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Eric,

Take the time to check your water parameters. If they are unfavorable then it is indeed your fault. But if they are fine then perhaps it is the source. How many fish are in the tank right now? Also, is it just this lfs you are having problems with? It may be that your water conditions are way different than the new lfs's and that would require quite a bit longer acclimation if there is any significant difference in water conditions.

He doesnt have the right to blame you without knowing your water parameters though. That was a little inconsiderate and a little unprofessional to put the blame on you over the phone without knowing anything other than your wc's and how you clean your filter media...

you need to post your water test results and stocking levels so we can better advise you, but if all is good with that you need to go back to thelfs and take a sample of your water with you to prove to them that your tank is ok.

test your water and bring it to the LFS, and show them that there is no amonia or nitrites, and you didnt re-cycle your tank

Sorry it took so long to post water parameters but here they are:

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 50-70 (due for a waterchange)

temp 26C
pH: 7.6

Stocking is in profile... and I know its a bit on the overstocked side but i keep up with water changes and have good filtration. And yes the clown loaches are going to be given back after they hit 3 inches or so. Right now they are an inch and they are to solve a snail problem.

Edit: I made another post before about the dead cories which is under The Hospital... the cories just seem to lose control a bit and then they end up on their side and then on their backs and then they slowly die. I think it is swim bladder disease but I could be wrong.

Last edited by ericm at 30-Jul-2005 16:36

I dont think your method of cleaning the filters would of caused the tank to recycle. I would however be concerned about the nitrate level. That is too high and could of made your fish sick.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

With those nitrate levels, don't expect to get your money back. Corys are sensitive to nitrates, which is probably why they died. I have found that corys begin to suffer when the nitrates reach about 20, and even that's pretty high for a properly maintained tank.

Pretty much all of the stores around here, including the one I work at, will not guarantee a fish if the customer's nitrates are above 30 ppm. Levels above that are stressful to fish, and combined with the added stress of being bagged and moved to a completely new habitat, it is enough to kill many fish.




Last edited by Cory Addict at 30-Jul-2005 22:14

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Eric,

I told you in chat 50-70 ppm was not ok. You really do need to lower it below 20 ppm. The ideal ammount is around 5-10 ppm.

geeez, I freak out when my nitrates get above 15-20.

Ok well I was due for a water change and I did one. So nitrates are down. But I really do not think they died because of high nitrates.

So I recently purchased 6 schwartzi cories and 3 of them died so I called up the store to check their policies i got them from because i just recently swtiched lfs. So it looks like the cories have swim bladder disease and the guy on the phone was asking me how often I do water changes and when the last time I changed my filter media was. So the last time I did a water change was a week ago and my filter media is a few months old. So he asks how I clean the filter and I said i take out the media and put it in a bucket of old tank water and I rinse out the filter container to wash out dirt. He then tells me I have destroyed my bacteria colony and recycled my tank ]:| . I hate it when a lfs tries to blame you for the death of the fish you just bought when it is in fact their sick or low quality fish! ] All this after i changed lfs. And you will never guess what store I am dealing with.

50-70 ppm of nitrAte is not exactly the easiest thing for a fish new to your tank to handle. That is on top of the subtle pH change and the environment changes. It stresses the fish a lot while in transport and I don't think the high nitrAtes in their new home helped.

And usually I do a water change right before I go out and get my new fish. It seems to help a little.

Last edited by Nameless at 31-Jul-2005 14:07

Eric,

Sorry about your losses. Yes, it could be the LFSs mistake, but it could be yours as well. That’s a situation where a QT would have been handy (don’t have one either, but one more case that will bring me closer of getting one).

I agree with everyone else that your Nitrates are pretty high. I know that some information found on the web says that it’s good up to 100, but I doubt that.

I looked at your profile and counted 32 fish in a 32G tank, yes – you can call this overstocked. Your tank is planted, how well is it planted? What kind of filter do you use? I assume a canister, but how big is its media volume and what media do you have? The media is a few months old – does that mean you cleaned it a few (?) months ago for the last time?

How come your plants cannot take the Nitrite out of your tank? Do you add liquid ferts containing Nitrogen? My 29G with 23 fishies has 0 Nitrates if I don’t add ferts.

You should really try to reduce the Nitrate values, find out where this comes from, and maybe make more frequent water changes as well.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I always do water changes before I get new fish but this time i didnt have a chance and this lfs is out of town. The nitrates I think were because I needed to do a water change but I really think it wasnt the high nitrates because when I was acclimating the fish and was floating the bag before I put any of my tank water in one was laying on its side but that got back up.

Corys will often become disoriented and lay on their sides in bags because they are so stressed out and the shallow water frightens them. It does not mean they're sick; perfectly healthy corys will do it too.

There is no doubt in my mind that it was the nitrates that killed them, unless the corys were obviously sick and showing physical signs of illness when you bought them (but who would buy sick fish?). 70 ppm is just too much.

And I don't understand either why they are so high if the tank is planted. I have a heavily stocked and heavily planted tank, and one time I went a month without a water change. I checked the nitrates and they were only 10 ppm.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

And I don't understand either why they are so high if the tank is planted.

Take a look at the stocking list and you'll see. Honestly though, you won't be getting your money back, even if it was their fault. Too big of a loophole.

Ok my tank isnt all that overstocked. Cories dont add much to the bioload and as of now I only have 6. The tetras dont add much either so the only two types of fish that add to the load are the angel fish and the danios. And I have plenty of filtration. The reason why the nitrates were high was because I didnt do a water change for two weeks until yesterday since I ve been busy.

What about the clown loaches? They can hit 12"-14" and are pretty heavy bodied. Having them in there is absolutly overstocking, IMHO.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Eric,

I hate to tell you, but I do it anyway, you are in denial.

Just free your mind and try to look at your tank with our eyes. So far you haven’t answered any of our additional questions, like what and how many plants you have, if you use additional ferts, and when you cleaned your filter the last time (plus what’s in it).

No water change in 2 weeks will not drive your Nitrates to 70ppm, if all tank parameters are correct. Are you sure that you are looking for help on your issue, or do you just want support regarding your LFSs errors?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club