HELP : my ID / iridescent shark / blue line Shark are dieing..

hI .. guys I need help in diagnosing what is wrong with my ID / Iridescent sharks ... I have just setup a new tank about 3 weeks ago ..... its about 35 gallon tank...I currently have silver koi + common gold fish + double tail gold fish + Asian glass fish + angelfish (juvenile) and ID / Iridescent sharks (juvenile) 5 of them...

I know these sharks are fast movers and they can grow to 4 feet in size .... but since they are juveniles ...I keep them for the time being in this tank.

my aquarium has 1 mechanical + 1 biological filter with K1 material + ceramic k1 material + 300 watts automatic heater ....its gravel bed + bog wood + stones aquarium..... water temperature is 26 degrees centigrade ... water Ph is 7.6... and my tank has completed its nitrogen cycle ....

just purchased 5 ID sharks about 4 days ago.and when I put them or home them to my tank (DAY 1) they do not move around much and do not eat any thing .. the feed I am giving them is blood worms + flakes + fish pallets ....

after (DAY 2) they turn slowly to brownish reddish color from their blueish black color....

(DAY 3 )they swim violently in circles like the fins of a pedestal fan as if they are having a stroke ..... OR ... they lie still on the ground for hours and not move at all.....

(DAY 4) they swim vaguely with slow or sluggish abdominal movements in any direction until they reach glass wall and then turn their heads up towards the water surface and keep on swimming like hanging in same place for hours .............and then they lie on their side or up side down behind the wood or the stone and than they die

.... I already have lost 2 fishes.... have tried changing about 10% water every day + antibacterial + methyl blue + solitary confinement but to no avail .......

All other fishes are healthy and always Hungary ...any help would be appreciated ..... since I feel sorry and helpless ....

 

Your tank was overstocked before adding the sharks. Can't help such without knowing what your water parameters are. Can you test and let us know your numbers please?

 

used API master test kit

water nitrate level 10 ppm
water nitrite level 0 ppm
water Ammonia level 0 ppm
Ph low range 7.6
water chlorine level nil
k1 material / biological filter sponge color .... orange brownish color
water temperature 26-27 degree centigrade

 

HI and Welcome

First things first, How did you cycle your tank?
Did you use established filter media, bottled product or fish in cycle? Being cycled in 3 weeks is only possible with already established filter media from older aquarium (moths or years older).
Any other way to cycle tank takes 4-6 sometimes more weeks.
What is the exact name of the filter you use, how many times an hour turns the water over?
The test results for the water seam perfect, but with only 3 weeks old tank, and that much overstocking its highly unlikely that are true.
Try testing again, this time, read the instructions very well, I use Tetra tests instead of API coz not available here but i've read some of the API bottles need to be shaken really good before using it for good results.
How did you acclimate the fish before releasing in the tank?

Post all the info that comes up to your mind so we can narrow down problems, as for now stop using all those chemicals, you are probably ruining your bio filtration with them already, start doing 25-30% water changes daily, reduce that feeding to 1/4 of what you do now and wait for other people to say a word after getting some of these questions here.

Good luck with your tank.

 

My tank is a 36 gallon for example and I started it 1/31/14. It is still not fully cycled and I used Tetra SafeStart to seed my tank. My reading for today were Ammonia: 0 ppm, Nitrite: 2-3 ppm, Nitrate: 20-30 ppm.

I can't imagine your tank is cycled at this point although it MAY be possible...seems more like you're still at the beginning though to me.

Iridescent sharks like a 6.5–7.5 pH and a temperature range of 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)

This means your temp is a bit high for the shark but probably not enough to kill one. Your pH is also a bit too high.

 

Your tank is extremely overstocked and the combination of fish in the tank can cause some problems for all of them. I am sorry that the sharks did not make it, but please do not add more of them to your current stock.

The gold fish and Koi absolutely need a MUCH larger tank, and they prefer cooler water temperatures than the angel fish, glass fish or sharks would prefer. I would suggest making a choice as to what type of stock you prefer and then I'm sure many members on the forum would be happy to help you with the best ways to care for the fish.

