Fish Deaths

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#1
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#1
When I came downstairs to check on my fish tank yesterday morning, I noticed that one of my Platies had died. This didn't come as much of a surprise to me, since she had been very ill. However, I came downstairs this morning to all of my fish acting very lethargic, and two of my Danios missing. I found the body of one of them, and I suspect the other one is dead as well. They weren't sick, and they were frolicking around normally together just last night. I checked my parameters today, and nothing is out of the ordinary, meaning that the pH has remained steady at 8.2 (I realize this is high), the ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm, and the nitrate is still below 5 ppm.

What could be the cause of my fish acting so strange and dying when they weren't ill?
 

Kiara1125

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
#3
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#3
Hm, it seems that they may have caught a pathogen that was in the water. Have you bought anything new recently or have you put your handsa in the tank recently?? Something may have been transferred. This happened to my fish as well, but they bounced back within a week (not after 8 deaths though).
 

KcMopar

KcMopar

Superstar Fish
#4
May 11, 2011
1,854
1
0
Louisiana
www.americanhotrodsolutions.com
#4
Your fish are fine with 8.2pH, Is the temp staying constant? Its much colder now and many people have the heat lower at night. A typical heater only raises the water temp about 8-ish degrees above room temp based on what they rate them for. Its best to shoot for about 5-8 watts minimum per gallon IMO.
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#5
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#5
I usually put my hands in the tank when I'm moving things around. I never knew that it could harm them. I haven't added anything new since I put the guppies in, and I really shouldn't have bought them. I wasn't having any problems up until that point, when they introduced Ich into the tank. Damn Walmart and their inability to take care of their stock properly. The Ich wouldn't go away, so I felt like I didn't have any other choice than to medicate, which probably caused the deaths. I tried the heat treatment, but it didn't work, and my fish seemed really stressed out by it. Now I have a bunch of dead/dying/lethargic fish and the Ich hasn't gone away.

To top it all off, a bunch of them were pooping long strings of white, so I medicated for parasites (not at the same time as the Ich.) I've done it twice now and I'm pretty sure they're not gone. I feel horrible and I don't know what to do anymore. I hate to see them suffering.
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#6
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#6
The temperature has been staying relatively constant, except when I was trying to treat with Ich. We also don't have very much money, so our thermostat is always set to around 63-64 degrees.
 

Kiara1125

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
#7
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#7
You have a cold house!! xD

I read that you can transfer bad things trough your hands in the water. My Guppies got sick right after I introduced them and they got my other fish sick. I'm never buying Guppies again unless if I keep them in my 2.5g for a month. :mad:
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#9
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#9
Medication can kill as well as cure. That is pretty cold for you house - do you have a thermometer in your tank? With it that cold in the house, I think it would pretty hard to guess the temp of your tank. I have noticed I no longer have the ability to even come close with my hand if the house is cold, because the water in the tank just seems warmer, so I use an instant read kitchen thermometer. Cold can stress your fish and that will cause ich. The heat treatment usually works, but you do need to vacuum the spores that fall of daily are they just come right back.
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#10
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#10
1) I'm never buying guppies again, either! They're more hassle than they're worth, and they always try to do the naughty with my Platies.
2) I have a heater in my tank, and a thermometer that stays inside of it. It would be really dumb not to when you live in Wisconsin!
3) What temperature should I put my tank at if I'm going to try this heat treatment again? And should I remove all of my decorations while I'm at it? Also, should I scrape the insides of my tank every day while I'm vacuuming? What about my filter? I know I need to remove the carbon, but can the Ich spores stay alive inside of it? Do I just do a 25% water change, or more? (I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions, but I really want to get rid of this damn stuff.)
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#11
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#11
Its definitely okay to ask all the questions you want! Not sure how well I can answer them. I am pretty sure the suggested temp to kill the ich is 82 or may a little more, probably up to 85. No one has mentioned removing decor to my knowledge, but is there are some big pieces, removing them might make vacuuming easier. Haven't heard of anyone scraping the sides either. I am not sure myself what to do about the filter. I would certainly swish it in the tank water you remove. 25% of the water should be okay as long as your parameters are testing okay. I do know about the cold in WI - walked to school 2 miles in 40 below only to be told by the teacher that she couldn't get the little country school warm enough and we had to turn around and walk home! (Naturally my kids find it hard to believe - they keep asking me if it was up hill both ways!! lol
 

