Please tell me I'm not the only one who has killed

[sanford.in.belize]

I have lost three fish in four days
My NH3 is around .6
NO2 has been .3 - .5
NO3 floating around 35-45
PH is a fairly constant 7

Water is very clear and have two large air-stones going 24/7
They have been in the water for a little over a month with no problems up to now.

Red tilapia is the type of fish and I am completely baffled. The gills look clean and healthy and the only noticeable mark is a slightly darker red. one was under the jaw and another a small red spot of the face.

I read something in an SRAC publication that leads me to believe it may be a bacteria infection and needs to be treated with copper sulfate.

Has anyone else encountered similar problems? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone

sanford

[badflash]

I've killed thousands. My mentor told me I need to kill a million before I'll know what I'm doing.

With readings like you have I would expect more losses. Your system is not fully cycled. You should not measure ammonia in a system that is properly cycled. For now you should do a 50% water change every day and figure out what is happening with the cycle.

How long has this system been running?

[jackalope]

You're not the only one ..... I killed 45 goldfish when I first started ...... hopefully, someone will come on that has a good idea of what the problem might be ...... I have not had any problems at all with my Tilapia.

Here are some links that JCO has provided;
Clik Tilapia Diseases & Cures

Looks like badflash and I were writing at the same time He beat me to it

[wolfracer]

I killed 50 catfish in 1 day because of chloramine in the water. It happens, We are perfecting a new technology there will be casualties.

[sanford.in.belize]

The system has been running for about two months now. The veg. are growing like mad and the fish seem to be doing well aside from the three.

What doesnt look right with the levals??

Thanks for the encoraging words everyone

[jackalope]

The system has been running for about two months now. The veg. are growing like mad and the fish seem to be doing well aside from the three.

What doesnt look right with the levals??

Thanks for the encoraging words everyone

What badflash was saying is that you should not measure ANY Ammonia (NH/3)in a well-cycled system .... you need to bring down the ammonia, he was suggesting an immediate 50% water change (which would reduce the ammonia content), and then treat the ammonia problem ..... I like the old-fashoined charcoal approach if you can't get a sump/biofilter established right away ..... Charcoal or Zeolites will remove a lot of the ammonia whilst you are getting your biofilter installed and cycled .... it takes a while for the bacteria ( Nitrosonomas & Nitrobacter) to get established so your system will cycle.

Nitrifying Bacteria,

any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification process requires the mediation of two distinct groups: bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites (Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira, Nitrosococcus, and Nitrosolobus) and bacteria that convert nitrites (toxic to plants) to nitrates (Nitrobacter, Nitrospina, and Nitrococcus). In agriculture, irrigation with dilute solutions of ammonia results in an increase in soil nitrates through the action of nitrifying bacteria.

These might help explain the Nitrogen cycle a little better than I can:
Clik
Clik
Clik

[sanford.in.belize]

Thanks guys
I had thought .6 was pretty low for amonia. Cant Tilapia survive in levals as high as 5? There is a guy here who is trying to put up an aquapinics set up but he doesnt have his biofilter in place yet. He changes out the water but i did a few water tests for him the other day and his amonia levals were about 6.2 granted he was just about to do a water change but still it was really high, his water was dark and it smelled really bad.

how high should NO3 levals be to promote healthy plant growth? I placed some water haytchin in the ponds to lower the amonia but all my levals droped so I was wondering what i should be shooting for in terms of Nitrate.

I will put up some pictures of the system if anyone wants to see it.

[badflash]

Bad smell is bad. You have to get the system properly cycled before you add valuable live stock. 2 ppm is lethal, and measurable level is harmful over time.

I like the turtle method to cycle a new system. A few large turtles add a good bio load to get a cycle going and turtles are not harmed by the ammonia. Once the system is cycled and stable the turtles come out and the fish go in.

[jackalope]

Thanks guys
I will put up some pictures of the system if anyone wants to see it.

You don't even have to ask .... we ALWAYS want to see pictures Especially in areas where it is warm while I'm freezing my @#$%^& off!