Four of my fish just died when I got home...

I had two Bettas, a killifish, and a red tetra died when I got home last night. My water was cloudy with all these floating particulates in the water. All the other fish was losing color and going to the surface for air. I did a 75% water change and the fish are back at full color and active again. I was gone the entire day and got home late at around 11. I feel terrible that my male killifish died.

 

Could be a lot of things. How many and what types of fish,how big is the tank,what type of filtration and how long has it been running?

 

just to make sure im reading correct but you had 2 bettas and other fish in the 1 tank.

If thats true as 86 ssinit said it could be a lot of things but my money is on 1 of your bettas finally snapping and going on a memurderous rampage.

 

I think it was an ammonia spike. I feed them twice a day (sometimes 3-4 times) and they poop a lot. I didn't vacuum the tank because I hear people don't do it for planted tank. When I was vacuuming the grass, there was a lot of stuff in there. I think I will vacuum it regularly and feed once a day. Only one of the 28 red eye tetras died but my male killifish! I am overloaded in my 75 gallon and I got a second filter (fluval c4) coming to supplement my aquaclear 110.

My killifish really doesn't like the Bettas and they were in one tank. I still have one Betta left. I did notice the fins were partially eaten on the Betta and they were still in full bright color.

 

Sorry about the sudden loss of your fish.

It is impossible for forum members to offer a good analysis of your aquarium situation based on the limited information available. Please see the emergency template. Copy the template to this thread and answer the questions as best as you can. That will give members information needed to be helpful.

Obviously, doing an emergency water change was a good step, but you need to figure out what went wrong so it does not happen again.

 

I think it was an ammonia spike. I feed them twice a day (sometimes 3-4 times) and they poop a lot. I didn't vacuum the tank because I hear people don't do it for planted tank. When I was vacuuming the grass, there was a lot of stuff in there. I think I will vacuum it regularly and feed once a day. Only one of the 28 red eye tetras died but my male killifish! I am overloaded in my 75 gallon and I got a second filter (fluval c4) coming to supplement my aquaclear 110.

My killifish really doesn't like the Bettas and they were in one tank. I still have one Betta left.

Ummm....an ammonia spike in a planted 75gal with small fish?
I'm not buying that....

Emergency template please.

 

If your killifish doesn't like the betta then you need to separate them or he will be bullied to death. I suggest removing him an putting him in his own tank. Clean water will help his fins heal and prevent infection.

 

Ummm....an ammonia spike in a planted 75gal with small fish?
I'm not buying that....

Emergency template please.

Yeah turns out you are right and it wasn't... I just noticed that my Betta and killifish had white spots on the body and head. I think it's Ich. My only surviving Betta has white spots on the posterior half of it's body. I probably need to treat the whole tank. Any recommendations?

 

Yeah turns out you are right and it wasn't... I just noticed that my Betta and killifish had white spots on the body and head. I think it's Ich. My only surviving Betta has white spots on the posterior half of it's body. I probably need to treat the whole tank. Any recommendations?

The most you could do in a planted tank would be a small dose of salt. Most, if not all, meds will kill plants, and having to dose 75 gallons would be super expensive. I tried one that doesn’t kill plants and it didn’t do anything, I had to buy another. You really need a qt tank, I’d suggest if you can’t get an actually tank, a rubbermaid tub, I did that when I didn’t have a spare.

 

You can also try treating ich by raising the temperature in the tank and keeping the water clean.

 

I only realize that the whole issue started when I got two German blue rams that PetSmart just got in... One died within a week and when I went back to get a replacement most of their rams were gone. They all probably died from Ich. Then a few days later my killifish and Betta are affected. I removed all the fish that appeared to be affected. I am going to get a QT later , but is there nothing else to treat Ich in the main tank without killing the plants? Is everything going to die in there?
How often to do water changes? Every two days at 50%? More? I have the temp at 79 degrees since I started the tank.

You can also try treating ich by raising the temperature in the tank and keeping the water clean.

 

Ich only affects immunocompromised fish so there is a bigger issue at play. Probably water quality or stress from the bullying. Filling out the emergency template would be helpful to get to the root of the issue.

 

The most you could do in a planted tank would be a small dose of salt. Most, if not all, meds will kill plants, and having to dose 75 gallons would be super expensive. I tried one that doesn’t kill plants and it didn’t do anything, I had to buy another. You really need a qt tank, I’d suggest if you can’t get an actually tank, a rubbermaid tub, I did that when I didn’t have a spare.

