Bubbles on Fish, 4 dead

[LexiLex888]

Help!

About 2 months ago I decided to purchase a 55 gallon tank and start a tropical fish tank. I set it up, let it cycle for two weeks and then slowly started to add fish.

I have about 25 (all tropical) fish in there now, and 4 snails. There was a slight bacterial bloom a while ago, and my mother hated the look of it and made me do a large water change (about 80%). I added the fish back and they were swimming around all happy like and I was like, awesome, a success! Well not really I suppose.

A couple days ago, I realized that a lot of the fish had bubbles on them and I was like aww. I had no idea what it meant, these are my first tropical fish. I’ve only ever kept two goldfish for about 6 years before that. Anyways, I thought the bubbles were just from them swimming through the filters water pour thing cause it creates bubbles but yesterday’s I woke up to four neon tetras dead. All in one day! Now one of my black skirt tetras has seemed to become like paralyzed and he’s just floating around.

I had noooooo idea that I needed a heater, and their temperature is at 70. Tomorrow I’ll immediately take a trip to the pet store and get a heater and slowly heat up their tank. But why the heck are there bubbles?

Also, sorry I don’t know how to do these forum things it’s my first one! Only the tetras have the bubbles. I have buenos aires tetras, black skirt tetras, and i had neon tetras.

I also have four gouramis but I don’t see any bubbles on them. But they still seem affected.

I also have some guppies and they’ve been laying on the bottom on the tank like they’re sad and the fish aren’t as excited to eat anymore.

Please help me! I’m not sure what else to do?

 

[Doomchibi]

I would definitely say that looks like ich, stress and the low temperature are usually factors to that getting worse and it spreads very quickly. If you recently added any new fish, it may have come in on them as well. Get a heater in there ASAP, 70° is a pretty low temperature for most tropical fish, at least for the black skirts, red eyes and neons they will be healthier and happier with at least 75°.You want to aim for 86° for at least a week to kill the ich if your fish can tolerate it (those three should be alright), as well as adding aquarium salt but check that the kinds of fish or plants you have would be able to handle that. You can go here: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish for information about the salt. I'm sure other people here will give you more advice but that's what I had to offer! I'm sorry you are going through this, I hope they recover soon. What kinds of fish do you have, what is the tank size and can you get a reading of your parameters? (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?) You said you cycled the tank for two weeks but if you haven't checked those since starting the tank, there's a possibility you could be doing a fish-in cycle right now which would greatly contribute to the stress of the fish. If you don't have a test kit, API freshwater master kit is a liquid test that is really great to have on hand. If you can't get to a pet supply store, even if you can get to a 24 hour Walmart or something with a basic pet aisle, test strips aren't very accurate but are better than nothing and are usually easy to find. Good luck!

 

[LexiLex888]

I would definitely say that looks like ich, stress and the low temperature are usually factors to that getting worse and it spreads very quickly. If you recently added any new fish, it may have come in on them as well. Get a heater in there ASAP, 70° is a pretty low temperature for most tropical fish, at least for the black skirts, red eyes and neons they will be healthier and happier with at least 75°.You want to aim for 86° for at least a week to kill the ich if your fish can tolerate it (those three should be alright), as well as adding aquarium salt but check that the kinds of fish or plants you have would be able to handle that. You can go here: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish for information about the salt. I'm sure other people here will give you more advice but that's what I had to offer! I'm sorry you are going through this, I hope they recover soon. What kinds of fish do you have, what is the tank size and can you get a reading of your parameters? (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?) You said you cycled the tank for two weeks but if you haven't checked those since starting the tank, there's a possibility you could be doing a fish-in cycle right now which would greatly contribute to the stress of the fish. If you don't have a test kit, API freshwater master kit is a liquid test that is really great to have on hand. If you can't get to a pet supply store, even if you can get to a 24 hour Walmart or something with a basic pet aisle, test strips aren't very accurate but are better than nothing and are usually easy to find. Good luck!

Oh my gosh thank you so much!! The second the pet store opens I’ll go right there, I feel so bad that I’ve done this to them, hopefully I can get them to feel better soon!

I recently added in three baby bristlenose plecos about two weeks ago.

I’ve got a handful of fancy guppies, four gouramis, buenos aires tetras, black skirt tetras, lamp eye tetras, three cory catfish, three plecos, and 3 snails. Man that sounds like a lot typed out haha! It’s also a 55 gallon fish tank.

I’ve never gotten a reading on the parameters, but I could totally take it to a pet store tomorrow to get it checked when I get the heater. I’ll try to find one of those test kits! That’d be awesome to have. Thank you so so much for all your help!

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

They’re not bubbles they are white spots known as ich. @Colin_T will be able to give you a proper write up about it. Not saying doomchibi hasn’t in anyway, But Colin is well knowledged with this kind of stuff

Don’t go adding anymore fish to the tank. Because you have scaleless fish in there aka Bristlenose and also cory’s and snails you will need to half the dose of salt. Your plants will be fine.

 

[Colin_T]

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Post the results in numbers here.

-----------------
Do a 90% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 5 days. Leave the fish in the tank when you do this.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter. Wash the filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the dirty water on the garden/ lawn.

Raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. Raise the temperature slowly over 2 days. After the 2 weeks you can reduce the temperature to 24C (75F).

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

Do not add chemicals to treat whitespot. Just use heat.

------------------
You have Beunos Aires and black skirt/ widow tetras in the tank and they are renown fin nippers that are going to kill your guppies. After the white spot has been delt with, you need to rehome some of the fish.

 

[Martyn87]

That's a bad case of white spot (or Ich). Best of luck sorting it and keep us posted.

 

[LexiLex888]

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Post the results in numbers here.

-----------------
Do a 90% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for 5 days. Leave the fish in the tank when you do this.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter. Wash the filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the dirty water on the garden/ lawn.

Raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks. Raise the temperature slowly over 2 days. After the 2 weeks you can reduce the temperature to 24C (75F).

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

Do not add chemicals to treat whitespot. Just use heat.

------------------
You have Beunos Aires and black skirt/ widow tetras in the tank and they are renown fin nippers that are going to kill your guppies. After the white spot has been delt with, you need to rehome some of the fish.

Ok awesome. I’d be able to do a 90% water change but I don’t know how I’d be able to clean the gravel? I don’t have a gravel cleaner thing.

I just bought and installed the heater, and it’s heating up slowly to 72 degrees.

How would I add back the 90% of water i took out with no chlorine in it? Would i have to put it into a bucket, de-chlorinate it, and then put it in the tank?

I lost three more fish this morning.

I never knew that those tetras would nip the
guppies fins I’ve never seen them nipping at them and I’m around them quite a lot. I’ll rehome some when this ich is gone.

 

[Colin_T]

How would I add back the 90% of water i took out with no chlorine in it? Would i have to put it into a bucket, de-chlorinate it, and then put it in the tank?

Before you do a water change, fill a large plastic bucket or plastic storage container with tap water and add dechlorinator to the container of water. Aerate it while you drain the main aquarium. Then use a small water pump and hose to pump the water from the container into the tank, or use a bucket/ jug to scoop the water out of the container and pour it into the tank.

----------------
You can make a gravel cleaner from a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and a garden hose.

Cut the bottom off the bottle and throw the bottom bit away.
Remove the lid and plastic ring from the top of the bottle and throw those 2 bits away.
Put the garden hose in the top of the bottle and run the hose out the door onto the lawn. If you have a small tank just cut a length of garden hose or clear hose (available from hardware stores) and put one end in the bottle and the other end in an empty bucket.

Start the water draining out of the tank and then push the bottle into the substrate and lift it up. The gravel will circulate around the inside of the bottle and drop down while the gunk will be drawn out with some of the water.
Move the bottle around the tank cleaning as much of the gravel as possible.

 

[LexiLex888]

Before you do a water change, fill a large plastic bucket or plastic storage container with tap water and add dechlorinator to the container of water. Aerate it while you drain the main aquarium. Then use a small water pump and hose to pump the water from the container into the tank, or use a bucket/ jug to scoop the water out of the container and pour it into the tank.

----------------
You can make a gravel cleaner from a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and a garden hose.

Cut the bottom off the bottle and throw the bottom bit away.
Remove the lid and plastic ring from the top of the bottle and throw those 2 bits away.
Put the garden hose in the top of the bottle and run the hose out the door onto the lawn. If you have a small tank just cut a length of garden hose or clear hose (available from hardware stores) and put one end in the bottle and the other end in an empty bucket.

Start the water draining out of the tank and then push the bottle into the substrate and lift it up. The gravel will circulate around the inside of the bottle and drop down while the gunk will be drawn out with some of the water.
Move the bottle around the tank cleaning as much of the gravel as possible.

Ok, thank you so so much for all your help! I’m going to do a 90% water change and clean all the gravel for 5 days!

 

[seangee]

Ok awesome. I’d be able to do a 90% water change but I don’t know how I’d be able to clean the gravel? I don’t have a gravel cleaner thing.

I just bought and installed the heater, and it’s heating up slowly to 72 degrees.

Don't forget what @Colin_T said about 86 degrees. This is a very important part of the treatment.

 

[Aussie_Bristle]

Could not agree more ..check point everything of what Colin has said and make sure it is done correctly.

 

[Carolyn N]

Please make sure that all water that you add is the same temp. as the tank water. You don't want to chill the
fish with a temp drop.

 

[Colin_T]

Make sure you turn the heater off a couple of minutes before you do the water changes, and turn it back on after the tank has been refilled.

 

[LexiLex888]

Yes, I will remember. I won’t forget. Thank you!

 

[LexiLex888]

I finished a 90% water change and extensive gravel clean this morning! The temperature is at a steady 86 degrees and they seem to be a lot happier.

I dechlorinated the water and adjusted it’s temperature before I added back in. And I’ll start cleaning the gravel everyday for 5 days. I also cleaned the filter and put the extra tank water on the garden.

I don’t see any white spots on them anymore but their fins seem to be like deteriorated or something, some are having a hard time swimming because of it.

Would it be ok to leave the ornaments and fake plants outside of the tank while I’m doing the gravel thing for 5 days?