# All my RB's killed by water change



## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

I recently did a water change in my 55 gal for my 3 Red Bellies. There was a high level on amonia in the water so I did a 50% water change. My piranhas were always very healthy and they were fine before this last water change killed them all. The problem is that I did the water change and then left for the evening. When I checked on them in the middle of the day, the day after they were all dead. I remeber putting a lot of aqua plus water conditioner in each bucket of water I added, so maybe I put too much? Is that possible? Or maybe I forgot to put some in one bucket full? I don't know, that's not like me though. It really sucks though, I've had them for two and a half years and they've been great pets and great entertainment. Most of the time I was watching TV with my roomates, I was looking at my piranha tank more than the TV.

Here are some pics of my piranha's early on and a little later, I haven't taken any pictures in a long while though. I'll miss them.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/91353307/91355548LAetVN
http://community.webshots.com/photo/91353307/91354963wIlCOb
http://community.webshots.com/photo/91353307/91354641gZpdzn


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## MyNiggLos (Dec 10, 2004)

i havent done a water change yet and how do you tell if you a have a high level of ammonia? can







someone give me tips for my first water change with my first piranhas?


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

There might not be enough de-clor in the new water or when you pour fresh water in, it stired up all the junk from the bottom of tank and spiked up the ammonia level. It happened to me yesterday and killed my baby highback rhom.


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2004)

I'd have thought it might be too much water conditioner or the high ammonia. Maybe it spiked and killed them. Chlorine etc.. found in tap water certainly doesn't do them any good but I don't think it would instantly kill them. Friends of mine don't even use a water conditioner and have had great results.

And MyNiggLos buy a test kit that covers most common tests needed. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ph and Kh being the most useful. Don't change a massive amounty of water but change often. Add some water conditioner to the water, using the correct dosage, to eliminate Chlorine and Chloramines. Try to get the water added the same temp as in the tank. It could change the tanks temp rapidly if not. And if they swim into the jet of cold water it could be quite a shock to them


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## Mack (Oct 31, 2004)

It's not the water conditioner. You can't really overdose that stuff.

It is most likely your ammonia went straight up again after you finished your water change.


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## MyNiggLos (Dec 10, 2004)

ok thanks alot


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Another possible contributor to your fish loss may have been a ph swing. It's quite possible that at the higher levels of ammonia before you changed water your ph was below 7.0, at which point a large portion of the ammonia would be ionized and not too harmful to your fish. When you did the 50% water change you may have increased the ph to above 7.0 at which point the ammonia becomes substantially more toxic the higher up the scale you go. Just a possibility among the others already mentioned.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

Well, anyway it would be nice to learn from my mistake whatever it was. I lost my contact with the guy that I used to buy Redbellies from. What's the next coolest fish I can get in California?


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## duende_df (Aug 15, 2004)

ok...you have bad luck with rbp... and rbp are the coolest but if you want to try somethng else, u could try a barracuda, they look bad and even better they ARE!!!


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

A barracude will not fit in a 55 gallon, not even if you cut it into 4 pieces


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

sorry to hear









this happened to one of my friends also... to be honest, i have no idea how this happened to either of you. too much dechlor will not kill your fish. also, chlorine from tap water will kill your bacterial colony, but personally i think it would take a while before they could die from that. if you are using buckets, are you sure that they are solely for fishtank use only? any chemical residues will easily contaminate your tank and your fish can die from them. i keep water jugs (5 gallon spring water jugs) for my tanks. i have 8 of them and use them to do my water changes, pain in the ass, but i know that my water is being treated right and that my containers aren't compromised. how often did you do water changes before?


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## duende_df (Aug 15, 2004)

elTwitcho said:


> A barracude will not fit in a 55 gallon, not even if you cut it into 4 pieces
> [snapback]794832[/snapback]​


....







easy, i didn't read the 55g tank but still isn't a cool fish also?? he should start all over get a bigger tank and a kool fish.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

The buckets that I had were only for water changes, they were bought new from Home depot, and the piranhas have actually traveled in them before for moves. I'm thinking more and more that it might have been an amonia spike from stirring up stuff from the bottom. I usually did water changes 3 times a month. Another thing I'll add later is pics of them before they died. I took a couple of pictures and I just need to find my digital camera cable to load them to my computer.


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## the grinch (Feb 23, 2004)

Are you using a psyphon? (SP) and sucking up all the waste in your rocks.


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## PYROPYGO1 (Nov 23, 2004)

I do a water change every week with my python hose assembly. It's quick and easy, just hook it up to your faucet in your bath or kitchen and your on your way. I have gravel on the bottom that measures no bigger that 3/8'' . If you have bigger rocks in your aquarium, you may have a hard time getting some of the uneaten food from underneath and this could cause excessive ammonia levels in your tank. Hope this helps


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## CHOMP (Nov 6, 2004)

When water is de-chlorinated with aqua plus, the process creates ammonia, immediately adding the water, a big 50% change could have added to your high ammonia levels. I don't think it's possible to OD the Aqua plus, probably too big a water change.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Maybe a dumb question, but how much was the difference in temperature between the tank water and the new water you poured in? You wouldn't be the first to accidentally kill your fish due to temperature shock.

And high ammonia could be caused by a number of things:
- increased bioload caused by more tank inhabitants;
- left-overs/corpses/dead plants rotting in your tank;
- a mass dying of beneficial bacteria, for whatever reason possible;

I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune


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## supragtsxr (Feb 18, 2004)

Yeah man, sorry for your loss. I like RBPs the most of all


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## alan (Mar 11, 2004)

seems strange when they were 2.1/2 years old ??


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Another possibility is your water district is doing something different that may not be safe for aqua life. Check with your water district to see if they are doing anything different than before.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

PYROPYGO1 said:


> I do a water change every week with my python hose assembly. It's quick and easy, just hook it up to your faucet in your bath or kitchen and your on your way. I have gravel on the bottom that measures no bigger that 3/8'' . If you have bigger rocks in your aquarium, you may have a hard time getting some of the uneaten food from underneath and this could cause excessive ammonia levels in your tank. Hope this helps
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, I have big rocks in my tank but it never seemed to matter before. I use a large syphon to remove water.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

CHOMP said:


> When water is de-chlorinated with aqua plus, the process creates ammonia, immediately adding the water, a big 50% change could have added to your high ammonia levels. I don't think it's possible to OD the Aqua plus, probably too big a water change.
> [snapback]796868[/snapback]​


Interesting, I didn't know doing a water change could spike ammonia. I thought it got rid of it.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

Judazzz said:


> Maybe a dumb question, but how much was the difference in temperature between the tank water and the new water you poured in? You wouldn't be the first to accidentally kill your fish due to temperature shock.
> 
> And high ammonia could be caused by a number of things:
> - increased bioload caused by more tank inhabitants;
> ...


The temp was fine. I always put warm water in and treat it before adding it to my tank.


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## blackdog76 (Feb 26, 2004)

jerry_plakyda said:


> Another possibility is your water district is doing something different that may not be safe for aqua life. Check with your water district to see if they are doing anything different than before.
> [snapback]802692[/snapback]​


I doubt that they would tell me anyhting even if they were. The people that work at those places don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. Thanks for all your responses guys. I'll have some more piranhas some day soon hopefully. Lost my local contact though, I'll have to go to Nevada to get some most likeley.


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## Little Waffen (Mar 13, 2004)

elTwitcho said:


> A barracude will not fit in a 55 gallon, not even if you cut it into 4 pieces
> [snapback]794832[/snapback]​


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