skjl47

skjl47

Large Fish
#12
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#12
Hello; First let me relate to the house temp. I keep my house between 60 and 63 degrees, so you are not alone. Next, all medications/treatments have some sort of side effects. Your posts read as you treated with two different medications over a short period of time. This could be a factor, but that will be hard to know for sure.
Stuff that you get on your hands can wash off into a tank. I have gotten into the habit of rinsing my hands well before sticking them into a tank. I do not think it is likely that you will have contaminants on your hands very often, but it is possible. Try to be aware of handling chemicals around the house for cleaning and such. I was often working around and painting cars.
Try to avoid spraying cleaners around a tank. I am very careful when cleaning the outside of the glass. I often spray the glass cleaner onto a cloth and then wipe it onto the glass. I usually try to wipe the tank surfaces with a cloth damened only with water. I try not to use insecticides and herbicides near a tank and am especially careful to rinse my hands after any such use.
If you can manage it , a quarantine tank (QT) is a good investment. This will over time be the best way to avoid disease and parasites being introduced to a healthy tank. I keep a QT with a bare bottom and usually some floating plants if any. If new fish turn up with problems in the OT they can be treated there and not be a risk to the rest of your fish. Many have suggested holding new fish for a month or more as there are some issues that take a while to show up. I have read of a six week hold in some posts.
Do a search about ick treatments. I think many suggest aising the temperature to over 80 degrees F for two weeks or more. This is supposed to work by killing the parasite at the only stage when it is weak. The adult parasites and their eggs are not easily killed. The "larvae"(??) are vulnerable right after they hatch and while they are swimming around before they latch onto a fish. This is why any treatment must be continued for a few weeks. If a treatment is stopped too soon the unhatched eggs or the adults that are still attached to fish will re infect the tank.
If you have more than one tank do not use any equipment from a diseased tank in the other tanks. There are ways to clean infected equipment. Good luck
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#13
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#13
Would it make sense for me to wait until my fish start acting normally before I begin raising the temperature again? They're all acting very strange and I'm scared that if I do anything to my tank, they'll all die.
Several of my fish keep rubbing against things as they swim past. I read that this can also be a sign of parasites. What do I do about this? I thought the parasite treatment that I was using was supposed to work for these things.
 

skjl47

skjl47

Large Fish
#15
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#15
Hello; fish rubbing on things happens when fish are infected with the ick parasite. The white spots are not always easy to see. If you see any white spots at all the tank is still infected. Whatever treatment you try should be continued well past the last visible sign of the parasite. There also will be little point in adding any new fish untill the disease/parasite infection has run it's course.
It may be that you will lose all the fish and will have to clean the tank and start over. Let us hope not. Good luck
 

skjl47

skjl47

Large Fish
#18
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#18
Persistency said:
My last question- Should I do a water change tonight? I thought that it may help my fish go back to normal somehow.
Click to expand...
hello; the way i understand the warm water treatment for ick is that water temps around 85 deg F will kill the free swiming larvae (I think they are actually called something else, but I do not recall.) The high temps will also speed up the life cycle of the parasite. If you are using this method frequent water changes wil not hurt and are supposed to siphon out some of the free swimming larvae as well, thus preventing some of them attaching to your fish. The only issue I can think of will be maintaining the high water temps. Perhaps not so large a water change will allow the tank heater to keep up. Perhaps the water to be put back into the tank can be warmed in some manner.
If you are using chemical ick treatments water changes will dilute the dose.
Water changess are frequently suggested in posts for a variety of reasons, but I do not think this will help much, if at all, for a tank infected with ick.
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#19
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#19
I simply can't understand why, with all the other things said in this day and age, anyone would refer to fish as being "naughty" - aren't they just being normally sexually active and if you don't like it, don't put male and female fish in the same aquarium.
 

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