# Cause of death *warning graphic pictures*



## a_bains

The other day I turned on the light to my tank to find my beautiful red zebra cichlid dead. From my observations this was the most healthiest and active fish in my tank! I saw no warning signs leading up its death. This is the first death of this cichlid generation.

Before this cichlid passed, I had a venustus that was acting lethargic and not eating. I quarantined the venustus on the day I found the dead red zebra cichlid. I did an immediate water change to my main tank and I have had no deaths thus far in the main tank. But today I found the venustus dead in the quarantine tank. The venustus had a cloudy/white eye and I could not find anything else wrong with his body.

I am quite upset as I have taken very good care of these cichlids. I perform regular water every 2-4 weeks and I always vacuum the aragonite sand. I am running one emperor 400. I use prime as a dechlorinator. This tank is not new and as far as I know it is cycled. The aquarium is situated beside the staircase and the stairs were quite dusty. Also to get upstairs you must walk by the tank and pretty close to it. I keep my water temperatures around 80F.

When I found the dead red zebra I performed some water chemistry tests. Please see the attached test results. I have also attached pictures of the red zebra. Something to note is that both of the red zebra and venustus died with their mouths open. The red zebra death seemed to have no warning signs yet the venustus death had warning signs... I am confused and I would really like your help with an explanation. I don't want this to happen again and I want to learn from my mistakes.

What did I do for treatment to the main tank and quarantine (after the death)?
Main tank: dosed with melafix and pimafix for 2 or 3 days
Quarantine tank: dosed with pimafix for 2 or 3 days, about one tablespoon of salt


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## newbiecichlid99

should be changing water every week about 30% of tank at least


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## 702Cichlid

How long has the aquarium been set up? I'd agree that your ammonia and nitrite levels look cycled but there's no way you should zero nitrates on any cycled tank unless it's planted completely up the wazoo.

Also with a group of fish like that your water changes should be much more regular than every 2-4 weeks as *newbiecichlid99* pointed out.

Wish i could tell you that i knew what got your fish, what other fish do you have stocked in there? Could be an aggression issue.


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## a_bains

I tested my nitrates a second time with the same results. My tank has been running for probably over a year. Either way, I will keep an eye on the nitrates and hopefully one day test positive for them.

When I perform water changes I use the hose to directly add the tap water and then once filled I add the dechlorinator. I am afraid that if I added the dechlorinator before I fill the tank that the concentration will be too strong for that volume of water.

Do you think that adding dechlorinator after the tank is filled might be killing all the beneficial bacteria and taking me to ground 0 in terms of cycling my tank? During a water change I leave the old tank water in my emperor 400. I don't turn it on until after I put the dechlorinator in the tank..


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## newbiecichlid99

most likely i add it as tank is filling drop 5 ml per what i think 10 gallons is works fine and tank water is crytal clear


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## noddy

a_bains said:


> Do you think that adding dechlorinator after the tank is filled might be killing all the beneficial bacteria and taking me to ground 0 in terms of cycling my tank?


No, lots of people do the same thing. Hoping that one day the tank will test positive for nitrates, is not going to cut it. You should have nitrates, if you don't, you need to figure out why not.


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## 702Cichlid

I ran into a problem initially with API ammonia and nitrate because I didn't read the directions and relied on the color coding of the ammonia test bottles Light yellow first, dark yellow last to set a precedent for the nitrate order of operations; assuming naturally that the Nitrate test would follow the same color pattern as the ammonia. Did about 10 nitrate tests while fishless cycling my tank and couldn't get any nitrate readings at all. Then I finally read the instructions and found out i was doing it all wrong. Repeated the test correctly and got 160 ppm. So I'll give you the instructions and if you're doing it the right way you may have an expired test kit or you may want to try something like a 5 in 1 test strip to get a second opinion of sorts.

1. Add 5 ml tank water to a clean, dry test tube
2. Add 10 drops from bottle 1 (Dark Purple) be sure to invert the bottle so that the drops are uniform.
3. Stopper and invert the test tube several times. Water should now be a strong yellow color.
4. Shake bottle 2 (Light Purple) vigorously for at least 90 seconds (I do two minutes)
5. Invert bottle 2, and add 10 drops to the test tube.
6. Stopper the test tube and shake vigorously for 2 full minutes
7. Allow to stand for 3 minutes and compare to your card.

As for when you to add the dechlorinator, I add mine to the tank water before adding the fresh water to the partially emptied tank, but if your filters are off you should be able to do it in your order just fine.

Hope this helps!


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## triscuit

Unfortunately, we konw that your nitrate test cannot be accurate. You must *shake the living snot out of the bottles and the test tube* in order to properly mix the reagents.

With weekly 50% water changes, I struggle to keep my nitrates under 20. My guess is that your tank with 30% less than twice a month for a year, your nitrates are closer to 100.

So- if we assume you have high nitrates- we can assume your fish are more likely to get sick from stress, from increased pathogen density, and we can assume that bacteria and fungus are thriving in your tank.

From the picture, it looks like some of your fish snacked on the dead zebra... it's going to be really hard to diagnose from the postmortem.

My suggestion is to start performing daily 30% water changes for the next 3 days, then a couple days later, do a 50% WC. Clean water is your fish's best friend when fighting disease. Pima/Mela fix is a good idea- I'd continue dosing after each water change.

And, no- I don't see any signs of a mini-cycle. Your tank is well established. I also add my dechlor as I'm refilling the tank, it gets mixed well enough once the filters start up.


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## a_bains

Thanks guys and I really appreciate those instructions. Unfortunately it turns out the API Nitrate is good for up to 3 years, and my API Nitrate bottle is 6 years old. I really should throw out the whole master test kit.

I went out and bought those 5-in-1 test strips and it was hard to tell but I think my nitrates are at 10ppm. After I did an approx 70% water change I noticed my Red Empress acting up.

My red empress has now started spitting food. I quarantined him today and gradually added approx 1 tablespoon of epsom salt. I am hoping to see an improvement by tomorrow afternoon. He gets the food in his mouth, appears to chew and all of a sudden spits out the food in a manner like he just vomited. If this keeps happening I may try General Cure as per the instructions. If that fails I may use Clout..


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