R.I.P. my little fishies :(

[KatWoman]

Well this certainly is not a good week for pets at AF

For the past 2 weeks we have been treating our fishtank for ich ("ick") and things seemed to be getting better excecpt for one cardinal tetra that just kept getting more spots on him.

So last night I get in from work and come home to find nearly all of my fish dead and the ones who were still left at the surface gasping for air. I called Alex and he said to start 50% water change immediately. We had been doing 25% changes every night as part of the treatment for the ich.

I started to pull out the dead fish, among the dead were my favorites, all of my darters, which were like my little "aqua dogs" because they would come up and watch people and follow you if you moved from one side of the tank to another. I almost filled a gallon-sized ziplock bag with dead fish Before changing the water I did a test for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, and all the levels were low. The PH was around 7 which is where we normally keep it.

So it's hard to say what the heck happened. Everything with the filter was ok, all chemical levels normal. And we checked to make sure the CO2 system didn't get messed up, it was fine. Since we had a huge 25 lbs log with lots of tunnels in there we had to pull it out so that we wouldn't miss any dead fish. We also had to pull all the plants (trust me you don't wanna miss a dead fish).

Now our tank is reduced down to a big sword plant, and 5 smaller plants. We put the log outside so the sun would bake it dry and kill any other potential harmful elements. As for surviving fish, out of nearly 80 creatures I had in there, we are now down to about 15 :cry: All the work we did in plants and building up the collection of fish, down the drain.

However now we have an opportunity to change the scenery a bit and maybe try other kinds of fish.

This is what it looked like a few days ago:



Most fish in the pic are gone. Picture just the big plant toward the right and a few other smaller plants near ground level, and a few fish and that's all we got now I'll post a new barren tank pic when I get things up n running at home again.

[freakray]

Sorry to hear about that Kat, must be awful to have come home to something like that.

Good luck with rebuilding the tank, I hope you can get it all sorted out soon.

[KatWoman]

Thanks For now we are going to leave the tank barren, at least for a week maybe 2. This way if any of the surviving fish die we can easily remove them. It was pretty discouraging since all the fish that died we had for 1 to 2 years and most of the plants we got last year and took care of them etc. That's alot of money gone, but not discouraging enough to shut down the tank. This is the 3rd "crisis" we've had and we usually think about things for a bit, do a little research and rebuild it. Alex is good with plants so I am sure he'll make something up that eclipses this. I just hate to think of what the fish had to go thru before they died. I know they aren't loving like dogs, but they were still living creatures and probably suffered before the end.

[YogsVR4]

No - it hasn't been a good week for the pet crowd

I hope your next tank of fish don't run into the same issues. Maybe when DVS is back he can help shed some light. He's into aquariums too.


The highspot is still you guys setting your date so that probably takes a bit of an edge off

[KatWoman]

Originally posted by YogsVR4
No - it hasn't been a good week for the pet crowd

I hope your next tank of fish don't run into the same issues. Maybe when DVS is back he can help shed some light. He's into aquariums too.


The highspot is still you guys setting your date so that probably takes a bit of an edge off

Definitely. We seem to go thru a "crisis" every now and then, so I am glad if it had to happen, it happened now and not while we were away on the honeymoon. Hmm maybe with the wedding not being far off maybe I should just suggest to him to leave it alone til aterward.

[High Octane]

yes it has been a hard day or 2 on AF for pets..

sorry to hear about your fish.

i tryed fish one.. never got them to live either.

it looks like you know what your doin though.

[freakray]

Originally posted by KatWoman

Hmm maybe with the wedding not being far off maybe I should just suggest to him to leave it alone til aterward.

That sounds like a great idea

It will be one of your 'starting out new' projects then.

[ci5ic]

Wow... what's the deal with everyones pets dying and getting sick... crazy lately.

Sorry about your fish Kat.

[TheNotoriousMogg]

I am sorry also Kat

I love fish

[primera man]

Sorry to hear the bad news....not a good week for AF Pets

[tonioseven]

I'm sorry Kat; I hope the next set of fish bring you both enjoyment for a long time

[DVSNCYNIKL]

Hey Katwoman. Sorry to hear for your loss. I've been losing fish also.

Today, my biggest albino catfish just died, he was 1ft and a half. So far I've lost 5 fish in a week. I believe that this heat wave has caused me the most. I've gotten pretty much discouraged and before they get sick or die, I'm selling my 2 oscars, 1 Tilapia, and 1 leporinus. I'm going to keep my gouramis, but the rest are going to be sold. I hate losing them especially since my fish have gotten so big. My biggest was almost 2ft.

[Oz]

That's no good Kat. Still, why have fish? Get something that can cuddle up to you at night (NOT YOU ALEX! )

[slave]

Have u tried salt, I know u can get all the little fish shop chemicals etc, but good old salt works wonders. We used to have Cichlids

[Diesel2NR]

I used to keep around 3 aquariums (planted community like yours, African Cichlids, and a Severum tank). I got out of the hobby because of the work and money involved, but I did enjoy watching the fish when I was stressed. I had my run arounds with ich and stuff like that. The best way to avoid it would be to quarintine your fish before putting them into the main tank. That should also go for plants. Right now, I'd suggest setting up a smaller tank to Quarintine the fish you have right now and let the ich die out of the larger tank. With no subjects to feed on, they should die off. Then, if your still living fish are showing no signs of problems, you can return them to a redecorated tank. All that can wait until after the honeymoon. And if you don't already know about it, www.aquariacentral.com has some really informative message boards and such. That's where most of my knowledge comes from. Looks like your tank was set up by an expert, but even the experts need help from time to time. Good luck!!

Edit: hmmm...seems like their site is down right now. Have to try again later. I'm sure that's the url though.