[*]Test Results for the Following:
Ammonia Level? 0 ppm
Nitrite Level? 0 ppm
Nitrate level? about 10 ppm
Ph Level? 7.8 ppm
Ph Level out of the Tap? 7.8
Brand of test-kit used? (strips or drops?) API drops
[*]Tank size (How many Gals) and How long has it been running? 20 gallons, about 1 year
[*]What is the name and size of the filter/s? Marineland Penguin Biowheel 200
[*]How often do you change the water and how much? 30% weekly


[*]How many fish in the tank and their size? 6 fish, one Zebra Danio, one Blue Danio, one Albino Tiger Barb, one White Skirt Tetra, one Orange-finned Loach, one Yo-yo Loach, all but Orange-finned loach an inch or below, Orange-finned Loach 2 inches
[*]What kind of water additives or conditioners? API Stress Coat, Aqeon Water Conditioner
[*]Any medications added to the tank? No
[*]Add any new fish to the tank? All new
[*]What do you feed your fish? TetraMin Flakes, TetraMin Shrimp Pellets, Wardley Algae Wafers
[*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as
"grains of salt",
bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? No
[*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating,ect..? No

Well a few weeks ago, my twenty gallon tank was plaugued by some horrific fish killer, which killed all fourteen of my fish. It is still unknown to me as to what it is, so when I came home from vacation, I decided that I should do a 100% water change to get rid of whatever killed off my fish so that I could add some new ones. So I got all the above listed fish, along with a Red Tiger Barb, a Green Tiger Barb, a Tiger Barb, a White Shirt Tetra, and three Glofish. I thought that I had gotten rid of whatever had killed off my fish, but I woke up the next morning only to find my Albino Tiger Barb, my Red Tiger Barb, and one of my White Skirt Tetras dead. I replaced the Red and Albino Tiger Barbs, so when I came home to put them in, I checked on all of my fish to make sure they were alright, and they were, so I turned my head for literally about ten seconds, and when I looked back, my Green Tiger Barb was dead! Right there in ten seconds! And yesturday morning, all three of my glofish were dead, too, along with my regular Tiger Barb a short time later, and this morning my Red Tiger Barb was dead. All of them died with absolutely no symptoms at all, they just dropped dead. It is definately not my water quality, everything on my tests were perfect, they are all posted above, and when they tested it at the pet store, they got the same results as me, as did I again this morning. It's not my home's water quality, because the same water is used in my ten gallon tropical tank and my one gallon betta tank, and my betta's nearly three years old, and no fish have died in my ten gallon for months! I am forced to believe that whatever this is was caused by disease, though I have never heard of anything that has been able to take out fourteen fish in three days, or survive a 100% water change. Please, someone has to help, I'm sick and tired of losing fish. I have to save those that are left! Someone help me stop this plague! Thanks in advance!

How did you acclimate the fish? Sometimes not letting the fish adjust to new water conditions can be hard on them. Adding all those fish to a tank all at once might be traumatic, too....

Maybe some better advice will come along. Hope we can help!

fishlord-

a couple of questions come to mind...

1. how did you clean out your fish tank? was it just a 100% water change?

- just by performing a water change does not remove all the nasties from your tank. they are living in your filters, on any decorations or gravel, and even on the glass surface.

2. did your quarantine your fish?

- it's important that anytime you add any new fish, that you quarantine them before adding them to an established healthy tank. new fish from petstores almost ALWAYS come with parasites, so the quarantine process is very important.
- it is also not advisable to add a large quantity of fish into a tank at once as mentioned by petperson. this will cause a spike in the ammonia produced which can also be toxic for the fish.

as to why your fish are dying... perhaps if you answer how you cleaned out your tank, that might help. if you didn't really clean out your tank, and just drained it of all the water, then the cause of the "disease" is most likely still lurking in your tank.

I had a massive die off in my tropical tank before like what you're describing. It was caused by what I beleive was neon tetra disease, introduced by new *non quarenteened* fish I bought (that was how I learned my lesson).
I think you're going to have to dose the tank with some sort of medication. Give us as many more details as you can, including what the fish looked like when they died, and hopefully we can provide some advice.

