fry dropping like flies

[RWM32779]

I have 13 day old babies that appear to be dying one or two at a time the last few hours.I've been feeding them
bbs pretty heavy and they've been growing fast.
Since it started I haven't feed them anymore bbs. i've been doing 25% wc every 3 hours.maybe it helped.
maybe more would have died if I hadnt.Could it be bacteria
from the bbs.
they start to swim away listless and then eventually spiral out of control(at least a couple of them did).Is their anything
(antibacterials) I could add to the water.Could it be flukes
are they to young for formalin and would that pollute the water to much
Ita not the smaller one (their all about the same size)
any help appreciated
Robert

[chuck]

check your water parms. High nirites could cause the spiraling. also wipe down the sides of the tank before each water change, dead bbs can ruin the water quality.
chuck

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

Robert
If the water quaility is ok, I would guess flukes, and even though a lot of people don't like them I have had good results with fluke tabs on fry this young.
The formalin would also be ok.
Dennis

[April]

You need to vacuum the bottom after the bbs start to go down to the bottom. can't leave any laying on the bottom.
also watch your ph stays even.
could be bacterial. are their stomachs bloated when they die?
Hope it slows down and stops.

[RWM32779]

they do look full and I thought of that .I heard of deaths from turning out the lights,but I don't turn the lights out from the time the eggs are laid till I remove them.
This is about the sixth time I've raised babies and never had this problem.
thanks
Robert

[fcdiscus]

Robert, I would wipe down the tank til it is squeeky clean- the tubes and heater and everything. Then do a 50% WC and then a 3 drop per gallon formalin treatment for four to 6 hours, then another 50% WC. Do this again in 2 days and once more in 2 more days after that, even if the first treatment seems to help. JMO! Frank

[RWM32779]

Thanks for the input.I did several water changes and added 1 drop per gallon before I got April and Franks responses
When in doubt start with wc.It seems to have worked,but one other question.I use amquel to prep my water.Does it remove the formalin? Thanks again Robert

[fcdiscus]

I do not think so robert. But I am really not sure. Frank :-\

[brewmaster15]

Hi Robert,

sounds to me like flukes, but someother things to check... You mentioned AMQUEL? I had a real probelm with amquel and fry.... Symptoms were as you describe. I will never use amquel again on water thats going in my fry tank... might have nothing to do here..


Question... 25% water change every 3 hours and you are using amquel? Do you age this water? If so how long... If you have chloramines in your water .... you may want to check the ammonia and nitrites. in the water.

What are you water parameters out of the tap and in the tank. pH? etc.

-al

[RWM32779]

I breed my fish with a r/o tapwater mix. This brings my PH
down below 6.5.My tapwater is about 7.2 -7.4.From there I do wc with less and less r/o till its straight tap with amquel.
Sounds to easy but has worked fine for me.My water quality here in central Fl. seems to be fairly good.I've had good hatch rates in my show tank in straight tap water with only amquel added.There might be something to that
about amquel being bad on fry as the formalin seem to have the problem under control,but I seem to lose one during every wc. Robert

[April]

If your ph is low..and you use amquel you can end up with a ph crash. i would suggest you stop. it also messes the ammonia test kits results up.
if you read way down the bottle..it will say. NOTE amquel should not be used with alkaline unstable water.
I learnt the hard way. my water is about 6.3 out of the tap and after a few changes i had a ph crash. it could just be its making your ph lower and the fry cant handle ph swings.
And...i would store water. i lost a whole batch and it was when i started doing more wc and not storing. im convinced now it was from gasing off and chlorine .or ph fluctuations. since i store now and do lots of small changes and check my ph..their doing great.