# Just lost a large number of fish in one day



## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Well came home last night to find pretty much half my tank dead. 

I lost 5 cardinals and 3 black neons. One of the black neons I had to put down myself as his entire tail fin was gone. a couple of the dead fish looked as though there was something eatting away at them.

I woke up yesterday morning they were all there, eatting having what looked to be a great time. Come home to this.....Now I wake up with a bad hangover and more questions to "what the hell happened last night?" then ever. 

I QT my one black neon that looks like he had fungus on him. I removed my Purigen as it seems that problems started after I added it. Although my water has never been clearer 

What happened to make a almost entire tank die with in 12 hours

Now before ya ask, I do weekly water changes, my last reading on Sunday was spot on. No Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate was at 10
I don't add amine based water conditioner (Nutrafin AquaPlus) and I used Seachem Flourish Excel and Kent's Plant Pro.


Now now found another 3 dead cardinals great I love this hooby


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## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

I would probably attribute this to a bacteria. I'd say neon tetra disease, but I don't think that affects cardinals.

Also, the quick-acting nature of this infection seems bacterial. Did you add any new fish to the mix recently? If not new fish, any live food?

It could be fin rot, but 12 hours is pretty fast!

Good luck in your hunt.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Given the short time frame, I would say that the deaths are more likely attributable to a chemical in the water and/or a sudden ammonia spike (i.e. due to one dying fish, that sets off a chain reaction).

As for the dead fish looking like they are being eaten away, this is probably due to the other fish just picking at the dead body.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Yiiikkees.. I am so sorry! D:


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Just lost another 2 Cardinals today  
Did a another water change and going to scrub down the tank tonight.
Really don't know what happened, other then it may have been the Purigen.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Another 3 dead today. 

Did another water change last night, and tested my levels this afternoon. 

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10

My other fish seem fine, so I am wondering if it has something to do with tetras.
Maybe neon tetra disease? 

I also raised the temp in my tank to 80.

Don't know what to do other then let the tank balance out. Any ideas?


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Another one bites the dust...


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

That's suck, do you have another tank? I'd move them...to see if the issue is with the tank...where do you live Toronto? GTA?...the water should be okay.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Holidays said:


> That's suck, do you have another tank? I'd move them...to see if the issue is with the tank...where do you live Toronto? GTA?...the water should be okay.


I only have a small 3 gal QT tank, but I don't know what it is that causing the problems so I don't want to dose with meds until I know what it is first.
I live near Dufferin & St Clair, and I think the water is fine here.

Been doing daily water changes to help combat what ever is in there.
Hope it works


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Purigen is really strange stuff... I used it once. Nothing died but it's just so aggressive-- I can't help but wonder if its highly aggressive munching of organics might have in and of itself made enough of a change to the water to knock the fish out.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

That's some high nitrate levels...I would quarantine whatever you have left and then clean out that tank extremely well, soak it all in a mild bleach solution and then rinse VERY WELL (soak the decorations and everything that touches the water including nets, heater, and soak the filter as well and replace the filter cartridge afterwards). The bleach would have killed virtually every biological thing in the tank so it's nearly the same as starting fresh. Cycle the tank for around a few weeks and then when ammonia and nitrate levels spike and then reach back to 0 you can reintroduce your quarantined fish. QT fish also easier to treat since the smaller hospital tank requires less dosage. Sorry for your loss and hopefully this helps.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

What about live plants?


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

sorry to hear about your lost. hope all will get better soon


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Amine based dechlorinators used in conjuction with Purigen can make it toxic and kill your fish. 

Purigen is nasty stuff in my opinion. Essentially it works by destroying organic waste. With that in mind, I would never put the stuff within a mile of any of my tanks.

I'm not sure how you used it, or if you followed the directions properly etc., but there are a few disasters that it can cause.

First, it can react negatively with amine based dechlorinators, essentially releasing massive amounts of chloramine into your water.

Second, it can drastically alter your pH (I think the stuff is 12 or something if you don't neutralize it).

Third, recharging is scary, at best, if you ask me =(

My suggestion: Pull the stuff out, and do a huge water change.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> That's some high nitrate levels...


