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Just started up a freshwater tropical tank, let it run for a week or so with various ingredients to start the nitrogen cycle, then put three 'test' fish in to really get the cycle going, things were fine, i took a water sample to my local fish dealer to test and he told me it was high in nitrates, just coming to the end of the cycle so leave it a week before adding more fish. I asked if it would be harmful to my existing fish and he said they'd be used to the conditions and should be ok. Anyway they were all swimming round happily til 5 mins later when one just died for no obvious reason, no slouching round looking mopey, it just sank to the bottom! Do fish die regularly for no apparent reason??
I'm asking on a mountain bike forum cos i value the opinion of hobbiests not some uber fish nerd on a forum who's gonna blind me with science and then start arguing with his fellow nerds about whats best for fish (in a similar way to tyre threads on here....)
with various ingredients
I would have let things happen slowly and naturally - I'm not a huge fan of adding loads of unnecessary stuff to the water. Although for obvious reasons shops and manufactures would like you to.
Your fish could have died for a multitude of reasons......water chemistry, transportation related shock, disease, etc.
Difficult to say much with the information you've given. Did the shop test for nitrite/ammonia? Are you saying the fish were in for a week and then just died or you put them in and then died after 5 mins? What's the behaviour of the other fish like - rapid breathing at the water surface or swimming round normally? How long did you acclimate the fish for? whats the pH? What type of filter are you using and what species of fish was it?
Cheers
Matt
I would have said it was water chemistry but my remaining fish seem fine, i looked at it carefully for signs of disease but couldn't see any obvious symptoms. It didn't seem to eat much, it just wanted to chase the others away from the food. Perhaps it was just a runt or something. I tried doing the tank naturally but you have to add something to start the nitrogen cycle dont you??
The water tested fine for ammonia, the ph was fine, slightly high in nitrate, the shop keeper said it was just coming to the end of the cycle. its been running 4 weeks fish have been in for 3. No gulping at the surface or odd behaviour just swimming normally. I acclimatised them for a good 45 mins before releasing them, it just died! I've got an elite filter, the one that looks like like a stingray, i've got an aerator in too.
Pet fish of the cold water type are bred to catch humans, sadly many species of tropical fish are caught from their natural habitat. Buy my massive tank & massive filter after 8 years of raising fish and then watching hopelessly as they expired I am sick of looking at it!
What fish did you add? Different species have different tolerences when it comes to water chemistry.
I got 3 dalmation mollys, according to the shop keeper, fine for getting a tank up and running.
It didn't seem to eat much
The number one beginners mistake is to think that the fish aren't eating as much as they should, leading to overfeeding and uneaten food rotting away - causing serious pollution problems.
....but you have to add something to start the nitrogen cycle dont you??
The fish will do that themselves. Start off with few fish in a large body of water (which seems to be what you have done) until things kick off and your aerobic bacteria are doing the business.
Doog, bit more info please
What type of fish was it & what fish do you have in already?
How big is the tank?
What filter system are you running?
I know some shops say you can cycle a tank in two weeks, but all the ones I have set up take at least a month, some much longer.
Another option to cycle the tank is to borrow a filter from a well established tank.
I may have over fed them but they're now on every other day feeds til the cycle ends, i'm taking another water sample to the shop in a few days to test. I changed my fish dealer too cos i found a closer one and he's gonna email me regularly to see how things are going, which i think is a good service. Unfortunately fish died shortly after i'd seen him yesterday!
I acclimatised them for a good 45 mins before releasing them, it just died!
Acclimatised them temperature wise ? Or did you also slowly mix the waters ? A difference in pH can have quite a shock on a fish - more so than temperature. Conductivity can also be a problem. Does the shop keep their mollies in water with high salt content/conductivity (which is quite a good idea for mollies) ?
opps just spotted you latest post Doog,
Mollys create quite a bit of waste for their size, I know some shops say they are fine in a freshwater tank without heating, but they will feel better in a heated brackish tank.
Tank is 60 litre, filter is elite stingray 15, aerator is just a standard little pump and air stone, no live plants or plastic ones, just gravel and a few rocks. i had 3 dalmation mollys now 2, the others seem fine. They were hounded mercilessly by the one that died so they may have taken matters into their own hands.
If the other fish are fine then don't worry about it. Ballon mollys are a bit of a genetic abomination and can be sensitive especially to low levels of dissolved oxygen. If they have been in the tank for the first three weeks of the cycle the ammonia and nitrite 'burns' the gills and reduces the capacity for gas exchange (which is why I asked about the other fish's behaviour). If the other fish aren't affected its down to individual 'fitness'.
Don't put any more fish in for a week and make sure the fish that are left are all 100% before adding anything else.
Good luck 🙂
Matt
I acclimatised them for a good 45 mins before releasing them, it just died!
it had been in the tank 3 weeks before it expired!
New Tank Syndrome - you can't beat the way of taking it slow and letting everything mature properly! I've never been a fan of all the chemical methods of setting a tank up and after running many many marine reef tanks etc etc, I've never once suffered any deaths when setting my tanks and live-stock up. I will add I also worked in the trade too so speak from a lot of experience.
Sorry, i forgot to mention theres a heater in the tank too, temperature is constant between 79-81
I'm trying not to get disheartened by it cos the other fish are fine and i really think it was just a crap fish, i've tried to stay away from chemicals apart from water conditioner, and only added a few capfuls of so called bacteria to kick start the cycle right at the start. I'm a novice at the end of the day so i'll have ups and downs but they're so tranquil and relaxing to watch!
it had been in the tank 3 weeks before it expired!
Sorry I had missed that.......yeah it's got nothing directly to do with acclimatisation then.
TBH I wouldn't worry too much if the others are fine, these things happen - maybe it was old ? !
apart from water conditioner
Yeah agreed - that's worth adding.
I'm not sure if the others were nudging it round the tank to get it going again or trying to eat it!! Oh and they seem to enjoy 'surfing' on the filter outlet??
Sounds like a combination of slightly high temps (most tropicals do best at 24-25 deg. C - 76-77 deg F) ammonia/nitrite toxicity and a fish species that has a record of low O2 tolerance.
As before don't worry about it just don't add anything else for a week and use the other fish as a 'canary in the mine' if they're ok add more fish if not then leave for another week. The fish are a better gauge of water conditions than any test kit.
As a keeper at a zoo I used to work in said 'where's there's livestock theres deadstock...'
Mollies are real charaters, I started with them, they used to feed off my fingers, quite bold fish.
Do you know if they are male or female?
Females are livebearers, so if you have females be prepared for fry in your tank evey couple of months.
Thats a real buzz, spotting fry in your tank for the first time 😉
They were all females and yeah they are characters they've nibbled my fingers and they seem to know when the food tub appears that its feed time, i could swear they get excited about it. If you put your finger up to the tank they seem to enjoy chasing it around too.
I'm not sure if the others were nudging it round the tank to get it going again or trying to eat it!!
Mollies are greedy and randy ****ers. It was probably a case of necrophilia combined with a spot of cannibalism.
I bet you didn't expect to see that in your living room ?
They were all females
So lesbian necrophilia combined with a spot of cannibalism then.....
Can I pop round ?
They were all femalesSo lesbian necrophilia combined with a spot of cannibalism then.....
Can I pop round ?
lol
Ernie,
To quote dodgeball -I think I've been a little sick in my mouth....:lol:
Can I pop round ?
As much as i'm proud of my fish i'd prefer not to have folk popping round and 'knocking one out' into the tank, it would upset the delicate balance (and me as well)
LOL !
it would upset the delicate balance
And how would i explain it to the shop keeper at the next water test??