# eek!whats wrong with my rummies?



## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

So i had around 16 rummynoses about 3 days ago, now im down to 6....


yesterday i took the loach that i saw killing and eating some out. But today i found another dead rummynose.... and i also observed that they arent eating as vigorously as before, they dont even swim from one side of the tank to the other, they just swim together in the back, not even going to the surface to eat(before they used to go to the surface even when i just hovered my hand over the top)

the only drastic thing ive changed that im sort of worried about is filter, the filter is stronger and creates quite a current, before that, there was practically no current and the rummynose seemed "happy" and as healthy as can be.

i thought these, out of all the fish ive got, would enjoy the current the most, seeing as how they come from running streams, and my angelfish dont!

ph is 6.05
co2 injected
temps 80F
very low ammonia,nitrite and nitrate
and no fish stressing them out, except for that loach that got what he deserved:snakeman:...lol jk, imma give him to a lfs.

any help plz?


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## Qwertus (Oct 14, 2008)

Did you try using the old filter again while the new one stays off for a few days or did you clean it out already?


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## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

Qwertus said:


> Did you try using the old filter again while the new one stays off for a few days or did you clean it out already?


sold it already...:|


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## Qwertus (Oct 14, 2008)

Can you try reducing the current a bit though? If the water is the same its kinda weird that they die off that quick.


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## chunkylover817 (Sep 28, 2007)

i cant really control the current, it might mess up the filter. I think i got rid of the problem...turns out i had mistaken the loach for a red tailed botia..i think hes the reason for the lost fish. ill update if any continue to die. thx


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

You restarted the biological filtration by removing all the old media and restarting with no bio-filter (AKA you're re- cycling the tank). The ammonia is what is causing the stress and the death. If you're getting a reading of ammonia now, it was likely a good deal higher when they started dying. With an already set-up tank, the biofilter will restart fairly fast but you may still have fish die off from the initial shock. There's nothing you can do now but wait and see what the effects are. I guess a good water change would help since you still have ammonia in the tank.

The loach isn't killing them, it's just eating the dead ones. If a loach was to blame you would see nipped fins then maybe a dead fish long after as it wore the fish down. and then it would be dead with nipped fins. No nipped fins means it wasn't the loach. they aren't predators on pelagic and fast fish.

FYI A botia is a loach. Botia is a genus, loach is the common name for them.
example: Zebra Loach (Botia striata)


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## jestep (Nov 14, 2009)

The above sounds correct. I would agree that it sounds like your tank is re-cycling. Has your ammonia, Nitrates, or Nitrites spiked. Rummy's are very sensitive to water conditions (They make great canaries, if you have Discus or other expensive fish).


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## MotionInsilver (Oct 19, 2009)

do you have the tetra or the rasbora sp? 

the tetra- if they're not doing good then the water is off. somethings wrong with the water if you see their red noses being faded than normal


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

Motion- I don't think most people even know there is an Asian rummynose (ie the rasbora)...


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## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

I put 12 in my tank yesterday and found two dead this morning. I don't think it's uncommon to lose one or two when switching them from pet store water to your tank water. I floated the bag to normalize temperature and added a cup of my water to the bag the fish came in every 15 minutes for an hour, but I guess the transfer was too stressful for the two dead ones.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Rummies can be very hard to acclimate in the first place, but if you're saying you have "low" readings on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate it sounds to me like you have an immature cycle, as suggested above.

Any ammonia (even a little) can kill a fish, and with Rummies, it's certainly almost what's doing it given the circumstances...

Ideally, you'll have 0 ammonia and nitrites, and low numbers on nitrates.


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