# Fish dying 1 x1 no sign of illness



## Becker

I'm scratching my head is disbelief as my tank dies off. I have a 55 gallon tank established over a year. I've lost 3 fish in two weeks. The strange part is they show no obvious sign of illness. One by one they float next to the heater for a few days then die. 

The only sign something is wrong is they breathe heavy and stop eating. So, with that information the first step, check ammonia. But my levels are fine so I'm back at step one. I thought maybe low O2 but then all the fish would be gasping at the top of the tank. 

Now, I had a Serpae Tetra die last month in a hospital tank of what seemed like NTD. He turned Gray and resembled something out of a Stephen King movie. It's certainly possible that my tank can be contaminated with whatever killed the Serpae, but then, wouldn't these fish die the same way? There not, their eyes are clear, no obvious cause, they look healthy even in death. 

My tank:
55 Gallon
Eheim 2213 filter with spray bar. 
- Change filter floss when needed
- Clean ceramic rings when needed
- Change 1/4 of substrate every 3 months (Bio)
Heater
Fake plants

Numbers:
Ammonia - 0
NitrIte - 0
Nitrate - 20
PH - 7.6
PH Tap - 7.6
KH - 7
DH - 4


Cleaning:
25% change every week
Vacuum with every change
Use Prime
No other chems

Fish:
6 Black Mollies (All female)
3 Platy (All female)
4 Serpae Tetra
4 Cory

Meds:
None used since no cause.

Habits:


I would be gratefulll with any insight some may offer. This has been a sad and confusing few weeks.


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## Becker

BTW, they are not all breathe heavy and dying at the same time. One fish will hide, stop eating and then die. During this process the rest of the tank is very playful and happy. I said 1x1 because it seems like once a fish dies, another one will take its place and hide. Then thy stop eating and die. This happened 3 times. Now another molly is hiding but the rest of the fish look great. I have no clue whats happening.

There is no sign of illness, no signs of parasites....I don't know


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## lbashaw

*same issue, fish dying 1x1 no sign of illness*

I am new to this forum, but I am having the same issue right now. All my numbers are good, but my fish are dying 1x1. they are fine one day and dead the next. Not seeing any reason they would be dying. I am worried now for my large angel fish. She usually is on the other side of the tank, but has moved over by the heater and filter and seems to be hiding. Not normal for here. This tank has been established for at least 6 months. I did notice yesterday that the angel fish and another small molly seem to be staying at the top of the tank. Could there be a problem with oxygen? I also have an air stone in the tank. Thanks for any help that someone can steer me in the right direction.


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## TexasTanker

What kind of food are you using? Are they getting a varied diet? and what is your temp?

I was having a similar problem with 2 of my molly and now a platy. I've come to the conclusion that the flake food was bloating and popping their swim bladders. I switched over to primarily granules and wafers with a bonus of brine shrimp and bloodworms, I still have the flakes but now I grind them up and feed only the tiniest amount a couple times a week. 

My molly succumbed to it rather quickly but I think I caught my platy fast enough. I have her in a floating breeder box in front of the filter so she can reach the surface with the warmer water and get plenty of O2. She also has better access to food. Today I'm going to put a pea in with her and see if this helps. The first molly looked terribly deflated but i thought it was cause she had fry. When the male bit it, he looked just fine but in hind sight I wasn't looking carefully to see if he looked a little thin. My current platy does look a little slim compared to her tank mates.


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## Becker

Sorry to hear you're having the same issue. I feed them Tetra Flakes and Frozen Bloodworms. Another one on my Mollies died this morning.

At this rate i'm really expecting the whole tank to expire. If so, i'll start over. Very sad.

You said one of your Platy recovered, what was your treatment?


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## Becker

lbashaw said:


> I am new to this forum, but I am having the same issue right now. All my numbers are good, but my fish are dying 1x1. they are fine one day and dead the next. Not seeing any reason they would be dying. I am worried now for my large angel fish. She usually is on the other side of the tank, but has moved over by the heater and filter and seems to be hiding. Not normal for here. This tank has been established for at least 6 months. I did notice yesterday that the angel fish and another small molly seem to be staying at the top of the tank. Could there be a problem with oxygen? I also have an air stone in the tank. Thanks for any help that someone can steer me in the right direction.


