Fish nervious and not eating well

rcalzadilla

Prolific Poster
Oct 17, 2007
84
0
6
79
South Florida
My fish were very active and eating very well, since about 2 days ago
they are hiding and not eating well and some, not at all.
These are angelfish, neon corys, 11 otos, 12 cardinal tetras.
Six (6) cardinal tetras have died in the las 3 days and think they are the ones with very drawn(empty) stomachs.
125 gal/100 gal net started 9/17, planted tank 10/11.

The significant change that I notice is PH now 6.4 from 6.6.
Have been dosing the same for 6 weeks except for a small increase in Plantex
and new dosing of Epson salt , 3.0g, 2x week.
Temp is about 80-82 F and steady.
There is green algae. Today I changed 50% water and they came alive for a while in the fresh water but reverted to the above behavior.

Any ideas?

tks
 

VaughnH

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 24, 2005
3,011
97
48
88
Sacramento, CA
Did you use Prime or an equivalent dechlorinator? It almost sounds like you have something like chlorine or ammonia in the water. Do you dose CO2, and how do you measure how much you have in the water?
 

rcalzadilla

Prolific Poster
Oct 17, 2007
84
0
6
79
South Florida
Yes I used dechlorinator (fish's behavior improved after water change).
Ammonia is -0-
CO2 - 35PPM (KH 53.7 , PH 6.4)

I had PH at 6.6 for a while but increased CO2 (lowered PH) to fight algae.
I am going to increase PH to 6.6 as this seems to be the problem.

Any other ideas?

tks
 

ceg4048

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Mar 21, 2005
240
0
16
rcalzadilla;20624 said:
CO2 - 35PPM (KH 53.7 , PH 6.4)

Is this a typo? Should it read 5.37 or is this 53 ppm? It's very easy to gas the fish if you measure CO2 incorrectly. Are you calculating the CO2 based on the tank water parameters or are you using a drop checker with 4dkh water? If you are using the tank water you can be way off in either direction.

Cheers,
 

Carissa

Guru Class Expert
Jun 8, 2007
678
0
16
Have you tested nitrite? From what I've heard nitrite poisoning hits cardinals particularly hard. It will cause the fish to suffocate because it affects how they are able to process oxygen. How big is the tank? How long has it been set up? Anything you did right before this started happening?
 

rcalzadilla

Prolific Poster
Oct 17, 2007
84
0
6
79
South Florida
I am measuring my CO2 with my aquarium water, my KH and PH readings.
I don't know what a drop check is. Could you point me where to find out about it and which one you use, etc?
My PH has been 6.4 (35ppm C02 per table) brought it down today to 6.6 since fish were ok at that PH level ( so now CO2 should be at 23ppm)
My KH ..53.7ppm (3 degrees K)
My Nitrate today 20ppm (I just dosed fertilizers including KNO3)
My fish were happy Oct. 27 for sure, changed 50% water and added, for the first time: 1/4 tsp MGSO4(EPSON SALT) and
30ml of Excel. Obviously I overdosed. Have stopped using excel until I understand it.
At this point some fish died off.

Today I have installed a 25 Watt UV sterilizer to help with diatoms and green algae. BBA has started to appear now.

Your opinions would be appreciated
 

VaughnH

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 24, 2005
3,011
97
48
88
Sacramento, CA

Professor Myers

Guru Class Expert
Aug 24, 2006
311
1
16
I'd say Carissa was on the mark. I'd test for nitrite, and if that came back negative I'd probably test it again ! Nervous behavior and going off there feed, the very 1st. place to start is nitrite. Annoxia would produce lethargic behavior so Co2 is unlikely. By now the nitrite may have cycled through. Did you make any recent changes to the system or any large additions in livestock or feed ? Did you do any extensive maintenance recently ? During nitrite surges the water may appear to be unusually clear (Visually clean) while the livestock appears to be distressed due to the hemoglobin being bound with nitrite. Fishes vital chatoyance may appear to be dark, dull or grey to black. Neons/cardinals red shade will wash out white. Discus will shadow black. Corys will spaz out severely.

Excess copper will have similar indicators, but that's unlikely unless you have a known source in your makeup water. HTH. Prof M

rcalzadilla;20617 said:
My fish were very active and eating very well, since about 2 days ago
they are hiding and not eating well and some, not at all.
These are angelfish, neon corys, 11 otos, 12 cardinal tetras.
Six (6) cardinal tetras have died in the las 3 days and think they are the ones with very drawn(empty) stomachs.
125 gal/100 gal net started 9/17, planted tank 10/11.

The significant change that I notice is PH now 6.4 from 6.6.
Have been dosing the same for 6 weeks except for a small increase in Plantex
and new dosing of Epson salt , 3.0g, 2x week.
Temp is about 80-82 F and steady.
There is green algae. Today I changed 50% water and they came alive for a while in the fresh water but reverted to the above behavior.

Any ideas?

tks
 

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
18,699
786
113
It is a new tank.........

More water changes, good CO2/dosing, maybe add some Zeolite, carbon etc, purigen etc

These fish really are not acclimated nor is the tank.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

FacePlanted

Guru Class Expert
Jul 9, 2007
115
0
16
44
Austin, TX
Could the fish problems be because of the Excel? Didn't you say that is when you began to see problems? I have read that overdoses of Excel can sometimes affect some of the more sensitive fish/inverts.

But...you said you dosed 30ml. of excel in a 125gal. tank....I have used doses of half that - 12-15ml. - in my 29gal. tank with no effect on my shrimp.....so 30ml in a 125 gal. tank might not really be that much.

Just something to consider as well.

-Mike B-
 

rcalzadilla

Prolific Poster
Oct 17, 2007
84
0
6
79
South Florida
Excel Seachem response.

This is Seachem's response to my e-mail on the adverse effects to my fish using Excel:

Hello,
Flourish Excel is a reducing agent and has the capability
to remove some oxygen from the water. If you already have
a low oxygen content in the tank and dose Excel, this
could potentially have an impact on very sensitive fish.
However, this is a rare situation. We have these types of
fish in our tanks here and we dose Flourish Excel on a
daily basis with no problem. If you are using another
reducing agent along with the Flourish Excel, it is
possible that the fish are becoming stressed due to lack
of oxygen. Most water conditioners are reducing agents.
You may just need to add the Excel on days when you do not
add any other supplements and add less than the
recommended dose. As I said, this is not a typical
reaction with Flourish Excel. It is most likely not the
Flourish Excel alone, but a combination of factors.
Tech Support
10201
Tech Support
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seachem Laboratories, Inc.
1000 Seachem Drive, Madison, GA 30650
888-SEACHEM Fax 706-343-6070

What other reducing agents are there in our daly fertilizing?