Fish Dying?

Question

Just right now, my male dwarf gourami died. 2 or 3 days ago, my platy died. What am I doing wrong? The temp. is stale at 78-80 and I keep the filter on. Please reply quickly.

All of my other fish seem healthy and they are swimming actively

I don't have a nitrate tester, but I do have an ammonia tester. Yesterday when I checked it, it was around 0.25 ppm.

Answer 1

I'd agree with a water quality problem. Your ammonia is detectable, so you might be getting even higher nitrites.

Is this a new tank that hasn't cycled yet? Or have you used medication (antibiotics) in the tank recently that may have affected your biological filter?

At the very least, I'd try a water change to reduce the ammonia. I'd also add a little salt to the water if your other fish are tolerant - salt will help if your fish are having a reaction to ammonia or nitrite - the chlorine will bind to the sites that prevent ammonia and nitrite uptake. Use at 1 tablespoon per every 5 gallons of volume

The fish you list should be okay at the temperature of you tank as long as there's sufficient aeration (and the gourami would have breathed air from the surface). If anything, the increased temperature should have any bacteria reproducing more rapidly to decrease your ammonia.

Answer 2

Dwarf Gourami are known for being jittery and not always hardy as some of the other breeds of Gourami. I have a pair myself, and one is losing his color slightly on one side, but he has not stopped eating, has not stopped going for air, temp is steady at about 78-80, no other deaths in the tank either. This is my 15 gallon tank which serves as my hospital tank primarily. I also have a 75 gallon tank and a 20 gallon tank with some rather rare fish you wont find in every pet store. My first question would be, what are these other fish you have? Each breed has it's own plus's and minus's. Follow what the others have said, get the testing kits is a must. I'd follow what magicman has said, I've seen his other answers in the past and have not been wrong yet. My little input outside of the other things they have said would be to ask what kind of filter do you have? I've had much better results using a filter rated higher then my tank size. In my 20 gallon tank, I put 2 20 gph filters, which process ammonia with Bio Max, three stage, sponge, activated carbon, bio max before the water flows back in, and I had all my fish stop showing any signs of distress. In my 75 gallon tank, I use an Aquaclear 110 gph filter and it's working fine once I reduced my bio load. How big your fish are, the filtration you have in place, size of tank, and breed of fish are important information needed to determine what to do precisely

Answer 3

I agree with the answerers who advised you to get a test kit. They are right on. I also agree that your water temperture is too high. I keep mine at around 74-76 degrees. The higher the temperature, believe it or not, the quicker the fish age. Sometimes death of a few fish, has NOTHING to do with anything, except the fish died a natural death from old age. Some are mature specimens when we buy them, from the store. In most smaller species of freshwater fish, the maxium life span is little more than 2 years. Do as others suggested...do all the testing on your water. I would suggest a partial water change no matter what your tests show. I use AquaGuard for all "new" water. Best of luck. It's the pits when your fish seem to start dying for no reason, in the absence of everything being normal with the tank.

Answer 4

It doesn't mean you are doing anything at all wrong. I would suggest testing the ammonia and nitrites in the tank to be sure that's not the problem. Other than that try to keep a small log each day of how each fish in the tank looks and is acting. Look for anything out of the ordinary. Once you have some background info to go on, f another should die we can help you figure out what might be going on.

MM

Answer 5

the temp sounds high and if the tank gets sunlight it could raise the level, I would drop down two degrees. Then check the ammonia level and ph , if it is high or above 0 change water by at least 25%. If you didn't change the filter recently I would do that also and be sure to have active carbon charoal (rinse the dust out) Good water is the key to healthy fish, it is like the air we breathe to them. Tom

Answer 6

How big is this tank and what other fish are in it? How long has it been setup? You say that your filter is always on but you don't mention anything about water changes....do you do regular water changes? If you don't your nitrates are going to slowly build up and the levels will become toxic. The first thing you need to do is go and buy a test kit to find out exactly whats going on in there.

Answer 7

You should go out immediately and get a test kit. You need to check all the levels in your tank or you are risking having all your fish die. You need to check ammonia levels, nitrites, nitrates, and water hardness. Acceptable levels will vary according to what types of fish you have in the tank. Even if your water looks sparkling clean, it could be deadly to your fish. Please get a tester kit today.

Answer 8

You need to examine your fish for any diseases that they may show! The water temp sounds good . Are you putting anything in the tank to rid it of Chlorine? Hereis a website with fish diseases. You can treat almost any of them with meds from a pet store.

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/diseases.html

Answer 9

Is the temp to high? I don't remember keeping mine that high, when I used to have them. You should probably go to the pet store and get something for sick fish and treat the whole tank.

Answer 10

my freind had a diseased tank and ALL her fish died. maybe your tank is diseased too. look for something at a fish store and they might have something to help that.