# My fishes are dying one by one please help!!!



## maxneo92

hello guys. ive recently took up freshwater tank as a hobby but some problems occured and i really need help! few days ago i went to a nearby aquarium to get gravel and some wood for decoration and a pack of Magic Purifying Powder. i also bought 2 glass catfish and 2 striped raphael catfish. originally my tank was quite empty, there were a 4 guppies, 2 plecos and 2 black ghost knife fish.

when i got home i washed the gravel and the wood as instructed and put them into the water as well as the 2 glass catfish and 2 striped raphael catfish. i did not remove or change the water before putting in the gravel and wood decoration. after putting in the gravel and wood the water turned cloudy so i decided to put half a pack of Magic Purifying Powder into the water and amazingly it made the water crystal clear.

everything went smoothly but i started to realise that my black ghost knife fish had white thingy on its scale but they were looking very normal so i didnt care too much. the next following day all 4 of my guppies died! i was devastated and was frustrated and wanted to know what happened to them and my first conclusion was some of my other fishes attacked it and killed it. but soon after, my black ghost too died! 1 after another.. next was my 2 plecos.. and then my glass catfish..

if anyone has the slightest clue of whats happening please please please help! i dont know if its the magic purifying powder but it might be lol.. cheers and thanks!


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## susankat

Tank size? ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? How long has the tank been running?


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## Manafel

^ +1


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## maxneo92

susankat said:


> Tank size? ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? How long has the tank been running?


hi susankat my tank is around 2 feet its just a small tank its running for quite a while but for the readings im not too sure.. can i get a test kit from any pet stores? and btw another of my glass catfish died today god..


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## whitetiger61

2 feet long..sounds like you ave either a 15 or 20 gallon tank. way to small of a yank to be putting that many fish in. I would check your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. the white spots .were they tiny, if so you could have gotten ick, and un treated can and will kill fill. do your water testing and get back with us. sorry for your loss. its tough to loose fish.

Rick


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## navigator black

It is likely a bacterial infection brought with the new fish, and made worse by adding them to a tank that was already really overcrowded. One pleco alone would fill a two footer, and black ghosts need lots of space. I suspect you need to do a little reading on your fish before you purchase them. 
Black ghosts and glass cats are not beginner's fish, and you had enough fish for a six foot tank there...
Hang in. Get a little background built up and it will go well - you have just made the same mistake most of us have - get past the no reading up stage and you'll find this becomes a great and fairly easy hobby. It's that first shot in the dark that gets most people.

Magic Purifying Powder is quite a name. I wonder what it is. It sounds like something they would have sold in a 1970s disco.


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## SueD

Ditto, to everything said above. Buying your first fish can be like going into a penny candy store (did I just date myself?). You want some of everything, but some of everything is just not going to work in one tank. You have to really research and prioritize what you like. Then determine which of your likes can safely live together and what environment they will need. Once you create that particular environment through selection of adequate tank size and filtering/heating, proper cycling, planting perhaps, etc., then you can start bringing home your inhabitants. 

If you are already starting with a particular size tank, then research only those fish that can be successfully cared for in that size. A lot of folks start small (I started with a 5 gallon guppy tank) as the initial outlay can be pricey. But once successful, a second, larger tank is usually not far behind.


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## coralbandit

although claims to be "safe for fish and plants" one search (of magic purifing powder;jebs store) indicated that it might be carbon dioxide powder? Also says not to change water for one month after using.This seems extreme or unusuall to say the least.Most of us understand changing water to be routine maintenance so if direction for MPP is correct this would not seem to be a good option.


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## navigator black

coralbandit and I are on the same wavelength here - I also got curious and started looking up the Magic Powder. It has been around for a while and doesn't seem to have caught on big time, and a list of its ingredients seem hard to find. It would seem to be a CO2 powder as coral noted, and I agree that a product that needed to be left in an unchanged tank for a month is not one I would use. I change at least 25% weekly - the tank would be largely turned over after a month.
It doesn't say what it is, or specify exactly what it is for, and all that seems clear on the package is the price...it has a snake oil look to it - concentrated Florida swampland pills.


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## clep.berry

There's no such thing as CO2 powder. Not at room temperature and pressure anyhow - the only CO2 powder most of us will come across will be in a fire extinguisher.
What could this be then? Bicarb? Baking soda? both really silly to use in a tank with live fish in unless you understand the effects and dosages. Another thought is that this is Alum powder (more likely) Iron Sulfite and clay?
I'm guessing here but I reckon that there is likely to be something going wrong with basic tank maintenance as well as overstocking.
You can look it up or describe in detail what you are doing for tank maintenance.
I'd avoid these sachets though - there's nothing you can't do with proper tank husbandry.
cb


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## coralbandit

http:/jebostore.com/magic_purifying_powder.Next item for sale was co2 tablet.Said"2 tablet per 10 g once a week,then remove tablet after exhausted ???? JUST CHANGE WATER!


