Rakolde
01-05-2016, 05:30 AM
1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?
I was doing my usual water change routine. I vacuumed my substrate, washed pre-filter and drained 85% of the water as usual. I added prime started filling the tank and noticed all my discus were sitting on the bottom with clamped fins and were not moving. I waited 15mins to see if they would come out of it. Then 3 - 4 of them start to lean to one to eventually laying completely on their side. That's when I grabbed my test strips and checked everything(ran out of my api FW test kit) these were just tetra test strips, Nitrite were at 4-5ppm. I immediately started draining as fast as possible, I lost one discus. I drained another 95% and filled again, tested and nitrites were still high 2-3ppm. I lost another one during that fill. After losing two I quickly filled the bathtub and moved all my discus to it as I did not have time to set my hospital tank up, during that time I lost another. 10mins after moving i lost my 4th. The others all seemed ok in the tub. After that I checked my tap for nitrites ad they came back 0. I also drained tank, emptied it of substrate and cleaned it very well, Took my canister filter apart threw all media in it into the garbage and sterilized it and removed the heaters. After that I set the tank up, All new media in filter(sponge, filter floss, carbon, purigen and matrix) new heater. Checked nitrites and they were 0. I don't understand where the nitrites were coming from, the water changes didn't do a thing to budge the nitrites. The discus were all happy before the water was changed the first time. What could have caused such a massive spike in nitrites? Is it possible my heaters or filter leaked something toxic that caused this? Any ideas how this happened?
2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).
They all died the same way. They would start swimming around normally, that would lead to darting around the tank then they started darting around upside down/sideways jumping at water surface. They quickly stop and float to surface dead.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
nothing
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
90gallon, 13 discus one 6" five 5" the rest to 4"+. Now 9 left.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
50% daily or 85% every second day.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
1 year+ a couple months. Fine gravel 1" 1/2.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
No aging No ph swing
8. Parameters and water source;
Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.
- temp ___83__
- ph __7.8___
- ammonia reading __0__
- nitrite reading __was 5ppm now 0__
- nitrate reading __5 now 0__
What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.
- well water ____
- municipal water __x__
- RO water ____
9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
nothing
10. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.
I was doing my usual water change routine. I vacuumed my substrate, washed pre-filter and drained 85% of the water as usual. I added prime started filling the tank and noticed all my discus were sitting on the bottom with clamped fins and were not moving. I waited 15mins to see if they would come out of it. Then 3 - 4 of them start to lean to one to eventually laying completely on their side. That's when I grabbed my test strips and checked everything(ran out of my api FW test kit) these were just tetra test strips, Nitrite were at 4-5ppm. I immediately started draining as fast as possible, I lost one discus. I drained another 95% and filled again, tested and nitrites were still high 2-3ppm. I lost another one during that fill. After losing two I quickly filled the bathtub and moved all my discus to it as I did not have time to set my hospital tank up, during that time I lost another. 10mins after moving i lost my 4th. The others all seemed ok in the tub. After that I checked my tap for nitrites ad they came back 0. I also drained tank, emptied it of substrate and cleaned it very well, Took my canister filter apart threw all media in it into the garbage and sterilized it and removed the heaters. After that I set the tank up, All new media in filter(sponge, filter floss, carbon, purigen and matrix) new heater. Checked nitrites and they were 0. I don't understand where the nitrites were coming from, the water changes didn't do a thing to budge the nitrites. The discus were all happy before the water was changed the first time. What could have caused such a massive spike in nitrites? Is it possible my heaters or filter leaked something toxic that caused this? Any ideas how this happened?
2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).
They all died the same way. They would start swimming around normally, that would lead to darting around the tank then they started darting around upside down/sideways jumping at water surface. They quickly stop and float to surface dead.
3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
nothing
Tank/Water
4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
90gallon, 13 discus one 6" five 5" the rest to 4"+. Now 9 left.
5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
50% daily or 85% every second day.
6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
1 year+ a couple months. Fine gravel 1" 1/2.
7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
No aging No ph swing
8. Parameters and water source;
Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.
- temp ___83__
- ph __7.8___
- ammonia reading __0__
- nitrite reading __was 5ppm now 0__
- nitrate reading __5 now 0__
What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.
- well water ____
- municipal water __x__
- RO water ____
9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
nothing
10. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.