Dropping Like Flies!!!!

Over the last couple of days, my Cardinal Tetra`s have been dying at a rapid rate.I have lost at least 7 over a 3 day period.My water parameter is perfect, so that is not the cause.Their color is good and they appear to be OK but every morning I find a few dead bodies on the bottom. The rest of my fish seem perfectly normal.

 

How long have they been in the tank? What other fish are in with them? Did you do a water change lately that may have caused a pH swing or something? What condition are they in when you find them? Are they breathing heavy? Has your temp dropped?

 

When you say your water is perfect - what does that mean? What are your parameters? It's the only way we can help. Can you also post pictures of them?

 

Yes, my parameters are exactly where they have been since this tank was cycled back in April of last year.Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20, PH 7.0, GH 4, KH 4/5. I do an at least a 50% water change weekly depending on where the Nitrates are. If they are a little high it becomes a 70% change. The temp is a constant 78*.

 

How long have you had your tetras?

 

Is it only the cardinals? I’ve read hear about an illness in neons that some have said cardinals are getting too.

 

The Cardinals were the first fish in this tank. I kind of think that it could be Neon Tetra disease. I just ordered some medicated fish food hopefully it will get here soon.

 

I have been doing some research on Neon Tetra disease and it seems that Cardinals seem to be immune to Neon Tetra disease.I am hoping it is not Columaris

 

It's sound like columnaris I had this last year wiped out 22 fish get a med that's gram negative depending on the type you have but it sound like the same as mine ....do they have any saddle back looking pactches or discolored patches

 

I have 2 bottles of Kanaplex, Metroplex each and 10 packs of Furan 2. Their colors look the same as usual but they are hiding out in the plants and I could only count 6 of them.I started out with 16 and really have not been keeping track of them until the other day when I started finding dead bodies, this really sucks. I am gone to replace them but I going to fix this tank first. I`m going out of town Friday and will not be back until Sunday hopefully I will have some Cardinals to count Sunday night.

 

Have you added any new fish or plants or anything lately...... I know of those meds but never used them I just let it run its course cause no1 could tell me what it was and I was using wrong meds so I just aggravated it
But if it's gram negative med it should work

 

I going to purchase a UV sterilizer, I know it like shutting the barn door after all the animals have escaped but it will help in the future. All 3 of the meds I have are gram-negative so I will most likely be using some of them Sunday when I get home.

 

I got back home last night and there were no other deaths so I`m going to keep a close watch on this tank and hold off on the meds, for now, hopefully, all of this is done. I only have 3 Cardinals left so I am going to make sure my quarantine tank has not lost its cycle and is able to process 4ppm of ammonia with 0 nitrites in 24 hrs before I go fish shopping.So the UV sterilizer will be my next step.

 

I use a uv steralizer. 2 of my canister filters actually have them built in. Nice option. I also have a 3rd that is an internal filter type. Used it to kill ick a few months back. Turned on for a day once a month and they will kill whatever is in your water.

 

I`m leaning toward the Coralife Turbo Twist 6X 18 watt unit.

 

Is that an internal filter or an in line filter? Mine is a no name 9watt I got off eBay for 30 bucks. It is a internal filter. Are you using a canister filter now on your tank?

 

I have a Penn Plex Cascade 1500 cascade canister as the primary filter on this tank, so most likely I will plumb it into the return line of the filter.I also have a sponge filter in there that is rated for 80 gallons The Turbo Twist is basically an inline filter but it can be run using a separate pump.

 

Ok that’s a good unit only thing I don’t like is it’s in-line. This will reduce the flow from the canister. Also adds 2 more connections to the canister giving you 2 more places for leaks. I like independent or built in with switches to turn off/on.

 

Today was water change day and while doing so I found 2 dead Rummy Noses. I`m tired of this so I dosed the tank with Furan 2 and I will do it tomorrow along with Kanaplex.

 

What’s left in your tank? What test kit are you using? Did you find fish before water change?

 

I got 2 Angles, 2 Cardinals 6 Rummy Noses, 6 Cories, and 4 Black Skirts. I am using an API Master Kit along with their GH/KH test kit I did a good cleaning I removed all of my driftwood, and the dead ones were behind the driftwood. The problem with a heavily planted tank it is hard to find them critters when you want a head count. Once I get my quarantine tank back online it will be a long process replacing what I lost.

 

flies?

 

Yes it happens fish die. Sometimes we can see there’s a problem other times there’s no clue. Just lost 2 3 line pencil fish that I’ve had for years. Both found dead this week. Everything else fine in the tank Cory’s eggs hatched and now have fry. Guess it was there time? Only thing I can add is sometimes the nitrate test need help. You’ve got to really shake the 2nd bottle and after their mixed to get a good reading.

 

When I do a nitrate test I look like a paint shaker.

 

All of my Cardinals are dead and I only have 3 Rummy Nose left. The strange thing is that none of the other species were affected.I did the meds but they did not have any effect on the Cardinals and Rummy`s survival.The UV sterilizer is supposed to arrive tomorrow and hopefully, when it is set up it will kill whatever it is that played havoc on this tank. The unit is a TMC Vectron 600 25 watt Level 2.

 

I would have liked to have installed this unit inside of the stand but there really is not enough room in there. I will give this a couple of weeks and hopefully, I will not lose any more Rummy`s I only have 3 left.

 

Wow that’s one heck of a uv steralizer. Was there any reduction in flow once added? Please keep us informed.

 

I don`t think so, the water coming out of the spray bar appears to be at the same volume as it was before the UV was added. My 10-gallon quarantine seems to be back on cycle, so I will keep on feeding it ammonia until the 55 is clear of infection. I`m keeping my fingers crossed that all of this effort works out otherwise it would be a real bummer.

 

I think that the infection in my tank is gone. It has been over a week without a death and the UV has been doing its job.I have developed a slight Staghorn algae problem so I dialed the lights back to 6 hours a day and increased the Excel a bit. I`m into the 3rd day of this so we will see.I really don`t want to do the pressurized CO2 thing but if I have to I will.Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to be getting some Cardinals for the quarantine tank and will keep them there for as long as it takes

 

Do you plan to leave the uv on all the time? Is stag horn the same as bba?

 

I think they are similar. Excel is supposed to be effective with staghorn. I have been leaving the UV on . The fish seems to be a little more active since it has been running.