Hi _ please help - my 100 liter (freshwater with live plants) aquarium has been running for 4 months with a variety of starter fish including gouramis and tetras and zebras - all was great until a few days ago - one fish died, one started looking opaque wheras the others look transparent or at least translucent - and all of them are just standing aound not moving forward much and even drifting backwards sometimes, and some seem to be listing - the water looks clear it is 25 degrees and I did 2x 10% changes in the last few days i haven't got testing kits? There are actually not 20 but 16 fish - here is a video capture - not very clear of a fish having trouble getting ahead.
whats up?
Last edited by gavin; February 23rd, 2008 at 09:42 AM.
Reason: adding video ancd correcting details
hello,
I may be wrong in the conversion, but your 100 liter is about a 26g tank. Your aquarium info says that you have 20 fish in that tank. It is wayyyyy over stocked and could be the problem of the fish dying and not doing well.
Other than that.. you really need a water testing kit, preferably the API master kit, which gives accurate readings, before you can figure out what is going on. But my guess, its the over stocking that is causing the fish deaths.
Good thing you are doing the water changes right now, that is probably what is at least helping for the moment.
Along with what capekate said, if your water is 25 degrees, that is way to cold for tropical fish. You will need to get a heater for your tank.
Hi Lucy, I hope he meant 25c which is 77* F. The temp would be fine in his tank... BUT.. if he meant fahrenheit... and not celsius.. then I agree.. he is in big trouble!
~ kate
Last edited by capekate; February 23rd, 2008 at 09:09 AM.
I'm afraid the tank is extremely overstocked and that is likely causing your toxin levels to be high. The fish may finally be showing the signs of toxin poisoning. I'd definitely advice a test kit and a water conditioner like "Prime" that locks toxins to protect fish.
Hi There just to clarify - the tank is at 25 deg celsius just 1 degree less than the manufacturers recomendation - and it is quite big - there are actually just 16 fish - all small - so I don't think it is overstocked. I will add a pic. One of the filters is charcoal - I have never changed it, i just rince it once a week - as I rince the once-white polyester filter stuff - to keep the good bacteria - is this ok?
What about the actual symptoms - have you heard of fish drifting backwards and falling sideways before? Are they sick? Will they get better?
Gavin
Last edited by gavin; February 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 AM.
Hi Gavin,
since you did ask for advice.. you are still over stocked. a 26g tank is not all that big, and not big enough for your 16 fish, Im afraid.
Most folks here do not use the carbon in our filters. A good thing is that you are at least rinsing it weekly. But the benefits of the carbon are lost after about two weeks anyway even if you are rinsing it, so its not helping your tank at all. Are you rinsing your filter media in tap water or used tank water? If you are using tap water you are killing off your beneficial bacteria and that is not a good thing.The filter floss will collect and grow needed bacteria, and will get brown and gunky but that is good. You shouldnt rinse that weekly and only when its absolutely necessary.
good luck with your tank...
~ kate
Last edited by capekate; February 23rd, 2008 at 12:13 PM.
What about the actual symptoms - have you heard of fish drifting backwards and falling sideways before? Are they sick? Will they get better?
Any fish that is drifting backwards and falling sideways is a sick fish. As mentioned above by CobettaCouple, they are getting poisoned and sick from what is most likely ammonia or nitrate poisoning.
Hi again,
just looked at your video. the movements of your tetra seem normal to me, as does the other fish next to it. But it was a very short vid and hard to tell by what I saw there. The tetras do swim forward slightly like that.. kinda of like a tiny dart forward.. stop, then dart forward again. Like very choppy and not a smooth flowing swimmer like the other fish. I didnt see any sideways drifting.... tho
Dear kate thanks for your help - I will try get a more representative and clear video but for now I appreciate your input - the tetras about 5 of them are hanging out near ther bottom twitching in synchrony as if they are all getting electric shocks and the rest of the fish seem to be feeling better - I guess the tetras are sick - I will take them and a water sample to our local fish doctor for a diagnosis.
HI gavin...
since you use youtube videos, I would suggest you check out the other tetra videos there and see if they act the same way yours does. That 'twitching' thing.. yes they do that. I think you have a white skirt tetra in the video and they do that. So before you take them back.. check out the vids and see what you think. You can check out my youtube videos as well. under capekate. I have vids of some tetras in my community tank and you can see if yours act the same way. I think they all do that...
good luck,
hello,
I may be wrong in the conversion, but your 100 liter is about a 26g tank. Your aquarium info says that you have 20 fish in that tank. It is wayyyyy over stocked and could be the problem of the fish dying and not doing well.
Other than that.. you really need a water testing kit, preferably the API master kit, which gives accurate readings, before you can figure out what is going on. But my guess, its the over stocking that is causing the fish deaths.
Good thing you are doing the water changes right now, that is probably what is at least helping for the moment.
~ kate
Hi!
Kate's right. Also, what kinds of fish in there, exact list of what kinds and how many of each? Which ones are in trouble/dead?
Hi Hatchethaven
check out Gavins video in his first post, you will see the white skirt tetra there that he is talking about.
Gavin, hatchethavens suggestion is good, can you let us know exactly what species your 16 fish are?
Hi all, i took the water an a few fish to an "expert" he seemed unimpressed and said all was ok I did another 25% water change and was optimistic but now all of a certain species (I will try post a pic) have redness around the gills which looks like bleeding and their colour looks grey dull opaque and ugly - so they are not well.
Gavin
You really need to get an API test kit for yourself, so you can see what 'ok' means. You need to have exact measurements for ammonia, nitrate and nitrites. The redness around the gills usually are a symptom of ammonia poisoning, and with the current stocking of your tank, that certainly sounds like a possibility, or a certainty, some of us would say. Dull/opaqueness in fish sometimes just mean that they are stressed by your water conditions (someone correct me if i'm wrong!) - in this case, probably the nitrite and ammonia levels.
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~ kate
HaHa..I was just coming back to edit my post, I should have known that when he said liter, not gallons. Sorry.
