# all of my fish died:{



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

Hey guys. *** been a member for a little while now. i havent posted much recently as everything was going well. well that all changed about 10:00 am eastern time. i walked into my office to find a tank of dead fish. it hurts because they were all fine on saturday. the only thing i could think would be they were cooked due to the weather yesterday and noone leaving the ac on to keep it at atleast 80. they were breeding,,,,,had cool defined territories....ok well here are the losses...3 neo helianthus which were gorgeous about 6 of theyre babies, the largest being about 3/4 of an inch. 5 multis and who knows how many of theyre fry...5 cyp. leptosoma...just as they were changing....they were going to be great and i had them since they were tiny and one calvus "inkfin"








this picture is a few moments before i got the rest...still missing 2 at the time.
well i guess ill be starting over now....any suggestions on a new tang setup....ill spend anything right now i just want that awesome tank feeling i had with this one. if you hit the my tanks button on the bottom youll see the 75 they were housed in. gotta get back to work...just had to vent and i know you guys feel the pain with me and possibly have felt it in the past.


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Sorry to hear about your losses.


----------



## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

Awww.. I am sooo sorry about your loss.


----------



## sweetsummerrose (Mar 11, 2008)

Oh so sorry, I just lost one fish this weekend , while we were gone, so I really feel sorry for you. I would be devistated if I lost all my fish.


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

thanks guys......atleast the fish in the livingroom at home are well. i actually found 2 of the baby helianthus hiding in the rocks so maybe there is hope for them. im going to totally revamp. ill post pics of the newbies as soon as theyre swimming. thanks again guys....aaron


----------



## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

oh im very sorry to hear that ;-(


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

hey guys......i thought it was the heat...but now i see one of my largest cyps and hes banging into rocks and things.....really not swimming well at all. could that be heat related...im sure hes doomed. this sux soooo bad


----------



## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

Heat will deplete Oxygen in your water

What are your current water conditions??


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

My tanks regularly hit 90 degrees for a few days in the summer, and I haven't lost a fish to it. I have multiple filters with a lot of water movement in my tanks to help oxygen dissolution.

I would suspect electrocution or heater malfunction: what was the temp in the tank when you got home? What filtration do you have on this tank, and what size tank is it?


----------



## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

Would any of your workmates poison your water?


----------



## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

Hmmm... do cleaning personel come in on the weekends? Could they have used some cleaning agent that got in the water? The way that one fish is acting makes me think that or electrocution. There might be a short somewhere; check your thermostat, filter and anything else electical around the tank.


----------



## youngb074 (Jun 22, 2008)

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost a fish this weekend and it is just so sad. Just don't give it up as I have seen your tanks and you obviously enjoy what you are doing as they are beautiful. Take care.....


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

the thing is....all 5 decorus catfish are alive...with no signs of any harm..... it is a 75 gallon tank and i have 2 ac110 hob filters and an ac70 powerhead moving the water..i thionk im trashing the heater no matter what. ill buy another....if it was the heater..its not doing it anymore....as far as workmates...im the manager and i have one guy here all the time..thats it, the only other person is the owner....and he really enjoys the fish. everytime hes here he watches for a few moments.. this is very discouraging. i will not give up because i do love keeping fish. i got a raise recently so im gonna spend some money now. i wanted to watch everything grow together in this tank.....now i think im going for the big guys from the door. i dont think i want to go thru seeing an almost fully colored group of cyps dead, being blown around by my power head again. ahhhh so what do you guys think....im pretty sure i have more than enough filtration.ahhhhhhhhhhhhh theye were all breeding it was my favorite tank of all. i really enjoyed it.. rip


----------



## youngb074 (Jun 22, 2008)

To me, a lot of satisfaction comes knowing that you have raised a fish from young into the beautiful healthy animal it will become. I don't know that I personally would begin a tank with bigger from the start for that reason. However, there is a lot to be said about rescuing the older, or larger fish that maybe some don't want to buy, or are abandon becuause of size or age.

I really think what happened to you is a complete fluke - especially since my tanks have really taken off and I am pretty much a novice compared to most of the people on this forum. You are definately not a novice. I'm sure whatever you decide will be the right choice. Don't be too frustrated. Hope that helped :thumb:


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

thanks for all the replies guys. it is a fluke. i have four tanks at home one at work and 2 at my girlfriends house. never an issue. one bout with bloat that i battled and beat and thats it. nada mas. then i leave work on saturday with a thriving community of fish and come in to a wasteland.. i will rebound...but im definately going to miss that vibe. they were really cool together.


----------



## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

How about an exterminator..... any scheduled visits from an exterminator ???? My neighbor spayed his yard with a pesticide one summer, that killed off a tank of Blue Nlamp Sexfasciatus ...
  You might want to add your loses to the biggest loser's poll ... Ad you estimated $$ lost to the poll..... I just lost a ton of fish because of a power outage......


----------



## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

was there any type of nitrite spike etc?

have you checked all the standard parameters etc?


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

no spikes and nothing out of the norm.....ok quick update......since the disaster..i have found 3 survivors besides the catfish...one multi fry living under a rock and 2 helianthus babies. one of them is actually living in a shell cluster on the right side. he stays in one shell right in the middle.. its so sad because the parents used to protect these guys, and now theyre orphans trying to survive alone.....hiding every minute of the day. now with these survivors does that give off any clues to the rest dying? im no expert but if it was some sort of chemical.....wouldnt the smaller fish die off easier?


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

This argues for the oxygen theory.

Catfish typically do not need as much oxygen as others, and fry hide in areas with less water movement (which also means less oxygen). It's difficult to know a cause for sure, but I'd look at increasing surface agitation for the warm summer months. Even if it has nothing to do with the die-off, it'll still be good for the tank.

Good luck.


----------



## cerissa (Mar 18, 2008)

So sorry to hear your loss! I'm battling the same issues with my tanks.. water temperatures go up to 88-90 degrees at times during a heat wave. I've managed to increase surface agitation and all my fish seems to be doing just fine.

It really does seems like the tank depleted of oxygen due to such high temperatures. I'd definitely try to get more agitation with your water surface if at all possible.


----------



## bigsloe (Nov 16, 2006)

cool guys *** already added a bubble wall but i submersed it under some stones and sand so the bubbles collect a little bit and grow. i feel so bad for the little helianthus thats taken up residence in a shell. he seems like a scared puppy. im sure **** come around with time. thanks guys


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

When I first took a look at the pic I thought it would be do to lack of oxygen right of the bat but would the surviving fish not be gasping at the surface rather then bashing his head around?


----------

