A net fell in the tank and spooked the barracuda and he jumped out and unfortunately died. The next day the arowana had swim bladder problems, (possibly injured when net fell?) The bass got ich and then a secondary infection and died. Going to leave the tank is for a while to let it cycle and hope everything resolves. Everything was ok until the barracuda jumped out and I put him back in because he was still breathing
Fish dying, help
- Thread starter Mellym
- Start date
A net fell in the tank and spooked the barracuda and he jumped out and unfortunately died. The next day the arowana had swim bladder problems, (possibly injured when net fell?) The bass got ich and then a secondary infection and died. Going to leave the tank is for a while to let it cycle and hope everything resolves. Everything was ok until the barracuda jumped out and I put him back in because he was still breathing
Hello,
I think you have the right idea leaving the tank be for a while. The pleco may come down with Ich as well, if so I would raise the temperature to 86* for a few days, at this temperature the ich cannot reproduce and will be killed eventually. A little bit of salt can help the fish heal as well. I would do a small water change, and then not do any more until the nitrite has gone to 0 and you start seeing nitrate spiking- this is when your cycle is almost complete. Will need to get a test kit to determine this. I would guess that the arowana's death was caused by the toxic chemicals and disease in the water, more likely than by a falling net. And when the tank is stabilized- I would do some more research on what you want the stocking to be. As you have seen, large predators jammed together in too small of a tank can be stressful and cause things like the jumping barracuda. Best of luck to you!
I think you have the right idea leaving the tank be for a while. The pleco may come down with Ich as well, if so I would raise the temperature to 86* for a few days, at this temperature the ich cannot reproduce and will be killed eventually. A little bit of salt can help the fish heal as well. I would do a small water change, and then not do any more until the nitrite has gone to 0 and you start seeing nitrate spiking- this is when your cycle is almost complete. Will need to get a test kit to determine this. I would guess that the arowana's death was caused by the toxic chemicals and disease in the water, more likely than by a falling net. And when the tank is stabilized- I would do some more research on what you want the stocking to be. As you have seen, large predators jammed together in too small of a tank can be stressful and cause things like the jumping barracuda. Best of luck to you!
Swelling or bleeding can be a PH problem ..these guys are right though.. all this happened because your tank isnt cycled and you weren't paying close enough attention to the toxicity levels in the tank.. just something to note also.. I had an internal filter fail and leak voltage into the tank. It didnt kill any of my fish that I can remember though
The thing about using bacterial supplements (dormant bacteria) and even using seeded filters, is that you must still be careful how many fish you add all at once.
I have not had to cycle a tank since the 80s, but when a tank is "new" with seeded filters I will only add 2 (maybe 3) fish to the tank, and carefully monitor water parameters daily, and change a portion of the water on a daily basis, to prevent any nitrite or ammonia spike (because even a tiny spike can be lethal to some fish). A spike can happen over night or even over a few hoursif too many fish are added together too soon.
Dormant bacterial cultures are not instantaneous (no matter what the package says).
And if you have a spike, and a fish dies overnight, that dead fish can significantly add to the spike.
I have not had to cycle a tank since the 80s, but when a tank is "new" with seeded filters I will only add 2 (maybe 3) fish to the tank, and carefully monitor water parameters daily, and change a portion of the water on a daily basis, to prevent any nitrite or ammonia spike (because even a tiny spike can be lethal to some fish). A spike can happen over night or even over a few hoursif too many fish are added together too soon.
Dormant bacterial cultures are not instantaneous (no matter what the package says).
And if you have a spike, and a fish dies overnight, that dead fish can significantly add to the spike.
The fish were added in stages, it started with 2 then the others were added separately over a spaced out time. I think it may have been border line a problem and then the barracuda dying overnight could have cause the levels to spike even more effecting the other fish
Well, I wouldn't use those bacteria supplements. Either it wouldn't work or it's one of those different kind of bacteria that you have to add every week and do not self sustain like the naturally occurring ones.
Right now you could :
1. rehome fish temporarily or keep them in different tanks temporarily until you properly cycle their tank
Or
2. Let one of the extra filters run in a different tank or bucket then add ammonia and cycle the filter. Then meanwhile do regular water changes like everyday or every other day to keep the ammonia below zero on your unicycled tank
Right now you could :
1. rehome fish temporarily or keep them in different tanks temporarily until you properly cycle their tank
Or
2. Let one of the extra filters run in a different tank or bucket then add ammonia and cycle the filter. Then meanwhile do regular water changes like everyday or every other day to keep the ammonia below zero on your unicycled tank
