Sooo.... heres whats up. I had 8 swordtails, now I only have 4. I had 10 tetras, now I only have 7. I had two variatus, now I only have 1. I had a GSP, but now he's gone. This all happened within the last month, and manly in the last week. I lost 2 tetras in a day. I lost a swordtail and then less than 24 hrs later I lost my puffer... WHAT'S GOING ON??? I have a golden algae eater and a pleco, and a 2 inch turtle.
So I have 22 fish and 1 turtle in a 40 gal. tank with a rena XP3 canister filter and sand substrate (that I turn once a week). The nitrates are at about 40, ammonia is at 0, the nirtrites 0, PH at 9, KH 240, and hardness at 180, salinity about 1.003. The PH, KH, and hardness have been this way for a long time, the only things that have changed are the nitrates and the salinity. Could the non- brackish fish be dying from the salinity?
One swordtail had a strange infection that I was not able to identify. It seemed as though the scales from the back portion on one side of her body were falling off, yet I never saw scales on the bottom of the tank. It also seemed as though she had a fungus, but one unlike any I have ever seen. It looked like there were thin white strands on her, not a cotton ball like growth. The puffer didn't show any external signs, neither did the tetras. Only one other fish in the tank has external signs of an infection, and that's the pleco, and all he has are small white patches on his sides (not ich). But then I wonder if those white patches could be caused by turtle bites. He is the only live and well fish that he wants to get, and I was planning on taking the pleco to a store to save his life, but I won't risk other fish dying at the store, and honestly I don't know if a store would take him when he might be sick.
I have recently discovered that my turtle has figured out that other fish in the tank are potential food. But heres the thing, he can't catch a fish unless it's dying.
So I am trying to figure out what exactly is going on... When the tetras were dying they did vertical circles with their heads facing down, flipped upside down or sideways, and then did horizontal circles as well. They are the only fish that I saw die besides my puffer, and I caught him dying right at the very end, all that happened with him was that he was being pushed by the current.
I am seriously stumped. I looked at all kinds of pictures and I've tested my water a ton of times. The deaths all seemed to happen after I got my GSP which was almost a month ago, so could everyone be dying because he brought in a disease? or could they be dying because there is too much salt in the water?
One of the weirdest parts about all of this is that the fish would eat normally and then either hours or a day later, they would die. I've noticed some flashing going on, but it's not very extreme.
Is there some type of internal disease that can cause this? I'm mostly curious, but if I could prevent my fish from getting sick, I totally would, because, seriously I don't want them to become turtle food!
Tank Plague
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
-
bluebliss909
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:12 am
- Location: SE Wisconsin, US
-
blondenblue
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:32 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: A M. leiurus Called Puffle!
A MBU Called Moob - Location: Cornwall UK
- Contact:
Re: Tank Plague
i dont know much about this but i have a feeling that the only ones in your tank that would be ok with the salt was the puffer and possibly the swords. The plec, algae eater, tetras and as far as i know the turtle wont like it at all. Are you using aquarium salt or marine salt? Did the swords get real skinny before they died?
The marks on the plec could be something to do with salt (burn stylee)
The marks on the plec could be something to do with salt (burn stylee)
-
Myaj
- Tech Team
- Posts: 4587
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:27 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Bubba, turgidus
Paris, lined burrfish - Location: SE Wisconsin
- Contact:
Re: Tank Plague
A dirty turtle and a ton of fish in a tank that's way too small for all of them.
They are killing themselves with their own wastes, which also lowers their immune systems and of course, adding more fish without quarentining it brings in a ton of diseases and parasites.. expose fish with weakened immune systems to that and they're going to catch what is there to catch.
40 nitrates doesn't sound like a lot, generally its considered "higher than preferred but not horrible", but when you add in all the other stuff, it can be a big problem.
They are killing themselves with their own wastes, which also lowers their immune systems and of course, adding more fish without quarentining it brings in a ton of diseases and parasites.. expose fish with weakened immune systems to that and they're going to catch what is there to catch.
40 nitrates doesn't sound like a lot, generally its considered "higher than preferred but not horrible", but when you add in all the other stuff, it can be a big problem.
-
bluebliss909
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:12 am
- Location: SE Wisconsin, US
Re: Tank Plague
Excuse my poor addition, I only have 12 fish now. And only two of them are over 2 inches... I don't know if that will change anything in what was said...?
-
Myaj
- Tech Team
- Posts: 4587
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:27 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Bubba, turgidus
Paris, lined burrfish - Location: SE Wisconsin
- Contact:
Re: Tank Plague
If it wasn't for the turtle, it wouldn't be so bad.
But that turtle in there throws everything out the door. Its just wrong.
But that turtle in there throws everything out the door. Its just wrong.
-
t1gerbee
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 831
- Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:10 am
- My Puffers: 1 x Ceylon + 1 x GSP + 1 x stars and stripes (juv) -Marine
(Non puffs-)
4 x clowns
1 x Oscar-Tropical
3 x Convicts-Tropical
1 x Map Turtle-tropical
2 x Plecs-Tropical
2 x goldfish - Location: london
Re: Tank Plague
massive daily water changes with FRESH not salt water until you figure out what you are doing with your stock.
You need to make a choice, fish or turtle...
and you need to do daily water changes on the tank until you decide.
Good luck with it all.
You need to make a choice, fish or turtle...
and you need to do daily water changes on the tank until you decide.
Good luck with it all.
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish