introduced a new fish into my aquarium and three days later everything was dead?

Question

I have a freshwater aquarium in my office with a bunch of plain old fish and an algae eater. I just introduced a new algae eater on Friday and when I came to work Monday everything in the aquarium was dead (except two snails I also have). I figure the new fish was diseased or something. Any idea what could have done it (and still spared the snails)?

Answer 1

it definitely could have been a disease. some are very contagious and move quickly, but its too hard to tell.
what size tank is it? im guessing if its in an office its less than 10 gallons (just a guess).
filtration?
heating?
aeration?
is the tank cycled?
whats the water changing schedule?
do you gravel vac?
what kind of fish and how many?
what kind of algae eater? alot of the more popular algae eaters get extremely large (BIG bioload) and are very messy.

if i had to take a stab in the dark id say that the fish suffered from ammonia poisioning, or "new tank syndrome". although i could be sure with more info.

most likely the fish went through a mini-cycle. you said there was a "bunch of plain old fish" in the tank? if the tank is overstocked to begin with, and you add another large bioload, then the ammonia will start to spike. ammonia poisioning is very dangerous and often fatal in many species. this could have been prevented with water changes, but since the tank is at your office, that would be quite hard to do over the weekend.

snails dont die lol. they'll die if they're eaten, stepped on, or dosed with copper. if there was a disease, it would have been in the water. and since snails breathe air, it wouldnt have affected them.


if youd like a solid answer, email me with answers to those questions and ill help as much as i can =)

Answer 2

The fish probably had a contagious disease that went to the other fish. Be extremely careful when choosing your fish. I sometimes take an hour or more making sure I'm picking a healthy one. One thing that can wipe out your aquarium, as you have unfortunately discovered, is the introduction of a diseased fish. Be sure you know what to look for in a healthy - and an unhealthy - fish when you're shopping.

Answer 3

Three days is too quick for a disease to kill all those fish. You must look for another cause. Since the snails are air breathers I'd look for a failure of the aeration system. Was the power to the tank turned off?

Answer 4

Hmmmm....well, the diseased fish may have had a contagious disease contractible only to fish. I try to quarantine any new fish for three days so that the other fish in the aquarium won't fall ill.
Sorry, I'm not sure what killed them, I'm just offering advice for the future.

Answer 5

It could be water quality, or it could be a diseased fish. I would start by doing a full water quality test. If your water quality is allright then you were most likely sold a bad fish. Without more information it's hard to say what killed the fish, if it were a disease. I would google the symptoms for more information.

Answer 6

Sorry to hear, that sucks. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Is everything working properly? Make sure your heater isn't dead or shorting electricity into the tank water. Are all the pumps, filters and such working?

Answer 7

I would not put any damsel in my tank unless it is to cycle the tank. They get mean as they get older. I would start with the clowns as they are in the same family as damsels then I would add the Royal gramma next. If your tank is not 6ft long a blue tang is not a good choice although if you still want one I would hope as he got bigger you would upgrade or trade him in. It is great that you are putting thought into what fish to add and the correct order to add them.

Answer 8

the snails went on a killing spree

Answer 9

Did you use any dechlorinating chemicals in the water?