Planted tank help

brewerytattooer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2013
90
2
6
Rochester NY
Hello,

I have had this tank set up and running for about six months now. everything is flourishing. I am more than happy with the way it looks. Plants are healthy and the water is crystal clear. So here is my question. About once a month i am noticing that one of my fish die off. I am not sure what is causing this. My ph is 7.2. ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrates almost zero. Not using any liquid ferts. Just flourite and gravel for substrate. I use Excel once a week.

The fish don't seem to act any different and willingly take food. no bloating or discoloration to speak of. Over night one at a time they kick the bucket. Never all at once.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The tank in question.

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brewerytattooer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2013
90
2
6
Rochester NY
What should i look for exactly. the fish seem to act fine before death. And my nitrates always test out to almost zero. I am kinda new to planted tanks. Thank you all for your help.
 

LS2012

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2013
782
3
33
Northern NJ
Do you have well or tap water? What are your GH/kh? Temp? What #/species of fish or anything else in the tank ? Btw, very nice setup! Are the fish that are dying new additions or original to the setup?

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brewerytattooer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2013
90
2
6
Rochester NY
i have tap water. and the temp is set at 78. The ones that are dying off are mostly new additions. Right now all i have in the tank are rainbow fish. Just lost one of my original fish this week. He was a mature bristle nose pleco. But i have also lost a couple of rainbows, and sadly a baby silver arowana in the past. My original Australian rainbows are still alive and doing very well. Or so it seems. The pleco was introduced into the tank at the same time as them.
 

LS2012

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2013
782
3
33
Northern NJ
What kind of test kit are you using and how old is it? Water change schedule? Do you see a connection between deaths and water changes?

Do you use a water conditioner like prime? Or add anything else but water? Im not sure about your water quality.... Tap water can have high levels of chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. Your pipes can as well. This can be really detrimental to your fish. You can consider a tds meter and test water right out of the tap for a comparison. I'm guessing its a water quality issue. I think your tank should also have a bit more nitrates, and that's ironic since most folks are constantly trying to keep nitrate levels down. A GH/Kh test would be helpful too, so you can see your mineral content. There's a reason why your stock keeps dying, but its process of elimination to figure out the cause.

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brewerytattooer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2013
90
2
6
Rochester NY
I am using an API Master test kit. the test kit is only about 6 months old. I bought it when i set up the tank. I test ammonia, ph, nitrites, and nitrates weekly. Water changes are done once a week at about 25%. The water conditioner i am using is Prime. Its weird because i have 4 tanks going at the moment and none of them seem to have this problem. I do all the maintenance on them at the same time/ the same day. So this is making me lean towards something Bacteria/Parasitic? The only fish i lost that i can think of after a water change was my Arowanna. it was really small, about 4 inches. I think that the temp of the water dropped to much during the change. That is the once and only time that i let that happen. I was so upset. That's what i get for multitasking.

To rule this out. should i try doing smaller water changes more frequently?
Thank you Laurie for all of your help thus far.
 

LS2012

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2013
782
3
33
Northern NJ
I am using an API Master test kit. the test kit is only about 6 months old. I bought it when i set up the tank. I test ammonia, ph, nitrites, and nitrates weekly. Water changes are done once a week at about 25%. The water conditioner i am using is Prime. Its weird because i have 4 tanks going at the moment and none of them seem to have this problem. I do all the maintenance on them at the same time/ the same day. So this is making me lean towards something Bacteria/Parasitic? The only fish i lost that i can think of after a water change was my Arowanna. it was really small, about 4 inches. I think that the temp of the water dropped to much during the change. That is the once and only time that i let that happen. I was so upset. That's what i get for multitasking.

To rule this out. should i try doing smaller water changes more frequently?
Thank you Laurie for all of your help thus far.
You're welcome :) Are you putting cold water into your tanks? I used heated water for w/c. You may want to consider posting in the freshwater disease/illness section, with as much detail as possible. Losing fish is always awful. I hope you figure it out soon!

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F1 VET

THE serrasalmus rhom
MFK Member
Nov 3, 2011
6,582
31
0
INDY
Many new LFS fish will die, they are straight from mostly icky pet store conditions straight into your tank! Most people with rare and or expensive fish tend to quarantine the new fish in its own tank for about 3-5 weeks to make sure its healthy and wont spread contagious illnesses amongst your other stock! Just a tip



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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
 
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