Regarding aquariums? Any body ever experience this?

Question

I've had aquariums for over twenty years. Always fresh water. I have a small one now, 10 gallon, that I've had for around 5 years now.
I have a rather large placostamus, some neon tetras, a couple of black tetras and a cory catfish. They've all been alive since I've had the tank, absolutely no problems at all.
I went to Petsmart and bought a couple of tiger barbs and four red swordtails, a total of six fish. I do have a very good filter and air pump as well, so I know the water is clean and well aerated. I also test it for chloramines, chlorine and ammonias regularly.
Within a week and a half, all of the "new" fish have died. The originals are perfectly okay.
Has anybody else experienced this with fish from Petsmart? What in the world could have happened? If I had too many fish in the tank, I would have thought that my original fish would have suffered as well. but like I said they are still just fine.

Answer 1

You should have been testing for nitrites and nitrates as well.

When only new fish die, it's almost guaranteed to be something in the water chemistry. The pleco will put out a lot of wastes, and your bacteria (biological filter) is obviously compensating for the amount of ammonia produced if you aren't detecting it. Ammonia and nitrite should only be present in a tank that's new (still cycling), has recently had an antibiotic used (which killed the bacteria responsible for converting the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate), or the tank is seriously overstocked.

What I think has happened, is even though your tank is probably overstocked because of the pleco, there was enough bacteria to convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, but your nitrate has accumulated to somewhat high proportions. The fish you had previously have adapted to the concentration, but the new fish had not. Plus with the addition of new fish, you only increased the amount of ammonia being produced, something else the "old" fish may have been accustomed to.

I'd have a second source test your water chemistry as well - liquid reagent test kits are only good for about 4-5 years, and paper test strips are notorious for giving inaccurate readings and going bad quickly when exposed to any moisture (even humidity).

Answer 2

If your water parameters are ok, then one would suggest the stores parameters are not.

Either way the fish have likely to have been shocked by the move and the change of water. Fish can live for long periods of time in water thats toxic, the reason for this is that the fish have slowly acclimatised to it, the problem only appears when either the fish are moved fish are added to the same tank, then one set or the other will die quickly.

So either the water in the shop is toxic and putting the new fish into your tank was too much of a shock or your tank is toxic which is fine for your fish but the new additions couldn't acclimatize to the situation and died.

I'd also have to say adding 6 fish to that volume of water all at once could cause a large ammonia spike.

AJ

Answer 3

They key element to your question is the "rather large plecostomus". How large is rather large? If it is 8" then by itself it is producing enought waste for a 20 gallon + tank.

The original fish you have in there are probably just adapted to the less than ideal water conditions while the new ones couldn't do so fast enough. Plus adding the new fish also increased the bio-load.

Petsmart doesn't do alot of things right, they do however have very efficient filtration systems at their stores.

I used to work at one and was in charge of the fish department. Once a weeK I would test for ammonia, nitrites and very rarely was there even a trace of either in their water.

Answer 4

In an established tank, it is very rare to have problems with ammonia. You really have to overload an established tank to get an ammonia spike. You should be testing for nitrate and pH in a tank as established as yours. Over time, nitrate will cause your pH to fluctuate. The fish in your tank become somewhat used to the bad pH, but the newcomers are not able to take it. That is one scenario. It is possible that the new fish had some kind of illness, but you will notice it spreading to your "older" fish very soon if it was an illness. Test for the right toxins first, then continue with the process of elimination. Also, the next time you decide to get tiger barbs, get 6 of them. They will drive you nuts if you only have two.

Answer 5

Sounds like you put too many fish in that ten gallon tank. The existing fish are more acclaimated to the water and probably felt a more gradual reaction to the changes. For the new fish, it was probably a shock they couldnt handle. That's my guess anyway.

Answer 6

hi regarding your FISH when you brought the fish home did you float the fish first , you float the fish for 1 1/2 hours then you slowly let them out, and you only have 10Gal tank that's too many fish in one tank..and when you bought the fish did you ask if they were healthy , did look at them good to see if they had any spots, did the gills look good , did see if they had ick which is a body problem of the fish....

Answer 7

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Answer 8

Find out when the fish store gets it fish shipments- then watch the fish for a few days ( at the store) after they get in - a week or more is better- it sounds like they probably died from stress in the transportation to the store. Also at Walmart there is a shoplifting barrier which makes an ultrasonic scan wehn you pass thru - i had a couple of bettas die because my kids didnt lift them high enough above the barrier when we left the store - poor fish had their brains scrambled - lost coordination the first nite and died with in two days

Answer 9

That is interesting... I would have thought the Tiger Barbs would begin to nip the other fish immediately due to their aggressive nature...

Nosoop4u