heeeeelp! fish keep dying

[ultmt45slay]

I've always cycled new tanks with feeder fish and tap water.... is this no good?

Also would an uncycled tank cause the feeders to go ape**** for a while?

Did you remember to add stress coat or something to remove the chlorine, I know you may think that is stupid basic but still, did you?

 

[Kaliedoscope]

has anyone mentioned chlorine/chloramine* yet? the chemical sold as stress coat IME dosen't completely reduce chorine and chloramine <--- this would be the keyword

 

[FDemon]

Yes, the stress coat is advertised as being a dechlorinator solution. In the past I've always used "dechlor"... maybe I should return the stress coat and go with what I know.

thanks for the advice. I'm torn between just letting the water sit for a while and emptying it and cleaning it out with soapy water.

Ugh. This really sucks.

 

[ultmt45slay]

Ive always used stress coat for the 30 odd years Ive had a tank, and its worked fine.

orginal quote by FDemon Yes, the stress coat is advertised as being a dechlorinator solution. In the past I've always used "dechlor"... maybe I should return the stress coat and go with what I know.

orginal quote by Kaliedoscope has anyone mentioned chlorine/chloramine* yet? the chemical sold as stress coat IME dosen't completely reduce chorine and chloramine <--- this would be the keyword

 

[FDemon]

according to the website, stress coat neutralizes chloramines...

 

[FDemon]

I may have found the culprit.... the bottle I got is "stress coat+" and apparently the "+" means it contains ammonia reducing agents. I'll bet that's why they're dying... grrr

 

[_Jessica_]

The old tank probably had a diesease in it, if this is the case you may have to re grout the corners and totaly clean it with mild soap (sunlight etc.) that is what i did.

This is unlikely, especially if the tank was dry for a period of time before he got it. Certainly no disease that would cause immediate death. I can't recommend using any kind of soap to clean as there is always the risk of leaving a residue. You can use a 30:1 bleach solution and rinse, rinse, rinse, dechlorinate, rinse, rinse, and rinse again. You can also use a vinegar solution.

after the first batch died, LFS tested the water and said everything is great, but nitrate is slightly above normal.

also about the nitrate, for the fish to live it should be at 0 ppm this is what causes NTS or new tank syndrome, but the nitrate should be gone after regular cycling

Nitrate is only toxic to fish in large quantities. A cycled tank should be at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some nitrate...5-20ppm. FDemon, can you give us a timeline of everything, like how many days after the fishes' death did you get the water tested?

I may have found the culprit.... the bottle I got is "stress coat+" and apparently the "+" means it contains ammonia reducing agents. I'll bet that's why they're dying... grrr

When chloramine is neutralized, it turns into a small amount of ammonia. There is a small amount of ammonia reducing agents in Stress Coat+ to combat that, but not enough to neutralize ammonia caused by your fish. However...I'm not a fan of API products, and not a fan of Stress Coat. If you try another 10 goldfish, I would get either some Prime or Amquel+ and do daily partial water changes. Both products neutralize ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours.

If you live close enough, seriously, I would try just one or two feeders for 48 hours just to double check that there isn't a contamination problem. I still do suspect ammonia spikes to be the problem, though.

 

[FDemon]

Thanks for the help, Jessica.

Yes, the tank was dry for a long time before I used it.

Here's the timeline:

Day 1. rinse substrate, fill tank with tap water and 20mL stress coat+. Add 10 comet feeders from LFS1.

Day 2. wake up in the morning, the fish are looking listless and gasping for air. Come home after work and they are dead, laying on the bottom. I remove the fish

Day 3. Water sits in the tank.

Day 4. take water sample to LFS2. it tests good except slightly above average nitrate.
do 30% water change, add another 10mL stress coat and 10 comets from LFS2. Fish look very happy. By late evening they seem to be twitchy and are zooming around the tank. A few are doing barrel rolls and seem disoriented.

Day 5. wake up, most of them are dead sunk on the bottom. A few are flopping on the bottom gasping for air. By midday they are all dead.

 

[FDemon]

I will be getting some regular dechlor today and doing a major water change and trying again with two or three small fish.

 

[Redearsunfish]

My guess? The scrub pad your using has an anti-mildew component or other such chemicals?