Fin Rot??

[cdtcommander]

I recently noticed that my gourami looks like he has fin rot...
http/i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/cdt...r/Fishstick.jpg
I am not sure though (although it is likely) I read up on it and everything I read says that if the tank isnt cycled properly then it will cause stress and in return can cause fin rot. So if that is so I have been doing daily 20% water changes and my tanks stats have stayed the same for the last week

Ammonia is between 3.0 and 4.0
Nitrate is about 40
Nitrite is about 3.0
PH is 8.4

I have the test strips... I couldnt find anything better (do they make liquid ones... you know like the ones you use for swimming pools, its hard to read the strips with the color variations)

any feedback is helpful. This is my first tank and I made the mistake of not cycling before adding fish (I had no idea...) So now I am tying to do all I can to make them comfortable and help them out.

 

[Funny Pie]

I recently noticed that my gourami looks like he has fin rot...
http/i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/cdt...r/Fishstick.jpg
I am not sure though (although it is likely) I read up on it and everything I read says that if the tank isnt cycled properly then it will cause stress and in return can cause fin rot. So if that is so I have been doing daily 20% water changes and my tanks stats have stayed the same for the last week

Ammonia is between 3.0 and 4.0
Nitrate is about 40
Nitrite is about 3.0
PH is 8.4

I have the test strips... I couldnt find anything better (do they make liquid ones... you know like the ones you use for swimming pools, its hard to read the strips with the color variations)

any feedback is helpful. This is my first tank and I made the mistake of not cycling before adding fish (I had no idea...) So now I am tying to do all I can to make them comfortable and help them out.

[snapback]927343[/snapback]​

Woa, thats really high stats dude. You have a freshwater tank right? pH should be around 7.5 or so. K, im still kind of new at this but i've been in a simliar situation as you. One of my neons whole back fin was rotted off. I did test and it was a lil lower than urs but still high. I did water changes like you, i did the gravel vacum and then i put amquel plus in, which lowered it amazingly. As for liquid test kits, yes they do sell them. The ones i have are made by a company called Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. : Doc. Wellefish Here
Thats what i did that seemed to help, but thats just what i'd do, im not 100% sure though cause im not an expert

 

[dwarfgourami]

Yes, they do sell liquid test kits and they are more reliable (and last a lot longer). Look for one that includes ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph and water hardness.

I don't think it's the ph that's the main problem. Your gourami might prefer it lower, but he should be able to cope with that, particularly if he's been sold locally. It's the same as my local ph and I know people keep gouramis here.

The big problem are your ammonia and nitrites. Those are too high and yes, that's quite likely to cause finrot. And it is due to the tank cycling. So you are quite right to be doing the water changes: keep up the good work!

You may also need to treat this poor fish with medication, which will involve treating the whole tank unless you have a spare you can move him to. Don't know what the best medications are in your part of the world, so will leave that to somebody else to answer. When I had a case I used Interpet medications, but I believe there are some very efficient meds your side of the Atlantic, so good luck!

 

[cdtcommander]

If I treat my gourami in the tank he is in now (I dont have a spare tank...) but there are 4 other fish in there with him (sunbert platys to be exact) would that effect them in any way if I treated him in the main tank? Also, there is nothing else I can do to get the levels right other than the water changes? I dont want to lose anymore fish.. I already lost one of my gouramis about a week ago.

 

[dwarfgourami]

If I treat my gourami in the tank he is in now (I dont have a spare tank...) but there are 4 other fish in there with him (sunbert platys to be exact) would that effect them in any way if I treated him in the main tank? Also, there is nothing else I can do to get the levels right other than the water changes? I dont want to lose anymore fish.. I already lost one of my gouramis about a week ago.

[snapback]927371[/snapback]​

They should be ok; anyway, you'd have to risk that, particularly as finrot is contagious so if he died in the tank they'd be quite likely to contract it anyway.

The other possibility is that one of the platys has had a bite out of his tail. Have a look round the edges of the wound, do they look grey/white and ragged (finrot) or is it a clean edge? Have you seen any aggression?

You might also want to put a bit of aquarium salt into the tank just now, a tablespoon/5 gallons or so. Not usually ideal for gouramis but may be needed medicinally here, and the platys certainly wont mind a small amount like that.

 

[Clairel]

I recently noticed that my gourami looks like he has fin rot...
http/i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/cdt...r/Fishstick.jpg
I am not sure though (although it is likely) I read up on it and everything I read says that if the tank isnt cycled properly then it will cause stress and in return can cause fin rot. So if that is so I have been doing daily 20% water changes and my tanks stats have stayed the same for the last week

Ammonia is between 3.0 and 4.0
Nitrate is about 40
Nitrite is about  3.0
PH is 8.4

I have the test strips... I couldnt find anything better (do they make liquid ones... you know like the ones you use for swimming pools, its hard to read the strips with the color variations)

any feedback is helpful. This is my first tank and I made the mistake of not cycling before adding fish (I had no idea...) So now I am tying to do all I can to make them comfortable and help them out.

[snapback]927343[/snapback]​

Your Nitrite and Ammonia levels are way too high !!!

They should be 0

I used to use the strips for about 2 days, and didnt like them, and heard they werent accurate, so i bought the master test kit, its liquid, with test tubes, etc...very easy to use, and you get colour charts to check your water parameters...

Also wanted to add *edited* If your PH is very high, and you have Ammonia in your water, it makes it much more TOXIC...... You could always put some bogwood into your water, this apparantly brings your ph level down.....

Good luck

I would do a small water change every day, till you get rid of your ammonia and nitrite....

Claire x

 

[Snowman]

Hi, a pity the place you bought your tank and fish from didn't tell you about cycling etc
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals do a Freshwater Master Test Kit that has Ph high and low, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits and is very reasonably priced for a kit containing 5 tests.
If you are doing 20% water changes daily and the parameters are remaining the same i would try 30% and see if that helps get the levels down, what sort of filter are you using and what size is your tank, do you have any live plants in there?
Also when you do the water changes just syphon the water don't disturb the gravel at all as some beneficial bacteria should be growing on the gravel.

 

[cdtcommander]

Thanks for the tip.. I wasnt sure if changing more of the water would help or hurt... but I tried it and it seemed to help.

Nitrate is around 30
nitrite is 1.0

but my PH is still 8.4 ( I have to get a new test kit because the color of the strips dont match up too well...)

Ammonia is now between .5 and 3.0 (haha stupid test strips.. I cant tell!!) but it is lower then it was


Here is something funny though.. I was siphoning out the water to change it and there was something in the tube that didnt seem to want to get sucked up so I looked closer to see if it was sucking up water and it was but the thing that wouldnt get sucked up look like it was this tiny little fish trying to keep from getting sucked up!! but I only have 5 fish in there and that would make 6.... I must be seeing things right!?

 

[SkiFletch]

You are seeing things right. That is actually a baby Platty as they are livebearing fish. Platties have babies about once every month or so even in harsh conditions. If not seperated from the other fish in the tank via a fry net or a breeder tank the fry will most likely be eaten by the others (including possibly its parents). Fry are also very fragile and even more prone to ammonia poisoning so I wouldnt be surprised if your little guys dont fare so well .

Edited to replace mollies and platties

 

[cdtcommander]

Mollies... is that a generic category for certain types of fish (because the only fish I have in this tank are 4 sunburst platies and one dwarf gourami) and to top it off I have never seen this little guy until I almost sucked him up let alone the fact that I can find him now. I am positive I didnt suck him up though.

 

[SkiFletch]

Sorry, I screw that up all the time calling mollies platties, my bad. either way the same thign applies