Need explanation as to why all my fish died

[MillionaireMachine]

Hi...abt a week ago, i bought an external bio filter....to replace the normal top with submersibble filter...so after setting up the bio filter and replacing my old filter, my fishes started to behave weirdly...most of my damsels changed colour and they are most of the time near the seabed...

i got freaked out and tot a water change will do....i did the water change but got worse...eventually most of my 19 fish died except one....so now im restarting again... still in the process of water cycling....

can someone explain what happened...did i put too much chemicals...or did i alter the system?? please help cos dont want it to happen again

[blueheaven]

19 fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MillionaireMachine]

just damsels..small ones....my mum had a craze so she invested....hehe...

[roidan]

yeah..tats a hell lot of fish..hehe

how big is your tank bro?

[MillionaireMachine]

btw my tank is 50 litres abt 2 feet

[roidan]

i think they died of overcrowding....

wah..u really steady...2ft put 19fishes...even if small clownfishes...also very squeezy liao..hehe

mind telling us the breakdown of your 19 fishes? what types of fish

[mohd.saifuddin]

Hi there,May be there's no beneficial bacteria in your new filter.I have the same problem b4.

[BarraCudaTM]

inspired by reborn ah?

[Golf]

Wow !!! 19 fishes??? How big is your tank...bio-load very heavy man. If only 2ft...maybe at most 5~8 fishes lah...depending on size too. My 4ft tank only has 3 fishes....want to add slowly...maybe 1 per week.

Problem solving - All except 1 fish dies...after you change to new external filter...QUESTION to ask yourself...

Q1) Did you use old corals chips(with good baterias) or Bio-Home ceramics (with good baterias) ?

If not, new filtering system cannot cope with your bio-load from 19 fishes lah...especially you remove old filter...supposingly help to maintain your previous bio-load somewhat.

Q2) Did you clean your new filters properly or was there some contamination occured ?

Q3) What are things have changed in your tank ?

Anyway, sorry to hear your state....

Take care ! Golf

[mohd.saifuddin]

Try using STRESS ZYME may b it could save u.

[MillionaireMachine]

they were perfectly fine b4 so dont think overcrowding was the prob...maybe tot they were too stressed with new water conditions...current and all....not sure...

[MillionaireMachine]

they were perfectly fine b4 so dont think overcrowding was the prob...maybe tot they were too stressed with new water conditions...current and all....not sure...and dont think contamination cos now still got 1 fish left...while water is cycling...how to explain that...it has better immune system??

[MillionaireMachine]

and one more thing..are air bubbles in marine tank not advisable....cos it makes water choppy...????

[twilight]

dun think over crowding is a problem?

[mohd.saifuddin]

After 1hr putting whole bottle of Stress Zyme in my new 4ft tank.I transfer all my LS frm my 2ft 2 d new tank.

[MillionaireMachine]

haha...nothing happened b4 wat

[mohd.saifuddin]

As U wish.GOOD LUCK & GOODNIGHT.

[Razo]

haha...nothing happened b4 wat

would advice u to read up more before u start again

[MillionaireMachine]

yup...i know...prob should maintain at most 8 fish i guess....

[ben]

still can be due to overcrowding as every fish has different immune systems. hard to say what happened except to have monitored what u did.

[MillionaireMachine]

will start again though...careful this time...that time i didnt know this portal existed..lol

[anakjoh]

Definitely overcrowding and can't cope with system change. I'm more interested to know y the one fish survived? What made it so fit ah?

BTW, ask yr mum to get her own tank.

[MillionaireMachine]

i wonder that too...but it seemed to be breathing heavily....hmmm....btw..mum paid for the fish so cant say know,..hehe

[Cedric]

If you simply swap out the old overhead filter with the new external one, then I think your new external bio filter killed your fishes. Reason being your new filter has no bacteria to cope with the high bio load. With so many fishes, the water conditions will worsen so quickly and kill all your fishes in no time. You should really try to take care of the sole surviver!

[SpiderOne]

i dun think the filters had a part to play. more like bioload crash. did u check ur water parameters? If u want to put 19 damsels into a tank. u might as well keep fresh water. More colourful fishes.cheaper somemore

not forgetting.. damsels = highly territorial