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I just had 4 fish die on me today. 2 Clown loaches, 1 turquoise rainbowfish and 1 pictus catfish. All have been around over a year (the rainbowfish was 4 at least). I noticed one loach teetering last night, but there were no obvious symptoms. Nothing was visible on the others. None of the fish were damaged when removed (no fin rot, ich, popeye....)

ammonia: 0
nitrite: .5
nitrate: 7
temp: 25C
pH: 7.5
48 US gal
tank contains java fern, anubias and tall valisneria
I use aquaplus to condition

the nitrate & nitite are a touch high, but not too extreme for the tank. I rarely lose fish.

I have 3 gold gouramis, 1 pictus cat, 1 siamese algae eater and 1 large pleco (5 yrs old) left. One of the gouramis is losing color, has some fin deformity. None of the other fish seem bothered.

I will replace some water (20 gal for now), and go from there. Thanks.

You should never assume especially with fish tanks. But here goes

All have been around over a year (the rainbow fish was 4 at least).

by that your tank could be 4yld and has given you no major problems at all. Also you seem to know what you are doing if not the fish would have been dead ages ago.

OK lets look around.
Water change when was the last one (how long before you noticed the problems)?
Filtration when last full cleaning?
It had to be imported this could be a link to the problem the CLs and the Pictus went first and are bottom feeders.

I have noticed over the years if there is a water problem its the bottom feeders that die first.
Feeding what have you used over the last two weeks and any thing new not different, especially live food or a newly opened fish food.
Have you sprayed any where near the tank or has any one been smoking over the tank.

Now for the water its self where did it come from town water or a bore, or a rainwater tank.

I would be extremely careful of changing water at the moment just in case it came via the water.

What I would do NOW is turn off all lights, add as much air as possible, reduce the feeding to zero for at least 3 days.
Double dose with Seachem Stability for one week then as per instructions, there are other brands around but this is considered the best and the strongest also it can be double dosed.

I would double dose ONCE only Melafix to reduce any stress.

Finally get your water supply tested even if all is OK does not mean it was a once only problem.
Then ask all the LFS in your area if they know of similar problems.

As you can see I am going on a fishing expedition its the only way to solve this problem you have to start some where and eliminate ever thing.

Not that far back a LFS owner had a big death problem at home she traced it to a ant problem where she had use a bait food, and on the way back a few ants dropped into the tank and naturally the fish thought fresh food. Its little things you have to think about.

I hope I have helped in some way.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Hey, thanks for the reply.

I feel I can eliminate the water as an issue. I have another tank in another part of the house that is unaffected. It has different residents, but the same type of plants. I usually always do my large maintenance (water changes, vacuuming, algae scrubbing) on both tanks in the same day. They usually have similar pH, NH3, etc levels. The last water change happened on the same day. But I will monitor it, and ask around.

I've already done the change, to bring my levels down, and the tank seems stable, except the one gourami, though his behavior would indicate nothing was wrong. He still eats quite a bit.

As such, I'm thinking it may be a bacteria. I was away from the tank all weekend, and it's entirely possible something happened while I was out. For now, it looks like I'm going to set up a small hospital tank for this guy.

Is there any good diagnosing sites out there? The best I've come across is the brochures that come with Maracyn and Maracyn Two.

That

I was away from the tank all weekend,

could be a clue but effecting one tank only is strange if the power went off it would effect both tanks unless they were on different electrical circuits (fuses) I have 3 phrase and some times if we loose power I still have power in some parts of our home. If for some reason the filter stopped then restarted you would never know. Finally was the home vacant or some one home who kindly decided to OVER FEED them for you.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW