Re: Fish dying and I am clueless what to do next
Sorry for your losses.
Saw your thread when you first started the tank till now, it's been more than 1 year.
When your tank is established over a period of time, and then you encounter massive die off, there will be a few questions that will need answering.
1. PH value: what is your PH? You mentioned the lowest indicator on your API PH measurement.
Established planted tank can usually experienced a PH crash when your water becomes more and more acidic over time. Did you notice any white slime or mucus on your fishes skin? If you do, your fishes could be swimming in acid.
An immediate remedy in that case will be to add some baking soda to bring up your PH, and then coral chips for long term PH buffering. Try to bring your buffer PH to 6 or higher gradually if you still have any living creatures. A suddenly PH change will also be quite deadly. There is really no need to do anything with the plants.
2. Since you have started yanking out your plants, you will literally disturb the substrate. That can actually bring on a nitrate and ammonia spike, which could be deadly as well. But since you have already done that, you will really need to change most of your water, until the test reading for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is at the acceptable range.
I really do not recommend the use of any chemical to do the job, because they do more harm than good.
What's your last ammonia, nitrite and nitrate reading?
3. There are already established colony of beneficial bacteria in your substrate, and in your filter media. You do not really need to start from scratch.
I doubt your algae is an issue with your fish massive die off, unless you have those algae blooms that depletes oxygen. If that is the case, you will need more surface agitation, or you can add an airstone to help.
If you start again, just get some root tab fertilisers and put it into your substrate, and start your planting again. When the test reading are stable and acceptable, then you introduce some hardy fauna.
Last edited by sthh; 31st Mar 2014 at 20:52.
My fish friends --------------------------------
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