I wouldn't say a nitrate level of 10 is anything near high.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

destructo said:


> I don't add amine based water conditioner (Nutrafin AquaPlus) and I used Seachem Flourish Excel and Kent's Plant Pro.


Just a heads up:

Despite what Hagen claims on their website, Nutrafin AquaPlus *IS* anime based.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Chris S said:


> Just a heads up:
> 
> Despite what Hagen claims on their website, Nutrafin AquaPlus *IS* anime based.


What really!? Then why claim that? I am now down to 6 fish, from about 35. It has also spread to other fish, I lost 1 black neon, 1 guppy, 1 glass catfish, and 1 german blue ram last night.

I have done water changes the last 3 days in a row and nothing seems to help.

I guess I will have to start over if things don't level out. If it is a bacteria that destroying my tank, when I start over then what about the live plants? Do I remove them and clean out the tank?


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I think the FAQ or whatever on their webpage is just outdated from like 2007 or something. E-mail Hagen, they will tell you it is amine salt based.

Did you remove the Purigen?


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Chris S said:


> I think the FAQ or whatever on their webpage is just outdated from like 2007 or something. E-mail Hagen, they will tell you it is amine salt based.
> 
> Did you remove the Purigen?


OH ya I removed it on Friday night and replaced it with fresh carbon. If this is the cause to the problem then I am glad to have found out what it is.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

The only thing I could suggest is trying to reseed your filter with another, or just pop a cycled filter in the tank. Make sure you use some prime or something on the tank to neutralize anything floating around and continue some water changes.

If you have a chlorine test kit, I would use that too and see what it reads, but it might be too late for that.

Sorry I can't be more specific as to what to do, only really have some input on what you may have done wrong. Keep in mind, this is only a theory based on your information. There is always a chance new fish could have introduced something, but Menagerie wouldn't sell you anything obviously sick.


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Chris S said:


> The only thing I could suggest is trying to reseed your filter with another, or just pop a cycled filter in the tank. Make sure you use some prime or something on the tank to neutralize anything floating around and continue some water changes.
> 
> If you have a chlorine test kit, I would use that too and see what it reads, but it might be too late for that.
> 
> Sorry I can't be more specific as to what to do, only really have some input on what you may have done wrong. Keep in mind, this is only a theory based on your information. There is always a chance new fish could have introduced something, but Menagerie wouldn't sell you anything obviously sick.


I think I will pick up some Prime tonight, I did test the water yesterday and it is normal so I could see this being a problem with the Purigen as all the problems started right after I put it in. And since I used AquaPlus that is salt based it would only make sense that it was toxic to the fish.

I think I am going to just continue with water changes, in hopes that things balance out. Thanks for your input Chris


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Just reading up a bit more on Purigen: Did you recharge (or charge) it, or rinse it with bleach prior to using it?

Oh, and Prime is safe to use with Purigen...even though I would suggest not using it at all =D


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Chris S said:


> Just reading up a bit more on Purigen: Did you recharge (or charge) it, or rinse it with bleach prior to using it?
> 
> Oh, and Prime is safe to use with Purigen...even though I would suggest not using it at all =D


No first time using it. I am not going to use it anymore. I wish that Hagen would have updated their website before I put it in though.
I talked to the guy at Menagerie and he said that it doesn't sound like a water quality issue, but rather a chemical reaction. This would make sense rather then a bacterial as it spread VERY fast. I can only hope that by doing water changes that things level out. I wish there were bacteria test kits


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

There sort of is: just measuring your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate =D

Doesn't work if everything is dead though =(


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Chris S said:


> There sort of is: just measuring your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate =D
> 
> Doesn't work if everything is dead though =(


Ya exactly. Lets hope at least a few of them survive.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

sorry about your loss destructo


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

BettaBeats said:


> sorry about your loss destructo


Thanks man


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## destructo (Aug 12, 2009)

Well good news is that I have a few survivors, one black neon, one glass catfish, 1 siamese algae eater and 2 guppies. They seem to be ok, eatting, swimming, the usual.

Going to let things take their course and hopefully when I get back from vacation things will be settled. Learned a big lesson loosing 25 fish, going to QT new fish for a couple weeks from now on and stick to my usual filter media.

Thanks for all the input everyone


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