# Help SoS! Fish killing them selfs



## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

my fish are killing them selfs !Help! 1 left


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2006)

umm....can you be more specific?


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

swimming to the top, hitting the water, and flopping over dead


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

what??????????


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

my tank full of fish did this before, and im not going to restock it a 3rd time
the fish swim stright to the top of the tank, hit the water really hard, and flop over dead


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## wildtiger (Jun 8, 2005)

Is your tank cycled? How long has it been set up? What size is it? What are the water parameters? What did you have it stocked with? Are the fish showing any problems other than what you mentioned? Red gills etc.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

i betting they are trying to get out of that water at any cost, probably very poor water quality or very very high ammonia,


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## pokagon55 (Jan 31, 2006)

Anytime a fish tries to "jump" out of a tank it means there is something in the water that is burning them or making them VERY uncomfertiable. Need to check water prams. and do a 50% water change. Make sure that nothing could have got into the water like a toxin of some sort from outside the tank.
May want to add some carbon to the filter as this will remove anything from the water like a toxin that might have gotten in from outside the tank.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

antidepressants STAT


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## MaryPa (Jan 25, 2006)

Did you dechlorinate the water before adding the fish?How long has the tank been cycled?


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

Perhaps you have a heater that is broken?
(I was just adding my hypothesis)


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

my tank is a 20 gallon, i have had it going for almost 2 years.
the fish killed themselfs last time because the heater broke (which was only a year old) but i know it wasnt the heater this time, the heater is working fine. i think they may have killed them selfs because of something in the water. i did clean the tank, which may have killed them, but i didnt do any thing differnt then i normally do when i clean it. i would test the water but i dont have anything to test it with, i live more then 30 miles from the nearest pet store. 
i HAD 3 tiger barbs, 1 rosy barb, 1 weather loach, 3 green tiger barbs, and 1 sucker fish
now i have 1 tiger barb, 1 green tiger barb, my weather loach, and my sucker fish
my sucker fish and my weather loach survived the first time when the heater broke, but i lost 1 of my 2 rosy barbs, and all but 1 of my tiger barbs, so i restocked the tank a 2nd time, and this is what happens.

i am getting frustrated because this isnt a cheap hobby and i cant keep getting fish. i think im just going to stick with gold fish, aleast i havent killed one of those yet.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Don't give up. If you are willing to answer some questions, maybe we can figure out what is wrong. Go back through this thread and try to answer the questions that have been asked. I don't want to ask the same questions all over again. 
And, the fish didn't kill themselves. SOMETHING is killing them.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

first thing you need to do is either drive that 30 miles and buy a test kit that tests for PH, ammonia, nitrtites and nitrates. You can also order it online and save yourself that drive - I do that alot because the nearest pet store is about 30-40 miles from me, so I feel your pain on that one..Alot of times its easier and more efficient to just order it online, have it delivered right to your mailbox - especially in light of the gas prices these days.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

u might have a case of "the bug" thats what me and my buddy call it. A long tiem ago my buddy had his fish doing the same thing and finally one day he did test and everything was ok but his fish were still all phsyco and he decided to put his water under the microscope (yeah hes a teacher) and he found little microscopik bugs and they were latchign onto the fish and like killing em but u couldiidnt see em with the naked eye and they to small for a filter and multiply like fast. i dotn remember how he got rid of em but he said the fish would jump and smack the water cause they were trying to get em off like a bear scratching a itch by rubbing its back on a tree.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Upon the surface, there are a cpl posibilities I see.
20 gallons, while can work, isn't really suitable for barbs. They need more swimming room. A PH kit won't usually break you with common tropicals but an ammonia and nitrite test kit are a must.

Have the fish been in there for 2 years? WHen you cleaned the tank, how did you do it and what did you use? How much water do you change?


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

yes, i have had fish in this tank for 2 years,
i clean the tank every month, 
aleast a 25 % water change or more, i
declorenate it with Aqua safe. 
and i still wouldnt be able to get a test kit because i can't drive, and i cant order any thing off the internet.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Your waterchanges should be done at least every 2 weeks. The test kits are very important. Ask a neighbor to order a kit for you and give them cash.


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

ok, im going to order them online, any idea what brand to choose, and i have another question, can my water conditinor go bad?


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

Test kit

this is the one I have - its easy to use and this is a really good price on it - I paid over 20 buks for mine at PetSmart


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

what do ya think of this one? 
http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=573 
i think i am going to buy this one because the store is only a cuple of towns away from me, and i can have the test be tomarrow.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

it doesnt contain a nitrAte test and you need that more than the hardness tests..its better than not having one though


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

ok, im going to buy a Nitrate kit to go with it, and i will tell the results when i get them tomarrow


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

ok! looking forward to seeing the results


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## pokagon55 (Jan 31, 2006)

My tank has been set up for just over a year and I had a case, not to long ago, were my PH changed after a cleaning of the tank. The fish went nuts. Scratching them selfs and jumping around. I did'nt know what it was at first so I did a ck on the water and found the PH differnents. 7.2 down from 7.8.I fix the problem with the PH and everone is doing fine now. Just thought I would share.


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

these tests are complicated
ammonia =0
PH= 8.0
but i need help figuring out the nitrate & nirite
i got 50 Mg/1 for nitrate and your supose to divide it by 4.4
i got < 0.3 mg/1 for nirite and your supose to divide it 3.3
can some one please help me


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

i did 50 % water change
ph=7.5
nirite=0.3 mg/1
nitrate=25 mg /1
ammonia=0


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

You should do a 50% water change tomorrow and wait a few hours and test again.. nitrites need to be zero - you may have to do water changes everyday until your tank balances out.. just hang in there!


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

did another 50% water change and every thing looks good
ammonia=0
ph=7.5
nirites=0
the the nitrates are still a little elevated but with another water change tomarrow everything should be just dandy
thanks for the help every one, and maybe in the next few weeks i will get some more fish. no gold fish like i was going to get before, nothing personal about goldfish, but they are so messy.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

What fish are in the tank now?


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

i have in my 20 gallon
1 sucker fish
1 gold dojo, AkA: weather loach
1 green tiger barb
1 tiger barb

my rosy barb and 4 of my tiger barbs passed :rip:


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## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

When you get the water right you need to get more barbs. WHen that happened to me I only had 2 tiger barbs and they killed 3 fish before I got them out.


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## rose1 (Mar 2, 2005)

ya, i noticed that they were picking on each other. but im not really worried about it because there are no fish for them to kill.( lol, i like to see them take on the sucker fish) and there only nipping at each other FOR NOW.but i will still see if a can get some on monday. i would post some pics but i just cleaned my tank. so i will see about takeing some later.


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