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Well, if for instance its a pH balancer that aims to make the water alkaline and his source water is acidic with a low KH level (a normal KH is responsible for holding the pH steady) the product will be causing a massive pH swing to alkaline.

Have you seen any gasping at the surface in addition to the flashing?

If it is bloating up soon after a water change it does strike me that the W/C is the issue, probably from the “PH balancer” product. What does the PH balancer do to your water? It may be worth checking the pH before and after using the pH balancer as large pH swings are a source of stress.

Could you get a close up of the eye by itself and possibly turn flash on when taking the picture? If it is a very pronounced cotton appearance then this would suggest it has a fungus growth. I have attached a photo of what fungus looks like.

The problem is you can’t use it as a typical dechlorinator and decide not to use it as a short term ammonia/nitrite remover. It provides both the former and the latter, the latter being an expensive, temporary option that starves the filtration media bacteria from its source of ammonia and...

How old is the tank? If under 3-4 weeks old this could be new tank syndrome. If over 3-4 weeks the other possibility is that you cleaned the filtration media, which contains the bacterial colonies for removing ammonia and nitrite, too vigorously or by using water that hasn’t been dechlorinated...

I would not risk it with the aragonite sand as if it does raise the pH above 7.5 the leopard danios will suffer and it will be a difficult task removing it from the tank. Sand isn’t the best substrate for plants. You would need 4-5cm thickness of sand to create sufficient anchorage for the...

They cope well when i put my Koralia powerhead on. I leave it on when I do a water change to circulate the heat while the filter is off and I’ve seen no issues. I will point it from one end to the other to see if it moves the pieces to the filter intake. @Colin I setup the DIY Vac and its done...

I’m sure if one of them was sick you would be able to spot the problem in a lighted tank. When you have a pond, a fish to match its colour and the pond base is 9 foot from your head it will be close to impossible to It is a real pain. I really am nervous about my Tench getting sick because I’d...

Stress coat looks like a good product. I can see it has the aloe vera in it. But don’t let the manufacturer trick you into thinking the “enzymes” in the product will reduce ammonia and nitrite as it isn’t effective, a long-term solution or a quick solution. For removing ammonia, lots of water...

I think now the ammonia and nitrite are back to normal the fish will look more healthy and eat. I’m glad we could help!

Yes, I didn’t think the fluke was visible to the naked eye.

The only experience I have of 1 ppm of ammonia is with my carp when I add an inadequately-sized filtration system. Their symptoms involved not eating thanks to me, out of habit, routinely adding a dechlorinator that contained aloe-vera. I highly recommend you prioritise getting the ammonia to 0...

If you did a 40% water change with an elevated ammonia and nitrite reading I suggest you do further much larger water changes, perhaps in the region of 80%, to further reduce the ammonia and nitrite reading until they are at 0 ppm. These readings should always be 0 ppm. Cory’s are very...

I regret buying a pond tench on the account that it is black and olive green making it nearly impossible to see. I have only managed to spot it swimming in front of more colourful fish a handful of times in the last 12 years!

Ill update the thread once I have the new filter up and running.

@663 Yes I have Discus. They poo exactly like a goldfish when at adult stage. Typically you would have a substrate in a tank, and every previous tank I’ve maintained did have sand as substrate. But with Discus there seems to be a thinking that substrate can make them sick as if they disturb it...

Unfortunately because the tank is bare-bottom there is no sand for them to sift through. Their barbels often disintegrate from rubbing on the glass and then you add in the bits of food that they scurry past and its just a recipe for disaster where rotting food gets in the rubbed down barbels...

What kind of a fluke are we talking about here? As far as I know, flukes are microscopic and would not be visible when photographed. If the white particle is a worm it would surely move. To me it looks more like damage to the skin. Unless this is a very sensitive fish it is very likely to...

I would not rely on carbon filters because they just create an headache for when you need to treat the tank due to them absorbing the chemicals. You can get crystal clear water with dense planting and frequent water changes without carbon filtration. If you dosed some Prime in there then that...

I am treating with Sterazin (the carcinogenic treatment) so I’m completely avoiding putting hands/arms in the water. The bottle idea is good - thanks! I will get a separate hose and bottle for this job. The waste water will probably go down the drain given what treatment I am using.

