its to late but i really need help!!!

kooling

Small Fish
Sep 12, 2010
26
0
0
#1
ok so i did a water change (btw all my fish were fine before this) and vaccumed my gravel did a ph test it was fine 7.2 & amonnia was the same every thing and there was no chlorine and i went to eat dinner and when i came back my dojo loach,my clown loach,my red tailed sharks,and my cory catfish all died within 10 minutes it wasnt chlorine i treated that with some liquid for fish i need to know what happened before i get new fish!!!!
 

Doratus

Small Fish
Sep 10, 2010
35
0
0
#4
Hmm, wow, first of all I am sorry. I had a pleco die the other day and I was devastated. It sounds to me like some kind of harsh chemical got into the water somehow. Did you use a dish sponge to wipe down algae or anything like that? Any kind of contamination that you can think of? Fish are pretty hardy as with most living creatures in general. For that many fish to die in such a sort period obviously something drastic happened and it wasn't just a slight temp change, ph change, or anything like that. Even if you left the new water untreated with the chlorine still present it shouldn't kill that many fish that quickly. It had to have been something catastrophic. What? I don't know unfortunately.
 

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brian1973

Superstar Fish
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#5
Yea I was expecting a big temp difference something that would have shocked these fish, I have to agree with Doratus something has to be in the water to do that much damage in such a short time. Sorry. I have been reading thru some of your other posts and correct me if I am wrong but you have had this tank 1 week?
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#6
This sounds like a medication error. Are you absolutely sure you used the right bottle of dechlorinator or what was it you used? Your last sentence says, "you treated that with some liquid for fish". You also say your "pH was 7.2 and your ammonia was the same" Do you mean your ammonia was also 7.2?? Read the bottle carefully of whatever you put in the tank after you changed water.
 

kooling

Small Fish
Sep 12, 2010
26
0
0
#7
i didnt mean the ammonia was the same idk the ammonia its not to bad i know that and i use a scraper to clean the tank no chemicals went in the tank i might be in my ammonia spike idk i have had the tank about 2 weeks now so yeah idk what happened :) and the stress zyme and stress coat are fish friendly and help lower chlorine
 

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brian1973

Superstar Fish
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#8
you said you dechlorinated the water, what did you use to do this? There is no way you went from having healthy fish to all dead in that short of time from any spike, ammonia will not spike that quickly, the cycle process takes weeks and nothing happens within 10 minutes.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#9
You say no chemicals went into the tank, but then how did the stress enzyme and stress coat get into the tank? They are chemicals and are you absolutely sure you had the right bottles and the correct directions? The dechlorinator is a chemical also - did you use any? And you say the "ammonia is not too bad". Exactly what are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings right now?
 

achase

Large Fish
Feb 1, 2010
765
0
0
British Columbia, Canada
#10
Like everyone is stressing getting accurate readings for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite will help determine what happened and what needs to happen. Also strips are useless when testing the water conditions they are often inaccurate you would be better off buying a liquid test kit, I use the brand API.
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#12
the temp before was 74 and after was 78 i cant tell the exact reading i use the sticks they are so complicated
Ammonia and nitrite poisoning reduce you fishes' ability to utilize oxygen. A temperature shock would further stress them. I disagree with other comments that some chemical 'poisoned' the fish. Large die-offs are often seen in uncycled tanks, especially those so overstocked.

If you want to try to save the rest of your fish and do a 'fish-in cycle', I would strongly urge you to invest in the API Master Freshwater test kit so you can monitor the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in your tank. If you can find it, also invest in an Ammonia Alert Disk, and Prime. That way you can tell at a glance if ammonia is getting dangerously high without having to test, and can counteract it with Prime.
 

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#13
+1 on OrangeCones! I had this problem when I was first starting out and didn't know what cycling was and didn't have a liquid test kit, and my tank wasn't even close to being overstocked (a 46gal with nine female bettas and a couple of otocinclus catfish). I can just imagine how much worse the ammonia and nitrite poisoning would be in a severely overstocked tank.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#14
The main reason I thought it might be a chemistry error is that supposedly the fish died within 10 minutes of that water change. At that point the ammonia or nitrites shouldn't have been as high as they were prior to the water change. I was concerned about the three chemicals that were poured in and whether the amounts got mixed up. Also that temperature change seemed like a little much to me.
 

brian1973

Superstar Fish
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#19
I add water direct from tap to tank using a python, I add Prime while I am filling, IMO a 4 degree temp difference is NOT going to kill of fish within the stated time frame of 10 mins. if it would I would have to replace my fish every week. Ammonia poisoning is a slow death and the coincedence of having several fish succumb to it within the same 10 minute time frame is unlikely, I do think it is more likely they incorrectly dosed the tank with one of the chemicals used.