# mysterious death



## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

i recently lost my snowball pleco lda 33 he was doing fine eating well full stomach and eyes were good not sunken in . my water peremeters are good only thing is my ph is 8.3 and dkh is over 11. now is that to hard on him he has been in the tank for over a year now with no problems i checked him out when i found him there was no sores or abrasions he simpley just died , so only thin i can think of is maybe the ph was to high for him once he got bigger ? therewas no amonia or nitrates showing when i got test done right after i found him any thoughts from anyone else and my temp is right on 79


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## anessa (Apr 26, 2010)

I have had a seemingly perfectly healthy pleco die suddenly as well. It was very sad because he was an amazing BN specimen. I am sure that fish can die of sudden illnesses, the same as people can. Maybe there isn't always something we did wrong.

Sorry for your loss.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

weird i just found a dead tropheus no marks or bloat or anything no one is acting weird so i dont have a clue what is going on , i just did my water change yesturday 50% like i always do


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

how long has your tank been running for w/o any problems? what was the last thing you've done...as in adding chemicals, rocks...shoot, anything you could think of. was your tank new? or used?? u think it was cleaned w/ chemicals that r leaching into the water? i hate when mysterious stuff happen....i gotta wrack my brain over it till i figure it out.

i'd say keep a close eye on them all. i hope there'll be no more casulties. From your signature....sounds like you've gotta real nice tank!! id really hate to see more get lost. keep us up to date....i've subscribed to this thread.


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## anessa (Apr 26, 2010)

Maybe something is up with the water!


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

nothing out of the ordinary tank has been up and running for a year been i would say has been 9 months since i got into tropheus has there been a death . all i add is prime when i do a water change . i hope there wont be another death the pleco died a month ago and now this guy .


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

damn...that's a brain teaser there. i do the same thing too with my water changes. you're water quality looks about right....im by no means an expert. were the dead pleco and tropheus found in the same area?


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

How about doing 2 25% WC's instead of 1 large 50%.
@ 50% they could have experienced some sort of shock.
Are you on well water? Could be some runoff from fertilizers or something like that.
Do you ever test the water before you treat it with prime? 
Do the temps match when you refill?
What kind of decorations do you have in this tank, maybe something is leaching out from them?

I hate loosing fish, sorry for your loss.


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

I was going to take a "low blow" in my 1st post, but loosing fish sux.
I'm glad the fish lost today tho.


@ Juice & Cheifwonton
You guys are brutal!!!
I know you're E.Van Juice but this is totally "Hood".
 :lol:


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

How has the weather in your area been the past few days. Has it rained alot lately? Has there been any water work been done by the city. I had issues last year when the city up the cholrine levels after they completed the work they were doing on the water pipes. but they didn't tell any one . I lost a lot of discus.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

my gf found a fish today its belly was swollen and verry pail looking it died so im wondering if i got some guys getting bloat , gonna keep a close eye on them and if anyone else gets sick will treat with melafix ...



and as for cheifwong bong and juicless are upset beacuse i put there pic in my avatar


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

Melafix doesn't cure bloat.
I hear Epsom salts do a good job.
Do you feed floating pellets? 
I hear sometimes floating pellets cause your fish to gulp air while they go for the food.
Try using NLS sinking pellets & try not to feed so often.
I have no experience with Africans but have research them, I was thinking on setting up a tank 1 day. 

Good luck with your fish,it sux hard to loose fish.
I hope you figure out what's doing this to your fish.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

i feed nls and spirranala flakes but i do think my gf is over feeding


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

That still doesn't answer how your pleco died tho?

Make sure she knows that over feeding can lead to bloat for Africans.
That's the reason why I'm sticking with CA/SA's, I can feed them until they stop.
They all get nice lil gut's after a feeding.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

im not going to feed for a few days and keep a close eye on them


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

ok so i noticed some of my fish are having ginormouse poops realy thick and there bellys are white would that be an internal parasite and what would be god to try for meds im losing one a day and i just got my water tested and its hard water but cichlids like hard water no amonia , or nitrates, so any ideas from anyone


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Prazipro for internal parasites tends to be the most recommened. I dont think it seems like internal parasites from how you describe it though. Is the poop "normal" other then being large?


