why do they keep dying?

[Kris]

I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma cacatoides,
a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.
since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1 Boekhlei,
2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have no symptoms
untill their last hour. Then they sink to the bottom, start havy
breathing ans then they die.
They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a slimy
aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they don't have hole
in the head symptoms and they did not lost weight and eat well, and
they are brightky coloured.
Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without others
symptoms? Should I give them something like hexamita(R) from 'Esha
Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's dont't love
medication... But if that's what I got to do...

nay help is appreciated

greetz

[RedForeman ©®]

Kris > typed:
> I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma cacatoides,
> a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.

Interesting mix, especially with a puffer, apistos, angels, that mix usually
wouldn't work, but YMMV, so let's keep going...

> since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1 Boekhlei,
> 2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have no symptoms
> untill their last hour. Then they sink to the bottom, start havy
> breathing ans then they die.
> They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a slimy
> aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they don't have hole
> in the head symptoms and they did not lost weight and eat well, and
> they are brightky coloured.
> Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without others
> symptoms?

Hexamita is defined as Hole in the Head, disease, YOU'D see it...read it
here
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdhith.htm

or
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=hexamita&btnG=Google+Search

> Should I give them something like hexamita(R) from 'Esha
> Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's dont't love
> medication... But if that's what I got to do...

My guess would be that maybe poor water quality, combined with an unusual
mix of fish, could possible cause potentially life threatning stress upon
some inhabitants, and yes, stress kills.

While you're here, post some parameters of your tank, pH, gH, kH, cleaning
regimine, and anything else you add to your tank, and I'll bet someone here
can pinpoint what's happening, or where it is going wrong...

btw, it never hurts to do water changes when things don't look right...

--
RedForeman ©®
....Red (head hung low) Foreman

[Kris]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message >...
> Kris > typed:
> > I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma cacatoides,
> > a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.
>
> Interesting mix, especially with a puffer, apistos, angels, that mix usually
> wouldn't work, but YMMV, so let's keep going...

Why does apisto and scalare does not work? The apistos are calm and
live at the bottom... I'm setting up another tank for the puffer.

>
> > since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1 Boekhlei,
> > 2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have no symptoms
> > untill their last hour. Then they sink to the bottom, start havy
> > breathing ans then they die.
> > They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a slimy
> > aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they don't have hole
> > in the head symptoms and they did not lost weight and eat well, and
> > they are brightky coloured.
> > Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without others
> > symptoms?
>
> Hexamita is defined as Hole in the Head, disease, YOU'D see it...read it
> here
> http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdhith.htm
>
> or
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=hexamita&btnG=Google+Search
>
> > Should I give them something like hexamita(R) from 'Esha
> > Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's dont't love
> > medication... But if that's what I got to do...
>
> My guess would be that maybe poor water quality, combined with an unusual
> mix of fish, could possible cause potentially life threatning stress upon
> some inhabitants, and yes, stress kills.
>
> While you're here, post some parameters of your tank, pH, gH, kH, cleaning
> regimine, and anything else you add to your tank, and I'll bet someone here
> can pinpoint what's happening, or where it is going wrong...
>
pH 6,5 (was around 8 two weeks ago. I dropped pH gradually during the
last two weeks by filtering with peat. Altough, the angel died
yesterday. Can this because the pH droppef 1,5 in two weeks?

gH around 10 dH

kH 3,5 KH

NO3- : 20

NO2- : 0

ammonia: 0

cleaning: every three weeks 20 percent of the total volume, combined
with gravel cleaning

anything else added: planted more plants and added sera florena.
I add Aqua safe and sera morena.

tank: juwel with standard filter (I added peat)

P.S. I noticed that 3/4 victims where at least 3 years in the tank.
I added 9 new fish lately


> btw, it never hurts to do water changes when things don't look right...

[Mephistopheles]

(Kris) wrote in
om:

> I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma
> cacatoides, a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.
> since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1
> Boekhlei, 2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have
> no symptoms untill their last hour. Then they sink to the
> bottom, start havy breathing ans then they die.
> They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a
> slimy aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they
> don't have hole in the head symptoms and they did not lost
> weight and eat well, and they are brightky coloured.
> Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without
> others symptoms? Should I give them something like hexamita(R)
> from 'Esha Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's
> dont't love medication... But if that's what I got to do...
>
> nay help is appreciated
>
> greetz

You might try metronidazole which you can purchase at online pet
stores. It seems to have few side effects on fish, though I have
not tried it on the fish you have here. I really do not know what
the problem is, but that seems worth a shot.

