# Most Fish Have Suddenly Died!



## 01hmyoung (Feb 25, 2011)

ok i need help with my dads fish tank. its been up and running coming up for year now. most fish survived except a few odd one. we left it for a couple of month , then the other day we brought a few new fish, i think 5 in total. since adding these fish most of my fish have dies only a few have lived and it has all happened since we added the new fish.

i have alway thought it was our filter, since before christmas the tank has been very dirty and has loads of waste on bottonm and bit floating around. my ddad has always said it not the filter that isnt working. i have made a video in a hope one of ypu guys can help me solve this problem. 







sorry for my spelling not very good!!!

thanks!!!


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

well i see a number of potential issues ... lets start with some questions so we can get a more clear picture of what we are dealing with here...

size of the tank?
population? what fish and how many of each?
last water change?
how much water do you change and how often?

at first glance it appears to me that a few things need to be done
1st - start with a good 50% water change and another in 3 days
2nd - start doing weekly water changes of 20% be sure to gravel vac every other change to get stuff in the substrate
3rd it looks like the tank is over fed go to feeding 1x daily with just a little if using flake go to 1 flake per fish
4th. filter media needs to be rinsed in water change water as it would appear to be clogged and not performing well
5th based on the amount of algae i would also consider your lights - how long are they one? does the tank get direct sun light? what type of lights do you use and what is the Kalvin rating if you know....
last i would start a second filter on this tank as you can never have too much filtration...


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## Pufferfish22 (Feb 6, 2011)

Please don't think me rude but that is one dirty tank! Fish tanks need regular water changes to keep them healthy, such as 10-20% each week with fresh water made safe with a water conditioner, they also need a good "hoovering" to suck up all the fish poo and dead stuff that gathers on the bottom. If you think about it a fish tank is nothing more than a fish toilet bowl where they pee and poo and swim around in it, if you don't change some of the water regularily the waste just builds up and up.

However I don't think this is your problem, I think it's got more to do with the new fish you introduced, they probably were carrying a disease and this has spread to your old fish and wiped out your tank. The best thing to do next time is to quarantine the new fish for 2-4 weeks in a separate tank and then if they develop anything it won't affect your existing fish.

In the meantime I would do a good water change (making sure you use a water conditioner) and hoover as this will help and keep a close eye on the fish that survived for any signs of disease and if you see something check back here for some more help.


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## 01hmyoung (Feb 25, 2011)

the tank is 120 liter

there is only 7 fish left aabout 6 have dieds in past week

last water change was sunday 
and we change 25% very 2 weeks

we use two light strips i cant tell u any more they came with the tank


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## Plumkin (Jan 24, 2011)

Looks like theres a BUNCH of alge in ther also what are your parametors?


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

Sound almost like Old Tank Syndrome.... as much as I would want to do a water change I would suggest a lot of caution here. A water test really needs to be done.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

Not to hijack a thread here, but I am also having a similar situation so maybe you guys an help me with mine as well.

About a year ago I started my 10 gallon tank with 4-5 fish and a sucker fish (plecostamus?). After a few months (maybe only weeks) some of the fish gradually died off and basically over the last year or so it has been just the sucker and a tiger barb. Well, I decided to add about 4 other fish -- a catfish, a regular non-aggressive shark, a balck molly, and another half orange half black fish that I don't know the name of.

Now, I have never had a problem with this tank in terms of algae or anything else. In the summer some of my water evaporates a bit (maybe an inch or so) so I would add new water to fill it back up a bit which seemed to work fine. In the winter, no water is evaporating now, but I continue to put in AquaSafe stuff (1 cap full per week) which is supposed to stablize the ph levels and also reduce frequent waters changes by up to 6 months! (I dont know how true it is but so far it's been working). My water has been crystal clear and I only use the light at night for maybe a few hours at most per day.

With that said, after about two weeks or three weeks, my shark suddenly died. Then, a few hours later, the catfish died. Later that night I noticed my tiger barb, the guy who has been living fine for a year, was struggling and his eyes got puffy and had white rings around them. He didn't make it through the night  Yet, somehow my black molly and the other fish whose name I don't know are living fine! 

I suspect at first the catfish and the shark were not eating food which is why they died -- I have been feeding them flakes (probably over feeding them in fact) wihch the guy at the pet store said was fine. But they were bottom feeders and it didn't seem like they were eating them. I noticed the store had pellets too but I didn't buy them and I wish I had. However, I am not sure this was the problem anyway because then of course the tiger barb died and he was definitely eating the flakes for a year or more.. so... I have no idea.

