Argh.... lost one of my Serpae Tetras

[fishmommie]

Calling KevinVA!!! Kevin has serpaes (as do I) and he was having difficulty losing them for a while. It seems his was an issue of not enough oxygenation n the water? I'm thinking he added a bubbler and he stopped losing serpaes?? I could be wrong though.
Check his journal thread. I think it's all documented in there.

Good luck!

[mrramsey]

I do have a pump and airstone. I chose to leave it out when I did the rescape. I could add it back in.

[fishmommie]

did you read through KevinVA's journal? I'm not sure it was as simple as an air stone. I'll send him a pm and ask him to check in on this thread. maybe he can offer some insight.

[KevinVA]

Just got a msg from FM to check this thread out. Luckily I just came in to check my e-mail. =]

Admittedly I only read a few posts, but it seems like you're losing fish overnight. Everything is ok during the day, but something occurs at night (when you're not looking) and one of your Serpaes die?

Would that be a correct assessment?

Is your tank planted? If so, how heavily planted is it?

If it's heavily planted, it could be that your Serpaes are struggling to breath at night, due to CO2 being released into the water via your plants. During the day, plants produce oxygen, but at night, photosynthesis ceases to take place and that CO2 has to go somewhere... it just so happens it's being released into your water. During the day, you won't find the fish gasping for air - mine acted normal as can be, chasing each other, swimming around the tank, etc.

I struggled with this when I added 9 Serpaes and 9 Black Phantom tetras. Not a big bioload for a 75gal. They should have been fine, but they were competing for air at night. I would find 1 or 2 dead every other day.

Since adding two bubblers into the tank, I have had no Serpae deaths, while adding 3 Killifish, 2 Apistogrammas, 5 Assassin snails and 2 German Blue Rams.

Hope this info helps!

[CrazedMichael]

Good to see you have resolved the Nitrates issue and glad it was just something trivial and nothing more serious like an uncycleed tank.

In regards to the tetra dying it could be a number of things, and the first thing that comes to mind is bullying. From the FTS you showed us i can only see maybe 5 of them in there, and it may have been that he was singled out and picked on to death. If you have more in the school, say 10, it would help to spread out the bickering.
Another thing could be that it was a bad specimen when you bought it. Did you buy them as juveniles or as adults?

[talldutchie]

J

Is your tank planted? If so, how heavily planted is it?

If it's heavily planted, it could be that your Serpaes are struggling to breath at night, due to CO2 being released into the water via your plants. During the day, plants produce oxygen, but at night, photosynthesis ceases to take place and that CO2 has to go somewhere... it just so happens it's being released into your water. During the day, you won't find the fish gasping for air - mine acted normal as can be, chasing each other, swimming around the tank, etc.

I struggled with this when I added 9 Serpaes and 9 Black Phantom tetras. Not a big bioload for a 75gal. They should have been fine, but they were competing for air at night. I would find 1 or 2 dead every other day.

OK... interesting thought. You make it sound like it's 50/50 but that's not entirely true. The amount of co2 absorbed during the day is a lot higher than what's returned during the night. But it's true and could play a role

Even then this problem doesn't happen for everyone. I've seen plenty of healthy jungle tanks and I've kept one that was so densely planted the fish were tapping on the glass and demanding machettes.

I wonder, if the Hyphessobrycon family is more vulnerable to this than other spieces.

[Dave Waits]

I tend to agree with Kevin for what it's worth. Add the bubblers to increase the breaking of the surface-tension and drop the temp a couple of degrees. The Temp drop will allow the water to hold more oxygen to offset the Co2 your plants are dumping at night. Most people tend to run their tank temps a little high. Most of the written stuff cites average water temp where the fish come from and automatically believe the fish will die a horrible death if the temp isn't the same. Most freshwater aquarium fish we buy are many generations removed from that wild place. This is why they tolerate a much wider Ph range,etc. Around 75-76 degrees is about right.

[KevinVA]

OK... interesting thought. You make it sound like it's 50/50 but that's not entirely true. The amount of co2 absorbed during the day is a lot higher than what's returned during the night. But it's true and could play a role

50/50 what?

The point is that the plants aren't processing co2 and creating oxygen at night. During the day, co2 is absorbed. Bubblers will add constant dissolved O2 throughout the night. The oxygen produced during the day doesn't stay in the tank all day/night, because it's being used by the fish, so it's irrelevant. You need to be concerned with what's happening at the moment. Without dissolved O2 in water, fish cannot breathe.

[CrazedMichael]

If you are using a canister filter with a spray bar, turn the bar horizontally and have it resting just under the water level. This way the spray of water from the spray bar will be sufficient enough to agitate the water level, but not splash so much. This way you get ripples and waves on the water surface. Since the intake is usually near the bottom, water is then circulated well thus increasing O2 levels.. I use this method and i don't have any bubblers in my tank.

[FishSupper]

Hi mate, i had seprae tetras and mines were tough little things, only lost one out of 6.. eventaully gave them away and there still okay with new tank.... only suggestion could be another fish having a go at it or a substance in the tank !