Rummy nose tetra QT smashing into things

Hi all, I am currently stocking my 125G tank. Every batch of newbies go into QT for at least 2 weeks then we start the process all over. We have had 3 batches of various fish come through — all healthy and perfectly transition.
Tuesday is our “new fish day”. So this past Tuesday we bought 10 rummy nose tetras

10-15 ppm nitrate
0 nitrite
0 ammonia
7.2-7.4 PH
temp 74-75
2 plants
(this is the same QT tank we have used for all other fish batches)

Thursday morning we woke up and had lost 3 rummy’s over night.
This morning we woke up and had lost one more.

Every-time that we have watched and observed them they all seem fine and they all eat great (feeding flakes right now)

I have finally had a day off and am now seeing what is happening. One rummy - who has been acting perfectly fine - swimming normal etc., just started smashing into the sides of the tank and objects within - to the point of stunning itself and looks to be killing itself. This is not “flashing” this more intense.

I’m thinking possibly parasites?

does anyone have any input?

 

How big is your qt tank? Could it be too small?

Just guessing.

 

How big is your qt tank? Could it be too small?

Just guessing.

I thought possibly the same. It’s 29 G - which should be enough. The fish I referenced is now swimming upside down, still smashing into things and certainly in her/his death spiral . (I took all decorations out but it hasn’t stopped)

 

I would think that's big enough. Good luck.

 

Tanks big enough. But it sounds like whirling. Can you get a video? New tetras do die. It’s from all they’ve been through. They may have just got to your store and are still stressed. This one going crazy may be the only one. But I would not move any into main tank. Observe them for another 2-4 weeks. If more do the same I would do away with them all and bleach the tank.

 

Yes, I will try to get a video if any of the other ones start doing it. The one from last night is no more so I can’t get a video. We have now lost 5 this way, in 3 days.

 

Another one started doing it last night and is on its way out. It’s started out with the smashing against things and now it is swimming upside down and swirling mostly

Video below.

we are now down to 4, from 10, in 5 days.

I imagine the others will have the same fate. Does anyone know how to humanely euthanize? I don’t want them all to suffer like this.

 

It’s definitely on its way out. I go back to the store and check their tank. I’d remove it now before it dies.
This is why I go bare bottom in qt tanks. No matter what that substrate will now have to be removed. If a parasite there may be more in the substrate.
What’s worked for me with things like this is a uv steralizer. If it’s in the water a uv will kill it. I’d put what left in a 5g and see what happens to them.

 

Thank you for the advice. Yes, we were going to do a bare QT but this is one that we already had set up before we got our bigger tank. Now we will take this one down and clean it all out and use the smaller one that is bare.

Luckily the store said to bring a water sample and the fish back and as long as the water test is good (which it is) they agreed to refund.

for this many to die in such a short period of time I believe something must be wrong with the fish store tank. Whatever it is, it’s setting in fast. One minute they are fine, swimming and eating, the next that are in the death spiral.

 

I had the same issue with Rummies. I would get 6 and 1 or 2 would make it in the first few days. Then the remaining 2 would be fine, get 6 more and 1 or 2 would make it. I just had to stop getting them, they were getting too expensive. In my area they are very delicate fish. Others say they are bullet proof. Aquarium fish are so overbred now a days I guess it depends on where your lfs gets them from.

 

I have heard that too. So far my experience is they are incredibly delicate. We’ve gone through QT periods with Bolivians, celestial pearl danios, tetras, and then our main fish that came from that tank. We haven’t had one loss during the QT periods for any of them - and that’s over the course of a few months. Get these guys and Bam - dropping like flies.

If these other four survive I don’t believe I will be venturing down the rummy path anymore because these guys were very expensive. As I am typing this, one of the remaining four has begun the downward spiral. This is wild. I do feel badly but there isn’t much more I can do for these guys especially since I don’t know what the cause is.

Thank you for the input!

 

Update: so on the 5th after I had only one left I put a few cups of crushed coral into a media bag and placed it in the tank as a last ditch effort. We had issues before in that tank with large PH swings throughout the day. I didn’t expect it to do anything but I gave it a shot.

low and behold—- the last fish survived and started to thrive… I have just transitioned him into our bigger tank and so far … he/she seems to be doing well. *fingers crossed*

 

Got to say this is strange. Rummies are a soft water fish. Ph 6.4-7.0 and a hardness of 2-10 kh. Crushed coral raises the hardness and ph. Just strange. I’d have to say your were breed in hard water.