As I said the other two are completely fine.

I have no idea what the temp of the water is or the ammonia levels and what not. I plan on monitoring this very soon but I am still perplexed as to why some fish can survive and others die all at once.

Any thoughts? 

Thanks in advance.


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## PRichs87 (Dec 30, 2009)

NJDfan1711 said:


> Not to hijack a thread here, but I am also having a similar situation so maybe you guys an help me with mine as well.
> 
> About a year ago I started my 10 gallon tank with 4-5 fish and a sucker fish (plecostamus?). After a few months (maybe only weeks) some of the fish gradually died off and basically over the last year or so it has been just the sucker and a tiger barb. Well, I decided to add about 4 other fish -- a catfish, a regular non-aggressive shark, a balck molly, and another half orange half black fish that I don't know the name of.
> 
> ...


Probably Ammonia poisoning, you are way overstocked. A pleco shouldn't be kept in a 10 gallon tank alone, so any additions would definitely cause problems.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

Whoa... what do you mean Pleco's shouldn't be kept in 10 gallon tanks alone? Really? I have had Pleco's in other 10 gallon tanks all my life and known other people with them as well and it's never been a problem.

And going by the general rule of thumb, the Pleco aside, I was using 1 inch per gallon, so if my fish are approx 2" each and I have 5 fish, that would be 10 gallons, which is the size of my tank. Is that not right?

Also, I was told by some people that work at the pet store that you generally only have problems with ammonia if you have goldfish, which I do not. Is that true?

Finally, I did test my water for 5 tests using some strips I bought and it goes as follows:

Nitrites: Pretty much normal
pH: Fairly normal, about 78ish. 
Water: Very hard, but nothing I can do about it -- whole county is like that.
Nitrates: EXTREMELY high. 200+. I have started doing frequent water changes as the person at the pet store said that is basically all you can do...there is not really a chemical you can put in to balance it. I also bought a gravel vac to suck up some of the dirt/food/waste from the rocks, but unfortunately there is so much that it stirs up a lot when I go to clean it and I feel it makes it worse.


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## MukiTheFish (Aug 21, 2010)

NJDfan1711 said:


> Whoa... what do you mean Pleco's shouldn't be kept in 10 gallon tanks alone? Really? I have had Pleco's in other 10 gallon tanks all my life and known other people with them as well and it's never been a problem.
> 
> And going by the general rule of thumb, the Pleco aside, I was using 1 inch per gallon, so if my fish are approx 2" each and I have 5 fish, that would be 10 gallons, which is the size of my tank. Is that not right?
> 
> ...


Also, I was told by some people that work at the pet store that you generally only have problems with ammonia if you have goldfish, which I do not. Is that true?
False. You have problems with ammonia if you didnt cycle your tank and have anything alive and pooping in there. 


Nitrites: Pretty much normal <---Pretty much normal should only be zero, nada, nil.

Nitrates: EXTREMELY high. 200+. I have started doing frequent water changes as the person at the pet store said that is basically all you can do...there is not really a chemical you can put in to balance it. I also bought a gravel vac to suck up some of the dirt/food/waste from the rocks, but unfortunately there is so much that it stirs up a lot when I go to clean it and I feel it makes it worse.
The most messy time for the tank is right after cleaning You could help keep nitrates in order with a bunch of fast growing plants actually.If it doesn't come in a liquid form it doesn't mean it does not exist...

good luck!


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I think in both scenario's in this thread, it is possible that tanks were left with very few fishes for perhaps extended period of time.Bacteria present was capable of handling waste from those few fish.
When numbers of new fish were added,the ammonia from fish waste increased beyond what the bacteria could process and rising ammonia levels killed off fishes that bacteria could not support as well as maybe some original fish. Something to consider anyway.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I am not sure if the level is exactly 0 for nitrites because I am using strips with colored squares on them rather than something iwth numeric output, but the color matches up quite close to the one on the bottle that is suggested.

I have a few other generic questions -- does the placement of the filter matter in relation to the tank? Is it better to be in the center so oxygen is evenly distributed as opposed to being closer towards either side? Also, is it better to cut holes in the hood for ventiliation, or possibly even just leave it up or open? Does it matter?

Finally, I realize the dirtiest time in the tank will be when I clean it, that's obvious  however my question was isn't that bad for the fish to disturb their environment? I guess my filter is doing good because after 5-10 minutes the tank returns to a clear and normal state, but for those 5-10 minutes the tank is HORRIBLE, very cloudy and debris all over. I always feel that I am disrupting the fish' normal atmosphere and that it's too much for them to handle. I guess this won't be as bad after I properly clean all of the rocks and treat the water again especially now that I have a proper gravel vac, but still I am just wondering...

