billfish Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Mate of mine has a 6 x2 tank and his fish are dying in pretty decent numbers his peramaters are fine ammonia =0 nitrites=0, nitrates =5 . In the past 3 days he has lost 3 swords ,4 blue rams , 2bristlenose and 2 clown loaches he hasnt done a waterchange for 2 weeks prior and hes methodical about how he does water changes the only thing i could see was the loaches which were todays victims had like a grey film over them but they could have been deceased since last night some time theres no signs of wou ds fungus or anything on any of the rest of the fish his rummys are still glowing red .the only thing he has done is put plant fert tablets in the tank and even then he reckons be never fully dosed the tank could they be the problem ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazz Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Mate of mine has a 6 x2 tank and his fish are dying in pretty decent numbers his peramaters are fine ammonia =0 nitrites=0, nitrates =5 . In the past 3 days he has lost 3 swords ,4 blue rams , 2bristlenose and 2 clown loaches he hasnt done a waterchange for 2 weeks prior and hes methodical about how he does water changes the only thing i could see was the loaches which were todays victims had like a grey film over them but they could have been deceased since last night some time theres no signs of wou ds fungus or anything on any of the rest of the fish his rummys are still glowing red .the only thing he has done is put plant fert tablets in the tank and even then he reckons be never fully dosed the tank could they be the problem ? He hasn't done a water change in 2 weeks? If so there's your problem. If I have a fish die I would do a 50% change straight away and again in 2-3 days. Just my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 He hasn't done a water change in 2 weeks? If so there's your problem. If I have a fish die I would do a 50% change straight away and again in 2-3 days. Just my 2 cents Sorry i need to explain better up til the killoff he hadnt done one hes done two 30 %ones that was the first suggestion made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Can you give a full list of fish, pH and temps, filter systems and heaters.... This sounds like a tricky one. Check all fish are swimming freely, no fish hidden in corners. Look for any clamped fins of fish scratching on things...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danceswithdingoes Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Check the PH sounds like it may have dropped suddenly, tetras like the softer water but it can be too acidic for some species, good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 6 rummies.,5 congos, 3 gold rams 4 albino cories 3 swords 5 angels 2 silver sharks heaters 2x300wt tronic 1200x20x20 sump internal fluval 4 with purigen ph 7.0 temp26 The rams were sitting an inch off the deck not moving and bresthing fast yesterday and if one took off it would spiral as it swam the remaining ones swimming ok evetything looks normal no fish darting ant rubbing themselves .i keep coming back to the plant fert theyre a tabley could the fish have eaten them b4 they dissolve could an overdose of these tabs do this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 The rams were sitting an inch off the deck not moving and bresthing fast yesterday and if one took off it would spiral as it swam Are you able to double check that nitrite result of 0ppm? As thats text book nitrite symptoms. Lots of other things can cause as well of course. But its worth double checking with a different test kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 What fertilizer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta-Cray_z Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I'm guessing it would be referring to the flourish tabs, I haven't heard of any ferts killing off fish like that. What is strange is that usually the rummies would be the first to let you know if something is wrong, but not sure. Check the water parameters again and see whats what. Sent from my phone with a 5 min battery life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooder Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Could there be other toxins? added any unwashed substrate or ornaments? fresh silicon work? any painting/spraying of chemicals nearby? could there be high levels of heavy metals like copper etc from the water? Im pretty stumped too, just a few extra things to eliminate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I might need a bit of help from Donny, but, my understanding of tablet fertilisers is they are designed to be inserted into the gravel and hence have little effect on the water column. Given the fish are eating it, then it is sitting on the top of the gravel, so it could be overdosing the water column. I do notice that some of the fish lost are very sensitive to water conditions. Rams are like canaries in mines, and Clown loach are similar due to lack of scales, and ferts do contain some funky things we do not normally test for in freshwater..... The only problem is swords and bristlenose that are tough as old boots. I would probably bury the ferts, do a water change, and then monitor pH, hardness and the nitrogen cycle over a fortnight and look for changes. