[xXDAZEXx]

So when my tank finished cylcing yesterday I immediatly went out to get some fish. It took almost 5 weeks to get the nitrites to 0 and ammonia < .25 ppm. After about a 25% water change i checked my nitrates and was suprised to see it at 0. I went and grabbed a pair of Brichardi for the tank. After a couple of hours I noticed a white "thing" forming on thier eyes, and they seemed to be acting lethargic ,either hanging out on the bottom of the tank or at the top. I kept the lights off for the day and then into the night. I woke up around 6 and they were both still alive but still acting pretty lazy and still with the white things on thier eyes. About 2 hours later I checked on them again and found them both dead when i took them out of the tank i noticed alot of deterioration on the fins and maybe a little bit of white growth on the edges although this could have just been the colors of their fins. Checked the water again 0 nitrates and close to 0 ammonia. When I cycled the tank I lost 4 out of 5 Dainos that showed the same symptoms but I just figured it was because of the nitrite spike. Anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? I'm clueless as I have never had any problems with my tanks this quickly. Any help would be appreciated ...Thanks

 

[Laurel]

What were your nitrites when you pulled the fish out? How long had it been since you had pulled the danios out? What was your pH? I'm willing to bet that the tank wasn't fully cycled.

 

[Robin]

Could be that the tank wasn't fully cycled--also if you didn't aclimate the fish to your tank the sudden change in water parameters would have stressed them further. Its also possible that the fish already had something when you got them.

What kind of a test kit are you using? The paper strip kind or the test tube type? Is it a relatively new test kit?

After about a 25% water change i checked my nitrates and was suprised to see it at 0.

I'd double check you tests. In a cycled tank you'll always have some kind of nitrate reading.

Robin

 

[xXDAZEXx]

When I pulled the fish out I immediatly checked the water and my nitrites were still at 0 and my ammonia was pretty close to zero also..so even if the tank wasnt fully cycled that shouldnt matter right?...I use the test tube kits but they are probaly about a year old now, but i always double check my readings. My ph was super low at about 6.0..I'm assuming thats too low for tang's but I was under the impression that Brichardi were hardy fish....I will surly add some buffer before my next attempt. Also I pulled that last danio out just before adding the brichardi if that matters?? And i put him back in the tank afetr pulled the dead fish out and he eventually died...I'm gonna check the water again to see if my nitrites or ammonia are spiking, but for some reason I dont think this was the cause....something about the white things growing on thier eyes and the fin rot has my attention... thanks for the replies

also the fish were acclimitized propely im pretty sure

 

[Robin]

so even if the tank wasnt fully cycled that shouldnt matter right?

Yes it does matter and when you're adding new fish who are already stressed even a small problem with the water can cause big problems.

While you were cycling the tank did you test it daily or every other day and see that the ammonia spiked and then the nitrite? You mention a 0 reading for nitrAte and that doesn't make sense since in a cycled tank you will always have some kind of a nitrate reading. So I'm just raising the question as to whether the tank was in fact cycled.

A PH of 6.0 is way too low but before you do anything to buffer do some tests on your tap water. We should determine if the water is starting out with a low ph or if something in your tank is dragging it down. Test a sample of your tap water after its been sitting for overnight.
Have you done anything to raise the PH so far?

The problem with their eyes and fins is most likely due to water quality.

Robin

 

[xXDAZEXx]

I didnt test that water everyday when I was cycling the tank ..really not even every other day to be honest, but I did observe an ammonia spike followed by a nitrite spike...the low nitrate reading did seem odd to me also. I've been adding tiny ammounts of bottled ammonia since the tank is now empty and when I tested the water this morning ammonia was at 1, nitrites at 0 and still no nitrates...and ph still at 6.0 . So I guess when I lost 4 of 5 of my dainos during the cycle the single daino wasnt enough to keep my bacteria colony going? maybe? Completly forgot to test the ph of my tap water I will get that done tonight, but I havent done anything to raise the ph in my tank...I do have some salts now but I'm kinda holdin off on that for now until I can test my tap (for raisning ph that is). Thanks again for the replies.

 

[MalawiLover]

If you get any ammonia reading and zero nitrItes, then for some reason the cycle did not complete.