zebra danios dying...

556 lineman · 02-14-2009, 10:17 PM

I just purchased my first fish for my new 55 gal tank. Here's the story. Completed fishless cycling successfully (I'm pretty sure!) My water is from well with a water softener (for the whole house), ph is around 8 from the tap and currently in the tank. Probably high but all the internet and library research i've done say better not to mess with it, the fish should acclimate. ammonia and nitrites are zero. Nitrites are between 12.5 and 20.( I just did a 20 percent water change a few minutes ago to lower it a bit more. the temp is 76ish. I bought 6 zebra danios and 2 small clown loaches yesterday. The clowns are very active and fun to watch but haven't noticed them eating yet. I suppose they might eat at night. The danios all seemed happy schooling together and with the clowns as well. This morning all was well, tonite i found 1 danio dying on the bottom upside down. He did'nt last long so I removed him immediately. I notice 1 other danio is not acting very well. His tail kind of bends downward and his other fins are kinda "clamped" I guess. He keeps to himself and seems to have a hard time maintaining position. The other danios and clowns seem fine for now. Should I freak out and medicate or is this stress from their move into a new tank. Should I remove the ill looking danio immediately? I have not purchased or set up a quarrantine tank yet. (probably should have I guess...) Any help would be appreciated. Also I neglected to buy and add any type of conditioner to the water as I don't have municipal water. (probably another mistake) I get rather overwhelmed with conflicting information on the web!

Judge · 02-14-2009, 11:08 PM

Sorry 556 Lineman for your troubles. Please keep in mind you never want to start adding chemicals without knowing what the problem is, it can make matters much worse. The biggest thing I see so far is your mention of Nitrites!!! Yikes. That is deadly to your fish. You should not have any Nitrites at all if your tank has cycled. You would have some Nitrates....One other thing I would question is your method for acclimating your new fish to your tank? It would also help to know what all of your water params are. Keep us informed, we're here to help.

556 lineman · 02-15-2009, 08:11 AM

I'm sorry! The nitrItes are zero, the nitrAtes are between 12.5 and 20. I did do the 20 % water change before bed last night. I just got up so will recheck the nitrate reading shortly. The fish are the same as last night. 4 danios and 2 clowns still well and the one danio kinda lethargic. I floated the fish in the bags for 20 minutes or so before releasing them. I plan on going to the store today and getting a kit to read hardness(GH and KH?) That is the one test I haven't done and have had trouble finding easy to understand info on. It's the amount of minerals dissolved? And has to do with the buffering capacity? The ease of changing PH? I'm assuming I can get a kit for this... I'll keep the info coming today as things develop. I probably will pick up and add a conditioner to add conservatively.Thanks all

Judge · 02-15-2009, 08:33 AM

No problem, I am actually relieved!

I usually float mine a little longer to get the temp right and then I slowly add water from the tank to the bag. Lastly, I NEVER add the LFS water to my tank, I net the fish and release. I have a pretty good local guy, but I never know for sure about his water and I do mine!

556 lineman · 02-15-2009, 03:55 PM

Well, I couldn't make it to the shop today. They're open tomorrow though. In the meantime can anyone recommend a good water conditioner that will also help with stress? My ill looking danio is still hanging in there. He still doesn't look right but hasn't gotten noticeably worse. I rechecked nitrate level this morning and it seems to be the same even after the 20% change last night. Still reads between 12.5 and 25. Should I do another change today or wait till I get the conditioner tommorow? Also, should I treat the whole tank or just condition the water that I add with regular changes? I read so many things on all these different web sites that I hardly know which end is up!!

I have many other questions but probably should post them in a more appropriate section. Thanks all

Judge · 02-15-2009, 04:08 PM

I am not an advocate of adding any chemicals of any kind unless you are using tap water which obviously will have some nasty (but necessary for us) additives such as Chlorine or Chloramine. In that case you have to add something to remove those toxins. So I guess my question is what is your water source and have you tested it before adding anything to see what it reads? I have read where some had high Nitrates in their water naturally. Just curious, but since you say it did not change at all after a 20% that is where I would check, the source.

Glad the other Danio has not gotten any worse, that is always a good sign.

Lastly, after testing your water source, if it does not show high concentrations of Nitrates then I would complete a larger water change, maybe 30%. Let us know how it turns out.

Jay · 02-15-2009, 05:10 PM

Hey 556 lineman...

From your description of how you acclimate your fish to the tank, I think your problem could be just that. IMO the best way is to very gradually change the lfs water with your tank water. I do this over a period of hours, remove a few tablespoons from the bag and add a few tablespoons of tank water. Temperature alone is not enough. Each fish reacts differently to a sudden change in conditions, but a sudden change can cause death or severe stress and critical damage.

Hopefully the others will recover

IMO Seachem's Prime is the best water conditioner.

Jay

556 lineman · 02-15-2009, 05:10 PM

My source water tests zero for nitrates so I'll try another partial water change tonight. So you think water conditioners (such as "stress coat" or "amquell" for examples) are not always necessary? I kinda thought that which is why I didn't buy or use them initially. But after researching the web I became unsure.

556 lineman · 02-15-2009, 05:14 PM

Thanks Jay, we mustv'e posted at the same time.

556 lineman · 02-15-2009, 05:50 PM

While I'm thinking of it, can anyone recommend some podcasts that might be helpful for this type of thing or just aquariums in general. I have listened to some of the Bailey brothers but (no offense to them!) they kind of seem advertisement oriented. I have gleaned some interesting info from them, but would like to hear some different takes.