Thanks again.


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

It is not too disruptive to the daily life of the fish to disrupt things in cleaning. Oh, I also want to reflect on the 10gal aquarium with a pleco in it idea too: NOT GOOD! I don't care what your pet store people said those fish get WAY too big for a 10gal. Fish will grow to the extent of their surroundings to a point but a pleco will always outgrow a 10gal tank. If a pleco is given the proper environment and space to thrive it can live 25-30 years or even more. In a 10gal aquarium that fish will not live a happy, healthy, long life.


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

OH, one more thing. When you buy a 2 inch fish at the pet store, that fish is a baby and will get bigger. A molly does not stay 2 inches long, it can grow to be 4-5 inches. Which means in a 10gal tank situation, you can only house 2 mollies and nothing else.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks for that help. In regards to the Pleco, if my tank is clear and no visible signs of any algae whatsoever, is he starving to death potentially, or is he just eating algae that isn't visible to the human eye or something? I know they sell other food specifically for Pleco's and bottom feeders, but I wasn't sure if he was somehow finding food that isn't obvious to the untrained eye...


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

Once they get to a certain age they will eat more than just algae. Although, algae is still an important part of their diet. That being said, it may be beneficial to use one algae wafer per pleco.


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## PRichs87 (Dec 30, 2009)

I'm shocked you have fish at 200+. Plecos are big poo machines, so yes I'm shocked at keeping any pleco in a 10 gallon, I'd say most people here would suggest a 29 at minimum for a bristlenose pleco.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

PRichs87 said:


> I'm shocked you have fish at 200+. Plecos are big poo machines, so yes I'm shocked at keeping any pleco in a 10 gallon, I'd say most people here would suggest a 29 at minimum for a bristlenose pleco.


 Unfortunately I am sad to report my tank is fishless now. My pleco is no longer with us as of yesterday, and as of today my red swordtail is also deceased.  They slowly developed lots of white spots which I assume was ick, and I was reading on here how to clean them and try to rejuvenate them, but I'm afraid I was too late.

Now that I have learned some important rules and fundamentals at the expense of my poor fish, I am going to start over and try to run my tank properly from the beginning. With that said, I have been reading a lot about this 'new tank cycle', but when exactly do you have to go through that? I would like to drain my tank and clean the gravel and make sure I get all the **** and waste out, so does that mean I have to wait like 2-3 weeks or so when I refill it? Or...since I already have a running filter with that carbon pad that you're apparently "never supposed to change, just rinse", am I good to go assuming I have the new water at a good temp and make sure it is dechlorinated and so forth?


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

If you suspect that you had ick in your tank I would highly recommend getting a new carbon filter and yes, you need to basically start from scratch after cleaning the tank that thoroughly.


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## NJDfan1711 (Mar 1, 2011)

Well, problem is, I originally thought the motor on my original filter had been going bad (I cleaned it and it seemed to work fine after), but I got a brand new filter and replaced it about a month ago. It came with a new carbon pad as well, so the one I had in most recently was actuallly quite new and I'd hate to waste it... I would think my old one that I got rid of probably had the worst in it.

Also, what is the best way to clean the tank and the accessories now that I have drained it? I have my plants and decorations outside after I washed them hoping they will dry and maybe the sun and heat will do them good. I also have all of my gravel in a bucket but not sure how to rinse it without the bucket filling up with the same dirty water that gets washed off of the rocks... 

Any tips? It seems hard to go through this with just a 10 gallon tank and I've made a mess with water and other stink... I can't see how people do it with much larger tanks. :shock:


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## gingerael (Mar 5, 2011)

boiling hot water will kill anything it touches but thats about as far as I'd go. any kind of chemicals would be difficult to rinse all the way off before trying to restart the tank.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I would put a piece of mesh over your drain in your bath tub, pour the gravel on the far side of the tub then pour boiling water over it a few times. You could also do this with your filter and decorations then I think it would be safe to set it back up again and start over. Just learn from your past mistakes and hopefully this time it will go more smoothly for you.


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## PRichs87 (Dec 30, 2009)

Or you could buy a really cheap spaghetti strainer pour your gravel in that and rinse it out under the faucet.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

That would work to I just remembered this is only a 10 gallon tank. I did the bath tub for my 55 gallon that came with used gravel. It was a lot of gravel and would of took forever to do in a strainer. ; )


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