what happened?

[deblin2]

What happens if you add too many fish? --I know they die, but do they die down until you have the right number of fish or do they continue to die off until all of them are gone. Does the water always have an ammonia spike or can the Ammonia be 0, Nitirite- 0, Nitrate-0? If the water test out fine was it some kind of disease even though there were no unusual markings on the fish? I have lost all but one fish (again) and am totally confused about what happened. Is there some disease that does not show that much on the fish? It happened right after I added a fish. That fish died and then I started losing everything else. I lost several right away and then one by one. I am ready to just give up. I have been at this for years and have not gotten it right. It went real well for about six months. I had all the problems worked out thanks to the help of people on this board. If I lose this last one I don't know if to keep trying or to just drain my tank. Thank you.

 

[col]

Basically, if you have too many fish for the bio- load to handle then it will stop breaking down the ammonia and nitrite.
Ammonia and Nitrite are toxic to fish in any great levels.
Did you take water readings once things started going wrong?

 

[beaslbob]

basically what happens is the ammonia/nitrites jump stressing all the fish. Then when one dies, the dead fish further increases the bioload and you can get a cascading effect until all the fish are dead.
I have had your experiences. And in each case it was because i went too fast and overfed. Let the tank run without fish for at least three weeks. This will allow any fish born parasites (ICH) to die off. Then add a single molly. Don't feed it for a week. the add a mate. And start feeding very lightly once per day. If you continue having problems or need advice email me at beaslbob@aol.com

 

[deblin2]

Thank you. That is what confused me. I did test the water when things started going bad. It tested out great. I didn't see any signs of disease either though. My tank has always done really weird things.

 

[beaslbob]

mine does wierd things too. But I think it knows what it is doing.

 

[bergshawn]

What brand test kits are you using? I would recommend Salifert (used by many on this board) or Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (what I use and have had good luck with). I previously had Jungle test kits which were a joke and gave readings that were way off.