# Lost 3 fish



## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

Okay, so this is very strange...I had 3 silver fish similar to a Rainbow Shark (still not sure what their name is) and they have all died within the last 3 hours. The first one to go slammed into the canopy and then died shortly after. I thought that is what killed it, but then the second one started swimming in "loops" and died about 30 minutes later. After that I did a massive water change while vacuuming the gravel (sort of freaked out) - about 60 percent of the old water is gone - and changed the filter. The third of them is dying now. After changing the water I left the canopy off and the fish jumped out onto the floor. I now have it separated from the tank. 

Whatever killed them does not appear to be bothering the Cichlids or the Suckers. They are all together on the same side of the tank, but that happens whenever I do a water change. 

Unfortunately, I did not do the water test before I changed out most of the water...

Has anyone ever had fish just drop like that?


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

it was probably a sudden blast of amonia or something...i havent got any of my fish to die like that expect for jumping out of the tank


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

i havent had a major die off like your saying, but i did have pleco's dying left and right for a while there....turned out to be the salt in the water

wish you would have tested first so we could have maybe seen what was wrong

hope you dont lose anymore fish
keep the updates coming


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## Mermaid (Jul 23, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your fish.. it can be especially hard and frustrating when you're not sure what's going on so.. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the rest ):


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

I'm kicking myself for not saving some of the old water. Right now, however, the Oscar and other Cichlids are doing fine. So are the two Suckers. It was rally strange, the fish were dead (literally) within minutes of showing something was wrong.


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## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

You need to test the water now to find out what the parameters are (Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Ph). Could be an ammonia spike, especially if one jumped out....Sorry to hear about your losses.

What do you mean by "Changed the filter", just the media or the entire unit? You can loose all your beneficial bacteria this way.


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

I changed the media, I guess. The filtering unit is still the same.


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## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

What type of filter/media? You want to keep the biological filter (could be sponge, or balls, or rings) in there for as long as possible. Even cleaning it with tapwater will kill the bacteria. Just to make sure, you did change this after your fish died, correct?

Do you have a water test kit?


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

My ammonia levels read 0 to .25
My Nitrate level is 20
My Fresh water Ph is 7.6
As for Nitrite levels...that card is missing from the kit...the colour is a really light blue though if that mean anything. I guess I'll be getting a new kit tomorrow. I hate having stuff like this happen in the middle if the night...aaahhhhh...this is frustrating

As fort he filter, the only thing that got changed was the "carbon filter" where the water flows through on its way back into the tank. It was changed after the second fish died...I did not mess with the under gravel filter though.

The thing is, whatever it was only killed one bread of fish (not that I'm complaining)...


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## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

mdmorash said:


> My ammonia levels read 0 to .25
> My Nitrate level is 20
> My Fresh water Ph is 7.6
> As for Nitrite levels...that card is missing from the kit...the colour is a really light blue though if that mean anything. I guess I'll be getting a new kit tomorrow. I hate having stuff like this happen in the middle if the night...aaahhhhh...this is frustrating
> ...


Ammonia should always be 0. Watch that level and continue changing water to keep it as close to 0 as possible. Are you using test strips or a drip tests? Light blue normally means Nitrite is 0, but I'm not sure if every kit is the same. Have you tried testing your tap water? (I assume that's what your using), many times cities and towns add things to their water without telling you.


Basically this means one of two things: your tank is overstocked (probably the case as an Oscar should have more than 55 gals just to itself), or you haven't completely cycled yet. I know you've only lost the one breed for now, but Oscars are notoriously hardy, and won't show many signs until they're in real trouble.


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## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*The only time i had fish act like that was from a sudden ph change, had you just introduced them to the tank from your LFS. Perhaps the water they came in was much different than the tank water, and their reaction was to that sudden change.???*


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

Everything is fine this morning. Ammonia is down to zero. Nitrites are showing zero (I'm using drip test so I'm sure there is some +/- error). I'm testing the water every hour or so today. Thanks to everyone for their help, and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

I'll keep you posted.


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## Oldman (May 25, 2009)

The API color cards are here but are not a perfect match with printed cards. A lot will depend on how your monitor reproduces the colors. 
Downloads; Pump and filter Instructions, Test Kit charts
I would call the color a baby blue or a clear sky blue. On the card it looks darker to me than it does in that picture on the API site.


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

Thanks very much...looks like my Nitrites are zero. Tank seems to be back in balance...wish I knew what spiked and why.


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## Oldman (May 25, 2009)

One thing that does spike and you never seem to know about is the chlorination levels. If your water company has done any work on the pipes, it is not unusual for them to double the chlorination compared to normal levels. When you don't know about it, the sudden change can catch you unaware and the new water ends up added to the tank with chlorine still in it.


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## mdmorash (Jul 4, 2009)

That's good to know...thanks


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