 
It could be an O2 issue. You might try to lower the water level in the tank, create more splash for increased O2 exchange. What size tank do you have? What are the numbers? Stocking? Filter? Do they show any signs of parasites or fungus? 

In my case, the fish show no sign anything is wrong. I posted my numbers. One day a single fish will hide and die. Very strange. I can't med the fish without knowing what i'm treating.


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## redchigh

I really don't know if this is it. but have you noticed any strange odors from the tank?

Just wandering because I'm having an issue with the 'bad' bacteria producing sulfur in the substrate. Kind of a rotten eggs smell.


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## Becker

redchigh said:


> I really don't know if this is it. but have you noticed any strange odors from the tank?
> 
> Just wandering because I'm having an issue with the 'bad' bacteria producing sulfur in the substrate. Kind of a rotten eggs smell.


 

Are you sure it's not a dead snail? They stink when they die.


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## lbashaw

I have so far lost 2 small platys and 2 bloodfins. I have a 55 gal tank. I checked ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, which were all 0. No strange odors coming from the tank. I have 1 angel fish, 2 sm bala sharks, 3 buenos aires, 3 cherry barbs, 2 bloodfins and 3 headlight/taillights. Yesterday my angelfish would not eat and was hanging out at the very top of tank in the corner. I did a 25% change of water, changed filters , added another air stone and added aquarium salt. Today angel seems to be much better and she ate too. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the crisis has passed. Hope you get your issue resolved and do not lose anymore of your fish. I feed them only flakes and have done so for the last six months.


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## Becker

lbashaw said:


> I have so far lost 2 small platys and 2 bloodfins. I have a 55 gal tank. I checked ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, which were all 0. No strange odors coming from the tank. I have 1 angel fish, 2 sm bala sharks, 3 buenos aires, 3 cherry barbs, 2 bloodfins and 3 headlight/taillights. Yesterday my angelfish would not eat and was hanging out at the very top of tank in the corner. I did a 25% change of water, changed filters , added another air stone and added aquarium salt. Today angel seems to be much better and she ate too. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the crisis has passed. Hope you get your issue resolved and do not lose anymore of your fish. I feed them only flakes and have done so for the last six months.


 
You said all your numbers are 0? In an established tank you should have a Nitrate reading. It's possible you did to much cleaning and your tank is re-cycling. Watch for ammonia spikes.


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## TexasTanker

What does the gasping or quick breathing signify? My male Guppy just started doing that. I have him in a breeder box in front of the filter now so he gets plenty of O2, but he seems intent on dwindling.


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## Becker

TexasTanker said:


> What does the gasping or quick breathing signify? My male Guppy just started doing that. I have him in a breeder box in front of the filter now so he gets plenty of O2, but he seems intent on dwindling.



Have you check you ammonia levels?


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## TexasTanker

Becker said:


> Have you check you ammonia levels?


Ammo 0/ GH 120/ KH 40/ NO2 0/ NO3 <20/ temp up high is 82, down low is 78/ I'm running a Biowheel 350 and another biowheel for a 20 gallon tank (enough filtration for 90 gallons on my 55 gallon) with only 14 small fish and a handful of fry.

And for the life of me I can't find a fresh pea ANYWHERE!!! Two stores and nothing. I hit up a friend and they only had canned. Can I use a canned pea? How about a green bean? I have lots of those.... Okay I'm giddy with exhaustion. I will take this matter back up in the morning.


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## jacalynackerman

Responding to an old post as I am looking for answers. I am having the same problem with my 60 gal tank. It is 6 mo old and I had three otos, three SAEs, 4 platys, 2 swords, 5 glo-light tetras and 5 neons. One by one my fish started dying and now I've lost one otto, one SAE, one glow-light, three platys and both swords. No symptoms...they just hide (sometimes) and die or just die. I wasn't sure the otto was dead because it was laying upright on the bottom of the tank and I had to touch it with the net to be sure. My levels are great (0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrate, 5 nitrate, 7.5 pH (which is normal for my tank), Temp 78. I suspect low O2 but they were/are not gasping for air, just fine one moment and dead the next. I lost the fiirst few a few days apart and then had a massive die-off the last couple of days. I lowered the level of the tank to increase surface agitation and added an airstone. Fingers crossed... If anyone has been successful combatting this problem please help.


