# Lost all my fish in less than 18 hours!



## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

Have long established 20 Gallon Tropical Fish Tank...

SMALL FISH...3 neons, 2 hatchetfish, 2 Plecostomus (very small) & 3 swordfish. 

2 weeks ago I added 2 small angels, clown loach & small redtail shark.

Saturday...within a 12-18 hour time span...I LOST ALL BUT 1 of the swordfish!

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CLUE AS TO WHAT WAS GOING ON????

Lou:shock:


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## Ogre44 (Nov 5, 2011)

1) You're tank was quite overstocked
2) You added quite a lot of new fish all at once (Did you quarantine them?)
3) You have 2 very messy fish (plecos) 
4) Your groups of shoaling fish were too small (tetras, clown loach, hatchets)
5) Some of your fish will become very large fish (plecos, clown loach, shark)
6) Some of your fish are quite aggressive (shark)

I would say that you added too many new fish all at once to an already heavily stocked tank.


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## catzmuze (Nov 6, 2013)

First off you may have overstocked it. That is alot of fish for a small tank. Is it a long or short tank?

You really dont give many details. What was your water chemistry? Did you test it? What was their behavior? There are lots of variables. Anything from disease to water quality. Do you do regular water changes? Do you have plants?

Could one have died an gone unnoticed? Maybe caused an ammonia spike? 

I am sorry for your loss, I know that is frustrating. Maybe with a little bit more info.


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## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

catzmuze said:


> First off you may have overstocked it. That is alot of fish for a small tank. Is it a long or short tank?
> 
> You really dont give many details. What was your water chemistry? Did you test it? What was their behavior? There are lots of variables. Anything from disease to water quality. Do you do regular water changes? Do you have plants?
> 
> ...


Water levels were constantly monitored...twice a week...No water change, but water added every week...about a gallon...Filter fairly clean...Little parasite type bugs(Thousands) found when cleaning out entire tank...All fish were acting ABSOLUTELY FINE...Zero fighting...and all eating well. Did change food fromTetraMin to another brand about 2 weeks ago. One died Friday (Hatchet) and Clown Loach started acting funny Saturday afternoon...Fish really started dying saturday and by Sunday morning...2 were left...a neon & sword fish...then the neon died...


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## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

The parasite type bugs were found while cleaning gravel....


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Welcome to the fourm Lou.

I merged your first thread that you started with the same post into this one to keep it all in one place.

Sorry about your fish loss. What were your ammonia and nitrIte reading after adding all of those fish at once? 

Unless you introduced a new disease into the tank, my guess would be water quality killed your fish. If you added that many at once, your beneficial bacteria wouldn't be able to keep up with the new bioload introduced. 

What does filter fairly clean mean? 

With that many inhabitants, you should be doing much larger water changes (at least a third or more) weekly with a good gravel vac. and adding a good conditioner like Prime with the new water.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

The "parasite bugs" are most likely planaria which is caused by excessive ammonia or nitrates in the water. There were far too many fish and also fish that were too aggressive. You'll need to test the water pretty soon or the last fish will die too. I'd change out 50% or more of the water daily too until everything is back in check.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Welcome to the forum

My guess as to what the parasites are is planaria - a worm but not a parasite. I believe they are an indication that you are overfeeding. That coupled with the addition of the new fish led to water quality issues, is what likely happened. When you lose a bunch of fish in a short amount of time it's almost always water related, and the FIRST course of action to take is a big water change.

I see that you haven't posted any water test results. Have you tested the water?


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## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

jaysee said:


> Welcome to the forum
> 
> My guess as to what the parasites are is planaria - a worm but not a parasite. I believe they are an indication that you are overfeeding. That coupled with the addition of the new fish led to water quality issues, is what likely happened. When you lose a bunch of fish in a short amount of time it's almost always water related, and the FIRST course of action to take is a big water change.
> 
> I see that you haven't posted any water test results. Have you tested the water?


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

LouInIowa said:


> _Posted via Mobile Device_


VIDEO OF "BUGS" http://youtu.be/v9kTvfUSP48

LEVELS: NITRATE 160, NITRITE 3.0, HARDNESS 150, CHLORINE 0, ALKALINITY 0, pH 6.2
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)




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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

3 ppm of nitrite will kill your fish.


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Do as large a water changes as possible, at least double if not triple dose the tank volume with Prime. Do not add any more fish until you see zero nitrite & zero ammonia. Test again tomorrow, if you have ammonia or nitrite do the same thing. This will be a daily routine until those levels zero out. If you can get some mature filter media from someone it will help move this along more quickly.


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## LouInIowa (Nov 18, 2013)

TANK IS TOTALY EMPTY, remaining fish is in container with heater & air...


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Good move, you've got a choice to make now. Return the fish to the shop, and begin a fishless cycle using ammonia. This will take several weeks, but can be shortened by the addition of mature media. It will also buy you time to research stocking for the tank. 

If you choose to not return the fish you do have a traditional cycle with fish to deal with. This entails daily large water changes until the ammonia & nitrite are at zero, and you start seeing nitrate.


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## cyclesnipas (Sep 8, 2013)

The whole "No water changes, just adding a gallon of water a week" is a huge red flag. Iv explained this to a friend that did the same. Water evaporates, Toxins DO NOT. In fact the toxins (ammonia, nitrites, phosphates etc.) become more concentrated the less water there is which may have been the cause. Adding a large # of fish into an aquarium thats already high in toxins most def didnt help. Once you get your tank all better, stick with frequent water changes, vacuuming. Good luck!


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Well the tank is already cycling if there is 3 nitrites and 160 nitrates. It sounds to me like you need to do some research on cycling a tank and stocking. There are lots of good cycling threads on here and aqadvisor.com is a great tool to help you figure out stocking.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

First, let me express my sympathy that you had to have such a horrible experience. I would be devastated if all my fish died except one. If tank was running for a long time ( more than 6 weeks)before this happened, then it was already cycled. Must be the " just add water" approach allowed nitrites and nitrates to build up to toxic levels. The most effective way to reduce the concentration of harmfull fish byproducts is to remove old water and add fresh. Never just add water.


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## catzmuze (Nov 6, 2013)

*What are these bugs?*

I was curious too!



jaysee said:


>


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm so sorry you lost all your fish.


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