Lost 5 Danios, Could it be a diseased tank?

[Jdee]

Hi All,

Like a lot, im new to the fish scene, I seen a aquarium kit in ALDI for £50 and thought id give it a go.

Since buying it 2 months ago I have put over £250 into getting it ready.

So, I setup, using sand, get the temp right and im using real plants and a moss ball. Had it setup for 4 days and bought 5 Danio's, these are good starters I heard.

After 4 days I got home from work and one of them had been sucked into the filter and obv died but at the same time wrecked the filter so I bought a £35 one from pets@home.

I went to see about getting some new fish from the best place near mine called Andy's Aquatics and they tested my water, pH was ok but Nitrate was sooooo high.

I came home with no fish but 2 new plants.

While putting the new plants in I disturbed the sand and it misted up for about 10 mins. Since that point and now all my Danios have died.

Im gutted because I really wanted this to be good but its put me back.

Could my tank be diseased or is it the nitrate? How to bring it down or is it because of the new filter?

Also, is around 15 flakes two to three a day tooo much to feed 5 Danios?

Thanks for having me

Joe

 

[aakaakaak]

It sounds like you overfed your fish and got nuked by nitrates. A fish's stomach is about the size of its eye. Feed accordingly.

Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?
Do you own your own liquid test kit?
Do you do regular water changes?
If you do water changes do you add anything to the new water?
Did you wash your sand prior to putting it in the tank?

I'm sorry about your little fishies. Hopefully we can get everything straigtened out so this doesn't happen next time.

 

[bassbonediva]

You should be feeding your fish no more than they can eat in 5 minutes. Honestly, they don't need to be fed two or three times a day. I feed all my fish about two to three times A WEEK.

How long was the tank set up before you added fish and how long has the tank had fish in it? Did you cycle the tank? Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?

Did the pet store tell you what your ammonia and nitrIte levels were? These are just as important as the nitrate levels, probably moreso, since ammonia and nitrite in any levels are toxic to fish. You pH isn't important, really. A steady pH is more important than a "correct" pH. When they said your nitrate levels were "high," did they give you a specific number? It would be a good idea to invest in a good liquid master test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, such as the API Freshwater master test kit. That way you can always know your exact readings on your tank without having to rely on a pet shop who is only in it to sell you more fish.

The readings on a cycled tank should be 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrIte, and 5-20ppm nitrAte.

Honestly, it sounds like you're doing a fish-in cycle and that you're losing fish to ammonia poisoning.

 

[Jdee]

It sounds like you overfed your fish and got nuked by nitrates. A fish's stomach is about the size of its eye. Feed accordingly.

Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?
Do you own your own liquid test kit?
Do you do regular water changes?
If you do water changes do you add anything to the new water?
Did you wash your sand prior to putting it in the tank?

I'm sorry about your little fishies. Hopefully we can get everything straigtened out so this doesn't happen next time.

Thanks for the quick replies guys.


Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?
Yes familiar with it, ihave been told conflicting stories about the actual time it takes to cycle though.

Do you own your own liquid test kit?
Bought one today. Nutrafin test kit £35 reduced from £70

Do you do regular water changes?
Only had tank setup for 2 weeks, done 1 water change of 25%

If you do water changes do you add anything to the new water?
I added a tap water chloride/ine reducer

Did you wash your sand prior to putting it in the tank?
Yes, as best i could in a sink. LOL!

Joe

 

[Jdee]

How long was the tank set up before you added fish and how long has the tank had fish in it? Did you cycle the tank? Do you know about the nitrogen cycle?

Did the pet store tell you what your ammonia and nitrIte levels were? These are just as important as the nitrate levels, probably moreso, since ammonia and nitrite in any levels are toxic to fish. You pH isn't important, really. A steady pH is more important than a "correct" pH. When they said your nitrate levels were "high," did they give you a specific number? It would be a good idea to invest in a good liquid master test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, such as the API Freshwater master test kit. That way you can always know your exact readings on your tank without having to rely on a pet shop who is only in it to sell you more fish.

