Loaches Online Forum

Will do, I can look, but late as it is, I don't think I can call tonight.

It helps knowing I'm not the only one to suffer a possible wipe-out

Now that the water has been changed again, the remaining fish (including the Kuhli loach) look okay.

It helps knowing I'm not the only one to suffer a possible wipe-out

One cannot prevent them, but one can keep them to qtanks, so only the new fish dies in the worst case.

see post above, i added something there.

good luck/good night.

Thank you. I'll check the address.

Here's hoping for the best.

I would rule out water issues first.

Have you ruled out the water you use for changes? Sometimes the city flushes the system with chlorine or a broken water main can put bad stuff in the water so a water change can be deadly. Do you ever have boil orders where you live?

The next question is if there was a very rapid pH change?

Then, do you have a grounding probe? Is it possible the fish got an electric shock?

Could a child or someone you know have put something bad in the tank?

Did you change the food you were feeding lately?

Tested the city water with the means I've got... I don't thinkt he city water is the issue. Also, never had a boil order for water here, so there probably isn't an issue there either.

If a pH change from 6.0-6.0 to 6.8-7.0 is rapid, that might explain the pulchra's death and the modesta's strange behavior, but not the 4 deaths before the water change. Plus, the pulchra was bloated/lumpy and bent out of shape and got sick and died withint he space of 10-15 minutes.

Not sure about the grounding probe... I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building so I'm not sure that's an issue?

No children ever come around here, it's just me anf my BF, and he never drops things in the tank. Plus, the 72 gallon is pretty tall, so no children could reach it.

As for the food... it's hard saying. I bought a new can of flake food possibly 2-3 weeks ago, so it's hard to know if that's really the issue. Again, whatever is happening to my fish seems to be selective, but I've no idea how.

Maybe I can at least detail the modesta a little more... it still doesn't seem like his condition is deteriorating. There are no marks on his body, and he's not bent out of shape. He wiggles himself against the log, and when I moved the log, he followed it. Once he realized what I was doing, he went ballistic, zooming around the tank, throwing out his eye spines, and finally jumped out of the tank! I hurriedly put him back, where he kept one spine extended for a few minutes. He's now back to leaning against the log and wiggling occasionally.

It's like he's not really sick, but mentally screwed up.

All remaining fish made it through the night, with no new problems. Going to to get the medicine in an hour or two. The modesta's condition is about the same, he possibly calmed down a bit, but he's still acting rather odd.

I'm just glad the fish I'ce got are all still alive.

Good...

Still, I'd suggest trying to find a vet or anyone capable of doing microscopic examination first, before using any drugs.

per your comment

pH change from 6.0-6.0 to 6.8-7.0 is rapid

it may or may not be. As chefkeith would explain, it is really about TDS...but ultimately it is about how long you took adding in new water. If you took a couple of hours to add new water, it is probably safe (just as acclimation), if you added it all at once, it could have caused TDS shock(s).

Did you recently use a soap or cleaning product near you tank? That may be a problem.

No cleaning materials went near the tank. In all my years of keeping fish, water has been all I used to scrub the tank.

As for the water itself... the water was added over the course of 20-30 minutes, however long it took for the hose to fill the tank back up.

Some people put grounding probes in their tanks but it seems they can do more damage than not having one. See:
http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM/Aq ... robes.html

And, of course, you put chlorine-free (or water with an agent to rid it of chlorine) or reverse-osmosis water in there, right? Duh, you probably know that.

Uh... hmm... Have you recently gotten any decorations (rocks, plants, etc) to put in your tank?

Oh okay, I obviously didn't know what a grounding probe was, but I do now.

And yes, I know about the chlorine, I used tap water conditioner when I put new water in the tank. As for decorations... nope, nothing particularly new was added, but I didn't think of that.

Status report: All the remaining fish in the big tank are still looking all right. I added a half dose of Erithomycine and half a dose of Melafix (I've had really good luck with that). Everybody seems active, though not in the mood for begging

The modesta in the Q-tank is still looking out of it... no change, really, from yesterday, but at least he's not worse. Also added Melafix to his water.

I couldn't find any Furon2, Meth Blue, or Neomycin

I also got Prime to help the water once I'm done with treatment... hope this all helps.

Good luck!

I'm out of other ideas, but if its seemed to have passed, hopefully everything will be fine. If any other fish show signs of sickness, get them in a Q-tank immediatley!

Oh, and one more thing. Do you have any place in your town or city where someone can test your water for anything funny going on with it?

If you don't, that's just sad. Lemme guess, most of them franchise stores?

Hmmmmm I only know of a Petsmart and the nefarious Pets Plus nearby. There's a local store here in the city, but I'm not on good terms with them. Plus, I highly doubt they have the sophistication to test my water for me.

It really is sad