Excessive deaths - very aggravating

[four_by_ken]

Are there any known issues with drift wood and an African tank?  Have had a few fish die... more than I am happy with... in a 85 gallon tank.

I used the sinking driftwood that you can get at the local pet shops. 

Tank looks great and the fish seem to love it.  Seems the worst with some Haps that I had.  Ruby Green Haps and Nyereri (or Dayglow) Haps.  But a few others have also died.  All small juvenile fish. 

Tank was set up the end of October.

Dont know if it is something in our well water or the wood or just some really bad luck.

The 140 gallon hasnt had any issues to this excess.

[danielratti]

Have a lfs test your water hardness and all nitrates and nitrites.

[djlamonica]

Are any of the dead fish wild caught?  Drift wood will lower your PH a bit but most tank breed cichlids arnt really affected by the PH as long as its kept consistent.  Do you have a test kit if so, post your results if not Id defiantly invest in one.  Do you use Prime or a similar product? 

Im fairly new to keeping fish these are just a few things Ive picked up so far,  maybe some of the more experienced members can give you a hand.

[danielratti]

Seeing as they are vics I am thinking it might be something to do with your water hardness or the well water.

[four_by_ken]

I have tested multiple times.  The first test... everything was perfect except for the hardness, in fact Preuss was quite impressed with the levels.

Because of our water softener... our water was off the chart soft.  Since then... months ago... I have been adding a lot of salt and buffer.  Testing after each weekly water change and adjusting salt/buffer when necessary. 

Things did get a lot better than originally after I upped the salt a LOT, but I still feel we have more problems that what we should.  I have had a LOT of fish in my lifetime.  NEVER have I had issues like I have had with these Africans.

I am thinking I might have it under control, but I would still like to get a few pairs of Victorian Haps, but not until I figure something out.

[danielratti]

Salt makes water softer while baking soda raises hardness.

[Regalblue]

You might not have the parameters stable.  You say that you add salts &buffer after the water change. But, what is everything reading before the water change & then before you add any buffer/salts.

Your parameters could be jumping all over & stressing the fish.

[four_by_ken]

Salt makes water softer while baking soda raises hardness.

Cichlid Salt raises the hardness.

[four_by_ken]

You might not have the parameters stable.  You say that you add salts &buffer after the water change. But, what is everything reading before the water change & then before you add any buffer/salts.

Your parameters could be jumping all over & stressing the fish.

I test the day after each water change and I have it down pretty good as far as how much salt/buffer I need to add to keep it all stable.

But, this is a good point as to why things have been getting much better than in the past.  It may have just been major stress that was freaking them out.  Maybe....

When I first set up the 85 gallon tank, it was a lot warmer and I was using pre-water softner water that I let sit in the sun to come up to temp.  I used the outside spicket for the water.  This wasnt a big deal as it was only 3 buckets at a time.  But, now that I have the 140 gallon going and its winter time... I need to use heated water for the water changes.

Maybe as I get even better at adding the salt and dont have to adjust anymore... things wil level out even more and no more stress?

[Ron]

You might not have the parameters stable.  You say that you add salts &buffer after the water change. But, what is everything reading before the water change & then before you add any buffer/salts.

Your parameters could be jumping all over & stressing the fish.

I had a friend once who had some WC fronts for 6-8 months in mid-7 pH water. Then she realized her water parameters weren't the same as the lake and thought the fish would be happier if she buffered the water. She eventually added too much on accident one day and they all died. True story. 

[PaulineMi]

Am I reading correctly that all of your tank water in the winter is water that has been softened by the water softener?  (If so check your GH...a water softener strips the calcium and magnesium.  These minerals are needed by fish for osmoregulation which has to do with the exchange of water and waste in and out of a fish's body.) Is there any way you can tap into the hard cold water and just use the hot water softener water to warm it up? 

I have a "Y" piece of hose with one section attached to the cold, hard water spigot and the other section attached to the softened hard water. This method works without having to add buffers with it's potential parameter fluctuations.

In addition there is a lot of gas in the water coming out of the hot water tank in the winter.  That can cause problems also similar to the bends that divers get when surfacing to quickly.

Sorry if some of this was addressed in previous posts.

[four_by_ken]

Am I reading correctly that all of your tank water in the winter is water that has been softened by the water softener?  (If so check your GH...a water softener strips the calcium and magnesium.  These minerals are needed by fish for osmoregulation which has to do with the exchange of water and waste in and out of a fish's body.) Is there any way you can tap into the hard cold water and just use the hot water softener water to warm it up? 

I have a "Y" piece of hose with one section attached to the cold, hard water spigot and the other section attached to the softened hard water. This method works without having to add buffers with it's potential parameter fluctuations.

In addition there is a lot of gas in the water coming out of the hot water tank in the winter.  That can cause problems also similar to the bends that divers get when surfacing to quickly.

Sorry if some of this was addressed in previous posts.

I have asked fish store about the softener, but other than adding the hardness back in... no says there should be a problem.

I test GH and KH.

[runawaypencil]

To be honest most of the members here have alot more experience with keeping and breeding then help at most pet stores which hold fish for a few days/weeks. I wouldn't include my self as one of the smart guys around here as I do alot of trial and error games.   Step A never add much wood to an african tank,  Step B,  You should never try and adjust your water parameters (tank) more then a few .1-.2 hardness per couple days or week..   step c Never make Jurassic changes in your salinity levels to your fish.   Step D  if your tank is killing fish and you have multiple tank up drain 90% of the water and take all the water from tanks that are stable,  This is of course if all your tanks are of the same style of fish.    I had a problem where one tank  would pop up with a dead fish every couple weeks.  I did 100% water change and took all cycled water form stable tanks and have never had a problem since.   


MAN DO I LOVED DETROIT'S WATER!! although its costly at 8.70 per 1000 gallons. 

[four_by_ken]

Step A never add much wood to an african tank

Why?

[runawaypencil]

Step A never add much wood to an african tank

Why?

It slowly decomposes which softens the water, and lots of times there is a type of algae that will grow on newer aquarium wood that is not good for them.  It grows extremely fast, and thick.  Which they will eat up but its unhealthy for them.