The readings on a cycled tank should be 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrIte, and 5-20ppm nitrAte.

Honestly, it sounds like you're doing a fish-in cycle and that you're losing fish to ammonia poisoning.

Looks like im deffo overfeeding them then. Tank was setup for about 3-4 days before i put any fish in it.

I have bought a kit today, awaiting delivery.

To be honest the store I buy from are very good. They wouldnt sell me the fish because the reading was bad. Their reputation is unrivalled around the Wirral.

Ill await the test kit, test it and let you know.

 

[Jdee]

Thanks for the advice guys, just to be sure, is there a way to test for diseased water? Is it worth emptying the tank now I have 0 fish in it or will that kill the good bacteria off?

Thanks,

 

[Artemis_Psyche]

Aak and Bassbone can say for sure since I am fairly new at this but I would think that since your tank is only 4 days old that there would be nothing for benificial bacteria in it yet since usually the nitrogen cycle takes 30 days to eight weeks, unless you had some media from an already established tank. Also how big is your tank? Perhaps you added too many fish into the tank to start? Once again though I would ask Aak or bassbone as I am frequently harrassing them with questions lol!

 

[Artemis_Psyche]

Also duh I forgot (like I said new at this whole deal as well), the benifical bacteria actually isn't in the water, it's found in the substrate, decorations, filter media, other hard surfaces, and the gunk at the bottom of the tank (fish poo ect).

 

[OrangeCones]

Thanks for the advice guys, just to be sure, is there a way to test for diseased water? Is it worth emptying the tank now I have 0 fish in it or will that kill the good bacteria off?

Thanks,

Since you are getting the test kit, I would recommend doing a fishless cycle. Your fish likely died of ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. Unless you used filter media from an established tank, there is no way that nitrates built up enough to be toxic to the danios.

 

[bassbonediva]

I agree with OrangeCones.

Cycling a tank from scratch (whether fish-in or fishless) generally takes about four weeks. You don't generally start seeing nitrates until about the middle of the third week. There's no way your nitrates could have climbed high enough to kill the danios just two weeks into the cycle. It was most likely ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning that caused your fishes' untimely death.

 

[Jdee]

Aak and Bassbone can say for sure since I am fairly new at this but I would think that since your tank is only 4 days old that there would be nothing for benificial bacteria in it yet since usually the nitrogen cycle takes 30 days to eight weeks, unless you had some media from an already established tank. Also how big is your tank? Perhaps you added too many fish into the tank to start? Once again though I would ask Aak or bassbone as I am frequently harrassing them with questions lol!

The tank is a 54l/16g so not that big.

I guess its a fishless cycle then.

Thanks again for the advice. Ill test my water when the kit arrives and post the results.

 

[allis64]

How Big is your tank? That determines how many fish you should be starting with. If it's ten gallons or less, I wouldn't go with more than one or two little guys. Don't worry about disease. The main disease fish get in a new tank is ick, and you would see that (white spots all over). Unfortunately, you can't test for diseases, you have to look at the fish's symptoms. Like most people here, I am confident your tank had an ammonia problem. That is very common for beginners. Ammonia is caused by breaking down extra food and organic matter as well as the fish's waste. You not only had more fish than you needed to start, but you had a dead fish that probably contaminated the water with more ammonia, and way too much food rotting. You also had live plants, which may have had an old leaf rotting away or something. All that organic matter is tough on a new tank that isn't fully cycled yet. Please don't be discouraged. I think you should change all the water, and wash all the sand (to get rid of that extra food) and start over. You have no fish anyway. Just remember to rinse the filter media only with old tank water or dechlorinated water - you don't want to kill off what little beneficial bacteria you have. Get it all set up and add your plants. Make sure your plants can take low light (I have crypt. wendtii - it grows like a weed in my tank). Otherwise ailing plants can make the water quality worse, not better. It is controversial, but some people add bacteria starter like A.C.T. which is supposed to seed the tank with beneficial bacteria. I have a website for beginners, I would be interested to know if you find it useful: Beginning Aquarium Keeping, Welcome!
Good Luck! Let us know how it goes next time.