Are they ok?

[Flower]

Hi All

Tonight all my fish seem to be sitting on the bottom of the tank, they all seem very lathargic, The temperature of the tank is 26 so thats ok, they have been fed twice today, i really dont know whats wrong with them, oh the fish i have are Guppy's and Platie's. Please Help!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Need alot more info first;
a. how long has the tank been set up and how many gallons does it hold and how many guppys and platys does it have?
b. What is you tank cleaning regime on average and how often i.e water changes and the size of them, cleaning gravel/sand?
c. Do you have filtration for the tank and do you ever clean it out in tap water- do you use dechlorinator in your tank of some sort?

 

[Snailguy101]

Could it be parasites?

 

[Jo and Gra]

could just be sleepy?

 

[tttnjfttt]

Also, it would be very useful to know what your water stats look like (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH).

Have you added any new fish to your tank recently?

 

[Flower]

well sorry for the late reply, the tank is 30 gallons, it has gravel at the bottom, it has 2 guppys, 5 platies, a sucker fish, we changed the water once a week, but since i last posted we have lost 3 fish and the others still look poorly and this morning we woke up to find that the sucker fish has died, Could anyone please explain emonia?

Thanks

 

[tttnjfttt]

Need to know three more things...

How long has this tank been set up?
Do you use dechlorinator when doing water changes?
Do you have a water test kit, and if so, what are the test results?

Right now, I would do a partial water change.

 

[Sky042]

Aside from the other questions that have been asked I'd add why are you feeding twice a day? The fish do not need it and it's just adding to your tanks problem.

 

[Flower]

The tank has been set up about 4 or 5 months now, We do use dechlorinator on some of the water changes but not all and i dont have a test kit so i wouldnt know what the test results are, I think my problem is that i have over fed them and ive poisioned them, it says on the back of the tin of food to feed them as much as they can eat in 2 minutes, 3 times aday. They are always at the top looking for food. Would remaining food laying on the bottom of the floor kill them?

 

[Morrgan]

Aside from the other questions that have been asked I'd add why are you feeding twice a day? The fish do not need it and it's just adding to your tanks problem.

Why not feed twice a day? Pretty much everyone I know does that. Fish don't have that large stomachs (especially guppies), so it's better to give small portions several times a day, than one big portion once.

Flower: There should never be any food remaining on the bottom after feeding. My guppies and platies gobble it all up in a couple of minutes. Extra food lying around uneaten will degrade to ammonia very quickly and cause big problems with water quality. First thing to do is remove any extra food, then do a waterchange.

 

[tttnjfttt]

ok, you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWASY must use dechlorinator when you do water changes. Chlorine is toxic to fish, and will also kill the beneficial bacteria that you have in your tank to deal with the fish's waste. Have you done a water change recently without dechlorinator? If so, go do a 30-40% water change, and add enough dechlorinator for the ENTIRE tank. Normally you will add dechlorinator for the amount of water you are replacing.

Yes, I know you want to know about ammonia, and I will start working on a post about that next.

 

[tttnjfttt]

Whats up with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate....

When fish are kept in captivity, one problem that must be dealt with is their wastee that goes into their water. One component of their waste is ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish, and will kill them. Thankfully, there are these things called Nitrifying bacteria, which will turn the ammonia into nitrIte. Nitrite is also toxic to fish, and another set of bacteria turn the nitrIte into nitrAte. Nitrate is non-toxic to fish at most levels. The process of building up these bacteria is called cycling.

When you feed your fish too much and there is left over food on teh bottom, this food will also decay and turn into ammonia.

Chlorine will kill the good bacteria, so that is why you need to use dechlorinator.

 

[Flower]

We did a water change yesterday and used dechlorinator, we did a 40% water change but i really dont think that is the problem, although it is proberly adding to our problems i think that the tanks water is poor and thats whats killing them!

 

[Flower]

Thankyou for the good advice, i think that is definitly the problem, when i have had a look in the tank there is alot of left over food on the bottom that looks rotton but we have removed most of it now but i think it is a bit to late.

 

[tttnjfttt]

It could be part of the reason. For the next several days, do daily partial water changes with dechlorinator. Tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are), go to your pet store or fish store and take a water sample with you. Most stores will test your water for free. If you can afford it, buy a master test kit. (The one I have was around $30). You want to find one where you add drops of liquid to test tubes. These are more expensive, but last longer and are more accurate. EDIT: These are really good to have on hand for when your fish start acting wierd, so it is best to get one.

Ok, look at your fish, do you see any white spots? if you shine a flashlight on them, do you see a gold dusting?