# Danio died, humped back & water testing?



## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Hi all  I am a total newb, and bought a 3G Marineland tank (with filter,
light, and spinning wheel thing) & 3 GloFish Danios @ Petco.
I asked the employees what I had to do to make it healthy
for them....They never mentioned that "Cycling" required 
letting good bacteria grow.

I put distilled water w/ Nutrafin water conditioner in,
then let it run for 3 days. The temp is mid 70s.
I transferred the GloFish by slowly adding tank water to their bag.
For a week all was fine, they were active & eating (Tetra flakes & dried shrimp I'd crush up finely).
I noticed they were staying up near the top though, then read
that for oxygen to get in, the exiting water must break the surface. I took
some water out (so the wheel makes little waterfall bubbles) & now they are venturing lower.

2 days ago though, the biggest one stopped eating (I put a pinch of garlic juice in & he perked up slightly), then died. He was barely swimming & his back was humping over. His gills looked normal though. The water is
crystal clear. Maybe old age? Stress?

What should I buy to test the water? 

Thank you very much for you advice!


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## mseverson07 (Aug 3, 2010)

for testing water I use jungle labatories five in one test strips you can get em at wally world for less then ten dollar. you can also get jungle labs six in one test strips they re a little more expansive, but have an extra test for ammonia. 

also i have had glofish danios for over a year and they are extremly hardy, but some are just less hardy and sligth changes to water can spell disaster for em. temp seems fine for them. 

Do you have any real plants in the tank?

From my experience, plants are not only cool to look at and watch grow, but they also cycle some of the bad toxins in aquarium water. all my tanks are heavly planted


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Thank you for your reply!

I do not have any live plants, I will buy some tomorrow w/ those test strips.

Also...It seems like they spit out/don't eat a good portion of their food.
I am careful not to overfeed, 3 mini feedings a day is the schedule.
Should I change brands from Tetra? 

They also have spaz attacks of (attacking?) each other (the one who died
got the brunt of it), while being fed or not...Is this normal?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

OK let me point out a few things...

Those 3 gallon tanks are only really meant for a single betta fish. Although the pet stores will sell them to people for other fish, and sometimes the packaging on them will even market them for "glow light fish" or for small fish.

While 3 danios will fit in there, danios like to be in larger groups, and thrive better that way. A group of 6 or more would be a better number. You can not fit 6 danios in a 3 gallon.

Cycling is VERY important. Since I assume you plan to keep the other 2 fish, I would get some Seachem Stability. It will make your tank cycle super fast.

Dont buy the test strips, they are as accurate as the weather channel. Instead, buy the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It will come with test tubes and liquid regants. You get a much more accurate reading, and you get way more tests for your money.

Plants are a good idea... if you can keep them alive. Make sure you have proper lighting for a plant.

Switch to feeding them 2 times a day. In a tank that small, with so few fish, it will be easy to overfeed. 

Danios are very high energy fish. They can become agressive with eachother if not in a big enough group. But they also might just be playing. Danios never stop moving, and they move fast. Many fish species will attempt to kill a sick fish. They may have noticed that the one fish was sick, and killed it. 

I used to keep danios. All of them got a hunched back for a few days to a few weeks before they died. I never found out why.


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Oh wow Thanks BB! I was totally badly informed at the store.

So I will definitely get a larger tank & 4 more Danios + the Seachem, Master Test Kit, live plants, and lower feeding for now.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I forgot to ask. Does this tank have a heater? Danios are tropical fish, so the water should stay between 74F and 82F.


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## Peeps (May 24, 2010)

You need a test kit for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and ph. You got some really good advice. The only thing you can do now is water changes to decrease the ammonia and nitrites. Add some salt (1tbs per 5 gallon) to detoxify the nitrites and you can add an air stone for more oxygen. But I do agree, those tanks are only good for betta, goldfish need 10 gallons per fish, they produce a lot of waste.


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## MetalHead (Aug 18, 2010)

BML pretty much said everything. though, i must say this. Glofish are nothing but Danios. Danios have an inheratant risk of contracting TB for no good reason. your other 2 fish might not get it or they might.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

One crisis at a time.

Tetra SafeStart will fix most of your problem in one day. Seachem Stability will take a week. With either, you'll still need to make regular water changes in such a small tank.


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks all ! 

No it doesn't have a heater, but the water is about 76-78 & I keep it away
from any drafts or extreme sun (i'm in Florida). 

So I'll need a heater for my new tank?

