3 dead fish lil info plz

[fisheyes]

got up this morning 3 tiger barbs were all dead,had bits of white gunk on them and looked a bit overly green and shiny.Other fish hadn't touched them either.Went to lfs and he gave me some protozin,how much of a water change should i do before i add this stuff?

 

[black angel]

hi fisheyes

did the fish look like they had been sprinkled with sugar? if they did then it could be whitespot. or was it clumps looking like cotton wool which would be fungus.
before using protozin, can you get your water tested and post the results back here. what size tank have you got and what other fish do you have? it would be good to know the nitrite, nitrate, ph and ammonia. which type of filter?

 

[fisheyes]

i need wait to test the water when i get home from work,will post results then.But its a 125 litre tank.Other fish are 5 more tiger barbs,2 convicts,1 rtb shark,1 plec and a few kuli loaches can never find em all at once lol.Its planted with live plants aswell and a fluval 3 filter.nearly forgot it ws like clumps of stuff not spots.

 

[fisheyes]

managed to test water before i left the ammonia is sitting at .5 the nitrite at 0 but the nitrate is way to high between 80-100 do i need clean the gravel or something to reduce this?

 

[clutterydrawer]

water change and gravel clean, 30-40% maybe, any clue why your ammonia and nitrate are so high?

 

[skimpy]

Two possibilities.

1. One possibility for high NitrAtes and new ammonia readings is overstocking or overfeeding, could this be your culprit

or

2. What are your PH readings.?? I ask because prolonged high NitrAtes can reduce PH levels and PH levels that are lower that 5.5 can kill off the 'nitrosomonas' (the bacteria that produces NitrIte). If the nitrosomonas die then there is nothing to eat the ammonia and therefore allows a rise in ammonia readings. If this is the case it would be more complicated because at levels of PH 5.5 and lower the ammonia turns to ammonium which is actually not toxic to fish, but getting the tank up to scratch again is touch and go.

Hopefully its number 1.

I agree that gravel change and 30/40% water change would be good, but I would do a PH reading first if you have that test available.

Good Luck

 

[fisheyes]

tested the ph and it was 6 which was the lowest reading on the thing.The ph of my tap water is 7.0 so would perhaps a bigger water change help?Don't think i am feeding too much,the 2 convicts are rather greedy and scoop up the food real fast.

 

[maestro]

Untill you get your tank sorted feed very spaingly, a very small feed once a day for the next week .

You might need to do a few water changes i.e one a day to help out too

 

[Barday]

I'd do a water change and stop feeding for a day or so.

I've used Protozin before with some good results too. BTW Was it only the dead fish which had the fuzzy stuff on them? Have you noticed it on any of the others?

Good luck!

 

[skimpy]

tested the ph and it was 6 which was the lowest reading on the thing

Going back to my point Number 2 in my previous post

2. What are your PH readings.?? I ask because prolonged high NitrAtes can reduce PH levels and PH levels that are lower that 5.5 can kill off the 'nitrosomonas' (the bacteria that produces NitrIte). If the nitrosomonas die then there is nothing to eat the ammonia and therefore allows a rise in ammonia readings. If this is the case it would be more complicated because at levels of PH 5.5 and lower the ammonia turns to ammonium which is actually not toxic to fish, but getting the tank up to scratch again is touch and go.

I would be concerned. I know of a tank that showed the lowest reading of 6 on the chart but when tested further with more accurate tester it was actually found to be 4.2. (The nitrAtes in this case tested as 160 ppm).

If this is the case for you big water changes with a tap PH of 7 can be too much of a shock for the fish. I would 10-15% water changes, every other day (possibly daily if you have to because of other more toxic readings). You need to get rid of the ammonia, reduce the NitrAte yes but you need to raise the PH slowly.

This post may help to understand more about your water and PH levels HERE

Good luck


EDIT: I would also advise to test parameters daily because as the PH levels rise the ammonium will turn back to ammonia and will become toxic to the fish.

Plus you may find that if the PH is low enough to have killed off you NitrIte then you may get a start to get high nitrIte readings soon because in effect you will be recycling your tank.

Putting in meds is essential for help the fish to recover, but only getting the tanks water into tip top condition will help for the illness's not to return. If you only treat the illness and do not correct the cause you will be chasing your tail the whole time.

 

[fisheyes]

only the dead fish have fuzzy stuff others seem pretty happy.