I have a fluval 13.5 and had a diamond goby. clown fish sand sifting star and three snails. I did about a two and a half gallon water change yesterday and woke up to my goby and clown dead. I don’t mix salt overnight but its never hurt them before and i had the tank running for 3 months now with weekly water changes. But i did increase the salinity a bit. It was sitting at 1.022 or so and i put it at 1.024. Thats the only thing i could think that would have killed them. Help ):
Fish died overnight
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gideon2086
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That really shouldn't have affected them.. especially in a smaller tank that sees constant fluctuations due to evaporation. Have you checked your parameters? Did you see any signs of disease? What is your water source?
Ph swing maybe.
Sorry for your losses.
I am not surprised in a 13.5g that the diamond goby passed. Just not enough to eat in there for them. The clown, well depends on where got it and if it went through qt, how old was it?
You really want to mix the salt ahead of time.
Note for you, a sand sifting star will die in such a small tank also. Is it still with you? Could have caused ammonia spike if died in such a small tank.
I am not surprised in a 13.5g that the diamond goby passed. Just not enough to eat in there for them. The clown, well depends on where got it and if it went through qt, how old was it?
You really want to mix the salt ahead of time.
Note for you, a sand sifting star will die in such a small tank also. Is it still with you? Could have caused ammonia spike if died in such a small tank.
Testing t
testing the water as we speak. Ammonia is 0 even after the losses. I fed the goby every day with flakes and frozen brine so he didn’t die from starvation. Worried about the star thought. But for them to die right after a water change makes me think I didn’t do something right
Ammonia is 0 nitrate was about 0 nitrite 0.24 and ph around 7.8 to 8. I use tap water with normal water conditioner and prime. Its been working for months. And no sign of diseases
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As much as I hate to put it in these words, . . . . you Got Lucky using the wrong things. I agree that you don't have to mix seawater in advance However tap water changes almost daily with water conditions due to rains, additions of chlorine, chloramines, phosphate and other elements.
I ask also did you adjust to temperature or was water cooler than tank temp (sending occupants into shock) ?
Also test your tap water and see what readings you get for TDS, ammonia, nitrate and PH.
If you don't have the kits, I suggest to take a water sample to a trusted LFS to see what they come up with for readings and I can say an RO unit must be on your priority want list.
As DeniseAndy stated, a small tank that will reach bioloads quickly and may I assume its a newer tank ?
I ask also did you adjust to temperature or was water cooler than tank temp (sending occupants into shock) ?
Also test your tap water and see what readings you get for TDS, ammonia, nitrate and PH.
If you don't have the kits, I suggest to take a water sample to a trusted LFS to see what they come up with for readings and I can say an RO unit must be on your priority want list.
As DeniseAndy stated, a small tank that will reach bioloads quickly and may I assume its a newer tank ?
It’s been up for 3 months. The tank temp was adjusted as well.
Nitrite im sorry
The 2.5 water change was been happening for about two weeks because i used to do five gals but my lfs said that was too much and my fish we’re getting stressed. I used the api test kits. They’ve always been accurate for me. I do wc once a week
The reason I ask is I have read quite a lot of posts on here with people using those tests and getting the wrong results, I would have expected your readings to be closer to 0 ammonia and nitrite and 10-20 for nitrate.
Maybe get a sample to your LFS and get them to confirm your results.
Maybe get a sample to your LFS and get them to confirm your results.
In the meantime should i change the water again? And how many gallons should i change because right now my snails acting kinda weird but they also act that way when they fall off the glass. What test kits does everyone in this thread use?
Hard to say without knowing the reason, if it was the water, that is not going to help, but if you have live stock in the tank then something needs doing.
If mine, I would get a test to confirm results as soon as possible, then maybe 2x50% water changes over the next 2 days if you are happy with the water.
Then my aim would be to get a rodi set up, if you limit what can go wrong you have less to worry about, but using tap water, adding chemicals to it and the wrong salinity and maybe not great test kits, it’s hard to pin point what happened.
I use salifert tests.
If mine, I would get a test to confirm results as soon as possible, then maybe 2x50% water changes over the next 2 days if you are happy with the water.
Then my aim would be to get a rodi set up, if you limit what can go wrong you have less to worry about, but using tap water, adding chemicals to it and the wrong salinity and maybe not great test kits, it’s hard to pin point what happened.
I use salifert tests.
Did you find the starfish alive? Because it will die in such a small tank at some point...not if but when. A sand sifter dying in a 14g could wipe the fish out...that is very reasonable.
If you find it alive...you should return it before your add more fish.
Nitrite is not very dangerous in salt and 0.25 is nothing.
If you find it alive...you should return it before your add more fish.
Nitrite is not very dangerous in salt and 0.25 is nothing.
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