Another few healthy-looking fish died ! Again.

[peterkoh]

Hi folks,

I added in about 4 guppies last Sat. They are very playful and healthy looking. However, 3 of the 4 started dying and now I've lost 1 neon and my rednose which I've keep for some time now. It is very similar to the last incident I had where 5 newly bought Cardinal died and brough along 4 rednoses with them. My pH, NO2 and NO3 all look healthy and plants are growing well.

In both incidents, my wife noticed I tried feeding them Sera nib (I only tried twice !) - those stick on the glass type. As I've less than 15 fishes in my 2 ft tank, I used half the tablet each time. Could this type of fish food that caused my fish to die or it's just coincidental that I feed them with it twice and twice some fishes died ??!!

Thks.

[sherchoo]

Maybe u should don't feed with the Sera Nib thingy anymore. Consider other food at the mo. Please check your kH.... at the point of testing pH maybe ok..... but with the kH at <1 the pH may swing without you knowing.

BTW, guppies prefer neutral to slight alkaline water. Tetras prefer acidic water..... so be careful.

[benetay]

please choose yr fishes correctly i wun encourage you to put apisto and african cichlids together as they come from different water conditions.

[DEA]

i think it's not because of the composition of the fish food, but rather the type, ie the type u stick on the glass wall
try sinking food, and torpedo those sera nib

[bclee]

I have fed Sera O'nip to my neons, swordtails, lampeyes before. No problem. However, the tablets are very big. I think 1/2 tablet is still too big for 15 small fishes.

BTW, what are the casaulties? I know that rummy nose are quite sensitive to water conditions especially NO3. What are the readings of your KH and pH?

BC

[DEA]

yup
what happens is that the fish food might not be eaten and starts to rot, causing fish death
this is why most people don't advocate using the stick on "vacation" feeders

[peterkoh]

thanks guys.

i don't have a kH kit but i've done partial water change and water in sg is soft so i don't think kH will be high. pH is aboput 6.5.

I know guppies and the tetras prefer slightly different water conditions and to be honest, they don't look complementary together. but my wife loves them so much that when she saw them, she insisted on getting. before i knew it, she is already with a net and a container trying to choose a few .... but honestly, they do look pretty and more playful as a group than i tot. but i also expect them to live up to their name as one of the hardiest fish

i've lost a neon, a rednose and 4 guppies so far since sat. now my tank looks bare. i will let it settle for a week or more before buying new fish.

if it is the sera nib, it is likely to be the way it disperses. whenever a fish nib at it, some very fine food will be released as well. also hard to believe is my filter is unable to cope even with that small amount of waste food.


btw, how about disease from the guppies ? i would think it's unlikely as it struck too fast and the fish looks normal when it's dead.

Thanks.

[chris]

Honestly, guppies are not as hardy as recommended by books; in the past they are but not now.
The key to keep them (guppies) alive is the acclimatization process to your tank conditions. If properly done, they should survive.
Another point to note is that for the first 24 hrs after buying the fishes, you should not feed them. Fish's digestive system seems to weaken under stress. I think this point concerns only delicate fishes.

[NinjaFly]

Chris : But once the guppies has acclimaize to the water condition and you have quanrantine them enough, they are really hardy. I had yet to lose any guppies due to stress and water conditions ever since I started practicing that.

However, I would say that newborn fries which grow up are the best. They just survive no matter where I put them. Like the 4 sword-females .. still very happily swimming in my tank.[]

[sherchoo]

It would be a good idea to check your kH level. With low kH levels pH swings quite wildly. At the time you tested, the pH seems ok, but it may increase/decrease during changes e.g. co2 injection.

[chris]

NinjaFly: That's true. What I actually mean is that you can no longer just put the guppies directly into the tank; What one of my friends say "can throw them into any tank and they will survive"-type. They need to undergo an acclimatization process now in order to survive in our tanks.

Just to add... the acclimatization process includes making the fish adapt to your water conditions, not only the temperature only.

[NinjaFly]

----------------
Just to add... the acclimatization process includes making the fish adapt to your water conditions, not only the temperature only.
----------------

Yes .. that's why adding of the tank water is for that purpose. To acclimatize the fish to the temperature, just float the bag in the tank will do.

However, I realised something sometimes I float those fish. It seems like the fish in the plastic bag are very excited (or stress?) and are always moving/swimming around the bag. But once they are released to the tank. Some of them will start hiding at a corner of the tank or surface. Why is that so?

[LeAnne]

*no flaming just my point of view, i've come up with 2 theories [] *

theory 1:
well pete wat i think its that the 4 guppies u brought might have carried the diease over to ur tank..

they might have been ill for a few days and then becos of change in water conditions, they couldn't take the stress and died..

theory 2:

as for the Sera nib .. is there any expiry date? or how long have u kept it?
fish food usually dun directly cos deaths of fishies.. maybe its expires or excessive food will rot and pollute ur water perimeters?


for now maybe change 50% water and use other fish food if u feel that its the cos.. ciao~

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On 5/29/2002 11:44:41 AM

Hi folks,

I added in about 4 guppies last Sat. They are very playful and healthy looking. However, 3 of the 4 started dying and now I've lost 1 neon and my rednose which I've keep for some time now. It is very similar to the last incident I had where 5 newly bought Cardinal died and brough along 4 rednoses with them. My pH, NO2 and NO3 all look healthy and plants are growing well.

In both incidents, my wife noticed I tried feeding them Sera nib (I only tried twice !) - those stick on the glass type. As I've less than 15 fishes in my 2 ft tank, I used half the tablet each time. Could this type of fish food that caused my fish to die or it's just coincidental that I feed them with it twice and twice some fishes died ??!!

Thks.
----------------

[chris]

If i unintentionally 'flamed' anyone here, I sincerely apologise...

[LeAnne]

not u [] someone else who dun agree with watever i say only ^.^
any improvement on the fishes?

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On 6/1/2002 9:34:17 PM

If i unintentionally 'flamed' anyone here, I sincerely apologise...
----------------

[jhseah]

Always quarantine irregardless of wat fishes!!!![]

[peterkoh]

just tot that i update all. thanks for al the feedback.

i think it's the fishes themselves as i return to the shop a few days later, the whole tankful of guppies are all gone. the disease may affect the neon and rummynose as well. but now everything seems fine. i just bought 3 rummynoses from tiong bahru 3 nights ago and they are doing well. but still very few fishes in my tank ... like my wife said ... 3 3 2 2 in mandarin. i have 3 neons, 3 rummynose, 2 algae eaters (chinese and albino) and 2 flying foxes.

btw, i think the algae eaters eat more algae than all my SAEs I had (all diied) combined once they tasted fish food, can forget about them eating algae not to mention bba. i guess they are good for starting a tank where there are no other fishes and thus no need to feed. IMHO, they are not as great as their reputation in eating algae. the 2 flying foxes are a mistake as i tot they are SAEs ... naughty and playful and damn hard to catch !!! i gave up catching them after a while. i heard of setting fish trap ... what's that ?? plastic bottle ?

will add 5 more cardinals this weekend )