Thanks for the replies! I cleaned everything, the tank, the filter, the gravel, the plants, and the ornament, and my water still tests out perfect. I have no need to quarentine because there are no other fish in the tank, they all died before this, so it was empty. My fish look fine when they died, there was nothing wrong with them, they just would suddenly drop dead as if they were shot. They have no wounds or signs of illness, or strange behavior. My tank is already cycled, so that shouldn't be a problem. I have now lost my Albino Tiger Barb, too. If you want to learn more about the previous plague, check this out: http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=69372. Thanks for your help!

When you get a massive die off and want to clean a tank out to prevent the same problem in the future you need to nuke the tank with bleach or potassium permanganate. Some ornaments and the gravel can be boiled to the same effect. Just changing the water will not kill whatever killed your fish if its bacteria or tiny parasites.

How long was your tank empty between the die off and getting new fish?

Or you can use ammonia to clean the tank and use the rest for cycling... fish-less cycling of course.....

I left for two weeks to go to Florida, and the tank was empty that whole time. I cleaned it out when I got back, and once it was all clean and heated up I added new fish. My remaining five fish all seem okay now, all eating, no strange behavior, no deaths since my Albino Tiger Barb. Perhaps every other fish was just sick when I got them, because these all seem healthy. I still would like to know what killed off my old fish though. Thanks for your help!

Ammonia will not disinfect the tank and kill off whatever nasty it was that killed all the fish. Ammonia is a glass-cleaner.

I still think neon tetra disease may have done this to your tank. Do a search here on koko's, there have been a few good threads on it lately. It kills very quickly and with few symptoms.

I have a tank full of cardinal tetras, hopefully they dont have any cardinal tetra disease. But I believe they have ich since the 4th I bought them from the LFS.

Well, this morning I lost both of my loaches and my blue danio, and the other two are on the way, my zebra danio is floating but still alive, and my White-skirt tetra looks like his eyes are coming out and is also becoming somewhat boyant. Everything was fine for a few days, and now suddenly they're all going to be gone again. I don't trust using this tank anymore, there's no way this thing should've lived through that waterchange, so I'm going to ask my mom for a new tank, and if that doesn't work I'm just going to put this tank away and give up on it, my ten gallon is fine, my 1 gallon is fine, my twenty gallon is not. And the first time they started dying off, I hadn't even gotten any new fish since January, and I lost them all in May, so whatever this was came in by itself.

Maybe get a brand new tank along with all the equipment/filters, filter media and start all over again. Did you get all your fish from the same fishstore? Try to get the fish from a reliable source, if your LFS only have sick/dying fish. Then you might want to look somewhere else for your next fish purchase.

Do a fishless cycle and be sure to acclimate your new fish correctly.

Well, my mom said that I could get a new tank, the only problem is that I have to pay for everything, the tank, gravel, filter, plants, and fish. I don't know how she expects me to afford all that, but I'm going to have to find some way. Another problem is that there are only two lfs within 50 miles of my house, and both have about the same quality, though one is great they never get any new fish in, and while the other place gets new fish in they always look sickly and die, though they do sometimes at the other place. Both of them are just pet stores, no real lfs around me unless we feel like driving for an hour, at which point the fish would probably die in the bag on the way home.Also I have lost them all now too.Also all the fish are dead now too.

I would suggest emptying the tank, cleaning it with bleach, boiling your gravel, fake plants, and other ornaments, scrubbing the filter, getting new filter media, and trying this all one more time. Do a full fishless cycle, and DEFINITELY make sure you acclimate your fish, when/if you do add them. And gradually work up to your full stocking level, not going from 0 fish to 10 all at once. One more tip--> Follow grouping guidlines for your fish, keeping schooling fish in groups of 4+.

Good acclimation= floating the bag in the tank, and adding small amounts of tank water to the bag every 5-10 minutes for 45 minutes to an hour. I did this with my zebra danios and my neon tetras, and didn't lose any.

An all-new tank and the trimmings would be expensive, and you wouldn't want to put a tank out of service that might still be OK with a little work.

Good luck, and I hope your future fish work out better!

I don't think you need a new tank either. Glass can be steralized.

I rubbed bleach on the thing, then I ran the hose on it, yet somehow it lived. One more thing, I noticed what looks like 3 or 4 tiny flies floating in the water, and a couple flying in the room. Could those somehow have caused it?