I have a 30 gal tank that Ive had for about 2 yrs, plus Ive had it set up with other fish in the past, and Id consider myself fairly fish knowledgeable, but I have never had anything like this happen before. within the last 7-10 days I have lost about 10 fish, most of them have died in the last 5 days. I only have 8 fish left.
I have had guppies, tetras (cardinal & neon) & a blue paradise dwarf gourami. the temp is set at a consistent 73 degrees, I have an ammonia and pH monitor visible inside the tank, plus I tested with my API kits for pH, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites, and everything was 100% normal.
the only thing that is different, is after my last water change, I bought some new fish. a goldfish, an oto, a couple guppies, and some rummynose tetras. probably too many fish to add at once & overall the tank would be considered overstocked, but I tend to do that and make up for it with more frequent water changes. I have managed my tanks this way for years and never had any probs, plus I dont think this would cause the rapid deaths I am having.
the rummynose were the first to start dying. lost 2 of the 3 about 5 days after I bought them, a couple days apart. then within the last week or so I have lost 5 of my cardinal/neon tetras, my hardy as hell gourami died yesterday, now today my goldfish is acting just like the gourami did before he croaked yesterday, and 2 or 3 guppies have died.
I have 2 live plants in the tank that are thriving, I use aquarium salt and tap water purifier everytime I change my water, I have a heater of appropriate wattage that keeps the temp perfect, I have a power filter that I keep clean and just changed yesterday after doing another water change. and I have a power head to pump oxygen into the tank as well.
the only thing I can think of is that the new fish brought some disease, OR the bucket I used to fill with water to put in the tank had some residue of soap or chemical in it (though I dont remember using it for cleaning, as these are my fish-specific buckets). I did about a 50-60% water change yesterday (with a known CLEAN bucket) when I really realized how many fish have died so quickly, and that my gourami was feeling sick, but it doesnt appear to have helped as the gourami died last night, as well as another guppy, and my goldfish that appeared normal yesterday is now having difficulty swimming and staying balanced.
I see no sign of fungus or parasites. I did treat with copper safe for a potential worm I saw about 2 months ago. I have no idea what the heck to do/think here. even if I lose all my fish and buy more, I fear any new ones will die as well unless I figure out what the heck is in my tank.
any thoughts/advice or referrals to a good book/website is appreciated!!!
I have had guppies, tetras (cardinal & neon) & a blue paradise dwarf gourami. the temp is set at a consistent 73 degrees, I have an ammonia and pH monitor visible inside the tank, plus I tested with my API kits for pH, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites, and everything was 100% normal.
the only thing that is different, is after my last water change, I bought some new fish. a goldfish, an oto, a couple guppies, and some rummynose tetras. probably too many fish to add at once & overall the tank would be considered overstocked, but I tend to do that and make up for it with more frequent water changes. I have managed my tanks this way for years and never had any probs, plus I dont think this would cause the rapid deaths I am having.
the rummynose were the first to start dying. lost 2 of the 3 about 5 days after I bought them, a couple days apart. then within the last week or so I have lost 5 of my cardinal/neon tetras, my hardy as hell gourami died yesterday, now today my goldfish is acting just like the gourami did before he croaked yesterday, and 2 or 3 guppies have died.
I have 2 live plants in the tank that are thriving, I use aquarium salt and tap water purifier everytime I change my water, I have a heater of appropriate wattage that keeps the temp perfect, I have a power filter that I keep clean and just changed yesterday after doing another water change. and I have a power head to pump oxygen into the tank as well.
the only thing I can think of is that the new fish brought some disease, OR the bucket I used to fill with water to put in the tank had some residue of soap or chemical in it (though I dont remember using it for cleaning, as these are my fish-specific buckets). I did about a 50-60% water change yesterday (with a known CLEAN bucket) when I really realized how many fish have died so quickly, and that my gourami was feeling sick, but it doesnt appear to have helped as the gourami died last night, as well as another guppy, and my goldfish that appeared normal yesterday is now having difficulty swimming and staying balanced.
I see no sign of fungus or parasites. I did treat with copper safe for a potential worm I saw about 2 months ago. I have no idea what the heck to do/think here. even if I lose all my fish and buy more, I fear any new ones will die as well unless I figure out what the heck is in my tank.
any thoughts/advice or referrals to a good book/website is appreciated!!!