Fishes dying in new tank!!! (HELP!!)

[evildoer85]

HI Veterans....

Seriously in need of help...

Tank spec as follows:

90(L) X 45(W) X 45 (H)
Cannister filter (Atman DF-700)
CO2 gas cylinder at 3 bps
Lighting 2T5 Poche (8 hrs a day)
Temperate at 30 degree
Got plants but some of the plants Don't know name...

Tank set up on 08/04/2012
Up and running for like 3 weeks

Fishes includes
1 fighting fish, 10 half beak, 6 pencil fish, 5 panda cory, 3 leopard cory, 6 sae, 10 otto, 5 horn snail, 3 assasin snail, 16 cherry barb, 20 galaxy rasboras, 5 silver hatchet

As of 29/04/2012
5 pencil fish, 3 sae, 6 cherry barb, 14 galaxy, 5 hatchet died.....

Aquarium result using JBL 6 in 1 test kit as of 28/04/2012 (plus 50% water change)
No3 - 0 or 10
No2 - 0 or 10
GH - >7d
KH - 6d or 10d
Ph - 7,6
Cl2 - 0

I only use anti Cl2 and aquarium salt... Never use any other chemical...

I added otto, sae horn snail & assasin snail & pencil fish 1 week after set up to maintain the algae...

The rest of the fish I added 2 weeks after the tank set up...

Please advise why my fishes are dying.... everyday die some heart pain!!! I once notice 1 sae very thin but eating.... next few days die... Could it be due to some foreign stuff like copper oxide?

Please advise whether is there any other thing to test...

Thank You

[eviltrain]

Very high chance that your tank is not cycled properly ( at least a month ).

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[felix_fx2]

Tank set up 08/04/2012, introduction of 82 fishes and 5 horn snail, 3 assasin snail (this eats other snails) was on 22/04/2012
IMHO, if livestock from Day14 was that much.
Likely issues: overstocked, under cycled.

If you were introducing less fish it might have worked out better. Understand they look very nice, but the accommodation is simply not keeping up.

Test strips only give a gauge but not a defined answer to the exact water conditions. You'll have to let the tank go on.. try 5-10% WC every 3 days.

BTW: you might want to note assassin snails eat smaller snails. (luckily they do not favor horn snails.) And read up before doing anything harsh to save yourself from the heart pain.

[theludicrous]

is there a fighting fish in the community?

[cheetf]

Agree with the bros above. Think that the tank is not fully cycled.

[Evilsands]

May i ask, when will we know tank is properly cycled?
No2 & No3 at 0 or at least near it?

[eviltrain]

hmmm, OT a bit, so many evil guys nowadays. hehehe

[Evilsands]

Only newborns are innocent, for all humans sinned! Haha

[hardric]

NO2 is zero and there is presence of NO3 means cycle is complete.
And you can't introduce fish all at the same time.
You should restart your cycling and introduce small amounts of fish.

[felix_fx2]

Guys,

Kindly refrain from veering off topic.
If required, search forum if not a new topic will be good.

@eviltrain, yes and your one of the evil ones

Let's wait for TS to respond for now.

[avex30]

Cycling not done bb not built up. One other thing try to invest in liquid tester.

[tetrakid]

Hi,
It is sad to see one's fish die, especially considering all the time, effort and dedication one has put into it.

Have you tried adjusting the canister outflow? If you have a spray bar, you can try positioning it on top at the water surface. This is important, as it will maximise the oxygenation of the water column. The spray bar shoud be positioned such that the force of the water pushes the surface from one end towards the far end. It must be at the surface, not below it. If you do not have a spray bar, you should similarly position the outflow pipe at the surface.

As for the CO2, it, it should be discontinued for the moment, as you are trying to identify the cause of the fish dying. Saving the fish and preventing more from dying is the top priority.

[cheetf]

Even though a tank may be cycled, by suddenly loading it, you will offset the balance. The bacteria present might not be able to cope with the extra waste.

[BlessChwee]

seems like the livestock is alot as I also just setup my tank a week ago and I just put in 2 oto on the 8th day.

[Marlinsons]

I believe it is both cycling and overstocking at the same time. Need to be patient especially when you start with a completely new tank. I know, It is always very exciting to start the tank up and stock up the fishes and plants that you want immediately, but only being patient is the way to go for a long lasting healthy fish tank.

Typically start with plants, oto and hard working shrimps for a couple of weeks 1st before introducing small number of other fishes.

[VSGenesis]

Old thread and I believe should be resolved by now.

But just want to give my 1 cent worth. Years ago, I did exactly that. I added lots of neons. They died one after another. Come back from school, I see one or two floating. No idea what to do. After a week or so, fish stopped dying. Looking back, it's over loading the tank too soon; too early. The bacteria that is already present could not cope. Total casualty if I remember was 40%. Well, learning experience. A sad one.

Complete cycling, small and gradual introduction of fish is important.

Hope you have better luck than me back then. And man! You lost some of my favourite fish too. Haha. Galaxy Rasboras. They are danios actually. Danio Margaritatus. Small, shy, cute dancing fish. Haha.