 

HA! I somehow missed the word 'goldfish' in there. Goldfish aren't tropical fish like the rest of your fish. They are cold water fish. Goldfish need their water temp to be around 70 for fancy goldfish and lower for common goldfish. Tropicals like their water at roughly 75-80. Too warm for your cold water gold fish. I second the opinion that you should decide which you want to keep, cold water or tropicals, and then re-home the others even if you have to take them back to the pet store so they can have a better life.

 

thanks all ... really appreciate all ur replies.....as I told earlier I am using two filters 1 is 600 L/h simple sponge filter and the 2nd one is
(FG-1204 12W 880L Aquarium Internal Filter) multI stack 880 L/h biological filter with 2 stacks of wide pore sponge black and blue and 2 stacks of K 1 material . to boost up the nitrogen cycle

I used the biological filter and 3 kg of gravel borrowed from my friend's aquarium....he is my colleague. and his aquarium is the one which my daughter and my son saw about 4 months from now....long story .... how ever he helped me setup my tank ...

the nitrogen cycle was completed while using silver kois and gold fishes as they are the pooping machines .... ammonia phase with its tel tale smell was over in about a week....amazingly .... no gold fish or silver koi died in the cycle completion phase...

and I acclimatise the fish by putting it in the translucent plastic bag and leaving it in the aquarium for about 30 minutes ......I am feeding all my fish once every 24 hours .....I have stopped all medication for now ..... temperature is little higher intentionally to fight off any protozoan infection or white spot infection (just to be on safe side)....

water parameters I mentioned are that which I just tested yesterday and the day before yesterday and yes I did shake API kit bottles well before using ....

today's update on ID sharks is (DAY 5) remaining 3 ID sharks are now moving around in the middle to the top of the tank ....no physical deformities ... body pigment coloration is little better.....they have become skinnier than before... still eating no food....swimming pattern is not violent or chaotic...

some times it seems as if they are swimming on their sides...my son 4.5 years old and daughter 7 years old are sitting in front of the aquarium and are praying for the fishes ......I need to feed them some how... but unable to do so... they seem not interested in any thing .....from today on words I will try changing 25-30 % water

......hmmmm I did know that the gold fish common / fancy are cold water dwellers but 26-27 degree centigrade seems not harm full to them .... how ever after reading much about them on the net ..... I am considering now of replacing them......but for the time being they are to stay....unless I find a suitable home for them .

 

Editing/Thread Moved

Good morning and Welcome to Fish Lore!


To help you to receive more responses, I have moved your thread from Freshwater Beginners to Freshwater Sharks/Iridescent Sharks section of the forum.

Too, I have edited post #1 and post #8 above to create paragraphs for easier reading. If your post is difficult to read, you may not receive the responses you are looking for.

Best wishes for your tank and fish and I hope you enjoy the site!

Ken

 

thanks and much obliged....

 

I recommend more acclimation than floating the bag of fish before putting them in the tank too. You should float the bag for about 30 minutes then add 1/4 cup of tank water to the bag, wait about 30 minutes, add 1/4 cup more tank water to the bag and then gently add the fish. It gets them used to the difference in temp, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in your water.

 

Kellye8498.. thanks for info
I will try ur way of acclimatisation for all future citizens of my tank,,,

(DAY 6) All 3 remaining ID sharks are now moving in the middle to the top of the tank...... their conditions seems improved....... as they swim much actively than before ........ they still do not eat ..... but now I am grinding the feed in to fine powder before dispersal..... and it seems they are drinking the soup.....I am also changing the 25 % of water approximately daily..... will keep u all posted with the latest updates

Thanks

 

Glad to hear that things are looking up a little for your sharks. They may be eating and you aren't seeing it unless they are still looking very skinny. I know a lot of sharks like to eat at night and in the dark. I had a red tail shark that used to drag his food into his cave and eat it in there. He wouldn't ever let me see him eat. I only witnessed the cave eating one night when he didn't know I was there as I had come down for a drink of water and could see him doing it. Very cool. Good luck!

 

ive had my ID sharks for 19 years and and they are still healthy except one looks like he\she pregnant ,,,so I'm just going to skip their feedings for a few days to see what is up with that ... both of mine are huge ,,, one is just over 2 feet and the other is just under 2 feet .. I think you have too many in your tank ... ID sharks get very stressed out also around other fish also and get get many diseases cause by the stress ... hope you can save some of them ,,,