Does anyone know what happened?

[fishguy456]

Essentially what happened is that all 5 of my discus died in the 75g tank they were living in, Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate were all zero or very close to zero, I did 90% water changes every day(skipped a day here and there but not often) biggest discus was 5 1/4 inch smallest was 4 1/4. Feed them a mix of BH flakes Al's FDBW and tetra color bits, they were quality stock from Kenny/Forest. I remember putting dechlor in. Temp was also at its constant 82 degrees They all died within the time it took for me to eat dinner and return to the office. Tank was bare bottom ,had just painted it white. No signs of illness before fish died that I had noticed. Does anyone have any idea what could of caused this?
I would post this in the disease section but I do not know if it even was a disease or just something I did wrong and have no clue of. There is no rush also, because i only had one tank with discus that died, also have a 40g breeder beneath the discus, one angel and a dozen BN pleco's but none of them died. Thanks all.

[Kyla]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

did u also do a big water change in the 40gal? any chance it was a change to ur water supply?

i had a friend who lost some discus and other fish immediately after her wc because there was construction happening on her block and the city pumped tons of chlorine into their pipes. she was home, and saw the fish in distress, and gave a huge dose of safe powder, which helped the fish. if she hadnt been home she would have probably lost them all.

[brewmaster15]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

did u also do a big water change in the 40gal? any chance it was a change to ur water supply?

i had a friend who lost some discus and other fish immediately after her wc because there was construction happening on her block and the city pumped tons of chlorine into their pipes. she was home, and saw the fish in distress, and gave a huge dose of safe powder, which helped the fish. if she hadnt been home she would have probably lost them all.

Definetly happens alot! David, check with your water supply company if they were doing any major work on the lines near you. Bummer.

al

[Kyla]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

the speed with which they died and the fact they all died at once suggests some kind of poisoning. i just read ur other thread... instead of water source issues, i would now lean towards the paint or the fumes somehow getting into the water... mot sure how tho. really really sorry to see this happen. dont let this horrible experience discourage u away from discus, u r on the right track.

i would be wary about putting more fish in the tank right away... maybe try a thorough cleaning and run the tank empty with carbon in the water. maybe try some tester fish in the tank to see how they do? could paint have gotten up under the seam around the rim of the tank? were there fumes in the room? coukd the fumes have gotten in the buckets holding the fish? can u still smell the paint?

[dachas]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

Essentially what happened is that all 5 of my discus died in the 75g tank they were living in, Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate were all zero or very close to zero, I did 90% water changes every day(skipped a day here and there but not often) biggest discus was 5 1/4 inch smallest was 4 1/4. Feed them a mix of BH flakes Al's FDBW and tetra color bits, they were quality stock from Kenny/Forest. I remember putting dechlor in. Temp was also at its constant 82 degrees They all died within the time it took for me to eat dinner and return to the office. Tank was bare bottom ,had just painted it white. No signs of illness before fish died that I had noticed. Does anyone have any idea what could of caused this?
I would post this in the disease section but I do not know if it even was a disease or just something I did wrong and have no clue of. There is no rush also, because i only had one tank with discus that died, also have a 40g breeder beneath the discus, one angel and a dozen BN pleco's but none of them died. Thanks all.

Did the fish display any gill distress (flared gill plates, damage to gill threads)?

[Akili]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

When transferring them from the buckets that were holding them while you painted your tank white did you acclimatized them to the new water in the tank or was scoop and plop ???

[fishguy456]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

the speed with which they died and the fact they all died at once suggests some kind of poisoning. i just read ur other thread... instead of water source issues, i would now lean towards the paint or the fumes somehow getting into the water... mot sure how tho. really really sorry to see this happen. dont let this horrible experience discourage u away from discus, u r on the right track.

i would be wary about putting more fish in the tank right away... maybe try a thorough cleaning and run the tank empty with carbon in the water. maybe try some tester fish in the tank to see how they do? could paint have gotten up under the seam around the rim of the tank? were there fumes in the room? coukd the fumes have gotten in the buckets holding the fish? can u still smell the paint?

Painting was done in a different room from the fish, so I do not think it was fumes from the paint. My plan as of now is to fill the tank, drain it again,put very hot water in it, as hot as the heaters will bring it in attempt to kill off anything. wait a week, put a tester fish of some kind in, and if that all goes well, then I will possibly get more fish. What should I use for a tester fish?

[fishguy456]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

Definetly happens alot! David, check with your water supply company if they were doing any major work on the lines near you. Bummer.

al

I feel it isn't chlorine, the only reason for this being I always double my dechlorinator as it says it helps protect slime coat of the fish.

[fishguy456]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

Did the fish display any gill distress (flared gill plates, damage to gill threads)?

Not that I saw, looked over fish thoroughly, saw no sign of anything, a little bit of color loss but i'm assuming that is normal when a fish dies.

[mkng07]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

I'm sorry for your loss but your post made me wonder what preventative measures people like Hans and other fish importers/breeders take to prevent a catastrophe when doing water changes by chemically altered water supplies. They keep thousands of dollars of fish at a time, I'd assume they must have some way of checking the water they are going to put into their tanks other wise it'd be like playing russian roulette

[warblad79]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

Do you aged your water? I'm pretty is something to do with the water. If the fish is sick, it will take weeks before they died. I usually aged my water 24HR prior to WC and add Seachem SAFE at the same time to neutralize any toxic chemicals. Sometimes water quality will change from time to time so I don't to take any chances especially if the water comes directly from the facet.

[Kyla]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

any fish can be used as a tester. often ppl use guppies or other "cheap" fish. but if you buy tester fish u can be left with unwanted fish afterwards, and u risk introducing parasites and pathogens from the local fish store stock into ur new tank.

personally i would use fish i already owned, which i knew were free of disease, and which i planned to keep. for example u said u had some fish in a smaller tank below the discus tank. if u r willing to risk some of them u could temp move them into the discus tank and observe them. def give the tank a good rinse first. id also run carbon on it for a while before adding the new fish, then toss it away, just in case there is a toxin present, leaching from the walls or silicone etc?? it is very worrisome the way u lost them all so quickly...

[jmf3460]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

did you paint the inside or outside of the tank white? what paint did you use, have we ruled out the paint?

[DJW]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

David, in an earlier emergency room thread you said that you have well water and that you don't age it. Is that right?

I am inclined to point the finger at the paint or the glass cleaner, or possibly a combination of the two. How did you wash out the tank after removing the old paint and re-painting.

When I was a kid I killed a bunch of my fish because I didn't appreciate how sensitive they are to household chemicals. Now I am probably overcautious. Before I stick my hands in a tank I think what might be on them. When I set down a net or a tube I think what might be on the table. I have a kind of vigilance because of that experience.

Well water can have a nasty pH swing, and although I don't think that's what killed your fish you really should check your pH swing if you haven't already done so. Repeated shifts in pH, along with other stresses, can cause the discus to break down over time.

[MD.David]

Re: Does anyone know what happened?

You painted the outside of the tank?
Not the inside, right?
Did you recaulk it?