Dying Tetras

[vastian_steel]

Hi

I bought several cardinal tetras on Saturday and to-date, 4 are left. Tetras are dying left right and centre in my tank - and I don't know. I've replaced the water and added in the stress coat, but they're still dropping like flies - it's really heartbreaking.

The rest of my fishies and prawns are alright, it seems that only the tetras and maybe pygmies are affected.

Can anyone provide any advice? What I have in my tank now are : 1 pygmy cory, 2 starlights, 5 brazilian guppies, 1 oto, 4-5 cherry prawns, and 5 fishes that look like mini pomfrets.

Thanks!

[tetrakid]

Did you acclimatised them to your tank when you first put them in. That is important.
A lot of hobbyists simply acclimatised them to the temperature but not the water.
This step is very important to prevent chemical shock.

Usually novices miss this step, and when their fish start to die, they will drastically change water again, thus giving them a 'double whammy'.
Fish internals are delicate and often cannot withstand water shock. The signs of the initial injury will show only after a few days later, though they may appear normal at first.

[IrvineChen]

I have encounter similar incident before.. I have acclimatise the tetra with drip dropper.. but they die off 1 by 1

[tetrakid]

I have encounter similar incident before.. I have acclimatise the tetra with drip dropper.. but they die off 1 by 1

Perhaps acclimatisation is not the solution for this particular breed. It would then be better to measure the water parameters eg pH of the original water and bring the pH of the tank to match. But if this is done, the other fishes may suffer. That is why I prefer a species tank rather than a community tank.

[Dscheng]

What is your water parameter?

[IrvineChen]

I suspect is disease that spread in the tank.. I add in kepatang leave to save the day.. haha

[vastian_steel]

Shoot. I only did it with the temperature. Now the remaining two are like fading in colour. I hadn't realized that the damage caused by not acclimatising them to the water was that major. How should I go about doing that?

[tetrakid]

Shoot. I only did it with the temperature. Now the remaining two are like fading in colour. I hadn't realized that the damage caused by not acclimatising them to the water was that major. How should I go about doing that?

Acclimatisation to the water is more important, but few do it, whereas temperature is not really a problem, unless the temperature variation is significant, as in cold countries.

Don't overlook the fact that there can be a VAST difference between the water in the LFS and the water in your tank. Depending on the degree of this difference, and the sensitivity of the fish concerned, the newly purchased fish will be affected in like proportion.

[Urban Aquaria]

It's best to do a drip acclimation process on newly bought fishes, that gives them time to adapt to your tank conditions and water parameters, which greatly reduces the chances of them getting "shocked" during introduction. Fishes that can't adapt properly usually weaken and eventually die due to stress or illness.

Drip acclimation just requires a length of air line hose and a flow control valve (both can be bought cheaply from most LFS, usually just $2-$3 for everything). Connect them up and place the open end in your main tank, position the end with flow control valve in the holding container of new fishes, start a siphon and tune the drip rate to around 2-3 drips per second. Whenever the holding container water becomes full, pour away half of it and continue dripping.

Do this drip acclimation process for 1-2 hours (can be longer for more sensitive livestock, or shorter if the livestock are hardy). Once completed, carefully net the new fishes into your main tank.

[tetrakid]

Excellent and important tips from Shifu UA.