3 of my Yoyo loaches just died! :(

[ey]

Please don't give up on the fish. We'll try to help the best we can. Can you please answer more questions. It would be helpful.


How long has the tank been set-up?
How often are water changes usually done?
What % of water change is the norm?
What is the Gh, or conductivity,or tds of your tank water.
What is the Gh, or conductivity, or tds of your tap water.
Has salt ever been added to your tank water?
Do you use any kind of water softeners for your source water?
Is there Chlorine or Chloramines in your source water?
What water conditioner do you use during water changes?
What Ammonia test kit do you have?

To me it sounds like TDS shock or Chlorine/Chloramines in your source water. Water changes are normally a good thing, but water changes can be stressful and can kill fish if the source water is alot different from the tank water.

Chloramines is an ammonia product that needs to be binded. Even if the ammonia is binded, nessler ammonia test kits will give a false positive readings. Chlorine or Chloramines untreated can kill a biofilter also. You probably already know this though.

Again, I'm Sorry about all the questions, but they will help us figure out what's going on in your tank.

Thanks chefkeith, don't worry I wont give up on the fish, don't think I ever will - what I said was just out of sheer frustration given the stress I'm already with full time work and studies.

I'll quickly answer your question and get back to my studies, otherwise I wont be sleeping until 4am!

The tank has been set up for 9 months.
Water changes are once a week, 35% each time.
Sorry I'm not sure what the Gh of the tank or tap water is, I don't have a Gh test kit...
Salt has NEVER been added to the tank.
No, I don't use any water softeners.
I don't think there are any chlorine or chloramines in the source water here...but
I still use Prime as the main water conditioner during water changes.
I have an API master test kit which covers ammonia, ph, nitrite, nitrate.

Please don't be sorry about the questions, instead I thank you for your concern and willingness to help out. I appreciate your help and am happy to answer the questions.

What is TDS shock (what does TDS stand for?) I doubt it would be the water change though as I've been using the same source water all this time and have had no issues. My guess will be the overfeeding, I have fed them 5 blocks frozen bloodworms every 2nd day for the past week, flakes and a massive amound of hikari sinking wafers everyday.

So I think I didnt use good judgement while feeding, though the reason I fed so much was because the for some reason all the clowns suddenly had a huge increase in their appetite and ate everything I put in.

[ey]

[ey]

[ey]

Thanks to everyone that have replied and offered their helpful advice, I'm sure all the fish appreciate it!

I'm so knackered now and am finding it hard to concentrate on the studies with the ammonia spike in my head...I'm worried I might wake up to find more dead fish tomorrow.

I'm absolutely gutted by this, as by now, I would have thought that the clown and yoyo loaches in my tank would have been the strongest and hardiest fish species. I believe with loaches, once you reach the stage where everything is stabilised, you shouldn't have any deaths unless the filter breaks down or a power surge etc.

I hope I can look back at this in a few months and realise how lucky I was not to have lost more fish had I found out about this later.

[chefkeith]

Great water change schedule. GH/TDS (total dissolved solids) shock is a non factor since you do 35% weekly changes and have never added salt. These levels reach a safe plateau with weekly water changes.

I'd ignore the API test kit reading. Prime will definately foul up that reading. A Seachem Ammonia test kit would give an accurate reading though, but since you use Prime, I don't think water conditions are a factor.

This might be a bacterial problem. The increase of feedings increases the organics in the water. With elevated temps, bacteria levels will thrive.

Have you added any new fish to this tank recently?

[chefkeith]

Continue to use Prime though. It will save your fish if there is an Ammonia/Nitrite problem in your tank water.

[ey]

What would cause bacteria levels to rise - the uneaten food or the incrase of waste produced due to increased feedings?

If I'm using Prime and API test kit is giving me a reading of 0.25 AMmonia at the moment, wouldn't this imply that the Ammonia level is in actual fact higher than 0.25?

I guess there is not much I can do now, I am mentally and physically to do any more for the fish..

I added 10 rummynoses on the weekend though, I thought with the loss of the danios/platties over the past fortnight, I could add some more rummys, this wouldn't have been a factor would it? Sorry for not mentioning this point earlier.

Great water change schedule. GH/TDS (total dissolved solids) shock is a non factor since you do 35% weekly changes and have never added salt. These levels reach a safe plateau with weekly water changes.

I'd ignore the API test kit reading. Prime will definately foul up that reading. A Seachem Ammonia test kit would give an accurate reading though, but since you use Prime, I don't think water conditions are a factor.

This might be a bacterial problem. The increase of feedings increases the organics in the water. With elevated temps, bacteria levels will thrive.

Have you added any new fish to this tank recently?

[helen nightingale]

I followed the LFS's advice and fed more to the yoyos and this is the consequence....

why do so many LFS give such dodgy advice?

good luck, i hope you get some sleep soon too!

[ey]

Thanks Helen, I hope so too, I've been up since 5.30am this morning so I'll need some sleep otherwise I'll sleep through the exam!! lol

Yep, the advice given by the LFS sounded reasonable at the time, but I also asked about this here on the loach forums and Emma suggested that yoyos might not go so well with tetras and cories....so I guess I could have separated the yoyos but I had no spare tank so the only other alternative would have been to give the either the yoyos or the tetras/cories away....I took a gamble and tried to follow the LFS's advice so I guess I have myself to blame...

I followed the LFS's advice and fed more to the yoyos and this is the consequence....

why do so many LFS give such dodgy advice?

good luck, i hope you get some sleep soon too!

[ey]

By the way, did the yoyos in the picture look skinny or do they appear healthy? I didn't think they were skinny, but what do you think? They obviously don't look as healthy as its been a few hours now since they've died and parts of their body have been ripped apart...

Anyways, really really need to get back to the studies ...time for a Red Bull first!

[chefkeith]

Any food added to the tank, eaten or uneaten, adds to the organic levels. These levels are often referred to as DOC (dissolved organic carbons or compounds) or DOM (dissolved organic matter).

You could have a bad batch of bloodworms. Those can go bad rather easily.

Adding New fish to the tank adds to the list of possibilities. You should always quarantine new fish in a different tank.

[chefkeith]

What I'd do is treat the tank with a wide spectrum anti-parasite med.

Jungle Labs Anti-Parasite is a rather good product. It also contains some anti-biotics which will help fight any infections.

[chefkeith]

If I'm using Prime and API test kit is giving me a reading of 0.25 AMmonia at the moment, wouldn't this imply that the Ammonia level is in actual fact higher than 0.25?

It means it's reading the binding agents from the Prime. If you put Prime in pure water, you'd still get an ammonia reading from a AP test kit.

[chefkeith]

By the way, did the yoyos in the picture look skinny or do they appear healthy? I didn't think they were skinny, but what do you think? They obviously don't look as healthy as its been a few hours now since they've died and parts of their body have been ripped apart...

They look fine to me. Even the gills look normal. The gills might of been reddish had there been an ammonia problem.

[chefkeith]

One other question- What kind of filters do you use?