1 Fish Out Of 8 Gasping For Air After Water Change

[amy269]

Ok guys, I am brand new to this, so here it goes

Tank is 50 gallons, running with 2 penguin 330 bio wheels, 2 air bars for a wall and an air stone under a decoration. No living decorations just typical decor.

Fish in tank: 2 plecos, 2 danios, silver black tailed shark (its body is skinny), 1 dalmation, 1 blue gourami, 2 pacus. The pacus have gotten pretty big, im a small framed woman and they arent quite the size of my hand, a little smaller. the rest of the fish are all pretty small.(like an inch long or smaller, the shark is about 2 inches long) Up until last night I also had a red tailed shark that was bigger than the rest of the fish but smaller than the pacus. I got tricked into even setting up an aquarium, so i will admit im a dumb a** when it comes to raising fish. All these fish came from petsmart, I also had a dragon fish which the pacus ate after him being in the tank for a day. (this is pertinent, you'll see) Also to note I do regular water changes with my tap water and stress coat stuff, never had a problem

So I did my water change last night, first water change since the dragon fish got eaten. some of the fish remains were coming up (i thought i had gotten them all when the situation happened) i promptly removed them. This was about a 30% water change. Nothing new just going with the flow. I added some plastic decorations but i soaked them in a fish only container before i put them in the tank. I added my water back, added my stress coat and almost suddently the red tailed shark was acting erratic and gasping. The pacus were as well. My red tailed shark was still alive but clearly on his way out within minutes. I removed him, put him in a spare tank to try to get him back but he died very quickly. The pacus were gasping crazily for air. I realize now I didn't match the water temperature well (new water was too warm) and i think that, paired with the toxic fish remains may have caused this situation. The rest of the fish are all perfectly fine, which is weird I just thought the smaller fish would be more sensitive than the big guys, but its the opposite. So this was late last night, I regulated the temperature by removing water and adding some colder water this morning and 1 pacu is back to normal but the other pacu is still gasping heavily and wasnt interested in eating.
So my question is, should i let him ride it out and try to recoup or do you think its just a matter of time before he dies as well? I'm really pissed off at myself, so dont beat me up too bad guys I hate seeing him like this.

 

[Loops]

Sorry to hear you're having problems

Have you tested the water? with a liquid test kit too? strips are useless

Also the container for changing the water ... is it only used for that, no chemicals from say ... washing the car or something?

Also do you condition the water before adding to the aquarium?

 

[amy269]

Sorry to hear you're having problems

Have you tested the water? with a liquid test kit too? strips are useless

Also the container for changing the water ... is it only used for that, no chemicals from say ... washing the car or something?

Also do you condition the water before adding to the aquarium?

Thanks for the reply
I have not tested the water, i don't have a kit. Im pretty sure its ok because all of the other fish are perfectly fine, I mean i looked at them for 2 hours trying to see any weird behavior out of any of them, but nothing they are perfect!
The water changing container is only used to fish stuff so it shouldnt have come into contact with anything.
I don't condition the water prior to adding it, and after my plethora of online research today I realize that I should, so i plan to going forward.

He is still literally gasping, while all the others are cool. I'm hoping he pulls out of it like the other pacu, because last night they were both gasping pretty bad. one got better one is still bad. It hurts to watch

any replies, if you've seen something like this before, anything guys let me have it!! !

 

[Loops]

If it were me I'd be doing a hefty water change ... maybe 50% ... condition before adding, and temperature match then get a test kit as soon as you can and get it tested

Also have you still got the air stone/wall going? sounds like lack of oxygen

Also ... the filter media ... you only wash it in tank water that you've took out right? not under the tap?

 

[amy269]

If it were me I'd be doing a hefty water change ... maybe 50% ... condition before adding, and temperature match then get a test kit as soon as you can and get it tested

Also have you still got the air stone/wall going? sounds like lack of oxygen

Also ... the filter media ... you only wash it in tank water that you've took out right? not under the tap?

I did a hefty water change earlier today didnt condition before adding though, but temperature was good. I am leaving soon and will get a test kit....the air stone and bubble wall are going strong, i also left about 2-3 inches of water out so that the filter will move the water surface really good. i dont think its aeration. but i def could be wrong. and GUILTY...i used tap water for the filter media. shoot me now! at least im learning this stuff by being on here. i dont talk to the person who tricked me into this fish fiasco and she was my only source for fish info, but every tank she has had has been messed up by her in one form or another so she probably wasn't the best source anyway.

