Tropical fish - My water is good but they keep dying!!!

Hi,

For those who have tropical fish, do you know why my fish would die even though the water quality is good?  I have treated for internal parasite but still my fish die…. I have purple algae in the tank which I've generally got rid of…. wondering if it's poisoning some how  :dontknow: …. HELP…. lost 5 little Harlequins and two mollys in two weeks  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:

Needle in a haystack!!!!

How have you checked the quality of water? Do you use a product called "water safe or aqua safe" and have you checked the PH level of the water?

I killed a lot of tropical fish trying to get my set up right…. :cry:  turned out the water out of the tap was no good, the PH levels where to high for the fish. Also good tips to clean the stones/items in the tank were to boil them, kill bacteria.

Is it a new setup?

Swallowtail_uk said

Needle in a haystack!!!!

How have you checked the quality of water? Do you use a product called "water safe or aqua safe" and have you checked the PH level of the water?

I killed a lot of tropical fish trying to get my set up right…. :cry:  turned out the water out of the tap was no good, the PH levels where to high for the fish. Also good tips to clean the stones/items in the tank were to boil them, kill bacteria.

Is it a new setup?

Been set up for about 1.5 years, take the water to fish shop  who test for free and all aspects of the test is clear including PH levels…. I use something called tapsafe I believe and the correct measurement  :dontknow:  :cry: .  I do 10% water change every week but got told to do 25% every two weeks due to probably stressing the fish out… doesn't seem to have made a difference…  :dontknow:

how big is the tank? When you say your changing 10%  or 25% of the water, how are you doing it? and are you just replacing it with normal tap water?

What kind of tank filter, what elements in it, and how often and how do you clean the filter?

Would look at the PH levels thats a big problem I found the black mollys were the first to suffer.

pm mixerman on here mate, he dosnt come on that much n e more but has loads and works in fish shop etc so he should be able to help you out

Hi Spud,

We have been keeping tropical fish for years and recently suffered fish loss similar to you. The tank has 300 litres of water so is pretty stable - or so we thought !

Did the fish shop check for Carbonate hardness levels (kH) ?
This is what provides the buffer level in the tank, it stop sthe pH spiking, which often kills fish unexpectidly. Ours was very low < 20mg/l.
There were two routes to fix it:
(1) Nutrafins pH Stabilser - this stuff is amazing, cracks the kH level up almost instantly. Over a week I moved it up to 80mg/l. But it's not the long term solution.
(2) Change more water. We had always done 10%, but reading up this really is not enough. So we now do 20% weekly. The kH has remained really stable (80mg/l) over the last three months, and we have not lost anymore fish !!

Worth a check.

Don't worry about the GH, General Hardness, that is what is in your water and there is bugger all you can do about it - well you could run it through peat, but that is just too much hassle !!

if you think tropical is hard, try keeping marine fish, i lost nearly all mine for no apparent reason, my water and salt levels were all fine too,  restocking has comenced

hope you get it sorted

chris

i had a similar problem, perfect water but fish kept dying. The tank is now parked in the garage behind the golf.  Problem solved

Tonksy84 said

i had a similar problem, perfect water but fish kept dying. The tank is now parked in the garage behind the golf.  Problem solved

confessions of a fish killer? lol

Swallowtail_uk said

Tonksy84 said

i had a similar problem, perfect water but fish kept dying. The tank is now parked in the garage behind the golf.  Problem solved

confessions of a fish killer? lol

yeah,

cluedo style - tonksy in the lounge with a litre of white spirit! lol :twisted:

Clean the filter in water from the tank not tap water if thats what you do

looks like one of my koi in the pond outside has white spot :cry:

Did you ever find out the problem ? …….i have just been given a 60l tank , pump , heater ect …….any advice welcome , how many fish to the tank, which fish to buy , i'm a complete beginner

I think tropical is hard, try keeping marine fish, i lost nearly all mine for no apparent reason, my water and salt levels were all fine too, restocking has comenced. I like the water raids.

Nolanjohnson said

I think tropical is hard, try keeping marine fish, i lost nearly all mine for no apparent reason, my water and salt levels were all fine too, restocking has comenced. I like the water raids.

glad to see its not just me having fun

chris