Can anyone tell me what this might be?

[Fishiemang]

My convict.

He has some fin issues, and he is fat as hell, but acts like he is starving all the time. He seems unaffected by all of this too. He has been fat his whole life. Not sure why. He is either encouraging the Bala to flip up (still trying to survive) or tasting him. I'm not sure yet. This thing apparently gets enough to eat tho. I think that is where the african cichlid fry went...

 

[Colin_T]

The Bala and Rainbow are the most affected. Bala upside down and breathing hard, discoloring around the face. The Rainbow discoloring around the face, breathing fast, hiding but using effort to stay upright.

That is typical of chemical poisoning and the fact the entire tank is affected would suggest something got into the water.

Did you do a water change or use a new sponge?
Did you have anything on your hands when you cleaned the tank/ filter?
Did you do a water change?
If yes, did you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

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The pleco is covered in excess mucous (cream/ white film over the head & body) and this is caused by something in the water irritating the fish.

 

[Fishiemang]

There are no chemicals in the water I am aware of. I only use Melafix when I see issues, and occasionally Pimafix with it is I see anything fungal.

Hands were clean whenever I was in the water, washed without soap.

However...

While keeping watch on the tank, I have a 3 year old kid, who, about the same time the issues started with the severum, had been unknowingly rearranging the aquarium, stirring up the bottom and stressing the fish. It was my fault considering it was choices I made that made it easy for her to get access to the lids and get in there. Also, my lack of maint moving things to get a better clean. But I think this may have been the catalyst. It was very shortly after this, that the severum started showing signs of that parasite. I had done several water changes and used Melafix and Pimafix together and.it seemingly cleared up for the most part, then I did a water change, cleaned the filter, and within 2 days it was back with a ferver, then I posted here.

It was a cascade of events that led me to this point.

As for the pleco... Some of the spots are actually from him scraping around the stuff in the tank (like in.front.of the dorsal fin from the cave he goes in). The white film is a recent development, meaning last 2 days. Only things added in that time frame is aquarium salt and.Melafix. Water changes are always done with dechlorinator. So unless the city has added something new to the tap, there shouldn't be any issue (not to mention the other 3 tanks have had changes with no ill effects).

I'm not exactly sure what happened here other than a myriad of small mistakes that added up. The kid helping.probably wasn't very helpful, but she is 3. No point in worrying about that. I fixed that issue anyways. Learned a hard lesson here.

I think the micro bubbles was what got them while I was cleaning the FX4. I noticed a ton of micro bubbles in the water. This was coming from the extra HOB filter for some reason. They were fine before I removed the canister from the system. Swimming normally, altho I had noticed the Bala had an eye cloud up, with a minor amount of pop eye starting. Everyone else was like nothing was wrong, and currently, the Bala is the only one seemingly having issues. Still struggling. Shutting the HOB filter off allowed the micro bubbles to dissipate, and the water cleared up.

 

[itiwhetu]

How long was the dead Severum in the tank before it was removed

 

[Fishiemang]

Not long. Maybe an hour an a half. I checked the params for ammonia right away, and they were fine. I still did a small water change, then did my filter cleaning again and added more carbon and zeolite. Everyone was cool with the small water change, maybe 15%. It was about an hour or so later things went crazy. Micro bubbles were all over the place. Once those dissipated, most everyone went back to "normal". I have not checked on the Bala shark yet, but can see everyone else swimming around in there. I expect the Bala to be bad news too, but, it has surprised me before.

 

[Essjay]

Can I ask why you have zeolite in your filter?

Zeolite absorbs ammonia and starves the bacteria so colonies never grow fully. This ties you in to replacing the zeolite before it becomes full, forever. It is much better to use bacteria and/or plants to remove the ammonia made by the fish.
Zeolite also absorbs medication, so if you ever medicate the fish, you need to remove both zeolite and carbon leaving a tank with insufficient means of removing ammonia.

 

[Fishiemang]

Zeolite removes a lot.more than ammonia.

There are no plants in the aquarium. The pleco, and my former severum, would tear any plant I put in the tank apart.

The bacteria have plenty to eat, as there are several fish in the tank creating "food" for them. If the tank.was planted, I.wouldn't use it.

 

[Essjay]

Using zeolite ties you into replacing before it becomes full, forever.
Zeolite removes ammonia so the bacteria colonies that do grow are smaller than would normally grow for the fish in the tank. If for any reason it is removed from the tank or not changed before it becomes full there won't be enough bacteria to remove all the ammonia made by the fish. So ammonia will start to build up.
That's the reason why I asked.

 

[Colin_T]

Water changes are always done with dechlorinator. So unless the city has added something new to the tap, there shouldn't be any issue (not to mention the other 3 tanks have had changes with no ill effects).

If you add dechlorinator to the tank and fill it with tap water, then you can poison the fish with chlorine/ chloramine. The water company might do work on the pipes and put extra chlorine/ chloramine in the water to make sure it's clean. They don't tell people when they do this and the extra chlorine/ chloramine can wipe out tanks. This is why I say the new water needs to be treated for chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank. If you do treat the water before adding it to the tank, then disregard this statement.

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Plecos and severums need plant matter in their diet. Having some plants in their tank is beneficial to their health. Even if you grow plants outside in tubs or ponds and bring them in a couple of times a week, it would help them.

 

[Fishiemang]

I have done water changes both ways.

When I started out in the hobby years ago, I would use pumps and heaters and all that stuff. This was my friends idea of a good time I think. He based it off something he read in a book about leaving water to settle for 24 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate off, then add to the tank. Was a complicated mess if you ask me.

