HELP AGAIN!

some bottled water is ok, others are mineral rich so you have to read the small print, either way possibly better than your tap water.
tap water gets various contaminates incl copper from pipes etc. most fish cope with this unless the level is high or the fish very sensitive. rain water has much fewer chemicals and is softer water which BNs like.
deep sand is often a problem, especially if not being turned over by mts (snails) or things digging in the sand. When you disturb the sand at lower levels or from under a large stone, cave etc, is any of it turning black? black patches in the sand indicate bad toxin built up because of lack of oxygen and can easily kill fish, so if deep sand you need to turn the sand over regularly to prevent the black spots gathering.
I dont have sand deeper than 1 or 2 cm. and I have snails digging in that.

thanks irene. the last female boesmani has turned upside down. the sand has got black spots underneath stone i will take the level down, bit by bit, until its 3cm deep. i will get my hands on some rainwater. i have just been and bought tonic salts, all the sponges for my juwel filter system ( i wont change all at once) and some more chlorine eraser.

tonic salts?

api aquarium salt for healing and defence?

when you turn the sand over by hand, does it smell?

yes, quite alot

ok thanks intrepidmax. my parents are sure the water comes from the mains, not a tank. im changing the substrate anyway, to a thin layer of back sand. i will invest in some mts

Smell?

JackGillett said:

yes, quite alot

Click to expand...

What does it smell of? Rotton Eggs?

yeah, its pretty grim

sounds to me like your sand has gone anaerobic and has produced hydogen sulphide gas which has caused the deaths. Sorry dont have any experience of this so not sure what suggest. Would guess you will need to sort the sand asap but not sure if this will cause more deaths, do you have any where to re-home the surviving fish?

erm can i put the fish in a big container for about an hour, change all the gravel, then add the fish back in? obviously changing the contaminated water?

Would guess that will be fine, better chance that way then their current situation. Just hoping this will save your remaining fish. Hopefully someone else will confirm this is the right course. What stock have you got left?

thankyou dylan. i have 2 bns, 6 cardinals, 3 panda corys, and 1 sterbai.
ive lost 6 cherry barbs, 4 boesmani rainbows, 1 sterbai, and 5 baby pandas.

Gutted for you, I have Boesmani Rainbows, stunning fish. Oh and its Steve by the way, Dylans my son. Keep us updated on progress, how are the fish doing at the moment?

ok steve, thankyou for your sympathy, im truely gutted. but it happens,
i will do mate, either through this or i will pm you. thanks for your help.

Let us know how it goes and if you want some MTS let me know, ive got tons of them.

thanks lisa

well I agree, a few small w/c wont do, needs good clear out.
I learnt this lesson the hard way when lost a few fish years ago. thats why I asked about your substrate. the shops encourage deep sand but its leathal, so I only have thin sand and thats fine. deep sand is ok if you have eartheater fish or things that bury in it like some loaches.
I would not add salts to the tank - really bad for cories. take it back to the shop and tell them to stop selling you things that are not good for fish!! and the plant fert! get a fish friendly one like easycarbo.

thankyou irene, i will do that, they will get a roasting from me very soon!