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqc247 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 The fish you listed, is that the number of deaths or the number of fish in the tank? Pretty understocked for a 6 x 2. Sounds like the plant fert tabs; water parameters are fine for those fish, even if ph drop, since they're all amazonia waters. Now is the plant fert for aquatic plants and NOT garden plants? Could be your answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotzy Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 i wormed my ibcs recently and lost all my common bn. done it before with no loses and this was a less dose. had 397s albino saildings pepps orange spots and guppies. only lost all my common bn. maybe the ferts mixed with something in the new water? anything else die today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudders Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 I know you said the temperature was 26, but the last couple of days have been pretty hot and humid, which sent my tank temps pretty high. Was his heater set to 26 or was that the reading of the gauge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 The fert tabs are the same as i have which is aquasonic hydrogrow and ive had no probs ( touch wood) tank is 26 aircon room hes slowly stocking it thats why under stocked running with fish in since september first post was deaths third is current stock dont know about todays fatalities yet hes doing anotherwater change tonight and bringing some of the water around for me to test later tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Maybe check his water out of the tap too. Make sure he is not using hot water, just as an outside possibility. Aquasonic do say bury.. Just for referenct I have had best success with rooted plants (crypts, amazons etc) using a tablet in the substrate, and for others using something like Aquasonic Basic grow and Daily grow. Basic grow is weekly, and daily as it says. it works as chelated iron is unstable and so you replace daily. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatsright99 Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 You still haven't said what was done with the fert tabs..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 The tabs were just let dissolve not buried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Maybe check his water out of the tap too. Make sure he is not using hot water, just as an outside possibility. Aquasonic do say bury.. Just for referenct I have had best success with rooted plants (crypts, amazons etc) using a tablet in the substrate, and for others using something like Aquasonic Basic grow and Daily grow. Basic grow is weekly, and daily as it says. it works as chelated iron is unstable and so you replace daily. Steve @ gingerbeer What would using hot water do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 The tabs were just let dissolve not buried They really do need to be buried, designed to be a slow release style fert. Likely nuked the tank. Try convince him in future to use liquid fertz for dosing water column as they are designed to be difficult to over dose. Now the main thing is ensuring the water surface is nice and agitated. You want to keep oxygen levels high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 No deaths today he still did a 50% change cant get him on here though then he could do his own info gathering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unheatedtank Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I think it is the fert tab. What is his gravel, if the size is too big, fert tab may cause issue. Or the fert itself. If you are using the fert tab for pond like I do, you must be very careful as it is designed and tested with huge volume of water, not as in a 6ft or even 8ft. It is always better to use aquarium fert tabs for aquarium until you are exp enough with dried fert or liquid fert until start dosing other type of fertilizer, just my own painful experience. Hope this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETFISH Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 @ gingerbeer What would using hot water do? hot water system's are made of copper, which is very toxic to fish, you should not use it from your tap, if you want to use hot water to adjust w/c water, you should boil the jug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazz Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) hot water system's are made of copper, which is very toxic to fish, you should not use it from your tap, if you want to use hot water to adjust w/c water, you should boil the jug. This is false, there are very few hot water systems these days that are made from copper. If you have a saxon (no longer in production) then it will be but it will not do anything to your fish the levels of copper will be insignificant. These systems have gone through thorough testing to obtain australian standards. Also you will find you water pipes in your house will more likely be copper, this also wont effect your fish. I would stay away from hot water as the level of oxygen in the water will be very low. Also NEVER boil your jug and add water from it, the crap in your kettle is poisonous especially the plastic ones. There is no australian standard which dictates the quality of water that leaves your jug, only electrical standards. The boiling water that leaves your jug is much worse then before it was put in. If you have a stainless jug it will leach nickel into the water. Edited March 20, 2014 by bazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted March 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 hot water system's are made of copper, which is very toxic to fish, you should not use it from your tap, if you want to use hot water to adjust w/c water, you should boil the jug. Oh yeh didn't think of the copper factor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
