# A devestating tradegy



## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

When a sad day comes in the fish community, it hits hard. First off let me introduce myself a bit. Im only 15 years old, and I have been an active aquarist for about three years now. I love fish and raising them, breeding them, and caring for them. Now with that out of the way, i will tell you all about my tragedy.

About two weeks ago, I came home from school, and like always, i immediatly checked up on my aquariums. My thirty gallon, looking good. My little 2.5 gallon, looking good. All was well untill i looked at my 10 gallon tank. I saw two dead guppies in there. I stock my 10 gallon tank with all guppies. Every single guppie that was in that tank, with the exception of one, I hand selectively bred and cared for ever since they were all fry. They all came from different batches of fry and so on and so forth. So anyway, i looked into the 10 gallon tank, and two of my guppies were dead. I got rid of them and immediatly did a 40% water change, and added some sea salt. I tested the water, and it appeared to be fine.

A couple of days passed and the weekend hit. After i got back home on a sunny monday afternoon, i looked at the 10 gallon tank, and this time, 5 guppies were dead. That was not a typo. FIVE guppies were dead. I freaked. I got rid of them and did another water change, this time, about 25% and replaced the appropriate amount of sea salt into the tank. I tested the water, and it appeared to be fine.

I was freaking out. I didnt know what to do. I had about 35 or so guppies in that tank, and I raised and selectivly bred every single one of them. (with the exception of one.) Now, I lost seven of them. The next day, nothing happened. The day after that, wednesday, I went to school, then directly after school, i went to work. After I got home from work, it was said and done. I looked at the tank and all but about 5 of the guppies died. I was almost in tears. Such a sad tragedy to my tank. I quickly got rid of all of the dead fish in there. The next day, the rest of the guppies died.

I dont understand what went wrong. The water was fine. I never had a problem with them. (except the occasional guppy which died because of natural reasons.) Could it have been that i had too many guppies in a 10 gallon tank? There were no visible symptoms of disease too. If i did have too many guppies in the 10 gallon tank, could it have been possible that if one of them got a disease, that the transfer of disease could have happened much more quickly?

The next day, i read one of my fish books. It said that in a case like this, that you should clean the tank, filter, any plastic plants, heater, and other ornaments in bleach and rinse them out with a lot of water. I did this, and the tank smelled like bleach after i cleaned it. I allowed the tank to air dry, and now it doesn't smell like bleach anymore. Is bleech still present in the tank? If it is, what should i do? I cleaned the heater, plastic plants, filter, and other ornaments in bleach and put them in a bucket of water. They are still sitting in there. I also threw away the gravel. Did i clean the tank the right way? I know i shouldnt use bleach, but that is what the book said.

Also, how many guppies would be suitable to put in a 10 gallon tank?

Did i clean the tank the right way? What else should i do inorder to make sure that i cleaned it the right way?

What do you think was the cause of this tragedy?


I need your help guys.


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## TheCheeseWizz (Dec 9, 2008)

35 guppies is way, way, way to many for a ten gallon. You should only have about 8-10 in a ten gallon, depending on the maximum size. I dont know if over stocking the tank that much could kill them, but that is still a big problem. How long were there that many fish in the tank before they died? I dont know if this could be the reason for the deaths, because I am an semi-new to aquariums, but with that many fish in a ten gallon they could have run out of oxygen.....Just a theory though.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

well i dont know if there were exactly 35 guppies in there. there were about 25-35. All of them were not full grown. Some were small jouvaniles and some were adults. I had airstones running in the aquarium too. All of those guppies were in the tank for about a year or so. I dont think that they ran out of oxygen. If that was the cause, it probably would have happened much earlier.


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## TheCheeseWizz (Dec 9, 2008)

Ya, I agree. If it was lack of oxygen then it would have happened sooner. That was my only guess so I have no idea.


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## fishfinder (Aug 31, 2008)

I'm so sorry for your loss. Especially after raising them. My heart goes out to you.


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## Guest (May 17, 2009)

Did you say Sea Salt?


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

yes. i used sea salt. guppies are very salt-resilient. in fact, they can live in up to 150% ocean's salt. They can actually live in marine aquariums too. But yes, i use sea salt in all of my tanks.


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## Guest (May 17, 2009)

They are brackish fish, much like mollies, however freshwater to saltwater can be bad, I mean did you measure it all out or just eyeball it?


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

i deffently mesaured it. i always measure everything that i put into the tank before i put it in. I have a salt water hydrometer, and the salininty was still low.


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## Guest (May 17, 2009)

Ammonia poisoning maybe? I know it was way overcrowded and in those conditions disease can spread rapidly( look at some 3rd worlds) but you bleached your tank, what did you use to counter act the bleach toxins?


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

i didnt do anything to counter act the bleach toxins. i cleaned everything in bleach and A LOT of water. what should i do to get rid of the bleach forever?


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## Guest (May 17, 2009)

The optimal stuff to get is straight sodium theosulfate, if you cant get that get a big ol bottle of dechlorinator at the LFS or chain, chain is cheaper.

The bleach residue is more then likely what poisoned the fish. I let mine sit in the ST/ALOT of hot water mix in the tank FULL to the brim for a good 2 weeks but you can do it instantly, I wasnt ready to set it up but needed to clean out all the dead crap and construction dust.

Where are you located, we might have a store near you that can get you the stuff. we have massive tanks at our locations, some are over 40K gallons.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

no no no. AFTER THE FISH DIED, i cleaned the tank with bleach.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

i live in the baltimore maryland area.


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## Guest (May 18, 2009)

even so the new inhabitants will be exposed to the residue of bleach. 

our closest stores are hamburg pa and wheeling wv.

Use a declorinator from the FLS itll work just as well


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

ok. can someone tell me what the exact name of the products i should use are called?


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## Guest (May 18, 2009)

ANY decholorinator that is aquarium safe, IF you can get some sodium theosulfate( ask the LFS they might have some) then use that, but if the tank is set up and running, get your typical start right or whatever its called, the water conditioner. Im sure you already have some.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

so ANY aquarium safe declorinator is fine? how do i apply it?


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

ps. visit my other thread called "im going to make my aquarium stand." i need your help."


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## Guest (May 19, 2009)

The dechlor is the same stuff you condition your tap water with for fish tank use.

Ill check it out


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Agree with the others, treat your water before putting it in the tank, measure the levels of toxins in the water (Ammonia, Nitrite..), also track your tank's pH level, and never bleach your filters. Hang in there, dont let the bad experience make you leave the hobby.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

ill DEFFENTLY NEVER leave the hobby. So a brief step-by-step wrap up please?


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