I just bought an Aquaeon 10G glass rectangle tank kit w/ light, filter, net, water conditioner.
I bought the Master Test Kit & 4 bags of gravel.
I'm going to let it cycle for a week, then test, then add live plants,
let it go another week, test again, and if it's perfect, put the 2 danios in.
I'm putting in reverse osmosis drinking water. 
Does that all sounds like a good game plan?
If the other 2 do well, I'll buy 4 or more so they can party. 
Would some snails or shrimp be Ok after that?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

snails and shrimp should be just fine and yeah i would get a heater for those suprise moments when the temp drops. you can get a nice quality one like the marineland stealth pros that have thermostats in them and typically adjust the temp to whatever you have it set at rather than other heaters that depend on tank size and room temperature and whenever one of those changes so does the temp of your water. i use marinelands in all my tanks and although they do seem to be off by 2 or 3 degrees sometimes depending on if the heater is a little small or a little large they always seem to level out to what i have it set to. as for the plants i believe adding them at the start can help cycle a tank faster but im not sure so dont quote me on that lol. also like stated above if you use the instant cycle products your fish can be happy and healthy in their new home in no time. when u transfer the fish also transfer your filter media this will give u a little extra boost of bacteria in your new tank. i was going to ask where did u get the glofish from? was it walmart by chance? everytime i go there their glofish all seem to have concaved stomachs (most likely from parasites) this can give them the appearance of a bent spine. i made the stupid choice of buying some from their shortly after it had wipped out most of my glofish and guppy colonies :O damn walmart and your poison luckily i stopped it before it transferred to any of my expensive fish.


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Revolution - What a cute lil stinker ya got in your hand in that pic!

And I got them @ Petco. The tanks their looked really clean & there were
no dead fish floating around, so I thought it was a safe bet.
I put some garlic powder (with a pinch of juice too), and
the dead on actually ate it then went back to being lethagic before passing, the others freaked out over it too.
I heard it kills parasites? 

Just test the water PH! Uh Oh it's 7.6 color on the 1st PH test,
then I did the High PH test & it was around 8.2 color.
Yikes! I have been using tap water softened with conditioner & ran through a Brita filter pitcher but will switch to distilled now. 

On the test nitrates & ammonia now....


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Cballas said:


> Revolution - What a cute lil stinker ya got in your hand in that pic!
> 
> And I got them @ Petco. The tanks their looked really clean & there were
> no dead fish floating around, so I thought it was a safe bet.
> ...


the high ph is not necisarily a bad thing it depends on the fish. Idk the PH requirements of glofish tho but they are hardy and mine around in around 8.0


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

*O Heck, I did PH test wrong & burned myself on the other...*

Ok note to self - Read tiny font label warnings!

Yep I got a tiny splash of Ammonia test water on me
after I opened the top & it burned me. Serves me right.

Ammonia & PH are sky high. I've been doing 25% water changes & picking out the uneaten shrimp pieces! Help! 

Do you think the Petco will take them in temporarily while I get this under control?

I just took out 75% of the water & am waiting for some fresh water to get room temp now...


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

idk about taking them in temporarily but i would take them in complain about the missinformation and say u want store credit while u get the tank cycled then when its all said and done you can go back use the credit and just get new ones or maybe something else would strike your fancy since you got a new tank establishing.


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

Grr...The only reason I bought it there was because the guy helping me *said* he had tons of tanks at home & was in the hobby. 
Luckily a friend just remembered the "old chinese fish man" (he calls himself that lol not my wording) downtown & said it's where pros go. 

O ya and do you think the vibrations from the TV are bothering them?
We have bass speakers & play them normal level but I wonder...the tank is on a dresser about 3 feet away.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Cballas said:


> Grr...The only reason I bought it there was because the guy helping me *said* he had tons of tanks at home & was in the hobby.
> Luckily a friend just remembered the "old chinese fish man" (he calls himself that lol not my wording) downtown & said it's where pros go.
> 
> O ya and do you think the vibrations from the TV are bothering them?
> We have bass speakers & play them normal level but I wonder...the tank is on a dresser about 3 feet away.


i mean it could probably bug them but a few of my tanks are right by my tv and im sure a lot of peoples are and ive never had any fish freak out and dye before lol


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

LoL Ya Ok cool, I mean if we played super bass rave music all the time
I'd be worried but it should be fine.

Ok I put in (warmed it up in the microwave before putting the softener in),
fresh water, and used a net to skim some of the left over food waste.
The water feels colder than before but it should warm up fast (didn't want to put super hot water in & bake em) under the fluorescent light like before.
It's been an hour & they are acting the same, playing near the bottom eating debris. 

When should I check the levels again? :fish:


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

it shouldnt be necissary to microwave the water with my brackish tanks i just store the ro in buckets over night in the room which is about 75-78 and then put it in the next day. you are going to want to test everyday to be safe and make sure the levels are staying low. you can use PRIME to treat the water it not only removes chlorine but it detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. you can use more than the recommended dose in situations like urs to bring the levels down. about 2-3 times the recommended dose. use everytime u do a water change and anytime your levels get to high between changes.


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## Cballas (Aug 25, 2010)

I was on the fence about waiting overnight for it to 
get room temp, I thought they'd die being in only 3 inches of water
that long...?? 

I use Nutrafin AquaPlus Tap Water Conditioner...It says it takes
away chlorine/chloramine/heavy metals...it doesn't help ammonia though?
If not I will get the PRIME stuff.


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## MetalHead (Aug 18, 2010)

i really wouldn't worry about your fish getting stressed. the display tanks i have in my sig are in my hall as well which has 2 sub woofers and 8 satellite speakers powered via a mixer and am constantly listening to either metal or psy trance. these two genres tend to have very heavy bass lines and for some reason i love the feel of the sub woofer when i feel it reverberate through my body.

if you are worried you could get your a few sheets of Styrofoam and place this under the tank on your dresser. you need to worry if you notice the water vibrating like in the movie Jurassic park.


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