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## GwenInNM

I'm not sure how you'd check for this, but it is possible there is some bacteria problem in the tank you can't see, causing this? Do you have some decoration that is either leaking toxins? I feel for you - very frustrating.

Gwen


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## GwenInNM

I just thought of something else. Are you placing you hands in the tank with some type of lotion, anti-bacterial cream on them?

Gwen


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## Christople

that might cause some sort of large problem


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## jacalynackerman

I don't use any lotion on my hands and wash/rinse thoroughly whenever I put them in the tank. There has been a pause in the mortality since I lowered the water level and put the airstone in but now my one remaining platy has red gills (more red than normal I think) with a silvery spot on the gill covers - both sides. He is acting fairly normal other than hiding a bit which may have more to do with losing his entire "family" than with feeling sick. I have been searching furiously to try to figure out what this is and but have come up with nothing. :-(


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## Christople

do you rinse with soap?


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## jacalynackerman

I wash with soap and then rinse thoroughly. That's how I've always done it...I don't think that's it. If it was I would think that all the fish would have trouble all at once but mine died days apart at first and then hours apart later. No deaths now in 24 hours. I think it was O2 deprivation. My lingering concern is the Platy with the red gills. The silvery area seems to be gone now (but it could be that I can't see it as well now with the sun setting).


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## Christople

soap is a big nononononononononono no matter how you rinse I wouldn't risk it... It;s just another variable that adds to the mystery list.


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## GwenInNM

Christople said:


> soap is a big nononononononononono no matter how you rinse I wouldn't risk it... It;s just another variable that adds to the mystery list.



I have to disagree with the soap thing. Don't we all wash with soap at some point? I use soap to get lotion off my hands, because I'm a lotion addict, but do rinse completely and I've not had problems. I think if your using a mild soap and nothing toxic that would stay on your skin, you're fine. My 2 cents on that :-D for what it's worth

Gwen


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## Christople

I never wash my hands....... during a water change or fish stuff and I do the fish stuff in the morning on weekends and then shower


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## jacalynackerman

Surely you aren't suggesting that the soap wears off or somehow disappears during the course of the day? What is your rule about how long it takes for the soap to wear off or disappear...or evaporate? For example, you have used the bathroom in the middle of the day and (I certainly hope) used soap and water to wash up. How long before you feel comfortable sticking your hands in the tank? It sounds like you are waiting a period of time and then, without removing the environmental contaminants that you've gathered from touching money, doorknobs, other people (who may have used lotion), pets, etc., put your hands directly into your tank? Please clarify.

BTW, 48 hours since I've added the airstone and lowered the level in my tank and no more dead fish.


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## onmom2002

Sounds like possible Columnaris. I had this with fish having various symptoms but all dieing. Treated with Maracin 2 and no more deaths. also used aquaruim salt.


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## jacalynackerman

onmom2002 said:


> Sounds like possible Columnaris. I had this with fish having various symptoms but all dieing. Treated with Maracin 2 and no more deaths. also used aquaruim salt.


I suspected Columnaris too, but this doesn't look like any of the pictures I've seen on the 'net. The strange thing is that the gills are red (I THINK redder than normal) and then there is a silvery spot on the gill covers that is uniform on both sides. It's not growing and the fish is in no distress. I am checking it every couple of hours but there has been no change. I'm wondering if this is just normal for this fish and I just never looked closely enough to notice it? 

2.5 days with no deaths.


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## alidawn15

jacalynackerman said:


> Surely you aren't suggesting that the soap wears off or somehow disappears during the course of the day? What is your rule about how long it takes for the soap to wear off or disappear...or evaporate? For example, you have used the bathroom in the middle of the day and (I certainly hope) used soap and water to wash up. How long before you feel comfortable sticking your hands in the tank? It sounds like you are waiting a period of time and then, without removing the environmental contaminants that you've gathered from touching money, doorknobs, other people (who may have used lotion), pets, etc., put your hands directly into your tank? Please clarify.
> 
> BTW, 48 hours since I've added the airstone and lowered the level in my tank and no more dead fish.


Doesn't it also say on this site to wash and rinse hands throughly before and after touching anything in the tank?


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## Christople

yes but not soap rinse


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