Unexpected death

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DANthirty
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Unexpected death

Post by DANthirty »

Hi guys

One off my small zebbys was dead this morning he was around the 2 inch mark he looked in fine shape ,he wasnt thin at all and i hadnt noticed any funny behaviour or any sighns the night before he had been in the tank around 3 months with 11 other zebs off differant sizes (all bigger).
the water tested as follows.

KH 1
GH 9
PH 6.8
NITRITE 0.1 mg/l
NITRATE 5mg/l

Do you think the low kh reading could off been the cause????
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Rob
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Post by Rob »

Hi Dan

Sorry to hear abou tthat mate. Bummer, just after christmas aswell.

I don't think it would be the KH as you would probably notice a deterioration in the other fish also.

You say you have had the fish for 3 months. Has he put on weight at all since you got him?

Was there any sign of reddening on the Pectorial fins?

:cry:
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Barbie
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Post by Barbie »

Why are you registering any nitrite at all? You shouldn't be in an established system? That would definitely be a culprit, IMO. Did you test for ammonia? I know I say this all the time, but do a water change, a 30% one. Don't worry about adding a bunch of RO water, use the RO/tap mix to raise your kH a bit more, and figure out if your filter isn't keeping up, or if you need to reduce what you feed. Nitrite interfere with the bloods ability to take up oxygen. It's WAY more important that your tank can handle the bioload, than that the fish are getting extra to eat, IME.

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DANthirty
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Post by DANthirty »

Thanks guys

Hi Barbie
Im currently running two 2028 eheims at the moment on that tank, and its only a 30 gallon tank so i dont think it would be the filters keeping up with the load, i think you might be right when you say over feeding as i do tend to put more than enough food in every night. but i would have thought that there would be more than enogh oxygen in there as i am running 2 power heads 1000 l/ph with the ventures on and also 2 airstones with powerful pumps , and 2 filters with spraybars at the top off the water. i didnt test for ammonia as i have a stick on detecter stuck on the inside off the glass which said safe. i dont normaly read any nitrite at all i am wondering if the dead fish raised it over night, as i last tested the water 4 days ago and it read 0 nitrite.ive just finished doing a 25% water change today, so i will keep a close eye on the tank.

Hi Rob

I didnt notice any reddening on the pectorial fins at all, i cant realy tell if he had put any weight on but he didnt look thin at all when i found him.
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Post by Adam »

Hi Dan,

Sorry to hear about the sudden death of your zebra.

Personally I would up the frequency of your water changes for a while just to make sure that any possible "nasties" in your tank are well diluted. How are the rest of the zebras looking and behaving?

While you have ample filteration in your tank comprised of 2 eheim canisters you have to remember that the amount of waste they can deal with is static. I'll explain, the filter bacteria population is directly linked to the amount of excretia available for them as a food source. Your zebras are not producing much waste for a large proportion of the day and then suddenly at night there is an influx of food coupled with heightened zebra activity. The resulting effect would be an ammonia "spike" followed by a nitrite "spike", this is why you registered a nitrite reading the following day. I doubt that there would have been sufficient time for the zebra to decompose enough to affect your water parameters. If you want to check if this is happening you would need to test your water parameters 2 to 4 hours after feeding.

I would cut down on the amount being fed and immediately remove any uneaten food in the morning. The only way around this spiking effect would be to feed your fish smaller portions throughout the day, this would have the effect of providing your filter bacteria with an even waste load to deal with. However this is not really an option with zebras as they are mainly nocturnal feeders. This is quite a common phenomenon encountered by koi keepers and I have observed it myself. It makes perfect sense that the zebra that died was a young fish as they are usually the first to succumb.
DANthirty
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Post by DANthirty »

Hi Ad

Yes your explanation does sound right, i have done 25% water change every day so far and my kh is starting to rise as i am using more tap water.

all the other zebras seem fine at the moment.

thanks for the advice :)
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