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## navigator black

I would have agreed with you clep.berry, and I suspect there is no such thing as a CO2 tablet that works - but I found half a dozen versions claiming to be that online. I can't see how they could possibly work, but hey, I'm not the one making money by claiming they work...
They exist, or rather, products with that name and label exist...:fishGreen:

And just a couple of hours ago I would have sworn they didn't exist too.


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## CuppsSmith

I'm having a similar issue and found this interesting. I did get water checked, high nitrites and nitrates and ammonia. I lost one guppy, water tested fine. I lost one balloon molly and water tested high. Now my male molly is "playing dead" which is the only way to describe him laying on the gravel and not moving at all, upside down, and then when I try to get him with the net, he swims away and appears to have something on his side fins only. He's the only one in the tank acting that way and I'm suspicious about the health of them since they were all bought at the same location. I have a 30 gallon tank with 4 guppies, 3 glo-fish and 3 mollies, only 2 of which are actually swimming around. As I type this, the male is laying on his back and not moving yet again. I did take out about 25% of the water, added fresh and the AmQuel Plus that they told me would make the water safer for the fish by eliminating nitrites, nitrates, chlorine and chloramine.


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## clep.berry

If you have high nitrates -trites and ammonia, you need more frequent water changes and your cycle is bust. Probably from that magic tablet.
You need your own test kit - try an API master test kit - and a good understanding of the Nitrogen cycle in aquaria (Check the sticky on the forum).
I can't vouch for Amquel Plus - but I'd never have the need for it as my tank produces a net of 5ppm nitrates per week (Due to heavy planting).
After a week without a PWC, my nitrates are at 15ppm - soon to drop to 10ppm with a pwc.
cb


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## maxneo92

whitetiger61 said:


> 2 feet long..sounds like you ave either a 15 or 20 gallon tank. way to small of a yank to be putting that many fish in. I would check your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. the white spots .were they tiny, if so you could have gotten ick, and un treated can and will kill fill. do your water testing and get back with us. sorry for your loss. its tough to loose fish.
> 
> Rick


hey whitetiger, i agree with both you and navigatorblack.. but the really weird thing is that now almost all my fishes are gone 1 by 1 day by day.. i still havent gotten my test kits cause ive got no time but at the same time im really worried for my last few fishes in the tank.. i think they will all die as well.. could be infection spreaded by new fishes that i bought.. my 2 strongest plecos just died as well as my glass.. theres a video i posted on youtube just few days back and this might help you guys tell how big or how many gallon is my tank.. oh yeah and btw the white thingy on my black ghosts are not spots.. its rather like patches

youtube.com/watch?v=2-5ND56IE04


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## clep.berry

Um... Is that a pump connected to a washing machine waste pipe?
I also didn't see a filter - is there one there?
Are you dechlorinating the water?
cb


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## coralbandit

amquell would be Kordons version of prime.Neither are necessary in a properly cycled tank.If you CHOOSE to use a product make sure you need what it does.If a tank is cycled(and not grossly overstocked)de-chlorinators that also remove chloramine are all that is needed for water changes.If you need to eliminate(ammonia,nitrites or nitrates) You honestly just need to cycle tank properly(which includes)change more water.Changing water should be regular maintenance ,guided by the levels of A,N,N.Once a tank is cycled water changes should still take place to aid fish with proper osmo-regulation.


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## whitetiger61

clep.berry said:


> Um... Is that a pump connected to a washing machine waste pipe?
> I also didn't see a filter - is there one there?
> Are you dechlorinating the water?
> cb


I have just watched that vid 4 times and have yet to see any mechanical filtration on this tank.maybe its behind the rock wall.i dont know but if its not you need to get some kind of filtration on that tank, other than a pump pumping water from the tank back to the tank.

the hose your using is fine, i have hoses like that with my fluval canister filters and the work good. They do look like washing machine waste hoses but have nice flexibiity. If you dont have a filtration system on the tank get one and do lots of water changes and your other fish might be ok.those guppies were at the surface for a reason. Fish at the top means they are stressed in one way or another, whether it be a fish picking on them or water chemistry off. I would have to go with water chemistry on your tank

Rick


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## clep.berry

I use Prime as a dechlorinator - one of the cheapest out there per gallon of treated water.
I'm not guided by A,N,N but by evaporation losses and concentration of non-H2O levels in the tank. Sure, If I had an RO auto-top up unit connected, then I could go by A,N,N but I still would be changing 40-50% every second week just to keep ferts in check.
cb