Clearly expensive. However it's looking like its a 75g, and probably 50-100 fish in it and not completely cycled, at least I think this is where its going if the emergency template is filled out.

I'll assume the worst because responses to questions are beating around the bush. he can't quarantine everyone and would take a bunch of bins and tanks and easier to treat the tank because of the amount of fish in it,, but can't because of the plants so either the plants are dead or the fish are dead and most likely the outcome will be both dead in the end.

Maybe I'm being a Negative Nancy but I've seen this show before and just scaling it up to a 75g. Probably used a bacteria booster to speed the cycle, then loaded down fish thinking all is good, and a massive bacterial bloom, disease and dieoff hit like a earthquake out of nowhere. But not really out of nowhere at all.

 

The most you could do in a planted tank would be a small dose of salt. Most, if not all, meds will kill plants, and having to dose 75 gallons would be super expensive. I tried one that doesn’t kill plants and it didn’t do anything, I had to buy another. You really need a qt tank, I’d suggest if you can’t get an actually tank, a rubbermaid tub, I did that when I didn’t have a spare.

I wouldnt dose salt in a planted tank if it is ich it causes to much trouble. ive always just raised the temp as high as my fish can handle it and do daily gravel vacs/water changes for until theres no sign and then every 2 or 3 days for 2 weeks.

 

The higher the temp the faster the white spots will fall off of the fish. Once the cysts fall off the fish they will start to reproduce in the substrate. If the temp is higher than 86F they can't reproduce and you will need to do a bunch of thorough gravel vacs to get all of the cysts out of the tank.
Keep the temperature as high as you can and gravel vac at least every other day until you are ich free (no white spots) for 7-10 days.

 

Sorry to hear your troubles.
Plants will survive in the heated tank for the time to get rid of the ich. They may suffer a bit, but should recover.
Do all the fish have ich? I had ich in my first 55gl display tank, and some of the fish stayed ich free while others were covered in sprinkles.
I decided at that time to separate the fish. Neons and Betta went into a QT and were treated with 86° heat, gravel vac and daily water changes. The other fish stayed in the big planted tank with daily gravel vac and watching the fish closely for ich sprinkles, but temperatures at normal level. It was successful but stressful, and really made me obsessive compulsive about the necessity of QT for new fish. Best of luck!

 

The only one that has white discoloration is the Betta with a whitish area at the dorsal posterior region. He is sluggish and not interested in eating.

 

Can you take a pic of the ones with the white on them in the water? I’m thinking it may not be ich now…

 

Here is a picture of it in the water. I have it in Tupperware and changing water daily with a sprinkle of salt.

 

His fins are torn up and he almost looks bloated. Do you think you could get a better picture?

 

Hi welcome to FishLore
I'm sorry about your fish but like Sparky said above, I don't think a clear picture is being given here.
First it was losing color, then it was possible ammonia spike, then there were nipped fins and lastly it was possible ich, yet you have not posted a picture of the tank, posted exact reading or listed exactly what kind of fish you have and how many of each.

In order for the members to help, please provide the info that was asked for otherwise this is a guessing game and that's a dangerous game to play

Good luck, I hope things get better.

 

Hi welcome to FishLore
I'm sorry about your fish but like Sparky said above, I don't think a clear picture is being given here.
First it was losing color, then it was possible ammonia spike, then there were nipped fins and lastly it was possible ich, yet you have not posted a picture of the tank, posted exact reading or listed exactly what kind of fish you have and how many of each.

In order for the members to help, please provide the info that was asked for otherwise this is a guessing game and that's a dangerous game to play

Good luck, I hope things get better.

Agree, hard to diagnose otherwise.

Just saying, if you don’t have a test kit or anything, we’ll strongly urge you to get one, but no need to feel embarrassed. Before I had one, I was embarrassed and didn’t want to ask people for help because I was afraid I’d be judged. If that is why you’re hesitant to give info.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Unfortunately, the Betta did not survive this morning. The other fish though seem still very healthy and eating well. It may have been stress as the Killifish and Betta constantly nip at each other and they are the only ones seem affected.

 

Please fill out the emergency template with as much information as you can provide. If you cannot provide certain information like test results, that is OK. Do not be embarrassed; we were all beginners at one time. It took most of us many years to obtain the equipment and skills that we possess today.

I kept fish for many years before ever having any test kits other than a pH indicator. When I first started over 60 years ago, the test kits were either not available, or were to expensive for most people.
Anyone who has been around aquariums for any length of time has had fish get sick and die. It is through such situations that we have learned. We feel your pain. We are here to help; not to judge.