27 replies to this topic

[lithoman_]

Hi All

First time this is happening to me i have a 4x18x18 grow out has about 50-60 fish in there 2-4cm in last few days i notice a few of the larger ones dead very strange but the first 6-8 was all same species(t-reef) then the kadango redfins now i notice a few red empress ..
they stay close to the bottom and breath fast
when they are dying they die in full color with mouth left open
i read a few places to try to work it out but cant pin point the problem
i did test on water amonia nitrite and nitrate was all good ph was a little low 7.4
just cant work it out.
Any help will be great
plenty of air and surface water movement

i have asked many people all have blank answers ...since it has happened i have done a couple of 40% water change then added metro med... also then done methalene blue
i noticed many scratching themselves also a few people said possible gill fluke breathing fast and so on.. so i tried wardleys paracide meds.. these poor fish will die from medication i think..
but my problem still exists still a 5-6 dying every day not moving so much and not eating so much..
i have done tests daily water is good actually perfect readings i might need to try another test kit just in case mine is not good..

any suggestions will be great thanks

i don''t like using meds but i have tried everything cause no one can help me what is wrong with them...
all my problems started after i put a sick bristlenose female in my tank she look flat like a pancake and whitey color than she died 2 days later in my tank..(i thought was just shocked in bag but was actually a sick fish i wish i had taken photos)

thank you in advance
this has been going on for 1 week now an since then i have done 3 x 40% water changes

thank you again

[dazzabozza]

i did test on water amonia nitrite and nitrate was all good ph was a little low 7.4

Best off listing the readings just in case what you think is good is actually not.

What's your KH? Do you have limestone in the tank? I'm wondering if you're getting pH swings.


Daz

[lithoman_]

i will take picture of readings in morning and post..its sand bottom ..i use seachem cichlid salt with tang buffer but very small doses and seachem safe...
just weird they just sitting on bottom breathing super fast sometimes scratching and dying overnight...
i read somewere regarding dying in full color and mouth open meant something but still cant work it out...
thanks

[Mr_docfish]

read this, particularly the "symptoms"

Click here

Treatment can be successful if the temp is below 24C or above 32C. The bacteria dont like it hot or cold.

Check your temperature. Can you smell anything? or find any bodies of recently dead fish stuck behind something? check your dose rate of safe/prime, particularly in high temps. The active ingredient is sodium metabisulphite, which dissociates to release SO2 (sulphur dioxide - an oxygen scavenger and a strong preservative) too much, particularly in high temps, could reduce the oxygen availability. Half the dose if the temp is over 30C... do not exceed 5 times the dosage in normal situations.

[lithoman_]

hi and thank you
when you say read this particularly the symptoms you mean what you wrote or there is suppose to be a link ?
and thank you again

[tranced]

did u use praziquantel?

[Mr_docfish]

sorry, added the link.....

[lithoman_]

praziquantel? nope no idea what that is

[lithoman_]

another 20 or so dead.. i cant belive this just going through all of them and they dying slowly..

[tranced]

praziquantel is an anti parasite medication. at work we have 2 different anti parasite meds, one contains praziquantel and the other one doesnt. what was the active ingredient in the one you used?

[lithoman_]

Wardleys PARA-EX
I had gold comps in the tank before..I turned it into a grow out tank all was good for 1 month until I bought a bunch of gold occis and a female bristlenose of someone put them in my tank I noticed the female bristlenose looked flat like a pancake and white looking then it died 2 days alter and then the nightmare started with first the t-reefs only dying then the kadangos and then the red empresses and now the lithos have started to die..I tested my water many times readings perfect only thing was ph was 7.4 ...since they have started to die all the fish are breathing very very fast sitting on bottom and slowly dying..I have used metro..wardleys parricide....primafix ....meathlene blue.... doing a water change before using different meds it is sand substrate my other bristlenose in there nearly dead also cause I don't think they liked the parricide medicine now that tank is complete empty moved them into a 2ft tank with different tank water will know what’s happening 2moro...there must be something someone on the internet that has similar problem heavy and fast breathing and sitting on bottom and they were occasionally scratching themselves....it is the highest tank in my garage was thinking maybe car fumes but that is very little possibility cause have a big canvas drop sheet that blocks all that and hardly any cars where I am...
I can’t believe I waited all this time just ready to sell or swap and this happens I guess I will be paying for the electricity not the fish

i have also posted this in my NSW cichlid site just cant find any answers very hard

[Mr_docfish]

Can you tell us what the nitrite (NO2) reading is.....and do you know if you have had nitrite at any time? lookup this post click

[lithoman_]

on the test kit the nitrite showed perfect not that it makes too much difference i always have java fern in a big frysaver in every tank...
unless my test kit is old all the readings were good meaning no amonia yellow colour on chart and so on all showed very good.... someone mentioned maybe test kit can get old its about 1 year old
?

[Mr_docfish]

what brand of kit is it and what was the colour of the nitrite?

[lithoman_]

that api kit if i am not wrong its downstairs in garage i am in a unit.
all the colours on the kit when i did numerous test was perfect this is why it is stressing me out...
only other thing i can think of before i introduced that sick fish and occis 1-2 days before that i did a filter clean in my aquaclear 500 filter..... you think wthat could have caused problems?

[Mr_docfish]

That is what I am trying to find out....... If you have lost some of the bacteria by cleaning the filter, then you would normally expect some ammonia, and then nitrite...... can you remember the colour of the nitrite test? was it light blue, bark blue, purple or pink? or can you remember the number - 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0? this is important and can speed up the process of elimination....

here is colour chart for you to check:

[lithoman_]

light blue
i am telling you all the test showed ok.. i have been doing this for years the kit thing..


it is possible the filter clean could have killed them i used half half tap water and tank water to clean it....
but does the poisioning kepp on going for a week like this ?
thanks for your help just a big stress for me

[Ivan Sng]

I suppose why Mr_docfish is asking about the nitrite is because a sign of nitrite poisoning (brown blood disease) is the fish breathing rapidly... somewhat like they are trying to catch their breathe, but the main reason is because the blood cannot bring the oxygen around...

Salt (sea-salt; not table salt) helps with mitigating nitrite poisoning and it is reversible if you get to them quick enough... But you need to dissolve it with tank water before adding otherwise the crystals could burn the fish... usually salt to 1ppt (1kg to 1000L of water)...

Also I am not too sure about your reasoning about having a java fern since I believe they "feed" on nitrates not nitrite... nitrates are usually not a problem below 100ppm.

I would also suggest you stop guessing whether your test kit is old and bring some of your tank water to a local fish shop to get them to check it out... May help answer all your questions...

[lithoman_]

thank you
only reason i am guessing is cause 1-2 people said the kits can get old and do whrong readings...
would seachem lake salt be good enough or pool salt? or must be seasalt?
cheers

[Ivan Sng]

Well as long as it is natural salt or salt suitable for fish. Table salt or iodized salt would not be suitable.

In regards to the test kit, you might be right... your test kit may be old... hence get the water checked out by another source...
if they are the same, then your test kit is still alright... if not, then maybe it is time to throw your test kit out...