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

yes just huge. so gonna make some melafix and ad aquariam salt for them


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

Clear & stringy are usually the signs of internal parasites(not always tho).
Sounds like your fish are backed up.
Maybe skip the melafix & just dose with Epsom salt.
Have you ever thought of using Indian Almond leaves?

Using Indian almond leaves in aquariums


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

dont have them here


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Damn that sucks!! Sorry to hear about the new losses. If u wanna try dosing with epsom salts, its 1 tablespoon per five gallons. When i had that swollen hemmoroid fish thread a couple weeks ago, someone had suggested to do epsom and whenever i fed, to soak them in the epsom water. U might wanna try that if you're thinking its bloat. The epsoms really boosted my gh to 33 when i tested it.No issues with the fish. Since i euthanized that fish.....im just gonna keep on doing watr changes w/o adding any more salts.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

another died and i realy examined it its belly was swollen and so i give it a little sqweeze and i could feel it pop black goop came out of its mouth and nasty smelling slimy thing came out of its anus. almost made me puke . i realy went over its body has no scales sticking out or marks .


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Bubba, take some pictures....and post ur thread on other fish forums. Try n get it out there, n find out whats goin on. Sounds like its starting to go downhill. There's gotta be other ppl out there that have experienced something similar.


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Could it be dropsy?
Fish dropsy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

what are their eating habits? do they still eat?

Constipation / Bloat: Prevention & Treatment - Canadian Aquarium Connection - Canada's Fish Community - Based in BC


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

Droopsy makes the the fish look like a pine cone when you look @ them from above.
Bubba mentioned: "its body has no scales sticking out" so i don't think it's droopsy.

I'm wondering if you got a bad bunch of food?
Did you recently buy a new package of food?


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

yeah....i went over the the thread and saw that part.  man..i swear, this sucks. i wish he would post more on what's going on...he's got me hanging here.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

sorry been away for a bit . treated tank with metronidazole i lost one fish but no one else has died .got one more day then will run carbon and do a water change so far fish seem to be more active so i am hoping the antibiotic has killed off the parasite


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Thats good to hear things r looking up...keep us up to date. What kinda parasite do u think it was? Did u lose any trophs?


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

hello i treated the fish . i have lost 2 more fish and i think one is on its way out now . all the fish i lost were tropheus and one pleco . so i finaly was abel to see one die in person. ok here is what happend , the fish looked like it was full of air it would swim down then float right back up again plus it would swim upside down. the body of the fish looked like it was full of air . plus verry verry pale looking almost white. will post a pic im expecting to lose another the belly of one is going greyish , now


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

here is a pic of the most recent dead fish if u can see how pale and grey its body is and the stomache area is swollen
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s187/darrin34/IMG-20110605-00023.jpg


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

Do you gravel vac very often?
You might be experiencing "Old Tank" syndrome.
Have you been feeding less?
Maybe try to let the fish fast for a day or 2 between feedings.


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

i found this site with a list of diseases and symptoms:
Fish Disease and Treatment

i looked down the list...and neon tetra disease looked fishy, no pun intended. a symptom was pale appearance. so i googled it:
Fish Disease - Neon Tetra Disease

check out the bottom, the symptoms are:

Symptoms:
Restlessness
Fish begins to lose coloration
As cysts develop, body may become lumpy
Fish has difficulty swimming
In advanced cases spine may become curved
Secondary infections such as fin rot and bloating

it says that even cichlids can develop this disease. if this is it....the bad news, according to that list, it says that there's no cure for it. =/


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

`GhostDogg´ said:


> Do you gravel vac very often?
> You might be experiencing "Old Tank" syndrome.
> Have you been feeding less?
> Maybe try to let the fish fast for a day or 2 between feedings.


i have sand 1 inch high . thing is i have small fri also and they are not affected .no lumps just verry pale . should i clean out all my canisters and do a big water change ? I wanna thank all who have gave me suggestions


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

well i did a tank clean out and my thermometer was cracked with a peace of glass missing so i wonder maybe if my fish got mercury poisoning ???


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

i was wondering about your tank, i haven't heard anything from you in a while. i hope that was it!!


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