pep's not doing well

[npogson]

ok i need your help please... recently purchased 3doz peppermint bn's aprox 4.5-6cm last weekend the day after brining them home i lost 4 aprox 4.5-5cm checked the water..ok..thought this might have just been due to a few hrs travel time.
have just got home today after being out for 36hrs and found another 12 gone and another couple not looking so good. i keep my tanks temp at 25.5C, nitrite levels are aprox 0.02, ammonia is about 0.01, and ph as in all my tanks is aprox 7.4, have noticed some at the top with about 5mm sticking out of the water some swelling stomaches, please help

have tried a partual water change added some "PRIME" and a bit of "AQUASEPTIC"

 

[intern1]

ok i need your help please... recently purchased 3doz peppermint bn's aprox 4.5-6cm last weekend the day after brining them home i lost 4 aprox 4.5-5cm checked the water..ok..thought this might have just been due to a few hrs travel time.
have just got home today after being out for 36hrs and found another 12 gone and another couple not looking so good. i keep my tanks temp at 25.5C, nitrite levels are aprox 0.02, ammonia is about 0.01, and ph as in all my tanks is aprox 7.4, have noticed some at the top with about 5mm sticking out of the water some swelling stomaches, please help

have tried a partual water change added some "PRIME" and a bit of "AQUASEPTIC"

Sounds like the water isnt oxygenated well do you have an air stone in there what size tank are they in??? Do all of them stick to the tank walls just bellow the surface ???

 

[npogson]

they are in a 4ft tank with aquarium globe on 10hrs a day, filter has air suction line aswell as a few airstones pumping in loads of air

about half of the remainder are just below surface or protruding just above

 

[Irene0100]

I agree, lack of oxygen may well be the problem, fish can die in a few hours.
tell us more about the set up they are in please.
is the tank fully cycled? ie how long has it been set up and what else is in it. if you have added them all into same tank that would have been a big sudden increase in the bio filter needs and it may not have coped ? do 50% w/c and then 30% a day for a few days if the filters are not stable yet - also add extra filter if you can.

 

[npogson]

tank has been setup for about 6-7 mths now as with my othe 4ft tanks it is running 2x 700lph and 1x1400lph all cycled and mature filters, cleanede often with the tanks own water after a change

tankmates are a close group of 4 8-12cm striped catfish they don't seem to care

 

[Breamlegend]

What are your filters, just internals or canisters. I think low dso is only part of the problem. You should have nil ammonia and nitrite and I'm wondering if the levels were much higher which caused the damage. Did you acclimatise the fish to the new water or just dump them in? Did you ask the seller what Ph the fish were kept at as a lot of plec owners keep their ph in the mid - low 6's so putting already stressed fish into a of 7.4 would have been harmful. I have had fish in a bucket for 4 hrs by using a battery powered air pump and by keeping the temp in the car at 25. Its not a planted tank with Co2 is it?

 

[npogson]

filters are internal power filters, fish were aclimitised for 20min in bag for temp then aclimitised over 30min, from memory seller used ph of 7 but waiting to hear back to confirm, tank has some indofern and driftwood, no co2 in any tanks

 

[Breamlegend]

You should get a canister filter as you are not getting enough bio filtration and the tank would benefit from a spray bar which will help with your dso. Move one or more internal filters so the output is just above water level.
I'm not familiar with aquaseptic. Meds can reduce dso and I wouldn't use any more of it.
The ph may have dropped whilst the fish were being transported. I acclimatise out of the tank by raising/ maintaining the temp of the bucket with a heater (if needed) and use an airline and tap to drip tank water into the bucket. The process is slow but works.
Do small water changes twice daily. I suspect your water quality had issues prior to adding the fish and the increased bio load made it worse.

 

[Breamlegend]

Just noticed you bought 36 fish- you need way more filtration. Personally I would run two canisters 1000l ph +and an internal

 

[npogson]

i'll deff do that next time... any advice for now besides changeing water?

 

[Breamlegend]

A couple of large sponge filters would be good. Closely monitor your levels. Prime will help detoxify ammonia and nitrite but can cause ph crashes if your kh is low.Though ammonia and nitrite are less toxic at lower ph levels. You should notice an improvement in the fish if you have resolved the low DSO problem.
I have had more fish in a 3 foot tank but had 2 canisters, two large sponges an internal. Water changed 25% twice a week.

 

[foti]

mate if you can add filtration if this is the problem and you will still need to do WC
it is never good to loose fish sh it go ay!
it is good advice that you recived if you add so many fish at one time you will incure problems
best of luck
foti

 

[froggie]

Never mix different manufacturers medication. This might be more toxic to the fish

 

[Doodles]

All good advice already:yes:

Let us know how it goes.

 

[npogson]

added more filters last night now one side looks like a hurricane from allthe watermovement.. did a 30%wc but still lost another 14 this morning all internal filters are power sponge type positioned so they add air aswell as the pump adding aprox 15Lpm

 

[foti]

that is way too many fish to loose just the water change would of helped to provent that number ?
could you have a dead fish stuck somewhere in your tank that is dead?
also could you post pics? or even explain what the fish are doing
like are they
eating?
pooping?
eyes popping out?
are they bloated?
what are you feeding these guys?
is your substrate getting cleaned with your wc ?

 

[Kingtiger]

As most ppl stated you need more filtration. From your initial reading with 0.01 ammonia and nitrite 0.02 is a sign of bad things to come. Can you check again and see what is your reading?

Good luck.....

Chers

 

[npogson]

have just done another water change of 35L prolly 20% ?? includeing a gravel syphen and filter wrince, finally seeing some signs on the striped catfish of what looks like a dullness in the scales, and have treated with "aquamasters fungus cure" all remaining pep's look ok except one with almost all of its tail fin gone?? some are still near the surface.. amonia and nitrite are basically zero now, have also removed some driftwood that was added aprox 3weeks ago incase they contained any nasties, and have done a good search and found no other bodies or pieces, (fingers crossed)

 

[npogson]

ok finally got pics to work.. only have the camera on my phone sorry,,

 

[foti]

from pics they look to be alright "well what i can see" they look like they are not starving to death or that they have bloat ? you surgested that you had alot of flow but the water seems still "meaning no air being thrown around?"
keep up the water changes leave your filters alone now that they have been rinsed with "tank water!"
as for the peppermint that has no fin you will need to isolate him and treat it with a fin rot treatment it should not be left with the others
please advise on what you feed them ?