J
Jesse
Guest
Experienced fish keepers, I need your help! I have been a fish enthusiast since I was twelve years old (1990), and I have never had a fish plague such as the one I'm about to explain. Before I start, here's a little background and information about my current setup...
I try to be a perfectionist when it comes to fish keeping, and my extended family shows their appreciation. I have a 70 gallon setup with an under gravel filter circulated by a pair of power heads and a fluval 404 filled with included bio-media and peat. The conditions remain very stable: Temp usually 79°F +/- 1°F, PH just above 7.0, Nitrite very low, and ammonia non-existent. Approximately every two weeks, I clean the fluval and to a 15% water change with 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap water. The aquarium is heavily planted and thriving with 2'+ Spiral Val, 2 giant Ruben Swords, and a foreground of Crypt. wendtii. As of April 1st, the tank inhabitants included:
4 large Angels
A large Festivum
An Apisto. Panduro (2 yrs old)
11 home raised German Blue Rams (6 months old)
One Neon Tetra
Half dozen O-cats
2 Corys
Unexpectedly, in mid April, my fish started passing away. I lost the Panduro, all eleven Rams, and an Angel over a five-day period. This is very peculiar since the fish showed no signs of discomfort prior to the plague. In fact the Rams were laying eggs until the end. The night before everything would be fine until the next day I return home from work to find their dead semi-bloated carcasses laying on the gravel.
I did observe the discomfort of the last Ram and the Angel. Their bellies seemed to be slightly bloated and more buoyant than the rest of their bodies. They struggled to stay upright and their typical maneuvering was severely hindered. I also noticed the fish were either very pale or dark, and their gills moved rapidly. I did not notice the affected fish to produce solid waste. I was clueless at first and I did not gain any valuable information from the LFS other than cut back on feeding and add vitamins to their food. I was first lead to assume it was a digestive disorder for the following reasons.
In early April I made a few changes to the setup: 1) I removed ~80% of the Spiral Val as usual every six months. 2) Added a dozen Cardinal Tetras I bought from a very reliable fish store. 3) Bought new frozen food, SF Bay Brand Bloodworms & Brine Shrimp, form PetsMart. I have previously used Hikari brand. Before, during, and after the incident, water conditions checked out normal and the Cardinal Tetras were unaffected. This also supported my assumption of the digestion disorder, and may have been caused by the newly purchased fish food which I immediately stopped using. I also noticed the feces of the survivors to be clear and stringy.
Please help me by sharing any experiences and/or responding to the following questions. Has anyone had an ill experience with contaminated food? Could the deaths have been caused by any other ailment? How can frozen foods be checked for contamination or out-dated? Any response will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Regards,
Jesse
I try to be a perfectionist when it comes to fish keeping, and my extended family shows their appreciation. I have a 70 gallon setup with an under gravel filter circulated by a pair of power heads and a fluval 404 filled with included bio-media and peat. The conditions remain very stable: Temp usually 79°F +/- 1°F, PH just above 7.0, Nitrite very low, and ammonia non-existent. Approximately every two weeks, I clean the fluval and to a 15% water change with 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap water. The aquarium is heavily planted and thriving with 2'+ Spiral Val, 2 giant Ruben Swords, and a foreground of Crypt. wendtii. As of April 1st, the tank inhabitants included:
4 large Angels
A large Festivum
An Apisto. Panduro (2 yrs old)
11 home raised German Blue Rams (6 months old)
One Neon Tetra
Half dozen O-cats
2 Corys
Unexpectedly, in mid April, my fish started passing away. I lost the Panduro, all eleven Rams, and an Angel over a five-day period. This is very peculiar since the fish showed no signs of discomfort prior to the plague. In fact the Rams were laying eggs until the end. The night before everything would be fine until the next day I return home from work to find their dead semi-bloated carcasses laying on the gravel.
I did observe the discomfort of the last Ram and the Angel. Their bellies seemed to be slightly bloated and more buoyant than the rest of their bodies. They struggled to stay upright and their typical maneuvering was severely hindered. I also noticed the fish were either very pale or dark, and their gills moved rapidly. I did not notice the affected fish to produce solid waste. I was clueless at first and I did not gain any valuable information from the LFS other than cut back on feeding and add vitamins to their food. I was first lead to assume it was a digestive disorder for the following reasons.
In early April I made a few changes to the setup: 1) I removed ~80% of the Spiral Val as usual every six months. 2) Added a dozen Cardinal Tetras I bought from a very reliable fish store. 3) Bought new frozen food, SF Bay Brand Bloodworms & Brine Shrimp, form PetsMart. I have previously used Hikari brand. Before, during, and after the incident, water conditions checked out normal and the Cardinal Tetras were unaffected. This also supported my assumption of the digestion disorder, and may have been caused by the newly purchased fish food which I immediately stopped using. I also noticed the feces of the survivors to be clear and stringy.
Please help me by sharing any experiences and/or responding to the following questions. Has anyone had an ill experience with contaminated food? Could the deaths have been caused by any other ailment? How can frozen foods be checked for contamination or out-dated? Any response will be appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Regards,
Jesse
