# HELP!! Fish dying! :(



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Hey guys, here's some quick info. Any advice would be appreciated. 

55 gal long aquarium
Some small live plants
Temp set at 84 degrees
Has peat moss and driftwood in the tank

Just tested and the parameters are 
Ammonia - somewhere between 0-0.25
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates-60

This is a discus tank and I HAD 4 rummy nose and 5 cardinals. Now down to 3 rummy and 2 cardinals  not sure if it's bad fish? I saw no signs of stress or any other problems so I'm very confused. I certainly don't want to lose the discus


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

how often do you do water changes ? how much do you change ?
water changes should be done once a week and about 30-40% changed...for discus that are young and growing it would be twice a week..


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

We do atleast weekly about 1/3 of the tank. We've got a bubble bar and two pumps going for filtration I just don't see why this is happening. I've got good water quality and were feeding omega one flakes


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

how long have you had the tetras? could it be old age


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

I've only had them a week. 
Just went and got a few more and left for about 6 hours and found another one passed away  I don't get it because I'd figure the discus and rams would also be affected. I did notice what appears to be ick on my ram so I'm treating for that but I doubt it would just randomly kill the cardinals. The rummys look fine and I think the one that died out of those four was just unhealthy. I'm worried about the cardinals though and certainly don't want anything to happen to these expensive discus.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

how long has this tank been set up ? i would pull the peat for now..allow the tank to stabilize a bit.it is possible that there is a big difference between the water from the shop and the water in your tank.

you also need to be feeding your fish a better diet.find some spirulina flake , earthworm flake and a couple of others..spirulina and veggie flakes at least once a week..there is no such thing as a single food that provides complete and proper nutrition for your fish..our fish are fed 8 different kinds of flake foods as well as styx,bytes and Plecocaine.


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

It's been set up for about 4-5 months now. Were doing a 50% change right now and took out the peat


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Also won't taking out the peat affect the discus though? I'm trying to slowly bring the ph down to under 7 but I think my water is too hard. Might need an RO filter or something but I seriously don't want anything to happen to the discus but I know they like to have small schools of tetras swimming around too and I'm just so confused.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i live in cleveland ohio and have kept discus many times in straight tap water...our water here comes out at around 7.0-7.4 or so and moderately hard.have even had them breed in it..one of the things i have found is that when you start doing a bunch of extra stuff , fish become very sensitive to changes..with you having an established tank with both driftwood and peat in it to keep the PH down and then you add fish from a shop that usually doesn't do that the fish can die from PH shock..and that doesn't always happen quickly..
once you get your tank stocked to your satisfaction and everybody is stable and doing well you could then add peat a bit at a time to lower the PH if you want..


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Alright the peat has been out for a week and I tested the water again today because one of my rams died  my only explanation for this is that he didn't pair well with my female? My parameters are still perfectly ideal. I'm getting really worried though for my discus. The ph is steady at 7.2 so I think I'm ok there. After having lost all these fish will my bacteria colony be ok? Also what would be the next best step to try and get my community going again? Currently at

2 discus
1 female blue ram
3 rummy nose
1 banjo cat
1 small pleco


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Should also note that I didn't mention this before but I also feed frozen blood worms once a day. The discus breeder reccommended that and I believe him because sea world buys his fish (they are beautiful!!!!)


----------



## kcrunch (Aug 17, 2012)

I wouldnt feed blood worms once a day maybe three to four times a month. As stated before the diet really needs to be varied in order to maintain some sort of control over the progress and growth of he fish. For now you need to treat the tank and not worry to much about the diet even though you must still feed them but drop the feeding to once every other day and try to get the disease under control. Then I would suggest that you speak to Loha about getting some really good quality food, My tank thrives on his foods and I now have 2 of my friends that are firm believers in Neptune Aquatics as well. I bumped the temp up to 86 and maintained it stable at that for the entire time I was treating. I then treated 3 days after the last sign of ICK and then did a water change and crossing my finger got very lucky. I lost a heavy portion of my stock(about 18 fish give or take a few) but was able to get control of the tank again. Also if you are running carbon in your filters take it out during the treatment stage as it can render some meds ineffective and could prolong disease taking out more of your fish than necessary if it is removed. Thats all I can think of for now but if you post more or I think of more I will be back. Hope things are working out in your favor.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i rarely feed bloodworms as they can cause some intestinal problems for fish..


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Treated for ick again last night and I have to say it's kind of hard for me to tell I they have it. The ram already has an irredescent bunch of blueish whiteish spots on her anyway and I only noticed one that seemed out of place on her pectoral fin. Could it hurt them to treat if there is not a problem? Everyone else seems healthy and my discus are even starting to come up to the glass to see me when I walk in (so does the ram)


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

no..treating even if they are not sick shouldn't hurt them..


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Did you quarantine the new fish before adding to your tank?They could have brought in something nasty.


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Just lost all three of my rummy nose this morning. No idea why. The discus and ram are fine. I'm about to throw in the towel, my readings are perfect and I don't see any white spots or anything on any of the fish. This is super horrible


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

never throw in the towel...


----------



## Guest (Jun 14, 2014)

I know how frustrating it can be to have fish sick and die. Especially when things are perfect and you don't know why they are dying. Fish can die for many reasons. I wouldn't throw in the towel either. Keep going and trying. Keeping fish isn't really as hard as it may seem. It is just a matter of knowing the environment of the fish you want to keep and getting as close to that environment as possible with aquariums. I hope that you can get the fish to stop dying on you.


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

All I have now is the two discus, one female ram, a banjo cat and a pleco. They all seem just fine. Parameters are perfect and I'm so sad because I really loved the rummys. Maybe I need a better filter?


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Rummys are delicate anyway. They don't transfer between tanks very well. Don't freak out if some Rummys died.


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You only have one filter? Every tank should have at least 2.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I had three rummynose die when I introduced them into my established 10g, but I read they are delicate fish so yeah. I had a couple fish die on me in the past, just keep going it gets easier


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

I have two filters, one is for a 75 gal and the other is for a 50 I believe. My tank is 55gal so the filtration should be fine but might need to consider a can filter instead of the hanging on the back type


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

And it was strange that we had the rummys for like 2 weeks before they died

Any other suggestions for some compatible discus tankmates that are somewhat unique and maybe not as touchy? I want something that schools and might try the rummys again in a few months after the tank has really settled. I want to stay away from corys, neons and barbs. Also I have two bottoms feeders so not looking for that either.


----------



## Lepetitelupin (Mar 31, 2014)

Also wondering if schooling fish get stressed when most of them die? So if there's only like 1 or 2 left is it common for those to die because they don't have a school?


----------



## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

can't speak about rummies but I have had other schooling fish live on quite happily by themselves. They sometimes will chum up with another fish. eg neons with glowlight tetras


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

schooling fish on their own will often die of stress, so what you described is quiet possible


----------

