In the fish tank my plants are dying and so are my fish, why?

Question

These are tropical fish. The temperature is 28 degrees celsius. I clean my tank every 3 weeks and take out 1/4 of the water. I recently used this "No more algae" tablet and ever since then my fish have been dying one by one.

Answer 1

j56007 has the correct answer! Algae is a plant so the tabs also kill your desired plants. The fish then die due to the toxins emitted by the rotting vegetation. Remove *all* the plants both living and dying, do a 25% water change whilst vacuuming your gravel to reduce toxin level.

It would be better if in the future you did a weekly 10% water change and gravel vac. Much nicer for your fish!

Answer 2

Never use those tablets. Control algae by adjusting the photoperiod (amount of light the tank recieves). Use an appliance timer to control the light.

Do you have proper filtration for the size of your tank. Fish primarily die due to ammonia poisoning.


Also, you should do a 10% water change every 10 to 14 days. (Not a 25% change every 21...)

When you say "clean my tank", what do you mean? Vacuuming the gravel with a device like the python device is okay, as is scraping algae off the inside of the tank. Other than that, you shouldn't disturb or disrupt your system.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I have been keeping tropical fish for nearly 30 yrs I have 2 tanks heavily planted , Firstly are you picking the right kind of plant for your tank i say this because there are some plants that die on me. A true aquatic plant will droop as soon as its taken out of the water if it stands up straight its not a true plant it will die in a few weeks I find the Java fern is really hardy also Indian fern Feed them a liquid fertiliser or you could buy the fertiliser bags which are very good and you can forget about them for 3 months. Green-line sell plants and they are very good and the fertiliser bags

Answer 4

There are many reasons why the fish could be dying and other's have addressed some of those. As for the plants, do you have flourescent light? If not, that's why your plants are dying. Even if you have flourescent light, some plants require high amounts of light, others lower amounts. If you have the wrong amount for the plants you have, they will not thrive. A water test for ammonia and nitrate/nitrite will help determine if this is what's causing the fish to die.

Answer 5

Why not get a pleco. They eat algae and do a good job at it. Once that is under control, start feeding them algae wafers at night just before you turn the light off. I wouldn't bother with any pills to put in the tank!

Answer 6

those tablets kill plants too. id just do the water changes often till ya get rid of the residue from the tablets. the plants dying are killing the fish. what do you use for filtration?

Answer 7

oh man... hurry and take the fish out of the water and do a big water change or change the water in the whole tank

Answer 8

You probaly have to quit using the tablets use algae eater fish instead.

Answer 9

Are you cleaning the tak and changing the water???also how many plants and how many fish?? how big is the tank???????

Answer 10

You need to take a sample of water to the pet store so they can test it. It's usually free but they will tell you exactly what you need for the water.