I had two fishes that die with two day, what should I check???

Question

should I be worry, what do I need to check, do my water need to get tested???

it was a jack dempsey and a red pacu

Answer 1

Without knowing more about tank size, how long it's been set up, and feeding, here is what I'd advise

1) Test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate - the ammonia and nitrite ideally will be =0 (should not be over 0.5) and the nitrate should be less than 40ppm. Your local pet store should be able to test these for you if you aren't able to do it yourself. These are all products from the wastes of your fish, and I know yours can be messy eaters and produce a lot of wastes. Ammonia is what the fish actually produce, the others are products of the conversion of the ammonia by bacteria. If any of these are elevated, it can mean not enough (or enough water volume) water changes, too small of a tank for the amount/size of the fish, overfeeding, or too many fish in a tank that wasn't cycled or had medications used.

2) Call your water company (if you use tapwater for the tank) and make certain that you're using the correct conditioner for what they use to treat the water supply. It used to be that chlorine was the only chemical used, but this dissipates after 24 hours. More companies are changing to chloramine which doesn't dissipate - it has to be removed chemically, and not all chemicals will work. If you use a conditioner that only removes chlorine, or one that "breaks the chloramine bond" rather than "removes" or "neutralizes" the chloramine, it releasise ammonia (which is toxic to fish) into your tank.

Were your fish showing any symptoms before they died (gasping at the surface, red streaks on fins or body, spots or dull patches, etc.)? If you could describe any symptoms (use the pencil icon beneath the question to "add details") you might be able to get a better diagnosis.

Answer 2

Those were some pretty tough fish you had and they are both very hardy and tolerant to their water conditions. First check the enviorment around your tank area to see that nothing toxic has found its way into the aquarium. Check to see that all your equipment is running properly, that is you filter, air pumps, heater,etc.. Get a test kit and check not only the water in your aquarium but also your tap water.

Answer 3

could be anythingfrom overcrowding (too many fish ina small tank) or disease, temperature too high or low something got in the water, or water conditions. Check your water's conditions, if that's not it and your fish keep dying you may have had a disease introduced, and you need to get some antibiotics for your water.

Answer 4

Check your pH level, in fact, most unexplained cases of fish died, inactive or loose appetite are caused by water pH. Fluctuation of water pH might cause fish to be under stress. Too much stress, they might die. 1 way to maintain stable pH is to have a stable water hardness(kH). And this can be solved by putting some crushed corals. This will restore the water buffer.

Answer 5

Those are pretty strong fish, and a major problem would be you using tap (faucet, hose, etc) water. You need to use filtered water only.