Normally after cycling an aquarium you would test the water for 5 consecutive days after your first negative ammonia and nitrite reading just to ensure you have a consistent negative reading. It sounds like the whitespot and an elevated ammonia/nitrite reading probably killed them. Can you...

If the fins are ragged that is fin-rot. If they are ragged with redness on the tips that is active fin-rot. Keep doing water changes until you reach 0 ppm for ammonia and nitrite. This will stop the red streaks but you will need an anti-bacterial treatment for the fin rot. The best...

Yes for vacuuming food and dirt. Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve been aware of the Eheim one for a while and used it many years ago. For the aquarium I have now it is not long enough to reach the base. I am basically looking for something battery-powered like the Eheim but which will reach...

I don’t know what it is I’m afraid. Clearly if it is eating it would suggest that it is superficial. It looks like damage caused by catching its eye socket area on something in the tank. I’ve had fish develop a grey sheen on their eyes and once even had a fish slice itself open but as they were...

Ok I’ll keep the current system. The reason I was considering an upgrade is because sometimes bits of food that are too small for the discus to identify as food ends up at the bottom and they wont eat it. The flow created by the filter pump doesn’t pick up the bits. is there a large siphon on...

If it is eating then it will be fine. Perhaps try to get it to eat more than usual to help it recover. I would not recommend continuing to net a sick fish as this will put it through a phase of fight or flight which hampers the ability of its immune system to fight diseases like the one you have...

You should always keep the gravel and filtration media as these contain beneficial bacterial colonies that naturally remove ammonia and nitrites. When it comes to cleaning the filter and gravel, which you would do weekly if there is no detectable ammonia, you would lightly vacuum the gravel...

The losses will be caused by ammonia poisoning. Ammonia should always be at 0 ppm. If it is still 1.5 then you should remove the fish to a holding tank, replace all of the water, then put them back. Fish do occasionally get red marks if they are rubbing against objects to relieve irritation and...

Im not sure of the dimensions. It is an Aquael 300 litre aquarium with the typical rectangular shape. The pH is 6.0-6.5 and I keep 6 Discus and a Bolivian Ram.

I have a 300 litre aquarium that currently uses the Betta 1050 external filter. This filters 1050 litres of water per hour. Is the LPH rate of this filter sufficient for this capacity of aquarium or should I be looking to upgrade?

They are gas bubbles. I filled the tank from the bucket pretty quick so there’s a few more bubbles on the glass and the fish itself than normal. They have dissolved now. I will switch to formalin / potassium permanganate if I run into issues with Sterazin. It could be that flukes respond...

It was a small packet of Kusuri Wormer Plus with the small blue scoop that I used and which contained the flubendazole. It wasn’t effective for some reason, but as I said, having tried sterazin I found this had wiped body and gill flukes out after 2 cycles of treatment. I’ve got Sterazin in the...

The initial signs of a fungal infection or columnaris bacterial infection are white or greyish areas on the skin which is what I can see, and their entry is through a wound which the fish has had. If the fish is still continuing to eat I would feed as normal but perhaps offer slightly more food...

If you have a separate aquarium that is clean and empty, fill this up with fresh clean dechlorinated water, a filter and a heater and add 2 table spoons of aquarium salt per 20 litres. The key is provide a clean and therapeutic environment. The salt will definitely ease the swelling of the...

I would second what Colin has said but you may want to increase the heat also to stimulate its appetite. Offer it some small blood worms with a tweezer to see if it will eat. Do you have any CO2 addition into your aquarium? I’m just curious as to why the fish would be at the surface in some...

Can you think what chemicals you have used in the tank during and before the black marks appeared? Does the heater in the tank have an heat guard to stop any possible burning of the fishes skin? I managed to source this photograph of the fish you have...

Phrases like ‘I have determined the cause’ and ‘I am not doing that because I think..’ are tantamount to knowing something in my book. All the best with whatever you determine the problem to be.

I think what you might be experiencing in the fish is a bacterial infection. If you are only changing 10% of the water weekly you are not going to be diluting the bacteria present in the water, glass, filter, filtration media and so forth to an acceptable level. I’m not too familiar with the...