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## CuppsSmith

clep.berry said:


> If you have high nitrates -trites and ammonia, you need more frequent water changes and your cycle is bust. Probably from that magic tablet.
> You need your own test kit - try an API master test kit - and a good understanding of the Nitrogen cycle in aquaria (Check the sticky on the forum).
> I can't vouch for Amquel Plus - but I'd never have the need for it as my tank produces a net of 5ppm nitrates per week (Due to heavy planting).
> After a week without a PWC, my nitrates are at 15ppm - soon to drop to 10ppm with a pwc.
> cb


Just an fyi here, I wasn't the one using the magic tabs. LOL, sounds like hocus pocus to me anyways. My tank has only been up and running about a month and had planned the water change for the 4 week mark, only bumped it up by 3 days. How frequently do I need to do that? Just so I know. It's been over 10 years since my last tank, which my children wouldn't leave alone, kept tapping the glass and sticking their fingers in, and killed the fish. Hoping to keep this one longer than the last one, which was 6 months.


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## clep.berry

CuppsSmith: Sometimes it's confusing round here...
Too often, people think that running the tank for 4 weeks is sufficient for the water parameters to stabilize. This is nonsense. You need a source of ammonia for the bacteria to build up - sorry if you knew this.
4 weeks without a water change is INSANELY dangerous on an uncycled tank. 
I won't get cross with you as we all start somewhere - hopefully the guys in the forum can get you started very well.
You need to do some daily 50% water changes, treating with dechlor such as Prime to get ammonia, nitrites and nitrates down to uncomfortable levels (From insanely dangerous).
Ideally, you would have cycled the tank without fish in it but... we usually get people that need help joining the forum - not people that know what they're doing.
There are some sticky posts in this forum which are well worth a read - the fish poo primer is one. Hopefully, these will get you started on the right track.
Right now, all you can do is dilute the harmful substances. 50% daily for 3-4 days and 25% thereafter should get you through the next week. I'm hopeful though as you have nitrates that you're nearing the end of the cycle.
cb


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## maxneo92

whitetiger61 said:


> I have just watched that vid 4 times and have yet to see any mechanical filtration on this tank.maybe its behind the rock wall.i dont know but if its not you need to get some kind of filtration on that tank, other than a pump pumping water from the tank back to the tank.
> 
> the hose your using is fine, i have hoses like that with my fluval canister filters and the work good. They do look like washing machine waste hoses but have nice flexibiity. If you dont have a filtration system on the tank get one and do lots of water changes and your other fish might be ok.those guppies were at the surface for a reason. Fish at the top means they are stressed in one way or another, whether it be a fish picking on them or water chemistry off. I would have to go with water chemistry on your tank
> 
> Rick



yo guys, bro cb and whitetiger, the filter is actually at the top.. theres a suction in the water and water will go into the pipe to the top and there i placed a cotton for all the waste from the fishes.. its actually a really simple filter.. and btw the pipe comes with the filter its not washing machine pipe haha


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## drabro92

next time you have a cloudiness problem buy a product called purigen it will clear up your water fast. its a bag u just drop in and it soaks up all the debres and cloudiness in the tank. i have a 100 gallon south american chiclid tank and clears it in thirty min and will last the whole month


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## Sayonarax

drabro92 said:


> next time you have a cloudiness problem buy a product called purigen it will clear up your water fast. its a bag u just drop in and it soaks up all the debres and cloudiness in the tank. i have a 100 gallon south american chiclid tank and clears it in thirty min and will last the whole month


You might wanna try a thicker substrate like sand/clay. There really is no need to add things that can be fixed in an environment by observing and learning whats happened and what caused it.


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## clep.berry

Flocculants such as that above isn't really advisable for use in a fish tank as the clumps of debris clogs their gills.
Better is a piece of Poly pad in the filter. I find it clogs up with muck in no time, mechanically removing the muck from the water column.
cb


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## susankat

Purigen is best used by putting in a mesh bag and putting in filter. The bag can be taken out and regenerated every couple of weeks.


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## maxneo92

drabro92 said:


> next time you have a cloudiness problem buy a product called purigen it will clear up your water fast. its a bag u just drop in and it soaks up all the debres and cloudiness in the tank. i have a 100 gallon south american chiclid tank and clears it in thirty min and will last the whole month


hey bro thanks for the advice.. but honestly i kind of agree with bro sayonarax and in the future id prefer doing it the hard way to get the water all cleared up.. i saw on some other forums they said the hard way is by using BB and i dont know what that means lol.. BB anyone has any idea?


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## jbrown5217

BB = Beneficial Bacteria


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