# why are my piranha dying someone help!



## fat_mike07 (Apr 4, 2005)

Ok i have been watching my piranha awhile and for the past two days they have been swimming funny. Ive been feeding them right and the water level and temperature are fine. I have one survivor out of three. My brother thinks i have ick but i dont see anything on them. The only thing im not sure of is the nitrate and nitrite levels. Anyway i noticed last night that the reason they were swimming funny is because i have feeder guppies in my tank and they were eating the side fins of the piranha so they couldnt swim. then they died. so i took the guppies out and i have one piranha left.

i would really appreciate it if someone could help me solve this mystery

thanks, fat_mike07


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## cooldudectd (Mar 4, 2004)

When is the lat time that you've checked your PH level, Ammonia level and done a water change??

It sounds simple, but are you doing routine maintainence?

Also, guppies and other feeders carry parasites into your tank. They're full of filth.


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

Im his brother, He has a 30 gallon, I have a 35 gallon. We both started out with 3 1inch red bellied piranhas, he has 1 left i still have all 3 but im not sure how long. I

Its like they went from being completely healthy frolicking around the tank like little school girls, to overnight turning pale in color and not swimming as much.

2 of his have died. I dont have a master test kit but im gonna try to borrow one from a friend. All i have right now is PH and Amonia test kits. 
The amonia is dead 0
The PH is 8.0 and has not fluctuated that i have noticed

We can not find any visible signs of ick on the fish that are alive, but his dead piranha has some big white blotchy spots, it just dosnt seem like ick to me.

Ive had ick several times in my community tank and the fish usually look like master P with diamonds all over them (the cysts)

I have had a lot of luck using this stuff called Maracide, its for ick, velvet protozan disease, trichodina, and says any other parasites of the skin. the directions say continue any filtration and air, and use 1 drop per gallon every 24 hours for 5 days. This stuff has worked wonders in the past for me, it turns the water green too for some reason unlike ick away. My buddy was using ick away and i gave him this maracide and his fish were fine in 2 days.

I was wondering if maybe its nitrite poisoning?

Does anyone have any clue? like i said they show no signs of the ick cysts/crystals on there skin, they just turned pale and started swimming funny overnight. Thanks all


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## fat_mike07 (Apr 4, 2005)

Well we are probably getting ready to check the nitrate levels and stuff.....If the guppies had a parasite wouldnt they have gotten it sooner? They never did eat the guppies and they have been in there since i first got the fish....there were like 6 guppies now there are 3 or 4. but i have no clue what is going on.
does anyone reccomend any special type of treatment that would help my last one to become healthier? 
keep'em coming, thanks, fat_mike07


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

How long have you had your ps? Did you cycle your tank before you put them in there? Can you post a picture of him? Maybe we can see something that you can not. Get a test kit so you can test nitrite and nitrate levels. It is hard to dose a problem without knowing all the factors.


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

Check the sick fish pics that is pinned at the top of this forum. Maybe you will find a picture that looks like the dead one that was covered in white blotchy spots. I wish I could help but I dont know what is wrong.


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

testing water right now, just got mine done, testing his, borrow master test kit from a friend, looks like nitrites are really high so far, wil post the results ASAP! thanks guys!!!!


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

Ok, I am new to this hobby, and didnt know i had to cycle my water before we put the fish in it. My buddy told me just to add the fish(wish i woulda come here and found out the truth), ive had a community tank and i never cycled the water on it and none of the fish had a problem at all, i even had some angelfish and some figure 8 puffers in it which i know are sensitive, 
I have tested both tanks with a master test kit called Tetra Test Laborett, it does not have a nitrate test so i dont know what the nitrates are, but heres everything else,

My tank- No dead fish, but not acting right/dying

Ph- 8.4
General Hardness= 9 dH
Carbonate Hardness= 5 dH
Amonia=0
nitrite=1.6mg/l
c02= 0.0mg/l

My brother(fat_mike_07)'s tank- 2 out of 3 dead with one doing better than it was.
ph=8.4	
general hardness=10
carbonate hardness=6
amonia=0
nitrite=1.9mg/l
co2=0.8mg/l

can someone explain whats going wrong, i think the nitrites are too high but i dont really understand what they are, THANKS TO THE BEST SITE FOR THIS HOBBY ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET, we really appreciate your responses so keep them coming!!!


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

You are in the middle or towards the end of the tanks cycle. Your ammonia levels are at 0 which is good but your nitrites are not at 0 which means the tank is still cycling, fyi here is a link on cycling, Cycling. 
As for the reason the piranhas are dying, i am sorry but I cant give you an answer. My suggestion is to put up pics if you can of the dead piranha that has white blotches so members can see what might be the cause. If the white blotches look like salt granules on the piranha then it is probably ich, here is a good example of what ich looks like









Again pictures would help if you can take some


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

I have ruled out ick, like i said ive had it many times before because i was dumb enough to buy walmart fish, but ive never had a fish die from it cuz i use maracide.
The fish dont have any ick on them whatsoever, its just that they sort of went pale, they lost some of there color and went white

Is my nitrites too high? cuz i just did a 25% water change, and they are all swimming around a little more than they were, and they are scared of me again so i think they may be getting back to normal i hope
thanks for the help guys

Also, the water temp is at 84f in my tank and 80f in his tank, i heard they like it 82 so im gonna leave it how it is and see which does better,

Another thing, this happened to ME overnight, last night i fed them a bunch of krill, they went crazy for it but didnt eat it all so there was some leftover this morning when they are acting wierd. I also have live plants, do u think it could have been the plants sucking all there oxygen overnight when i turned off the light?

not heavily planted


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

clintard_leonard said:


> I have ruled out ick, like i said ive had it many times before because i was dumb enough to buy walmart fish, but ive never had a fish die from it cuz i use maracide.
> The fish dont have any ick on them whatsoever, its just that they sort of went pale, they lost some of there color and went white
> 
> Is my nitrites too high? cuz i just did a 25% water change, and they are all swimming around a little more than they were, and they are scared of me again so i think they may be getting back to normal i hope
> ...


I think that your tank is still cycling and you should see your nitrites drop soon. I would get a test for nitrates too so you can watch the level of them too.
I keep my tank around 80, 84 is rather high for a normal temperature. 
When you feed your piranhas you should not leave leftover food in the tank for a long time. I would say if they have not touched the food in 15 mins take it out. Leftover food in a tank gives off ammonia and pollutes your tank so it is not a good idea to leave in your tank.
Hope these problems dont scare you away from the hobby, soon all will be great and you can sit back and just enjoy them.










EDIT: I dont think that your plants are sucking all the oxygen out of the tank. How much lighting do you have in your tank?


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

NitrIte poisoning. Add a tablespoon of predissolved salt.


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

i kinow this is a stupid question, but can it be iodized table salt? thats what i put in there and i didnt know to disolve it first!!!
they are doing a lot better i hope they make it!


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Yes, regular table salt will do. The iodide is not toxic at these levels. One tablespoon in warm/hot water stirred until predissolved. Wait till water cools down, stir again, poor slowly in aquarium. Avoid direct contact on fish. Near filter would be fine.


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## clintard_leonard (Mar 24, 2005)

I have a 20 watt grow light for lighting in my tank, along with about 8 of them small plants that grow real tall, cant think of the name but its not heavily planted by far.

My p's are doing a lot better, i think once the nitrites go down they will be fine, i just hope i dont wake up in the morning with some floaters. They are all swimming around when i dont make sudden movement then if i move they run like little bitches so they are acting how they were before i changed some of the water and added the salt.

Thanks for saving my fish!!


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