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  1. #1
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    fish are dying....!

    I have had 3 goldfish die after a 3" hybrid bluegill died over the past three days. In my 150 gallon ft, ph is up to 8.7! Amm =.3, nitrites=0, nitrates=40 temp at 76f. Could not see anything on the bluegill unusual, but the goldfish have patches of missing scales. The gf are laying low mostly and when they move, they slightly slurp at the surface. That might be a response to seeing me and expecting food.
    I followed some advice on cleaning airstones by soaking in hydrogen peroxide just before this trouble began. I soaked 2 of my four airstones then ran air through them in a glass of tap water before returning them to the tank. Would the hydrogen peroxide even in the most diluted form cause so much trouble? I also pulled and cleaned the pump and hoses at the same time 4 days ago. Did my actions bring too much stress? Their bellies are slightly bloated. When they die, they dont go belly up, just laying sideways. I cooked and added some peas and brocolli today in case they are constipated. I might have also,been overfeeding
    Any input will help, thanks in advance
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

  2. #2
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    Sorry to hear that Semi..

    What was your PH before this happened..?
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  3. #3
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    ph has been high 7's since I started in early April.
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

  4. #4
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    I have lost over the previous 3 months 3 channel cats and five goldfish at a rate of about one every or every other week. These 4 died within three days of cleaning half my airstones. Iwas being patient about the ph, figuring it would drop eventually. The spike may be from the dead fish, too. Plants are thriving. I put 5 gallons of well water in per week to keep up with evaporation, after letting it sit a few hours. So, hydrogen peroxide isnt necessarily the problem? It would have been highly diluted except for the aerated water from above those two airstones.
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

  5. #5
    Members Apollo's Avatar
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    Did your system ever cycle in? (PH will start dropping to the point where you would need to buffer it back up).

    I think it's directly related to your PH levels being high. What the PH of your well water?

    Back off on feeding, maybe start water exchanges if your well water has a lower PH level.

  6. #6
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    I have backed off on feeding. I will check the well water ph in the am. I may be guilty of pressing on before a full cycling was reached. Should I be adding bacteria still? I did start with some water and four small sponges from a friends established ap tank, added more bacteria and waited 3 weeks before introducing fish. My amm/n3/n4 levels were borderline acceptable, then. Ph was low 7s consistently, then. I will also nuke, peel, crumble some eggshells into a nylon stocking to hang in a GB water outlet to bring ph down. Ph of 8.7 sure cant help things and waiting for it to self heal is dumb. Thanks for the nudge
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

  7. #7
    Members Apollo's Avatar
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    I may be wrong, but egg shell are only used to stop the PH from going to low.

    I only used my 19 cent feeder gold fishes when I cycled my 850 gal tank, I added nothing. It did take several months before it cycled, my PH got up to 8.4. Once it started dropping it got down to 7 before I added the egg shells which brought it back up to 7.6 to 7.8 and stayed there for a long time.

  8. #8
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    hmmm, okay. I might be remembering that youtube vid incorrectly. I'll take your word for it though and not do it. I still need to research and use a natural ph down solution,tho. Thanks for the correction Apollo.
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

  9. #9
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    Sorry to hear about the fish man it's rough.

    shells will raise the ph so avoid them. Hydrogen peroxide should hurt your fish I've used it in certain instances directly in the water. Did you do anything other then put make up water in the tank. Any additives? What type of media is in the grow beds? How many total fish do you have in the tank?

  10. #10
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    Re: fish are dying....!

    Topz,
    My growbed is hydroton approx 70 gallons? It is the IBC top flipped over 10" deep. Only 5 gal makeup water added. There are 9 feeder goldfish getting big 2-4", 3 channel catfish 5-6", 5 hybrid bluegill 3-4", 6 yellow perch 3-4"...=23. I expected the feeder gf to be eaten but they grew fast.
    I am using chiclid feed pellets because they float and some goldfish flakes because I am taining all for high quality pellets I got from the fishery the sold me the cats, bgs and perch. There have been no fatalities these past two days and ph has dropped to 8.1 from 8.7 in three days on its own. My FT has quarter size river rock and plastic fernery and some pvc refuges.
    No other additives, when I pulled the pump and tubing to clean, I just used the jet setting on a standard hose nozzle...no soaps etc. The 800 gph pump is working like it should now, flood/drain every 12-15 minutes, diverter valve wide open, spilling/aerating back into ft.
    The night before the dieoff began, I heard a louder than usual thump against the tank wall as feeding subsided. The wild ones are very aggressive swimmers at chow time. Banging into the walls is common. But this time was different. It may have been the bluegill that died within hours from head trauma.
    "No man is poor if his word has value." - Dad

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