While some would not advise adding water direct from the tap to the tank, I'm of the opinion that if you get your tap water tested, you will be more than ok if the levels are.low enough. There will always be a risk when using any water. But if you add the proper amount of dechlorinator to the tank, wait a little for it to mix in, and add direct.from the tap, this is by far the easiest method. Not everyone can do this. I get that. But in my experience, it has never been an issue. Some use a bucket, some direct. I have my water tested periodically, and it is sourced from deep. It's not too bad. Very minimal issues. Can't say the same for places just south and north of me, but I am lucky. The fish don't mind the waterfall of fresh water. They play in it with no ill effects. This time, the water change was done with a bucket tho.

I used to hear about people saying "oh lord...never do more than 10-20% water changes" for a myriad of reasons. I have done 80% changes, will.zero ill effects, many times. We gotta remember, our fish have it good. They get optimal.conditions, and great care. In reality, a lot of the fish in the trade are pretty tough. Think of what their native life would have been. Nobody turns the temp up on the rain. Nobody controls the runoff into lakes and rivers. Fish in the wild endure with far greater variance than in our tanks. There are some exceptions, but I have found, most fish are pretty tough.

We as human beings always think.we know what is best for everything. It was an err in judgement that got me in the pickle I am here. I figured they would be ok. As it turns out, I lost my severum, and possibly my Bala (he was still upside down but breathing, all be it slower, when I left for work this am...I'm almost certain he will pass as well). Every other fish in that tank has recovered and shows no signs of ill health. I panic'd last night. Once I saw the micro bubbles, I knew what happened. I almost killed the whole tank once before with that. I am usually very careful about that, but still don't know why the HOB filter caused it. It is unplugged for now. Perhaps the impeller has issues. I don't know. Water tests are good as of last night so...we shall see.

 

[Fishiemang]

Bala shark is gone.

Thus ends this chapter.

What a bummer man. What a bummer.

 

[itiwhetu]

Said about your losses. I am even more extreme than you I haven't used dechlorinator in more than twenty years. I have heavily planted tanks that are acidic, I never do more than 25% water changes. I walk in with the hose and fire it at the tank. Most of the chlorine if not all of it is dispersed as it hits the tank. I have never lost a fish because of this. If you look at my threads with the Severums and Silver dollars I used the same method on those tanks. People are always over thinking these things. Take care happy fish keeping

 

[Fishiemang]

I think we all may get there thru our experience. I have gotten lax on a few things myself. My 38 gallon has not had a gravel vac in 3 years now, nor a water change in 2. I add as it evaporates. Somehow, this is the healthiest tank I have. It is heavily planted, and I attribute a lot to this.

Like I said before, I had a guy tell me to be less a fish keeper, and more a water keeper. The water is the key.

I am a huge fan of building eco systems. That is ultimately what needs to be done. Some of the recommendations I read here and there may work for some, but are ultimately unneeded.

This 75 gallon has been rough because of this inability for me to build a proper ecosystem. I am kicking around the idea of removing the ship, or maybe the castle, as these large object, while they look cool, inhibit the fish in their ability to swim about the tank. I have plants in other tanks I can take samples from and attempt to populate the tank. These are needed immensely. The plants, as you probably know, control the water params far better than any human intervention. The filter on the 38 is merely for mechanical filtration. Is a Penguin 200. The plants use the bad stuff in the water as food, and release oxygen back into the water. The bacteria in the substrate break down the fish waste into food the roots take up and create more oxygen in the column. Hence the never needing to stir up the substrate. I could gravel vac that and.probably come up with minimal detritus. All the food the fish miss is consumed right away by the shrimp in the tank and all the awesome free snails I have in their. It really is a small eco system at this point. I watch very closely, as I am figuring out how to create an environment with minimal intervention. So far, the fish are healthy, water params are perfect, and the plants thrive. I don't remove the dead branches and leaves. I don't even remove the occasional fish loss. The snails consume it right away. Adding fresh water, I too don't use dechlorinator in this tank. It's a small amount of water compared to the volume in the tank. But I also have decent water quality from the tap. I only use it for the massive water changes.

The hobby fully encompasses a lot of my interests. Horticulture, biology, chemistry ect.

This 75 gallon has been a challenge. I know the mistakes I made to end with this result. They were, in a way, unavoidable. I had this tank planted with water wisteria. That stuff grows like crazy. Too much. I removed it as that plant actually cause more harm than.good, and became too much to maintain. Nobody in the tank liked it. It did nothing to help water params. It was a giant bush of weeds in the tank than further inhibited fish freedom of movement. With large fish, this makes for sad fish if they are confined. Might as well be in 10 gallon aquariums.

Going forward, I am going to hold off on adding any new.fish. I am going to monitor the tank for a couple weeks to be sure everyone left is ok. I am then going to start planting this tank. I am going to use plants I know will help immensely with the eco.environment. I may remove some ornaments, and replace with more natural things. Build a.rock cave for the pleco vs the faux wood log now. Use fully aquatic and semi aquatic plants. When I do start a small restock, I am going to figure out what can play nice as far as bottom feeders/cleaners. These to minimize excess buildup of uneaten food. I'm going to stay away from another large fish until I get this tank balanced. There are plenty of fish in there now, and my pleco is quite large so, I have enough with that fella for now.

I have read several of your posts around here, and I believe we may share some philosophies on aquarium care. When introducing yourself to the crowd, ya tend to start off conservative. However, each case being unique, I too believe some folks, here and other places online, tend to overcomplicate this enjoyable hobby. Others are spot on. Maintain the water column and your fish will thrive.

I could probably babble.for days, but I will leave it at this for now.