Tropical fish struggling
Discussion
One of my children has 5 Diamond neon tetras, 3 pearl gouramis, some guppies and a bristle nose pleco.
A tetra died a couple of days ago, hugging the bottom, and the pleco ate it.
Today all the fish are looking lethargic. All the the test strips are testing okay, Feeding has been every 2-3 days. Filter working as far as we can tell.
Any suggestions please?
paintman said:
Heater working?
How long has the tank been set up?
Yes it is. How long has the tank been set up?
Edited by paintman on Sunday 22 December 01:16
The tank has been established a couple of months.
This morning they seem okay again, but yesterday was definitely a bit odd. Since the tetra died a couple of others have taken turns at hanging round the bottom by the plants.
On the subject of plants, they are growing quite a lot,. Could that cause issues?
Plants in my tank need regular thinning out & the pruning of dead/dying leaves.
Never had a plant related issue as far as the fish were concerned.
Dead fish do need to be removed ASAP but if the others have eaten all of it then it shouldn't be an issue.
I have Endler's guppies (or should that be 'endless guppies' due to the rate they breed at
) in mine along with others & whilst I do need to remove the odd body I suspect a lot have vanished before I knew about it!
I feed daily.
Never had a plant related issue as far as the fish were concerned.
Dead fish do need to be removed ASAP but if the others have eaten all of it then it shouldn't be an issue.
I have Endler's guppies (or should that be 'endless guppies' due to the rate they breed at
) in mine along with others & whilst I do need to remove the odd body I suspect a lot have vanished before I knew about it!I feed daily.
Edited by paintman on Sunday 22 December 14:03
Is the surface of the water rippling?
What type of filter and has any of it been washed in tap water (always use old tank water to clean filters)
Get the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate checked, do not use dip strips, use a proper kit or ask the fish shop to do it.
Test the tap water for ammonia and nitrate
Reduce feeding to a couple of times a week until you know what is up
Change 20% of the water twice a week for 2-3 weeks until you know what is up
Use a gravel cleaner
What is the water temp?
If a fish does change about 40% but always use a good dechlorinator and ideally one that deals with chloramine too.
Often in rainy weather nitrates can run off fields and get in to the water source or if there has been bacteria the water companies increase chlorine or chloramine to kill the bugs.
What type of filter and has any of it been washed in tap water (always use old tank water to clean filters)
Get the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate checked, do not use dip strips, use a proper kit or ask the fish shop to do it.
Test the tap water for ammonia and nitrate
Reduce feeding to a couple of times a week until you know what is up
Change 20% of the water twice a week for 2-3 weeks until you know what is up
Use a gravel cleaner
What is the water temp?
If a fish does change about 40% but always use a good dechlorinator and ideally one that deals with chloramine too.
Often in rainy weather nitrates can run off fields and get in to the water source or if there has been bacteria the water companies increase chlorine or chloramine to kill the bugs.
So said:
110 litres
Water changed 2 weeks ago (1/3)
Strips I cannot recall but low on the bad stuff
Temp is stable I believe
Nitrite and Ammonia both need to be zero.Water changed 2 weeks ago (1/3)
Strips I cannot recall but low on the bad stuff
Temp is stable I believe
Nitrate as low as possible, altho maybe 40odd ppm from the tap.
Water changes should be at least weekly.
Also, the strips are known to be not the ultimate in testing, could be worth checking with your LFS......
Any fish died and not been noticed ?
Whats the filtration ?
Turn7 said:
Nitrite and Ammonia both need to be zero.
Nitrate as low as possible, altho maybe 40odd ppm from the tap.
Water changes should be at least weekly.
Also, the strips are known to be not the ultimate in testing, could be worth checking with your LFS......
Any fish died and not been noticed ?
Whats the filtration ?
No more fatalities and the other fish looked ok this morning. Do fish get sad when one of their friends dies?Nitrate as low as possible, altho maybe 40odd ppm from the tap.
Water changes should be at least weekly.
Also, the strips are known to be not the ultimate in testing, could be worth checking with your LFS......
Any fish died and not been noticed ?
Whats the filtration ?
I will answer the other questions above when I can do so accurately.
Many thanks chaps.
On the whole fish do not really get sad when others die. Some seem to go in to decline if they lose a breeding partner.
My female Stingray would refuse to eat whenever I took the male out to give her a rest from breeding.
My fire eel will refuse to eat for about a week if I move his favourite hiding log...he is an absolute greedy dustbin normally.
My female Stingray would refuse to eat whenever I took the male out to give her a rest from breeding.
My fire eel will refuse to eat for about a week if I move his favourite hiding log...he is an absolute greedy dustbin normally.
What is the temperature?
Again, what temperature is the water and is the tank located somewhere where the temperature around it is also fairly stable? Is the tank insulated? They'll be lethargic if it's to cool. Iirc I used to have my tank set at about 78.
I only used to do partial water changes maybe 25% at a time and sucked from the bottom. The tank should be able to settle and maintain a steady balance on it's own. I used to gradually add tap water that had stood over night. Over the years I found that 'interfering' and adding chemicals was the worst thing to do. Tap water worked for my gourami's, tetras and various other fish.
Again, what temperature is the water and is the tank located somewhere where the temperature around it is also fairly stable? Is the tank insulated? They'll be lethargic if it's to cool. Iirc I used to have my tank set at about 78.
I only used to do partial water changes maybe 25% at a time and sucked from the bottom. The tank should be able to settle and maintain a steady balance on it's own. I used to gradually add tap water that had stood over night. Over the years I found that 'interfering' and adding chemicals was the worst thing to do. Tap water worked for my gourami's, tetras and various other fish.
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Monday 23 December 11:52
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