one of my clowns just died

[benji's_fish]

i just got 3 of them of on tuesday ( it was a new shipment that day) they are maybe 2 inches long. and one just died today. should i worry about the health of the other clown or other fish in the tank??

[Lady Hobbs]

Make sure they do not have ick. It's common in new clowns.

[mac]

i just got 3 of them of on tuesday ( it was a new shipment that day) they are maybe 2 inches long. and one just died today. should i worry about the health of the other clown or other fish in the tank??

I am sorry to here about your loss.

For me I would worry about you health of your other fish in your tank. Are you able to supply you water parameters like pH Ammonia Nitrate Nitrite?

Also what size tank are they in? And what is you stocking? And water change schedule?

Cheers,
mac

[benji's_fish]

its a 55g. the first fish i put in it were 3 rosy barbs last week. then i added my red tail shark from my other tank on last saturday. and then added the clowns and 2 blue rams on tuesday of this week. i have never checked the ph or nitrate stuff ever in any of my tanks and they are doing fine i just add chlorine nuetralizer to my new water i add to the tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

oh oh. That explains it then. Your tank is not cycled. You must check for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and do water changes accordingly.

[mac]

Just so you know Clown Loaches will out grow a 55 gallon tank.
I agree with Hobbs, your tank is not cycled so the Loaches will not be happy, because they require pristine water conditions, with good oxygenation and water movement.

mac

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, uncycled tank. the loaches skin is sensitive to harmful chemicals, and a uncycled tank did it in for them

[benji's_fish]

so should i put them in my 10 gal. for a couple of days then?

[mac]

so should i put them in my 10 gal. for a couple of days then?

IMO I think the shift from one tank to the other would be more than likely resulting in death. I would leave them. And do a immediate water change.

mac

[Lady Hobbs]

Read the stickie about cycling in the cycling forum. More than just the loaches will die if you don't start doing water changes to bring the toxins down. First it's necessary to see how high your toxins are and for that you really need a testing kit so you can test your tank water daily until you have your cycle.

[benji's_fish]

i just took out some water maybe 8 gallons and filled it back up. how much water should i take out at a time ?

[mac]

I do about a 30 % water change in my tanks. So that would be for a 55 gallon about 15 gallons.

mac

[Northernguy]

If you are cycling with fish than do 50% water changes.You hve to get the toxins out and small w/cs won't do it fast enough.

[benji's_fish]

i left for my bros and stayed there last night. and when i came back i noticed that the rocks and everything else in my tank are getting an orangeish brown stuff on it.

ive done 3 or 4 water changes about 10-15 gals at a time in the past 3 days. no more fish have died. i also put my filter from my 10g into my filter on my 55 to help cycle it like someone stated.

any ideas??

also one of my rams, that i put in at the same time as my loaches, is hangin out at the top of the water near my heater. he isnt swimming just hangin out. and when the other ram comes to it it starts to swim and get chased. is this normal ???

[Northernguy]

Are you adding dechlorinator to the water?
Are you adding anything else to speed up the cycle?
Have you got a test kit? What are your perameters?
Have you read this yet?[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
Also read the e-book on the left side of the page.It will help!

[benji's_fish]

Are you adding dechlorinator to the water?
Are you adding anything else to speed up the cycle?
Have you got a test kit? What are your perameters?
Have you read this yet?[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
Also read the e-book on the left side of the page.It will help!

i add decholinator to the water with every water change
i put a used filter from one of my other tanks.
i just put in amonia nuetralizer tabs to the water last night along with some other stuff that helps with pH levels.
i do not have a test kit all i have seen are strips and that thread says that strips are inaccurate. so what kit should i use???

[abaigael04]

ALSO - if the clowns had just come into the store THAT day and you bought them - it could be stress, any number of things. If you can it is best to try and wait a bit before buying.. to let the store weed out the stronger ones. Did they have any symptoms?
I agree... check your water params... did you cycle your tank before putting the fish in?

