Fish Death......turtle????

[katielady]

Hi-
I have an established planted 30 gallon aquarium. There are 6 fish-all are 2-4 years old.

Anyway...this morning I found 3 fish dead. One clown loach and two ruby barbs. The rest of the fish look fine.
I am baffled. Nothing has changed.

The only thing I can think of is that 2 weeks ago I used my python to clean my son's new turtle's tank .(Red Eared SLider) I rinsed the python out. Later that week I did a 50% water change as usual.

ANy ideas??
Thanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

what fish are all in there? what are your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels?

[katielady]

Hi-
What is left in the tank....
1 pleco, 1 clown loach, 1 kissing Gourami

This tank has been established in it's present location for 4 years. Nothing has changed.

I used to test but after about 3 years I stopped. Nothing ever changed.
Thanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

i think you may have had a ammonia spike. test your ammonia levels

[GoldLenny]

As your fish grew more and more, they would put out more and more waste and utilize more and more of the trace elements/minerals in the water. I would suspect a pH crash due to the KH level getting too low. While things didn't change much the first year, while the fish were still small, I can assure you they are changing a lot more now. Your nitrate levels could be off the charts if you haven't tested them in 3 years.

Test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and GH. Also test your tap water for these so you have a baseline. My most recent blog article is about establishing a baseline from your tap/source water so you have a way to compare what is happening to your tank. Click my blog link in my sig for this article.

What is your filter maintenance schedule? As previously noted, as your fish grow, they put out lots more waste and as this waste is processed by the filters, the KH in your tank is utilized by the N-bacteria. If the KH gets too low, your pH will crash.

You may have to start doing more frequent 25% PWC's (partial water changes) and filter maintenance to keep the tank as healthy as it was in the past.

On a side note, I don't think a 30G is large enough for clown loaches. They grow up to 12"-20" and should be kept in shoals of five or more and should be in a 100G+ tank. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[katielady]

Hi-
I will test and get back to you. Thanks.
I am abit skeptical though....The tank was established 4 years before I moved to this house. Haven't bought a fish in 3 years. They have been the same size for a long time.

Seems strange that 3 died all overnight and the others are fine.


Agree about the Clown Loaches....but too late now. Got them when I was a newbie and they were tiny.

My main question is...is it a "wrong" to use the same python to clean a turtle tank as the fish tanks? or what is the proper way to clean it in between the tanks.

Thanks

[katielady]

Hi-
Just dusted off those test kits and everything looks ok.

Ammonia very slight 0-2
PH (done twice ) 7.4

Nitrite- 0-.25
Nitrate- 5-7

KH -4 drops/71

Didn't have enough Phosphate solution-

Thanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

even a little tad of ammonia can do harm

[Rue]

Hi-

My main question is...is it a "wrong" to use the same python to clean a turtle tank as the fish tanks? or what is the proper way to clean it in between the tanks.

Thanks

...it might have contributed to the deaths of your fish...but very very unlikely...and without microbial analysis you'll never know for sure...

It's likely old age, in combination with slightly 'off' water parametres...

[GoldLenny]

If you had your test kit in storage for the past three years, it is probably way out of date. Which brand is it? Most test kits that I've owned or read about only have a 2-4 year shelf life and quite often are a year old when you purchase them. The older they get, the less reliable they become.... often giving grossly bad numbers.

[cocoa_pleco]

and i didnt add, i doubt that using the python with the turtle and the fish caused it. I use my python for my toads and fish tanks. the toads secrete a poison from their bellies always, and it gets in the water, but i rinse the python for 30 seconds under hot water if i need if for fish use