# most of my fish died within 1 day



## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

I have a 29 gallon tank with 5 tiger barbs and 4 albino sharks. They seemed to do fine for a month but all the sudden 5 of my fish died. The tiger barbs had tattered fins and white eyes. The albino sharks had ick. help with the tiger barbs?


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## intensejustin (Sep 8, 2010)

Seems like a combo of Fin Rot and Ich. You already know the problem? You just stated it, didnt you?

Or am I missing something?


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

Yeah 3 of my tiger barbs died within 6 hours.....they all had white eyes.....2 of the sharks died they definitley had itch.....i wanna know either how to cure whatever the barbs have or how to prevent it next time. (The surviving barbs do not look good) also i am not worrying about the ich because i already got a medication for that


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Sounds like water quality might have been a problem. Did you test for ammonia? What filter do you have? Did you add any thing to the tank? Did the fish die after you medicated?


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

the fish did die after I medicated them. I added plastic plants and some caves a while back but they seemed to be ok after I added them....I did not test the water quality.....I'm assuming its something I should have done....


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Probably either water quality as stated or the ich disease. Did you ever do water changes to reduce toxins? Before you use meds, try to use the heat and salt method. Meds kill beneficial bacteria and should be a last resort.*


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Meds for things like ich are good to have but are basicly poisons that need to be balanced so as to kill the parasite without killing the fish. A weak fish can be finished off or it is easy to get the dose wrong and over do it. Did the white eyes happen before or after the meds? If before then I'd guess they were weak fish, if after maybe it was the meds caused damage to the eyes, prehaps an overdose?

Problems like ich and fungal infections often crop up in fish that have been stressed in some way. The most common cause of stress is too much ammonia in the water (ie fish waste, too much food or dead plants). The best way to know if there is ammonia in the water is to test for it. Do you know about cycling a tank? If the tank was not cycled that was probably the root cause of all your problems.


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

Agree.

Sometimes fish can get sick (things like fin rot and ick) because of poor water conditions. Poor water makes them stressed and stressed out fish can get sick easier. There can be lots of little things that can contribute to poor water. Lack of water changes could be the biggest factor. But also things like the type and size of your filter, tank size, substrate, real or fake plants, addition of decorations into tank not meant for tank. 

Problem then with sick fish is that they are already weak and treating them with something can make it worse. Since they are weak it can kill them altogether. Basically, it's usually the best idea to watch the fish and the water for signs something is changing, change water and test water regularly, isolate sick fish (if possible) and that's about it. I agree to avoid meds if at all possible. 

There are lots of little things to take into account to make a tank healthy and keep it healthy for examples, if you have 2 filters alternate replacing the media, if you have sand substrate make sure to stir regularly, don't over feed (under feeding is better then over feeding), don't change more then 50% of the water at a time, leave the water out for 24 hours if possible before adding to the tank, live plants help to keep things a little more balanced and the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep healthy (unless you inherit someone else's sick tank and fish like I did, then it can be complicated).


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

I use tea tree oil along with salt and temp increase. Most health food stores sell it just look to make sure its just the oil and not a blend of other chemicals like fragrences or colors and what not.


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

snail said:


> Meds for things like ich are good to have but are basicly poisons that need to be balanced so as to kill the parasite without killing the fish. A weak fish can be finished off or it is easy to get the dose wrong and over do it. Did the white eyes happen before or after the meds? If before then I'd guess they were weak fish, if after maybe it was the meds caused damage to the eyes, prehaps an overdose?
> 
> Problems like ich and fungal infections often crop up in fish that have been stressed in some way. The most common cause of stress is too much ammonia in the water (ie fish waste, too much food or dead plants). The best way to know if there is ammonia in the water is to test for it. Do you know about cycling a tank? If the tank was not cycled that was probably the root cause of all your problems.


I notices the white eyes before the medication as with the tattered fins. I dont know much about cycling my tank.....i was planning on doing a cleaning soon....in case all of the fish do die what should I do about it next time?


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

btw how often should i replace the water i my tank?


