# lost a lot of fish in the last month



## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

In the last month or so I have lost about 10 fish. About a month and a half ago I stoped at a LFS that I don't normally shop and bought 3 really pretty Tetra's Well sure enough a few days later one of the new fish had Ick. I added Aquarium salt, raised the water temp, and added an Ick treatment. I waited a few days till the Ick seemed to be gone. and I did a 20% water change. btw the host fish who had the ick died. I also have had a little bit of an issue with brown algae, so about 2 weeks later I did another water change and this time I scrubbed all plants and rocks. In between that time I have changed 2 of my 4 filter cartridges. 
Nitrates 20
Nitrites 0
PH 6.8
Soft Water
A friend mentioned that maybe I removed too much of the good bacteria ?
Thanks


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Is this a newly setup tank? How big is the tank and how many total fish are in it and what type? 

Removing too much at once can cause minor issues, although I would be surprised if it would kill anything unless there were already other issues present. Best to stagger changes like filter media swaps and decor cleaning. 

The fact that you left out ammonia reading tells me that you are using strips. You need the ammonia reading and strips are notorious for being inaccurate. Strips are okay until you have a problem....then, they become useless as the info they give is not finite enough. I'd recommend an API Master FW kit.

Also, when treating for ich. You should read up on how to treat. I think you did everything right for the most part. However, if you raise temp, add salt, and medicate, in most cases you will completely stress your fish out unless you have done things to counteract the effects of higher temp and medication depeleting the water of oxygen. Also, the ich cycle is approx 4 days with temps at 75F or above. This means that once you see the last sign of ich in your fish you have to continue to treat at least to the next cycle where the protozoa are trying to attach again. If you don't do this and it comes back, generally it can come back stronger more resistent to meds and treatment.


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## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

Sorry I left all that info. Tank is almost 6 months old. 60 Gallon, There was about 33 fish before i started loosing them. Had 3 red paradise Gouramis 3 blue Opaline Gouramis 3 golden Gouramis 5 hifin Danios 3 cherry Barbs 3 Golden Barbs 5 white clouds 5 platys 3 tetras I have lost 3 Paradise Gouramis 1 Blue Gourami 2 Golden Gouramis 1 Barb 2 platys 1 pleco plus the tetra I believe was the host for the ick. You are right about the test strips. I considered getting the API kit, now I know I need it. I read up on ICK treatment. I took for granted that the treatment of the ick could have an adverse effect on my aquarium. I didnt the consider the stress factor and raised levels of ammonia that was most likely going on. Now I feel really bad. I will bring a water sample with me to my normal LFS and have them test for ammonia levels and Ill pick up the API kit while Im there. If its high I'll ask about the options considering my current situation. BTW my aquariums current temp is 78.5f Thanks for all the great info.
Matt


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Tank appears a little overstocked to me. If you read any ammonia from your tests, just perform a water change. If you want to keep your stocking level that high, I'd recommend 50% water changes weekly. Adding plants will help you a lot.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Often Ick comes into a tank through new fish. In the trade fish are constantly being stressed and become vulnerable to Ick. If the diseased fish are kept in water with good water quality parameters they will usually survive and recover. Be careful in your next fish purchase, make sure your fish aren't stressed (no quick changes) when youer add them to your tank. Also, look for signs of disease when you buy a new fish.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Ich can also occur in a tank with no new inhabitants,if the fish get stressed enough.

I agree that it seems you are overstocked.Get that master kit and tell us what it reads.Sorry for your losses,its no fun to lose that many fishes.


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## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

I thought since I had mostly small fish that the amount I had was ok. Thats the sucky part about being so new to this hobby, when you make a mistake my poor fish die. I was kind of intimidated by the idea of live plants. do you have any recommendations for noobs? thanks for all the info


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Some lowlight low teck plants will do great.Java moss,Java fern,anubias nana,and cryptocoryne Wendtii.

Amazon sword,E Tenellus(chain sword)Water wisteria and hygrophilia Polysperma(sunset hygro)are good for medium light.You can add the medium and lowlights together.

There are more on the lists,these are just a few examples of the two.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

What type of light do you have?


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## Galvatron898 (Feb 27, 2011)

2 Plain cheap-o 15w lights that came with the aquarium (got it off Craigslist) I made a canopy for it so I was thinking of wiring up some fixtures to hold some of those 65k CFL Bulbs. Like 2 or 3 per side, Tank is 48" wide. Im gonna do some reading about the plants. I like the way they looked but I was really kind of afraid of them, based on what I read.
Thanks again for feedback


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