3 Fish Deaths by JUMPING, help!

Hi, I think something's REALLY wrong in my tank.

Upgraded from a 5G to a 19G early last month, you can view the thread here.

Livestock (before the deaths):
Yellowtail Damselfish
Bicolour Pseudochromis
Bicolour Blenny
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby
False Percula Clownfish

Everything was fine up till this week. The only fish that died was my Longfin Fairy Wrasse, whom I know jumped out because he was being chased around. (this happened a few weeks ago)

A few days ago, I bought a skimmer - Boyu WG-308. That night, when I switched on the filter (modified into a refugium) light just to have a look, my Yellowtail Damselfish jumped out. Luckily I was there to put him back in.

The next morning, I found my Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby dried up on the floor.

My boyfriend suggested that there might be current in the water, so I used a normal test pen to test - turns out there WAS current.

After some testing, I found out that 3 things were causing the current - the skimmer, the powerhead, and the lights.

Removed the skimmer and powerhead, and placed a piece of cardboard with a screw through it under the light fixture to absorb the current. Tested for current again - nothing.

I thought my worries were over. But I was wrong (obviously).


This morning, my False Percula Clownfish lay dried up beside the tank. :\

My Yellowtail Damselfish was injured and swimming low in the tank, so I've since put him in a breeding trap. Probably the Pseudo bullying him AGAIN. Hopefully it's just the injuries causing him to swim so near the sand and he'll heal.


Just tested my water, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10-20, pH 8.0-8.5, temperature 27.6C, salinity (last checked a week ago, no equipment now) ±1.027.

Am going to net up the top of my tank after this.

What could be the reason my fish are committing suicide one by one?


Not sure if this could be it, but I know that my fish all have ich. My Pseudo and Blenny have been flashing quite a bit. I can see spots on my Blenny too.

And my Pseudochromis is the most aggressive fish in my tank, he chases EVERYONE around, except the Blenny.

Please help!

 

Psuedos are extremely mean in my experience.

I would get a ground probe. Only cost $10 and would eliminate any other issue that your meter may not be able to read.

 

Get rid of that Psuedochromis! He's causing stress in your tank. Stress in fish is a large cause of disease.

 

+1 on ground probe

 

+1 on the ground probe.

Sounds like your fish are dealing with the stresses of a move, current in the water and a bully. I've had issues with jumpers during the light cycle change. To combat this, I made a 3 inch wide lip that sits on top of the tank guarding the sides and front.

 

Um, what's a ground probe? Can I find it in hardware stores? (I don't live in the US by the way)

By disease, are you referring to ich?

Will ich cause fish to jump out of the tank?

After more than a month, could they still be stressing from the move? But they were perfectly fine before this

I've tested for current again and again (with a test pen, reliable?), and ever since I removed the equipment causing it, there's no current anymore. Unless, there's something wrong with my home's power supply and it's having sudden surges?

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my Goby and False Percula both died when the lights were off.

 

Well seeing as it was a somewhat fast transfer, you could be dealing with stress related issues from the small cycle that would have occured. I'm just thinking of compounding issues here.

I wouldn't trust a test pen. I'd test the water with a multimeter (multitester, depending on where you are). It can help you determine if you have any other electrical issues.

I had two percs lost during the night cycle. My suggestion for a lip around the tank still stands as my fish still jump when the lights go out and also for fact that you have a bully in your tank chasing fish. When I mated my true percs, the poor little male was running for his life, skimming the surface of the water and such.

You can buy ground probes for fish tanks at just about any LFS or aquarium website.

 

Aquarium Titanium Ground Probe

+50, any stray electrical in the water from a pump/heater will cause fish to jump

 

The lip you're talking about, is it kind of like a cover? How do you do that? Sounds like a good idea, but then I wouldn't be able to cover the filter area right?

Thanks for your help

 

Took a quick pick of mine to help. I went to the hardware store and bought a small sheet of Plexiglas. You can usually find this near the lighting areas. I used a Dremel (rotary tool) to cut the plexi. You could use a utility knife if you're patient enough though.

You could make one to go all the way around, just cut out notches for the plumbing to fit through. I didn't cover my back since there is so much equipment there, that it isn't a concern as much as the front and sides. Plus it's very convenient to remove for feeding, cleaning and water changes.

Click on the pick to make it larger.