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

If you have a lot of plants then not often but if your not planted then you need to check your your water with a master test kit though, i change 30% in all my tanks every week just because i like to to. My 20 and my 10 gallon change water easy but my 90 is a pain, takes 6 five gallon buckets which i have to fill up in my shower.


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## probe1957 (Jul 2, 2010)

It is possible you can save the fish you have left but without knowing the water quality, it is impossible to tell you what to do. Go to your fish store and pick up an API Master Test Kit. Run all the tests as per the instructions and post your results here. Follow the instructions in the test kit carefully. Do this today. Time is of the essence here.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Couple links I found quick to help you understand cycling:
Manage your freshwater aquarium, tropical fishes and plants: Nitrogen Cycle for Dummies
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/fishless-tank-cycling-using-pure-ammonia-796.html

I think your ammonia levels (or nitrites) are very high from cycling. Do a 50% water change with dechlorinated water as soon as possible. Never do a 100% water change. 15-30% a week works for most people once the tank is going well. Get a test kit as soon as you can to find out for sure, and dechlorinator (water conditioner) if you don't have any.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

mk4gti said:


> If you have a lot of plants then not often but if your not planted then you need to check your your water with a master test kit though, i change 30% in all my tanks every week just because i like to to. My 20 and my 10 gallon change water easy but my 90 is a pain, takes 6 five gallon buckets which i have to fill up in my shower.


LOL, no hose option huh? I could not imagine having to do it that way. I have two 125s and a 75 that take quite a bit to do 30%.


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

Yeah man there is no other water source i can use so i have 6 five gallon buckets i fill up in my shower. The bathroom in my appartment has very fancy sink with no way to screw a hose on, the pipes are in the wall so there is no way to access them there, when i filled the tank i ran a hose up from the side of my neighbors house into my moonlight but i cant do that anymore cuz the water is cold and not dechlorinized which was fine when there was no fish in the tank. The good thing about the 90 gallon is i can really just dump the buckets in fast once they sat of a little bit and the tank is deep enough that it doesnt kick up substrate or ruin plants, its a work out to say the least. My tank is planted enough to where i couldn never do water changes and my nitrates never really get that high, i just like my fish to have fresh water.


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

probe1957 said:


> It is possible you can save the fish you have left but without knowing the water quality, it is impossible to tell you what to do. Go to your fish store and pick up an API Master Test Kit. Run all the tests as per the instructions and post your results here. Follow the instructions in the test kit carefully. Do this today. Time is of the essence here.


ok i got test results....
general hardness-120
carbonate hardness-80
ph-7.5
nitrite levels-.5
nitrate levels-20


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

Where is the ammonia results??

Can't comment on the hardness results that is out of my league and something I personally haven't tested for before. Ph seems a little high....but some fish like it that way. Some one with more experience then me can tell you if your fish like a ph like that. Nitrities should be 0 so that is a little high and nitrates are a little high too. 10 is a nicer nitrate level. 

Did you do the water change yet?? For now, try not feeding them for 2 or 3 days and see how that goes. At least then you won't be adding any more stuff into the water that way. Test the water daily for a few days too to make sure numbers don't get worse.


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

i have done a water change and i have not fed them for 2 or 3 days.......i will test the water again tomorrow and post the results....btw I am using strips...is it a better idea to invest in a master test kit?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, get the API master test kit or some other liquid test kit.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

ph-7.5 sounds fine, most fish don't mind too much about ph as long as it is fairly stable and not really high or low. Ammonia and nitrites are the important ones and should be 0 but up to .3 is not too bad. .5 is enough to stress your fish a bit and if you tested after your water change it was higher before which would expain fish deaths. The good news is if your tank is cycling the fact that nitrites are showing means you are well on your way. When the cycle is finished water quality should be good. Until then you need to keep the levels down with water changes so as not to kill the fish. Remember ammonia and nitrites are the important ones to test for.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you're using strips don't get content with the results you are reading right now...because honestly they aren't that bad. The problem with using strips is they aren't very accurate and your readings could be off.


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## yasai6500 (Oct 19, 2010)

thanks for the help my fish seemed to stop dying.....i'm sure ill post something when I need more help


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Glad to hear it's going better.


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