FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I'd like to discuss fish loss in high light, co2 enriched tanks. When I compare my 72g that of course has hight light, pressurized co2, EI ferts etc I definitely have more fish loss than my very simple 12g. Not that I lose alot of fish (other than cardinals), but there's always the occassional loss that baffles me. My 12gallon is about 2 months old and it houses 8 gold tetras and 4 black neons. I've had no loses and all fish look fine, but in my 72g that has pearling plants, not as heavily stocked I recently lost my albino BN and I just discovered a dead cory that I purchased a few months ago, but my yamato shrimp, rummynoses, pencils are all fine, so I don't think it's the water. Any comments, thoughts?

Last edited by tetratech at 15-Dec-2005 09:54

My Scapes

Hi,
Personally, since the remainder of the fish are healthy
and eating/swimming fine, I suspect it simply was the fish.
Perhaps you got some weak or sickly ones in the first place
that have simply succumbed?

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Sounds like my 75G and the amazing vanishing Discus. Though mine wasn't high light high CO2. But I always have losses in that tank. I add fish they are fine for months then they begin dropping of one at a time for now explainable reason. Just keep post-it notes away from the tank O.o for some reason oe got in my tank and the following day I lost 3 Yamatos -_-

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 15-Dec-2005 09:57

Perhaps you got some weak or sickly ones in the first place
Could be, but here I'm trying to compare the survival rates of fish in a co2, high light, heavy fert tank vs one that has very little added to the water. If it was random weak fish, I would affect my 12g as well.

Megil, thanks for the post it warning. Are you saying your discus are dying. Discus are know to be some of the hardest fish to keep if their water conditions aren't perfectly met.

My Scapes

The discus are all gone now. But I kept up with the water quality. the vanishing discus was one that just...vanished, no body to be found anywhere, jsut gone.

But it happens with any fish I put in my 75G. corydoras, whiptails, tetras O.o all do really well then just slowly dwindle in population.

Then my 20G has had no losses watsoever in fish, but in m case the 75G is the lo-tech and the 20G is the hi light, ferts, and CO2 tank.

On a side note: my colors match your ava

Last edited by Megil Tel'Zeke at 15-Dec-2005 10:45

Tetra,

I think that discus are easy compared to ancistrus and rams!

It is likely that I dose as much as you do with the exception of CO2 but new fish are always iffy unless I purchase from another hobbyist. Rams are the worst fish to acclimatize as it seems that any resistance to disease has been bred out of domestic fish. In their case, a little stress goes a long way!

Ancistrus are difficult as many people purchase immature fish then assume that they will fend for themselves in the aquarium. It doesn't happen as ancistrus, IME, have specific dietary requirements. I have my best results with spinach, spirulina, zucchini treats and algae tabs. Oh, any ancistrus that I purchase make discus look like carp when it comes to water quality...

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

tetratech,

Well, sorry to hear about your losses .

Anyways, I don&#8217;t think it is high light CO2 related. I had something similar happen to me in my 29G early on, about 1 fish per week died, no idea why.

I think we have to exclude all fish from the equation in your small tank that once have been in the large one. Like the Black Neons, as they might be doing well because &#8220;weaker&#8221; ones in the group have already died (in the 72).

The BN and the cory are another issue. If I remember that right then they have been housed for a while in a bucket, right? Could that have caused any long term damage that eventually led to their deaths?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Bob,
From my experience I have always placed cardinals, blue rams and discus in the same difficulty range and what's interesting is those fish are the most common companion fish for each other. All like warmer, soft water., but with the BN I have had little problems. The one that died was 2 years old and was feed a varied diet.

LF,
The 5 black neons, one died early in my 72 setup and then I moved the others into the tank. In theory I understand what you saying, but in my case it's one fish from a group of 5. I'm also referring to other tanks I've had (kids tanks, where nothing was going in the water and I didn't have unexplained deaths.

The cory that died was not that one in the bucket and that was what like 3 months ago anyway. The one that was in the bucket is still alive. But I'd be interested in hearing about long-term bucket damage. Are we talking phyical or psychological?

My Scapes

Hm

I would guess psychological that leads to early dismissal.

With that I mean that I can imaging being housed in a bucket can create enourmous stress on a fish. People under stress age much faster and usually die earlier. That was my thought.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club