Urgent Help Needed with dying fishes!

[ShadyFish]

Hi all,

Currently i need some urgent help on this matter. Recently i added a SAE, 1 Otto and a "sucker" fish into the tank after all my other 2 "sucker fishes" and an otto died for no reasons. I did a 80% water change before adding the latest batch inside. Before i changed the water, when i measured the water PH meter, it was light yellow(acidic) so i presumed it due to water being too acidic.

However, after adding the new SAE, Otto and another sucker fish inside...the otto died the next day. 2 days later the SAE died(the SAE was feeding and swimming happily around before it died) and then 4 days later the "sucker fish" died. I have runnynose, neon tetras, dario darios in my tank and they are all fine.

Can anyone help me on this? It is really puzzling me out. Is it due to bad filtration? Because my tank is using internal filter that pass through the tank at the top. My tank setup is abt 1.5ft x 1.2ft x 0.8ft. No CO2. Have some plants that require low sunlight and low CO2. Another piece of driftwood thats about it.

[illumnae]

how did you acclimitize the fish before putting them into your tank?

[ShadyFish]

I put them into a seperate tank for about 12 hours with the same PH level and temperature before releasing them into the main tank

[bossteck]

Acclimmitizing involves gradually introducing the fishes to water parameters that they will eventually live in.

It is good that you have a separate tank for that, but the way you introduce them to this separate tank also mattes, if you were to dump them into your holding tank directly, then it is as good as dumping them into your main tank directly.

What I typically do is, float the bag in the tank for 30 minutes, open the bag slightly,add some water from the tank into the bag without removing any water from the bag. I typically add about 70% of the amount of water in the bag. Retie the bag and let it float for another 30 minutes. Net the fishes and introduce them into the tank, throw away the water in the bag.

For more delicate fishes, you might want to try the drip method, I believe there was a recent discussion on it.

[ShadyFish]

well thanks bro for your tip, but i do not think its due to acclimitizing problem.

[Johnc]

Given that your other fishes are fine, and the problem affects only algae-eating fishes, I would place my suspicion on the driftwood (or any deco pieces you may have). Where did it come from? Put the DW (or deco pieces) into your quarantine tank and put a couple of algae-eating fish into it to try. If they survive without the DW, but die with the DW, you have found the source of the problem.

/John

[Quixotic]

I did a 80% water change before adding the latest batch inside.

I put them into a seperate tank for about 12 hours with the same PH level and temperature before releasing them into the main tank

Not that this may be the cause of the issues, but am I missing some time gap here?

So 12 hours in a separate tank, then did a 80% water change before adding the latest batch in the main tank?

Or 80% water change, then 12 hours in a separate tank and add the latest batch in the main tank?

[ShadyFish]

Not that this may be the cause of the issues, but am I missing some time gap here?

So 12 hours in a separate tank, then did a 80% water change before adding the latest batch in the main tank?

Or 80% water change, then 12 hours in a separate tank and add the latest batch in the main tank?

Its 12 hours in a separate tank, then did a 80% water change before adding the latest batch in the main tank... But it could be DW problem like what earlier bro John said. Having said that, my plants are all drilled into bogwoods. Will bogwood reduce the PH level of the water to acidic condition?

Besides another point to note is that, my dario darios are all ground fishes and they live near my plants and driftwood. They seem perfectly fine. Its only the algae-eaters that are having problem. Once i put a yamato shrimp to test out, it died the very next day also. But i do not think the shrimp got feed or anything.

[Johnc]

BW & DW are unlikely to cause a PH crash. If it is the BW or DW, it would be because the wood is toxic or have absorbed toxic substance in its fibre or is coated with some proving or curing substance. This is often done by sellers of DW/BW.

Dario dario do not suck on the wood as the algae-eaters do, nor do they of pick from the wood as the shrimps would.

But again, this is just a suspicion. 80% water change just before introducing the fish is probably not the best thing to do, but since your other fishes are OK, it is not likely to be the cause.

/John

[ShadyFish]

Hmm then what would be the best choice to do now ?

[michael lai]

Hi Shadyfish,
If I remember correctly, green or dirty green color is PH 6.8 or 7.0 which is neutral and the common PH for our tap water. If yours is yellow...most catfish cannot tolerate PH jump, high mortality rate.