# Over 10 fish have died!!!! plz help



## bwiz123 (Oct 1, 2012)

I have had a 30 gallon up and running for a year now, i have a ton of "mystery snails" they breed like mad but they help out, also many live plants. tank is very clean, 90 gallon filter emporer 400. water quality is great 0 issuse at home tests and at lfs. ph usually 7 -7.4. well i have had all sorts of fish die in this tank from 6 bettas , always 1 male at a time with females, guppies, mollys, and now my beautiful gouramis are dying with no symptoms just over night dead ive lost 4 in three days all that is left is my pearl.... i also have seen 5 baby fish probably from when i had live bearer fish, they seem to be unphased and are growing...

here is a pic of the tank.


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## ionix (Oct 11, 2012)

Anything going into the air that might have wound up in the tank? Any residues? Windex, air scent sprays, javex from cleaning, etc.?

Have you noticed many dead fish at your local LFS?

I didn't think you could even house gouramis in the same tank as bettas since they are related. Even gourami with gouramis I thought was a bad mix. Any fighting or stressor activities like that?


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## jshiloh13 (Dec 12, 2010)

what are your test result (Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia)? no spots or anything on the dead fish? i would do a large water change 50-75%.


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## bwiz123 (Oct 1, 2012)

ive seen 0 spots ( i didnt have them together, just saying the differnt types that died) i do not have those tests but eveytime i bring to the lfs it comes back clean =/ but i honestly would assume its clean i usually do around 5-10 gallon a week water changes with minimal fish in it, usually 2-4 fish


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## bwiz123 (Oct 1, 2012)

wierd part is i have a 150 gallon tank with alot of fish in it and have 0 issues, im not new to aquariums but ive never seen my recent issue


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sounds like possibly something is up with your source water.Bring sample of source to be tested.You really should have test kit so you can pin this down better(real numbers not just ok).Neon Tetra Disease
Often no symptoms are recognisable with this disease.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

"Water quality is great"

This is impossible if you have that many fish deaths. What is your maintenance like? Have you done any big water changes once this issue arose? "Most" things of this nature can be fixed with a few large water changes and can be prevented by regular 30-50% weekly changes.

Have you checked your ph at multiple periods during the day? Checked it at your tap?


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## bwiz123 (Oct 1, 2012)

dont see how my source would be bad when my other tank is just fine, same source. but ill take it to the lfs, im gonna try some decent water changes over then next month and see if i can make it stable again


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

First off, one male with females, that could be one of your issues. You absolutely cannot house a male betta splenden with females.


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## bwiz123 (Oct 1, 2012)

Lol ppl


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Is your pet store testing for phosphates? Chlorine? Sodium? These are things that go typically un-tested that can have huge impacts on your tank. Where does your water come from? A watershed wilderness area, a river, a well, a reservior? These different sources can have different mineral hardness and alkalinity. Do you have a water softener in your house? The salt backflush capability of the softener loads your water with sodium.

Also, as jrman stated, hearing "my water is clean" means nothing, without exact concentrations. 1 ppm of nitrate is nothing, but 1 ppm of nitrite will kill your fish. Have the pet store give you concentrations, not just a thumbs up, or buy your own testing kit. Your choice.

Your fish didn't die from an unsolved mystery. There's a method to the madness, albeit many people don't understand said methods.


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## ionix (Oct 11, 2012)

So, maybe it is just poisonous residues getting in the tank? Like, if its an old, used tank, it could be possible. Who knows. Something that couldn't be detected by standard tests.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

If not all fish were together,but died rather quickly after introduction,I would ask how you introduce(acclimate) them to your aquarium?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

bwiz123 said:


> dont see how my source would be bad when my other tank is just fine, same source. but ill take it to the lfs, im gonna try some decent water changes over then next month and see if i can make it stable again


This statement concerns me. Water changes over the next month? I hope you mean the next days?

Generally when 1 fish dies maybe no worry. When 2, and then 3, 4, etc something is in the water!! The only way to get it out is by doing a water change. Water changes over the next month will have every fish in your tank dead. You should be doing weekly water changes to at least the 35% level. this will keep whatever tends to get into tanks "out" of them.

Just sounds like poor maintenance to me, but easily corrected. You can't compare it to your other tank. If you aren't doing water changes there either chances are the fish will suffer the sam fate.


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## frogwings (Aug 26, 2011)

Coralbandit is right on! I may be over the top with water testing, but I cannot believe you don't have a test kit of your own. I have only 1 10 gallon tank (compared to your 150 and 30 gallon tanks) and I test it often: after every water change, after every cleaning, after replacing any filter material, and in between, despite the fact that the tests always show great results. I am planning on adopting several more neons and I will test the water they come in. If there is any difference between the LPS water and mine, I will test the water in the bag and continue to change out the water a little at a time until the parameters are equivalent. 

Now, having said that, I have to say that I do few water changes and tank cleaning because the tests are well within the parameters. My filter requires only monthly changes to one of the 3 components. I rarely purchase new fish since my tank is so small and limits the number of fish I keep. 

So, please get your own test kit! It will be money well spent!


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## KMoss (May 7, 2011)

I once lost fish in a particular aquarium and traced it back to decorative rock. I foolishly thought a polished rock would not hurt anything.... I blamed the tank, filter, water etc... Then I noticed the rock had a peculiar smell.... Got rid of the rock, totally cleaned out the tank.... Presto...no more unexplained death in seemingly healthy fish. Maybe it was a chemical or polishing compound used to process the rock - don't know. Hope this is helpful. I know it's heartbreaking.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can go without testing your tank as long as you do healthy water changes weekly. I test 1-2 of my tanks a couple of times a year - maybe. There really isn't much of a need to test when I do close to 75% water changes every week. So you can get away with no testing, but you have to do the regular large changes weekly or really watch how much you feed, stock level, etc. Hard to go without either and have a safe tank.


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## SueD (Aug 4, 2012)

I agree with the above - I never test my water except on starting up. I haven't had a disaster yet, so I consider myself lucky so far. But I do regular 50% water changes weekly and have had no suspicious deaths. This case really seems to be a water issue with so many dying so suddenly. If not the water source, then something in the tank may be causing problems.


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