty spastic if they are uncomfortable.
- When you clean your filter, do you use tank water to rinse off the sponges and/or media? If you are rinsing it off with tap water, and there are high levels of chlorine or chloramines, it will clobber the good bacteria and may cause a mini-cycle that will stress the fish.
- How often do you clean the filter?
- When you do your water changes, are you siphoning the muck out of the gravel?

I feed my fish every day. But I have fat fish. ) And a lot of us here do weekly water changes of 50% or more. Good, clean water does wonders for fish, in my experience.

Your water tests should be:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrates - < 40 (this number is not hard and fast, some say < 20 is the high, but I think you can get away with < 40 and be okay)

Any level of ammonia or nitrites are poison to your fish.

[Teddylfc]

Re: Why have my fish been dying

Cheers for that girlgeek

I clean the filters in the water I take out so I think that's right but I don't clean them everytime , but will do now. I have noticed the rainbows are better after a change and I will now do it weekly at least. They also seem more colourfull and relaxed in the morning after the light has been off all night!!!

I use media called cycle and put a bit on the filters after I clean them.

Do I lot take out the rocks when cleaning. I leave them in but it's hard to get to certain parts of the tank ... Will this create areas off built up waste in the gravel. Will it be better for me to remove them?

I want to do this right cos I believe all life is equal and a dead fish is a life that's taken away and I don't like that. Hence all the questions

Cheers

Teddy

[imagirlgeek]

You don't have to explain...I'm with ya! The fish in this house get better healthcare than most people I know. Well, maybe I should clarify...the lives of my fish are critically important, however, I know some people I wouldn't mind pushing off a cliff...so I can't say that I value ALL lives equally. )

Okay, so back to it...I personally don't move my rocks around every time I do a water change. I think that can be pretty stressful for fish, especially with the more territorial species. But, yeah, I think it's a good idea to, at least, move them a little so you can get the majority of gunk out. And then occasionally do a big clean where everything is removed and you make sure you don't have a buildup of decaying matter under anything.

I'm not familiar with the media called Cycle, so I can't really speak to that.

[Mzungu]

I clean the filters in the water I take out so I think that's right but I don't clean them everytime , but will do now. ...

I wouldn't necessarily clean the filters every time you do a water change. Like imagirlgeek was saying, if you clean them too often, the bacteria residing on them will be depleted, causing a mini-cycle, which is stressful to your fish. I would recommend cleaning them every few months, or when they get especially clogged and the flow is significantly reduced.

[Teddylfc]

Re: Why have my fish been dying

Cool , I will prob do my filters every couple of months or more as I don't over feed I don't think I will get to much wate in them.

Hey I am wit u on that one girlgeek. There is the odd human I could throttle lol.

I am now thinking that I need to water change more oftern and also give my rainbow a few friends when the water is correct. I will see how it goes and let u know.

Still one thing.... The fish going really black in colour. Is that poison , stress or panic ??? Or all three

[imagirlgeek]

Darkening in color is usually a stress reaction. And the stress could be caused from anything...bad water conditions, aggression from other fish, disease, vitamin deficiency....really anything. My fish go dark whenever they are getting picked on by other fish.

[Mzungu]

You said the rainbowfish is darkening/turning black when he's excited and dashing around the tank?

What are his "normal" colors?

Is there a time of day when he usually goes berserk?

How black does he get? Can you describe his erratic behavior a bit more? Does it usually happen after you've done something to the tank, or fed them, or turned on the lights, or closed a door, anything like that?