# Fish Died...Very Sad and Perplexed



## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

My family and I have a 55g freshwater tank that is sort of our family hobby. We had one fish in particular that we adored. His name was Gill and he was a black Angelfish. Today we noticed that Gill was acting strange. He usually has his own territory but today he was in other parts of the tank and his swimming seemed more like gliding around then actually swimming. To make a logn story short Gill died today. The tank is not the same without him and I can;t figure out what happened. We had Gill for about 8 months and he was always a very hardy fish. Towards the end today he started darting up to the top of the water and putting his mouth above the surface then he would sort of float back down and then do it again. I am not sure if that is some sign of what was wrong with him or what. Just wanted to see if anyone familiar with Angels had any info on what could have happened to him. Thanks for any advice.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I am not familiar with angels,however I am familiar with this behavior.Usually,In my experience it is from water quality.There could have been a drastic change.Did you do anything in the tank different than usual?If you have a test kit,test the ammonia,nitrAte and nitrIte.If the ammonia or nitrIte is too high,it could explain the darting to the top.Sounds like the water has less oxygen.Check the temp too.Warmer water has less oxygen than cold.I am sure some one else can tell you more.


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## RhumbaGirl (Aug 1, 2010)

I'm sorry for you're loss, I also love angelfish and if I ever lost my favorite I imagine the tank would be very empty without him too. I once had low oxygen level in my water and my fish started to do the darting to the top and taking a gulp of air so maybe it's that?? You could try putting an airstone in or let your filter make more of a "splash" by having your water line lower that usual, depending on what filter you have...
I'd also test your water like mentioned above. If you don't have your own testkit then most lfs will test it for free if you bring them a sample. I know even petsmart will do it.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

I second the water tests, they're very important, even if all they do is rule things out. My first step would be to check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and ph, from there the GH and KH, depending on what the ph was telling you. It is possible that you have had some kind of water crisis that was invisible to the eye, and if that was the case, other fish may go the same way. It definitely sounds like your angel was in distress, and that could be O2, but often O2 shortages are from a new co2 regimen, or a newly overgrown planted tank (planted tank low 02 usually happens at night) or something like that. Another option would be if there was a new ornament, or if there had been a very recent partial water change that something went wrong with. But almost any kind of "what happened" investigation should really start with the water testing.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

I checked the water as he was going through all of this and it tested out normal. The water here is hard but he has been living in it for over 8 months. Nitrate and Nitrites were all at healthy levels. I do weekly water changes. It is a 55 gallon tank and I change out 5 gallons a week. The water has a tiny airstone and a 10 inch airstone. All the other fish seemed to be doing fine. The only thing different is that we have added a few new fish lately. I am wondering if that possibly had something to do with it.....because I don't know what else it could have been.

Below are the results of the testing strip I used today:

Nitrates were around 20 ppm
Nitrites between 0 and .5 ppm
gh close to 300 ppm (very hard)
chlorine 0
kh close to 300ppm
ph 7.8 - 8.0


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Very well could have been the other fish.Any ripped fins or signs of them bullying him?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How many fish are in the tank total? The new fish may have just added stress. But, if you were reading anything for nitrites, you may have had an ammonia spike.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

I didn't see any bullying going on. The fish I added were a Chocolate Zebra Pleco and a Cory cat. His fins looked normal. Our bala shark was picking on him while he was going through this ordeal. I had to take the net and shoo him away several times. We have some Serpae tetra that are fin nippers but they didn't mess with him too much. Gill was a decent size. Main Body was about 2 inches in diameter.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> How many fish are in the tank total? The new fish may have just added stress. But, if you were reading anything for nitrites, you may have had an ammonia spike.


We have 28 fish in the tank plus about 5 ghost shrimp.

3 Bala Shark
1 regular Pleco
1 bristlenose Pleco
1 chocolate zebra pleco (been in the tank 2 days)
4 Serpae Tetra
2 Cory Cats (been in tank 3 days)
4 glowlight tetras
3 cherry barbs
3 clown loach (been in the tank a week)
1 zebra daino
2 leopard danios
3 guppies


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Hmmmm....sure your nitrates were that low? You look like you are overstocked and surprised you don't have more deaths with that many fish and only a 5 gallon change a week. Don't mean to sound mean, but it doesn't sound like there is a mystery to why your Angel died. Probably due to stress.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Hmmmm....sure your nitrates were that low? You look like you are overstocked and surprised you don't have more deaths with that many fish and only a 5 gallon change a week. Don't mean to sound mean, but it doesn't sound like there is a mystery to why your Angel died. Probably due to stress.


You don't sound mean at all. I am looking for any advice that will help me create a healthier tank. I tested the nitrates again and they are that low. What would be a better percentage for water change each week? You're probably correct on the overstocking part too. Most of the fish are very small. I have always heard it is one inch of fish for every gallon in the tank. We are approaching that limit and do not plan on adding any more.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Normal, maybe 25-35%. Since I think you are overstocked, I think you need 50%. What type of filtration do you have?


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Normal, maybe 25-35%. Since I think you are overstocked, I think you need 50%. What type of filtration do you have?


I have a basic filter for a 55 gallon tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Don't know what that means. What brand and model do you have?


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Don't know what that means. What brand and model do you have?


Sorry, that would have been helpful. Aqua-tech Power Filter 30-60


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You have barely enough for your tank size. Usually it is best if you have a filter rated for double your tank size. So in your case, a filter for at least a 110g tank. For instance, an AquaClear 110. May be enough to get by on ordinarily but with the amount of fish you have, maybe not.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> You have barely enough for your tank size. Usually it is best if you have a filter rated for double your tank size. So in your case, a filter for at least a 110g tank. For instance, an AquaClear 110. May be enough to get by on ordinarily but with the amount of fish you have, maybe not.


Can you run two identical filters in a tank or would just one AquaClear 110 be better?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, you can do two. One much larger one is also acceptable...even two large ones.


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## iupui1299 (Sep 23, 2010)

Thank you for all your advice. I think I will add a second filter.....it sounds like a good idea.


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

dont know if it was already said but drop the Test strips and pick up an API master test kit for freshwater. Its liquid and gives you the most accurate results. 

also do you have any live plants in your tank?


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