[ihartman1]

I am at a total loss as to why this is happening
I have a 200 L tank about 4 years old.cyclides
Water tests are all fine, Amonia nitrates, hardness.
water temp is 25-26 c
I repalce about 25-30 l every month.
My problem is for the last year or so everytime i introduce new fish they die within 24 hrs,
I keep the fish in the aquarium in the bag for about 30 - 60 min to acclimate
I have spent the last 4 weeks dumping 50 l a week and adding new water.
In the past i used collected rain water as repalcement. the last 5 weekly changes was with tap water - thinking osmolarity might be the problem.
The two fish i added this afternoon are belly up already.
HAs anyone ever experienced something like this before?
Any help will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ira

 

[SeaHorse]

Hello Ira and Welcome to the forum!! There are a couple of things that stand out right away and I want to clarify with you.
Do you have an aquarium thermometer? What is the temperature of your tank? and do you set the new water to be the EXACT same temperature before you put it in? Do you use a water de-chlorinator for your water changes?

When adding new fish to the tank, do you float the bag for at least 30-45 minutes and ADD TANK water to the new fish bag? A dribble every 5 minutes to at least DOUBLE the volume of the water in the bag? This helps to neutralize any PH differences they might be experiencing. Can you find out what PH the store's water is by asking them? Can you find out/know what YOUR PH's water is? Don't try to add chemicals to change yours to match... just try to ease the shock of the change when adding new fish.

So Temperature!! and PH are the 2 biggies that I need you to clarify!

 

[Flear]

till i did more to acclimate the water (pH differences) i had the same thing, ... pH from the LFS vs. my tank would cause undue stress on the fish and new fish would die.

this was a huge frustration that caused lots of sadness till i did some reading

acclimate till temperatures is great
but pH is also key (or whatever else is in the water)

slowly add some tank water to the bag with your fish over the course of an hour or more (depending on how different the parameters are, ... once things are balanced then it should be safe to add your new fish directly to the tank.

 

[SeaHorse]

Remember to NET the fish out of the bag and pour the bag water down the drain and not into your tank. (Reduces introduction of disease into your tank)

 

[Agent13]

Are you treating your tap water?
Another thing to be aware of is likely you have severe PH swings with your water changes having gone from rain water to tap water. Until you've done enough changes with treated tap water to be confident your tank is all tap... I wouldnt add more fish. Plus you might want to get liquid tests. Sounds like you are using strip tests which are known to not be accurate.

 

[Flear]

not to distract from the topic...

liquid test kits or test strips ...

liquid test kits may be more accurate, but harder to see what the color is clearly

 

[sandybottom]

not to distract from the topic...

liquid test kits or test strips ...

liquid test kits may be more accurate, but harder to see what the color is clearly

they may be harder to see,but they are accurate.what is the use of being able to clearly see inaccuracies?

 

[SeaHorse]

not to distract from the topic...

liquid test kits or test strips ...

liquid test kits may be more accurate, but harder to see what the color is clearly

View the results in day light only... not lamp light as it can be very yellow toned.

Hold the test tube against a PURE WHITE background and view/compare to the color card supplied showing result ranges.

Only these 2 steps will give you the best readings.

(Test strips can become inaccurate from moisture and humidity in the air.)

 

[Flear]

ahhh, good to know

the lighting for liquid tests i was aware of
the reasons for the test strips not being accurate - good to know thanks