RonDutt

So right before my every-other-day water change this morning, one of my orange platies started playing dead It would swim for a bit, then just stop moving (gills, fins, mouth, everything). It would swim again, then flip over and float to the top (like it's dead). As soon as I reached for it or touched it, it would start swimming again. Once it just stopped for a good minute, so I took it out, on the way to the Q tank, the started flapping in my hands! So I put her back, and well, she acts like nothing ever happened! One of my zebra danios was doing the exact same thing, although he didn't make it One of my yellow platies also disappeared for 30 minutes after the water change, only to appear dead stuck on my filter intake So that's one fish that went crazy and is doing fine, one that went crazy and died, and one that just disappeared and died. Before the water change nothing had been added/removed to the tank aside from water changes (with conditioner) and aquarium salt (small amount). After the change I rearranged the decor and added a driftwood with some fern on it. All the fish are doing perfectly fine now...I'm just worried as to what caused these fish to go bezerk and die

On a side note, I got a hitchiker on the driftwood! Somehow a loach survived the 20 minute trip from the LFS to my house in a plastic bag with the driftwood and less than a quarter inch of water. Not sure what kind of loach it is yet, it's brown, about 2.5in long, and LOVES to burrow in the gravel! Quite interesting actually

Oh and all my levels are unchanged from when the tank finished cycling (according to the fish in the tank, it's perfect for them--0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates, 7.2 pH).

Shawnie

IMO it is probably the salt..which is an irritant to fish and just makes them overproduce slime coat..and salt never disapates and just builds up in the tank...do you have a salt tester to see how much is in there? .....what test kit are you using and how did you cycle the tank so fast? because it also sounds like an ammonia/nitrite issue but you say you have none....im sorry for th e losses of your fish babies

RonDutt

The salt I add is just a few cubes per bucket (the cubes are about the size of 2 grains of rice)--3 or 4 per bucket. salinity levels tested fine on Saturday when I did a change...have to grab another kit to test more. None of the other fish are showing any signs of distress or "crazy" behavior (aside from the remaining danios, but they've always been a bit crazy). At least they died while I was there Waking up or coming home to a dead animal is heartbreaking...

Shawnie

well those were my guesses...each fish deals with salt differently..finding a dead fin baby is heartbreaking and again im sorry....but I do hope things get better for you and your tank!!

RonDutt

Thanks for the wishes! Everything is looking good so far, even the loach is enjoying his new home. I don't think I even saw the loach in the tank the driftwood came from...lol!

Surfing the web it seems there might have been a ammonia spike or the fish may have been scared or gotten swim bladder infection...in any case, I'll be gone for a few hours and will check back on the tank when I get back. Thanks for the suggestions/tips! I'll stop the salt for a few weeks just in case...