Meph

[Mark Stone]

(Kris) wrote in message >...
> I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma cacatoides,
> a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.
> since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1 Boekhlei,
> 2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have no symptoms
> untill their last hour. Then they sink to the bottom, start havy
> breathing ans then they die.
> They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a slimy
> aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they don't have hole
> in the head symptoms and they did not lost weight and eat well, and
> they are brightky coloured.
> Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without others
> symptoms? Should I give them something like hexamita(R) from 'Esha
> Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's dont't love
> medication... But if that's what I got to do...
>
> nay help is appreciated
>
> greetz

*Anything* can be causing this to happen -- but after keeping Oscars
as long as I have, I think it's safe to rule out HITH. But before any
of us can help with the problem, we need info -- what are your water
conditions, etc. Fish dying with such regularity can be caused by
anything: rancid water because of overfeeding, cold water because
there's no heater, someone cleans the coverglass on the tank with
Windex while it's still on the aquarium, heavy cigarette smoke bubbled
up by the air pump -- even a loud stereo in the same room can increase
the stress levels! Maybe there's rocks or other decorations in the
tank leeching something toxic.

What I would do is re-assess your setup from the ground up, using a
book or other type of guide. My suggestion is "You and Your Aquarium"
by Dick Mills, which is a "beginner's" manual but very thorough. If
you want to medicate, go with a general med like "Clout" because it's
difficult to diagnose what disease (if any) is causing this. (Clout
treats HITH too, so that would be covered). Fish in aquariums don't
just "die" -- they are being killed by something you can correct, so I
say get some literature, study up and rebuild your setup.

--Mark

Mark Stone tractorlegs at msn dot kom
OSCAR Lovers! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.

[Kris]

(Mark Stone) wrote in message >...
> (Kris) wrote in message >...
> > I have a 50 gallon tank with angels, otto's, apistogramma cacatoides,
> > a figure eight and bleeding heart tetra's.
> > since 2-3 months, every two weeks one fish dies. I've lost 1 Boekhlei,
> > 2 angelfish and one apistograma that way. They have no symptoms
> > untill their last hour. Then they sink to the bottom, start havy
> > breathing ans then they die.
> > They eat well. I've noticed light coloured stool with a bit of a slimy
> > aspect. I thought about hexamita but then again, they don't have hole
> > in the head symptoms and they did not lost weight and eat well, and
> > they are brightky coloured.
> > Can hexamita be the reason, killing them one by one without others
> > symptoms? Should I give them something like hexamita(R) from 'Esha
> > Labs'? I don't like to do it because Apistogramma's dont't love
> > medication... But if that's what I got to do...
> >
> > nay help is appreciated
> >
> > greetz
>
> *Anything* can be causing this to happen -- but after keeping Oscars
> as long as I have, I think it's safe to rule out HITH. But before any
> of us can help with the problem, we need info -- what are your water
> conditions, etc.

pH 6.5
NO2- 0
NO3- 20
ammonia 0
water changes: more than enough

Fish dying with such regularity can be caused by
> anything: rancid water because of overfeeding, cold water because
> there's no heater, someone cleans the coverglass on the tank with
> Windex while it's still on the aquarium, heavy cigarette smoke bubbled
> up by the air pump -- even a loud stereo in the same room can increase
> the stress levels! Maybe there's rocks or other decorations in the
> tank leeching something toxic.
>
I've been keeping fish for over 15 years now. I know what I may do and
what will harm them... The tank setup is the same for more than 3
years. I didn't had one dead fish in 10 months. And if it was toxic I
think the young fishes will be the first to be intoxicated (small
liver) And almost all dead fishes where old guys. Never had any
problems. I just put new fish and plant in the tank in december.As I
did that I started feeding them more. Maybe that 's the problem. But
small and young fish need food more often. So not much I can do about
that.


> What I would do is re-assess your setup from the ground up

I don't like that. My bacterial live is like it has to be.
Redecoration will cause more stress i think.

, using a
> book or other type of guide. My suggestion is "You and Your Aquarium"
> by Dick Mills, which is a "beginner's" manual but very thorough. If
> you want to medicate, go with a general med like "Clout" because it's
> difficult to diagnose what disease (if any) is causing this.
I already gave them a treatment with esha2000 (covers 18 diseases) But
3 weeks after treatment I had another mysterious dead fish...
(Clout
> treats HITH too, so that would be covered). Fish in aquariums don't
> just "die" -- they are being killed by something you can correct, so I
> say get some literature, study up and rebuild your setup.
>
> --Mark

thanx for the advice. I will think about feeding them 4 times a week
and not everyday as I do now. In the past I gave them food only two
times a week.
Maybe their intestinal tract is stressed because of this.
>
> Mark Stone tractorlegs at msn dot kom
> OSCAR Lovers! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html
> The ".Edu" meens i are smart.