 

[Loops]

Don't worry, years ago when I kept fish I did the same thing until I found this place

sounds like you're basically doing a fish in cycle if you've been washing all that friendly bacteria away ... means lots of water changes unfortunately ... time will tell when you get the test kit ... and post the results on here

You need a Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAte kit, pH would be good too API do a master test kit for around £25 - £30 ... this contains all you need

I'd suggest reading the Cycling thread on here in the Beginners section

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[amy269]

ok test levels confirm everything is good, nitrate was slightly high but not in the danger zone. Pacu is still laboring to breath, all other fish are still doing wonderfully. I wonder if he is going to bounce back, and i welcome any advice on if this goes on and on, do i just euthanize him versus letting him be miserable and slowly die from not eating. I haven't tried to feed them again to see if he will eat, but like earlier i doubt he will eat because he can't stop gasping.

 

[amy269]

ok update #2

just threw in some flakes and he is actively eating and going for the food. I'm happy about that!!! Still sad though that the gasping hasn't died down. Any advice, tips, snide remarks, etc are welcomed!!


-amy

 

[WILDER]

I would do another water change.
Did you also do a gravel vac.
Also run some new black carbon.

Which fish is skinny. If its a bala shark they need to be kept in groups of no less than 3. Need large tanks of 100 gallons.

 

[amy269]

i did vacuum the gravel, and i have prun new carbon. im not opposed to doing another water change but i tell you i'm afraid i will mess it up even worse. It is a bala shark, i didn't know that. Heck I didn't know pacus got so big, i listened to my friend who i *thought* knew what she was talking about. ahhh man. I just got home from a little league game, everything is still the same, all fish loving life except mr pacu who is still breathing heavily/gasping

 

[amy269]

ok update...going on hour 24 of my tropical fish hellride. pacu still gasping but otherwise eating, swimming normally, even playing with other pacu actively. so weird. i did another partial water change and more dragonfish remains like came up out of i dont know where. im thinking my water temperature snafu yesterday paired with the toxic fish guts has got my tank ALL MESSED UP. Im so sad, because i know i could have prevented this. The pacus have eaten alot of tankmates in thier day but the dragonfish apparently left a story to tell.
i dont know what to do with my pacu other than ride it out. since its overall quality of life seems ok, other than the 4X breathes it takes as opposed to its brethren pacu, it is normal. i wish i knew how it felt. i have asthma so its like i feel its pain. i dont know, but i plan on changing 15%-20% water each day, and i think i should get in and clean my penguin filters too in case there are fish remains in there. Any other suggestions are
NEEDED! desperately, i want to hear what you have to say!!

love -amy

also i am very sure its not an oxygen thing, my 2 air bubble walls are going strong as is 2 air stones and the wateris lowered by about an inch and a half, allowing the water to dump on the surface, making oxygen. The pacu is not hanging out at the top at all, its not a oxygen thing!!!

 

[LucaBrasi]

hmm... dont keep any of these fish..

try changing 20-25% a day, and do you have stuff to treat the water before you put it in the tank?

chlorine, chloramine remover, electrolyte adder and such.. if so, what brand, how much do you put in the new water?

 

[amy269]

hmm... dont keep any of these fish..

try changing 20-25% a day, and do you have stuff to treat the water before you put it in the tank?

chlorine, chloramine remover, electrolyte adder and such.. if so, what brand, how much do you put in the new water?

dont keep any of them? the other fish are all really normal as i have known them to be over the last 10 months....i know thats not quite long enough to tell but they made it from a 29gal to this current tank 2 months ago with no issues....i cant see myself letting them go based off this situation.

I was afraid to do 30% + water change every day but i see the benefit, anyone else think yay or nay?

i always (about 10-11 months, same fish ) treat with the stress coat water conditioner standard stuffwhen i do my water changes. never had an issue. i also pour tap water intothe tank with the fish then treat it . I now realize that was really dumb. even though the same fish have never had an issue with me doing it. im convinced my water temp snafu caused this mess.

with my last water change a few hours ago i conditioned the water for 20-25 minutes then poured it in. same stuff all fish are cool but my gasping yet fully fed pacu. he is eating everything! when i testd the water nitrates are a little high, and i think the fish remains caused that, please tell me if im wrong. i hve the lights off for the night but will likely keep them off untill i come home for lunch break.

i will do another water change on lunch tomorrow (gotta go to work damnitt!!) but im confident my fish are cool with the exception of this pacu with the labored breathing. i want it to get better but also know when its a good idea to euthanize it (i dont want it to come to that but i also dont want to let it suffer!!!)

 

[tropic_john]

Well Idea;

Maybe the pacu has a parasite of some sort?

 

[WILDER]

How skinny is the bala shark.

Being skinny can mean old age, fish tb, internal parasites, not feeding enough, or not getting enough food, external parasites.

Signs of parasites are.
White spots on the fish size of a grain of salt.
Rusty coloured varnish, gold dusting, or yellow golden spots.
Bluish or greyish film on a fish.
Red sores or red pierce marks on a fish.
Excess mucas on a fish.
Red inflamed gills, or pale gills with excess slime.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting or erratic swimming.
Labured breathing or gasping at surface of a tank.
Fish looks like something is irrataing it.
Fish will swim in a jerky movement.