[benji's_fish]

i had the tank running with no fish in it for about 3-4 days. then i bought 4 gold fish to put in it and they all lived for about 3 days. then i went and bought 3 rosy barbs and took the gold fish out. then 6 days later i bought the 3 clowns and 2 rams. which came in that day. and now 1 clown has died and one of my rams died last night.

[Northernguy]

Your tank is nowhere near cycled!
Stop using stuff to disguise the problem.The only thing that has to be done is water changes.Up to 50% every time you get a spike of ammonia or nitrites.
Get some tetra safe start to add to your tank to boost the cycle.
You will have to find a liquid test kit.They are for sale in almost every fish store.
Please read the cycling thread.It will help you if you understand how a tank works.[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

You should read this and learn it as well.[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
Do not add anything for ph or for ammonia. Water changes only.
Your tank cannot handle it yet.
We will walk you through this but you need to know what we are talking about!

[abaigael04]

Yep - you need to be doing big water changes EVERY day, especially with those clowns in there. If I were you - I would just take them back.. they need to be in groups of 5+ preferably and will grow to be larger than a foot (albeit slowly- probably not for a few years), and they are not good fish to have in an uncycled tank. There are plenty of smaller loaches that would do great once the tank is cycled. You could maybe get some Prime - it converts ammonia to make it less toxic, BUT (!!) it will mess with your tests. For now - WC DAILY if your levels are not safe. If you know someone with a tank, perhaps you can get some filter media off of them to jump start your cycle and make it easier on you and the fish. Good luck!

[benji's_fish]

i just did a 50% water change today but before the water was kind of cloudy looking. is this part of the cycling?? would takin water from one of my already going tanks help or take the filter from one my other tanks?

[abaigael04]

The water from another tank won't help.. but if can take a filter/ filter media from another tank that would. :ssmile: Just keep up changing the water until you are cycled!

[Drip Loop]

its a 55g. the first fish i put in it were 3 rosy barbs last week. then i added my red tail shark from my other tank on last saturday. and then added the clowns and 2 blue rams on tuesday of this week. i have never checked the ph or nitrate stuff ever in any of my tanks and they are doing fine i just add chlorine nuetralizer to my new water i add to the tank.


Pretty unfair to your fish. Please monitor the parameters in your tank at least until its FULLY cycled with a liquid test kit.

Are you familiar with what kind of water comes out of your tap? How did you acclimate them to their new environment? All questions that can help determine what happened.

[Northernguy]

Sorry I didn't see that earlier Benji!
Take some of the media from your other tank and place it in your filter .Not all of it leave some for that other tank.If you can get some nylons or a media bag you can put some gravel from the cycled tank and place it under the intake of the new tank.
This will give you practically a full cycle.
Keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrites and if you see a spike than do a 30-50% water change.

[benji's_fish]

Sorry I didn't see that earlier Benji!
Take some of the media from your other tank and place it in your filter .Not all of it leave some for that other tank.If you can get some nylons or a media bag you can put some gravel from the cycled tank and place it under the intake of the new tank.
This will give you practically a full cycle.
Keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrites and if you see a spike than do a 30-50% water change.

when you say "media" do you mean like the stuff in my tank?? and what is ment my nylons or a media bag??

[benji's_fish]

i am also noticing the rocks and everything else in my tank is getting a coat of this orange brown stuff on it. what is this stuff? neither of my other tanks had/ have this.

[abaigael04]

The "pads" in your filter - if you have more than one take one out and put it in the filter for your un-cycled tank. OR take the gravel out of one of the 10 gallons and hang that in the tank. I will definitely give you a great jump start! :ssmile:
Edit: though I don't think it will give you a very full cycle only because of the size of the tanks? Unless the 55 is under stocked.

I may be wrong, but I think the "orange" stuff could be from cycling.

Have you gotten a test kit? It would be helpful to know (for you) what your levels are, or you will not know when you have actually completed the cycle.