What is killing my fish?

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shawneedaniel

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 20, 2010
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Oregon
I decided to set up my aquarium again after it being done for a year. I put water in it, let the filter run for three days, treated the water for extra insurance and let it run for another day before adding fish a week and a half ago. I also tested the water and all the levels were within an appropriate range. I added the first fish to it on Monday, it is a freshwater 35 gallon (I know a baby tank), I put two red wag platys, a high-fin spotted pleco, a rainbow shark, and a black ghost knife in there to start with. (Before I get lectured, don't worry I was planning on buying a bigger tank when it was time.) Those guys came from a combination of two pet stores. Thursday, I added an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey from a third pet store. Friday I noticed one of the platys had ich(k) eggs on it and I treated the tank that night. The next day my knife was dead. I used aquarium salt, high temperature, and medicated ich treatment for the last week. The platy who I originally saw the spots on is still alive and the pleco I am watching die as I type this. All the rest are dead, and I watched probably four of them die. The way they are dying is very strange. They get rigid, and sink to the bottom of the tank and appear to be breathing slightly, but struggling to do so for thirty minutes to an hour. Could it just be the ick that is killing them? The medication and everything I've read on ick say to treat the water for three days after the eggs are gone from the fish, that would have been today. I don't understand how the ick could still be killing them if today was supposed to be my last day of treatment. I've had ick in my tanks before and it always gets better and I don't normally loose fish from it. Could it be the treatment medication itself since it's about a year old? Or, is there more that I am not understanding about ich?

I tested my water every day as well. The levels for everything were normal for an establishing aquarium. My main concern is if it's not ich, what is it? I want to restock it without everything dying. What else can I do? I'm planning on doing tons of water changes before I restock it; but, I can not refill the whole thing because it is a planted tank.

Thank you for any advice, knowledge, or tips you can offer.
 
First, you should let the tank age longer... 30 days minimum for more expensive fish. 2nd, quarantine fish, especially from different stores! All this should help...


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Hm, ich will not be what have killed your fish - they may be infected with it (i.e. platy), but yeah cycling sounds like the problem.

I was too hasty with my tanks and watched two of my convicts die, EXACTLY the same way you described. Mine sink to the bottom of the tank, lie on their sides, gasping for breath, quickly at first then slowly, and then yeah, dead.

You should keep the heat up and a salt since you do have an ich problem, but besides that well, it's a matter of cycling. I think I was lucky as afterwards nothing else died at all (I didn't do anything else besides add some salt). So yeah, you'll need to cycle your tank.

I cycled my tank for a week before adding fish and that happened. So since you only have your platy left, let your tank cycle a while more before adding fish again maybe? Probably a week should do, don't think 30 days is necessary.
 
I am going to agree with it sounding like the Cycle, but the ich treatment may have had a chemical that could have killed the knife fish.
 
Interesting, I was checking all of the levels everyday with test tubes and chemicals not the strips. The levels were fluctuating as they should but none were spiked too high. That's what was confusing. For future reference what amount of fish to get your cycle going will keep it from being dangerous? Is there a general rule of thumb for new tanks?
 
read up on the nitrogen cycle.

For a 35 gallon tank, I would put 3-4 2 inch fish, carefully watch them and test water until 0 ammonia, 0 no2 and some no3(takes 2 weeks or more), then add your next batch, etc.

At anytime if your fish becomes lethargic or panting heavily near the top of tank, change 30% of the water.
 
certain meds are lethal to knife fish, but they also need very stable and well established tank parameters. never a new tank.
 
I know how the nitrogen cycle works. The Platy is now dead. I think I am going to do about a 30% water change and add a fish.

Just so I don't kill any more, no one thinks it could be anything other than the cycle? Some other disease or parasite in the water?
 
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