Sudden Fish Death

[DarkElf_Mairead]

So I'm sure there are many things that could have caused this, probably something stupid I did. But one day a red serpae died. The next day I noticed the other two serpae, my 5 year old pleco, and my beta had all died in my 10 gallon tank! All that were left were three tetras (those kind they breed to be bright colors. On another topic, those are safe right? Not artificially dyed or anything?) So I moved the survivors to an emergency tank (a 2 liter bottle with a bubbler lol) and thoroughly hosed out the 10 gallon and everything in it. There's still a little algae on the side. I used a pressure nozzle. I refilled the tank and two of the three tetras are now dead. Of course that could be because of the shock from moving tanks. There's no obvious signs of disease. Before I go restocking my tank, what should I do? Cycle it? There's still one fish left.

 

[achase]

Your pleco and betta shouldn't have really been in a 10 gallon tank because that size of tank is to small for a pleco (55 gallons and up) and betta's don't usually do well in community tanks (they get stressed). Anyways that's just future reference for restocking.

Do you know what you readings were for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite were before you cleaned the tank? When you cleaned your tank what did you do with your filter media? You will need to cycle your tank again or you will experience a mini-cycle if you didn't toss your old filter media and keep it wet.
How old is the tank? What fish did you add first and so on?

tetras (those kind they breed to be bright colors. On another topic, those are safe right? Not artificially dyed or anything?)

What type were these tetra's?

 

[DarkElf_Mairead]

I didn't check before I cleaned it I changed the filter. I didn't expect that pleco to get so big I admit lol! The betta was really only supposed to be in there temporarily because I was using his tank. These are the tetras, my friend bought them for me http://www.glofish.com/images/glofish_005_std.jpg I don't know what fish I added first. But um, and I know this was really stupid, the ditch in my back yard was drying up so I rescued two small fish (a catfish and some kinda flatish fish?) and quarantined them in the betta tank. Then after a few weeks I put them in the bigger tank, again just until it rained. They died a few weeks ago. I suspect that may have been an issue. Also I suspect ammonia. I feel really stupid >.<

 

[achase]

I believe that glofish are actually danio's who have been injected with dye. From what I know of them they are prone to disease (from wounds where the dye was injected) and have shorten lives.

Why would you suspect ammonia? Did you cycle your tank properly the first time? Ammonia shouldn't really be a problem unless your tank isn't cycled properly or overstocking (which I think would be the case for you). Also do you have liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite?

It's good that you quarantined them but without knowing what type of fish they were, there compatibility with you fish/tank setup could have been an issue.

Don't feel stupid, your asking questions and getting help that's important! So you know have one fish left right? Is your betta tank still up and running? If so I would put your remaining fish in there and recycle your 10 gallon using the fishless cycle.

Here are some articles on the fishless cycle:
Fishless Cycle
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

Feel free to ask anymore questions.

 

[SonofaGun]

Glofish are actually genetically modified zebra danios, they aren't injected with dye or artificially coloured. Well, no, I suppose it is artificial, but not in the way that these foolish "fruit loop tetras" are. They possess the genes from a jellyfish that cause the animal to be fluorescent, and were actually initially bred to help with water pollution detection.

 

[aakaakaak]

The initial intention was to make them see-through like glass cats with the glowy portion only showing up with cancer, but it didn't work out like that.

Do I get to +1 SonofaGun?

 

[DarkElf_Mairead]

Awesome info on the fish The betta tank current holds a ton of baby snails. The snail I saved from the ditch apparently laid a lot of eggs. I wouldn't use it :/ I admit I hadn't changed the aquarium filter in awhile, but it didn't -look- like a big problem. I didn't do a water test until I cleaned it, and it all came back fine except the water is too soft (always is) and the nitrite is never a color anywhere near the comparison chart. I think the closest is in the safe. I've honestly never cycled an aquarium lol I've been using that tank since college and hadn't had any issues. Wasn't until a few years ago I even heard of cycling.

 

[achase]

Glofish are actually genetically modified zebra danios, they aren't injected with dye or artificially coloured. Well, no, I suppose it is artificial, but not in the way that these foolish "fruit loop tetras" are. They possess the genes from a jellyfish that cause the animal to be fluorescent, and were actually initially bred to help with water pollution detection.

Now that you say that I remember that's right...jellyfish! I think Bass or OC said something about that on another thread.

Do I get to +1 SonofaGun?

It's your choice I think but I'm not a +1 experience! *thumbsups

I've honestly never cycled an aquarium lol I've been using that tank since college and hadn't had any issues

What type of fish did you have prior, some fish are way more hardy than others. Plus cycling only takes like a month and tanks do it automatically. One reason for doing a fishless cycle is to avoid injuring the fish because I believe the ammonia burns their gills and eyes.

What is the tank's history? You had it since college how old would that make the tank? (If you don't mind me asking) What is the history of the inhabitants (what fish, how long did they live, etc)?

 

[DarkElf_Mairead]

It's a 10 gallon glass tank. I've had it since '03 to '05, somewhere in there. Had a variety of fish over the years. I just added an ammonia remover to the fish tank before I wrote the original post. My filter did stay wet, I just blasted it a bit with water to clear the built up crap, but it still had the non-replaceable filter in it. The rocks and other stuff didn't dry out either. You think there's still healthy bacteria in there?

 

[littletankbigworld]

Buy a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Monitor your levels daily until ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is above 0 but below 20 ppm.
Plecos require 75 gallon or larger tanks. Bettas cannot be housed with serpaes as serpaes are extremely nippy and they require a 20 gallon or larger tank. Do not add any fish until you cycle the tank with the tetras you have. Then you can add a few more small fish to your tank. Make sure you do your research first.

 

[DarkElf_Mairead]

Ok so when the stuff is all balanced, what kind of fish should I get? Bear in mind I'm a bit broke (the job market suuucks) and the only fish store in 40 miles is a Wal-Mart. But don't worry, the guy who takes care of the fish knows what's doing Would a few more of the glo danios be happy in a 10 gallon? Maybe some little neon tetra instead? And if I can't have a pleco, what kind of bottom feeder should I get?

 

[littletankbigworld]

Purchase a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite and cycle the tank. Once you know that your readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and between 1 and 20 ppm nitrate, you can add fish. Don't jump the gun and add fish before this, as you will only make things worse.
Tanks do not require a bottom feeder, but if you like them, corydoras catfish are a good option. You could have the fish listed below and be completely stocked. Remember not to add all these fish at once. Add the danios one week and two corydoras the next week and two corydoras the week after that. I wouldn't add any neon tetras as they would make your tank overstocked, considering that corydoras and danios need to be in shoals.