Aquarium Problems

[Bradders33]

Hi

I have a 70 litre tropical tank that has been running for about 7 or 8 weeks. Currently it has 5 mollies, 2 danios, 2 flying foxes, 2 dwarf gourami and 1 catfish. The ammonia and nitrate levels are good (as recommended) and the temp is about 25 degrees.

As of this morning we have noticed that the gourami appear unwell. They are floating on their side and struggling to swim, mostly laying on the bottom of the tank. We are unsure of the cause as all advice we have read is conflicting. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Also, we have just noticed that one or two of the mollies appear to have developed White eyes. The eyes look cloudy on one of the mollies and small white dots have appear in the eye of another. Again, conflicting information on websites.

We did a fishless cycle of the tank for about a month, and have slowly added in the fish, starting with the danios and the mollies.. We are worried the fish are in trouble.. Help!

Thanks
Bradders33

 

[This Old Spouse]

A month generally isn't long enough to cycle a tank completely unless you had some mature filter media to add. But it's too late to correct that part of it at this point except to do water changes. How often and how much are you changing the water?

Dwarf gourami is not a good fish to start in a smallish and new tank. Because of overbreeding they can often develop dwarf gourami disease. I had 5 die from it and likely won't get any more unless I can trace the lineage back to my satisfaction. At any rate, I don't think there's much you can do for them.

I don't know anything about fish with white eyes. It doesn't sound good, though.

 

[Bradders33]

We have been doing about a 10% water change each week. Should we be doing more?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes. You should be doing at least 50% each week and vacuuming the gravel (or hoovering above the sand) to get rid of the gunk. You should also rinse your filter media in old tank water about once a month to get rid of some of the mulm buildup.

 

[alihar]

Can you post ammonia,nitrite, nitrate and ph readings?

 

[Bradders33]

pH 7
Ammonia 0 mg/l
Nitrite < 0.3 mg/l
Nitrate - unsure as haven't a testing kit

Can anyone recommend a way of cleaning the test viles as I am unsure whether they ate completely clear from previous tests. Rinsing in tap water doesn't seem to clean the ammonia vile too well...

 

[alihar]

Ok ideally your nitrite needs to be 0.
0.3 will still have a negative effect on the fish.
You need to be doing 20% daily water changes and re testing water parameters until you have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite.
Your gourami may be suffering from the negative effects of water quality and your mollies sound like they have cloud eye.
How did you cycle the tank?
When you did a fishless cycle did you use an ammOnia source?

Test vials should just rinse out under the tap. Part fill with water, cap them, give them a good shake and re rinse.

 

[Bradders33]

We have the tetra testing kit for nitrite levels and <0.3 is the lowest on the card. Would you recommend any other kits? Should we get a nitrate testing kit as well?

My apologies.. We did a fish cycle with danios. We had 8 at the time. Guy in the shop said to do it that way.

Is there a way of treating cloud eye?
Would you suggest cleaning filter sponges? We have a juwel aquarium with built in filter.

 

[alihar]

My apologies I misread your nitrite reading I missed <
I personally use tetra tests I find them more accurate than others I have tried. The test vials do stain around the 5 ml mark but ad long as you give a good rinse to remove the chemicals it shouldn't compromise test results.
I would invest in a nitrate test kit too.
Nitrate is less toxic than ammonia and nitrite but still harmful if levels rise.
You need to be doing around 25-30% weekly water changes and gravel vacs.
Rinse filter sponges in a bucket of tank water around once a month.
If your filter has two sponges rinse alternate sponges every two weeks.
Are you de chlorinating tap water you are adding to the tank?
If you are confident the mollies have cloud eye ( google a picture if it helps confirm ) esha200 or myxazin are both excellent meds.

 

[Nytae]

I'd also not buy the test strips they are very unreliable!

White eyes is the ammonia burning the fish eyes is it not?

 

[Bradders33]

I don't use the test strips for that very reason.

Is that what cloud eye is? I have 5 mollies and only one is showing cloudy eye, in one eye..

I have done a 20% water change this morning and cleaned the filter sponges (I had four sponges in all. Cleaned the top filter sponges and the carbon sponge. I left the other two as the tank hadn't been running long enough yet to clean them).

 

[alihar]

Cloud eye is usually the result if a bacterial infection.
If your mollies were in the tank when it was still cycling it is possible that they have been weakened by the stress of ammonia and nitrite present in the water.
Cloud eye usually responds well to treatment so get some esha2000 or myxazin and start treatment.
Remove your carbon from the filter as it will render medications useless.
Keep up with your weekly water changes the way you have today and get a nitrate test kit.
Are your gourami any better after the water change?

 

[Bradders33]

One of the gourami does look a little better. He isn't swimming freely, but is a little more active. The other however looks doomed laying on the bottom. Still breathing, but not for much longer.

So I need to remove the carbon filter sponge when treating with the medicine?

The mollies have been in the tank for about 3 weeks I think.
How do you go about feeding ALL your fish? Whenever I drop some flakes in the mollies seem to eat it all before the others get a chance. I read that I may well be over feeding too. How much should I put in to make sure all my fish are eating enough?

 

[alihar]

Dwarf gourami are sensitive to water fluctuations and high nitrates so it's possible a couple of water changes could right them.
Are they still eating and pooping normally?
Yes you need to remove carbon when treating with medications as the carbon just filters the meds straight back out.
The carbon is present in filters to polish the water and remove any chemicals that may be present.
If you decide to treat for the cloud eye replace the carbon once you have finished the course.
Carbon pads should be replaced every 4-6 weeks as they "run out" so to speak and become useless.
Mollies seem to be pretty greedy from my experience with them.
You could try adding food to opposite end of the tank.
You only need to feed once a day as much as the fish can eat in a few minutes.

 

[Bradders33]

One of the gourami is dead the other seems to be hiding away so haven't seen any eating or pooping from him. As I said, because of the mollies, others don't seem to get a look in with food.

I'm going to get some treatment for the cloud eye now. Will start the course today.

Thank you for your help. I'll let you know how we get on.