All fish in tank stressed and dying.

[White Noise]

Everything was going so well. Ive had my tank for about 7 odd months. I had 20 rummy nose tetra, 20 cardinal tetra, 5 white fin tetra, 6 plecos, 3 bristlenose catfish, 4 guppies, and 10 cherry barbs (5m/5f). On Sunday of those fish I added 10 cardinals, 4 guppies and the white fins. The female cherry barbs killed all the guppies except 1 within 1 day of putting them in the tank. The one remaining now sits at the top of the tank and doesn't move around too much. Now a day later I have 2 dead cherry barbs (1m/1f) and some very dodgy looking cardinals, and all the rummy noses tetras have lost colour. I got the dead fish out and did a 30% water change and re-checked levels and they were the same as they have always been.

I don't have a quarantine tank. Is this a store issue? I only get my fish from one store and it is supposed to be the best in the city. Please help what do I do. Am I going to loose all my fish?

Tank parameters
size - 850L
Hardscape
Temp - 26 deg C
pH - 6.6
Ammonia - approx 0.05-0.1
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - approx 3 ppm
These are taken by freshwater master kit and is a colour chart hence the approx.

 

[tlindsey]

Everything was going so well. Ive had my tank for about 7 odd months. I had 20 rummy nose tetra, 20 cardinal tetra, 5 white fin tetra, 6 plecos, 3 bristlenose catfish, 4 guppies, and 10 cherry barbs (5m/5f). On Sunday of those fish I added 10 cardinals, 4 guppies and the white fins. The female cherry barbs killed all the guppies except 1 within 1 day of putting them in the tank. The one remaining now sits at the top of the tank and doesn't move around too much. Now a day later I have 2 dead cherry barbs (1m/1f) and some very dodgy looking cardinals, and all the rummy noses tetras have lost colour. I got the dead fish out and did a 30% water change and re-checked levels and they were the same as they have always been.

I don't have a quarantine tank. Is this a store issue? I only get my fish from one store and it is supposed to be the best in the city. Please help what do I do. Am I going to loose all my fish?

Tank parameters
size - 850L
Hardscape
Temp - 26 deg C
pH - 6.6
Ammonia - approx 0.05-0.1
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - approx 3 ppm
These are taken by freshwater master kit and is a colour chart hence the approx.View attachment 1359761 View attachment 1359763 View attachment 1359765 View attachment 1359766

Sorry for your loss. Never trust the Best in the city title for anything. The problem was the new fish probably were infected that's why it's crucial to quarantine fish prior to adding to the main aquarium. The other scenario is that the cherry barbs stressed out your guppies and they got sick and died. Why didn't the best in the city lfs warn you about the cherry barbs nipping long fin fish ?

 

[tlindsey]

Sorry for your loss. Never trust the Best in the city title for anything. The problem was the new fish probably were infected that's why it's crucial to quarantine fish prior to adding to the main aquarium. The other scenario is that the cherry barbs stressed out your guppies and the got sick and died. Why didn't the best in the city lfs warn you about the cherry barbs nipping long fin fish ?

You also have ammonia which makes things worse. Keep doing wc's add more prime if you have some. Tbh you will probably lose more fish the Cardinal Tetra looks bad in the pic.

 

[White Noise]

Sorry for your loss. Never trust the Best in the city title for anything. The problem was the new fish probably were infected that's why it's crucial to quarantine fish prior to adding to the main aquarium. The other scenario is that the cherry barbs stressed out your guppies and the got sick and died. Why didn't the best in the city lfs warn you about the cherry barbs nipping long fin fish ?

I don't know. Everything I have read said that the Cherries were peaceful, and would not bother the guppies. The people that replied to my first post on that topic were equally surprised. I learnt that lesson the hard way I suppose...it happens.

 

[White Noise]

You also have ammonia which makes things worse. Keep doing wc's add more prime if you have some. Tbh you will probably lose more fish the Cardinal Tetra looks bad in the pic.

I do think that tetra is going to die. The colour of the chart is ever so slightly to zero, but I will do another water change in the morning. Thanks.

 

[tlindsey]

I don't know. Everything I have read said that the Cherries were peaceful, and would not bother the guppies. The people that replied to my first post on that topic were equally surprised. I learnt that lesson the hard way I suppose...it happens.

I sent you a link with someone had the same bad experience with their guppies and cherry barbs.

 

[tlindsey]

I sent you a link with someone had the same bad experience with their guppies and cherry barbs.

Feed less. Possibly the fish won't be interested in eating. Hopefully things will get back in order.

 

[MrsE88]

Do you have a kh test kit?
This might not have anything to do with your current issues, but with a lower ph I’d watch out for swings and a possible crash. If your kh is high I wouldn’t worry, but if it’s low that can be very dangerous.
To check for ph swings all you need to do is check the ph in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening.
If it is swinging that can stress the fish making them more susceptible to illness too.

 

[White Noise]

I sent you a link with someone had the same bad experience with their guppies and cherry barbs.

I did see that one thank you. I was referring to before I got them. I didn't see anything negative at that time.

 

[White Noise]

Do you have a kh test kit?
This might not have anything to do with your current issues, but with a lower ph I’d watch out for swings and a possible crash. If your kh is high I wouldn’t worry, but if it’s low that can be very dangerous.
To check for ph swings all you need to do is check the ph in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening.
If it is swinging that can stress the fish making them more susceptible to illness too.

I don't have a test kit for kh, but I do know that the water level for the area is deemed to be quite soft. My pH has been stable for a while now. It did move a bit initially but calmed down after the tank cycled. I've been testing the water several times a day since Sunday, and I am pretty confident that it wasn't an ammonia spike, nor a pH swing.
Thanks.