Fish Dying

[dolphin2305]

hope someone can help, i have had my tank for 7 months now but recently my fish have been dying, at first it started with my balloon ram which lost its colour and wasnt eating then my cory catfish died one after the other with no other visible signs only not eating, then i lost a platy which seemed to go cloudy over its eyes now another platy seems to be going the same way it has cotton wool type on its nose and also what looks like finrot, now this morning my angel fish and kissing gouramis are not eating, i have tested the water and all is fine there and i am treating the tank for fungas and finrot i have also treated them this morning for anti internal bacteria, i had given them a 25% water change on 9th May before i added the treatment but i dont know what else to do, i am just worried that i am going to lose the fish the only fish at the moment that seems to be doing ok are my black widow tetras and a couple of the platys, i have been tod that adding another filter to the tank might help, i cant see how because the one we have now is big enough for a 50 gallon tank, hope i dont lose anymore fish.

 

[Matty P]

What food are you feeding them? Have you changed the kind of food you have been feeding with recently?

Matt

 

[dolphin2305]

What food are you feeding them? Have you changed the kind of food you have been feeding with recently?

Matt

I havent changed their food i have used the same make since i got them which is King British Utimate tropical fish food and give them treats now and again with bloodworm and daphnia, in fact i have made no changes at all i give the tank a 25% water change every two weeks

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What brands of meds have you been using? What are the exact types and amounts of fish you have in the tank at current, as well as a list of fish that have died over the last month? How often do you feed the fish and how much on average?
Do you use dechlorinator when you do a water change and how often do you clean the substrate in the tank (is it gravel too)? How do you go about cleaning the filter and what is the temp in the tank as well as does it have a heater?
The more detailed info you can give us on your situation the more we can help you .

I can say though right from the start that a 25% water change once a fortnight is not enough for the average community tank- i would strongly recommend doing between a 30 and 60% water change on the tank once a week. Water changes for tanks are very beneficial in many ways, from cutting down on the levels of desease and parasites living in the tank, to keeping more stable and cleaner water quality and helping prevent things like ph crash in older tanks etc etc.

Edit: you also sya you are concerned about the filter, what brand/type is it and what range of gallons/litres does it claim to filter well?

 

[dolphin2305]

What brands of meds have you been using? What are the exact types and amounts of fish you have in the tank at current, as well as a list of fish that have died over the last month? How often do you feed the fish and how much on average?
Do you use dechlorinator when you do a water change and how often do you clean the substrate in the tank (is it gravel too)? How do you go about cleaning the filter and what is the temp in the tank as well as does it have a heater?
The more detailed info you can give us on your situation the more we can help you .

I can say though right from the start that a 25% water change once a fortnight is not enough for the average community tank- i would strongly recommend doing between a 30 and 60% water change on the tank once a week. Water changes for tanks are very beneficial in many ways, from cutting down on the levels of desease and parasites living in the tank, to keeping more stable and cleaner water quality and helping prevent things like ph crash in older tanks etc etc.

Edit: you also sya you are concerned about the filter, what brand/type is it and what range of gallons/litres does it claim to filter well?

hello size of tank is about 40 gallon the types of fish at current are 2 angels, 2 kissing gouramis, 7 Black widow tetras 4 platys and 1 cory cat, the brand of medicine is Interpet, i feed them twice a day once in the morning and again at night only put a pinch in (enough for them to feed for about 2 mins) i always use dechlorinator ( Tetra aqua ) i have been told that 25% of the water change every two week is fine, but you get that much info you dont know what is right sometimes, temp is 28c and yes i do have a heater and the filter is Shark ADV and it claims to filter up to 60 gallon, when we bought the tank from a very good Aquarium they actually advised us on the size of filter so we bought them at the same time. I hope this info helps a bit more. Sue

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

hello size of tank is about 40 gallon the types of fish at current are 2 angels, 2 kissing gouramis, 7 Black widow tetras 4 platys and 1 cory cat, the brand of medicine is Interpet, i feed them twice a day once in the morning and again at night only put a pinch in (enough for them to feed for about 2 mins) i always use dechlorinator ( Tetra aqua ) i have been told that 25% of the water change every two week is fine, but you get that much info you dont know what is right sometimes, temp is 28c and yes i do have a heater and the filter is Shark ADV and it claims to filter up to 60 gallon, when we bought the tank from a very good Aquarium they actually advised us on the size of filter so we bought them at the same time. I hope this info helps a bit more. Sue

How long did you treat them with the fungal treatment for? I would definately keep on treating them with the anti bacterial med as it is still early days in the treatment, the fish mostly sound like they are suffering from fungal and bacterial deseases/infections. I would personally combine either the interpet anti bacterial med with Pimafix for best results, or combine the interpet fungal med with Pimafix.
If the filter in the tank does not appear to be doing the job properly enough, then adding another filter to the tank with the current one is no problem at all, but i would still advise doing 30-60% once weekly water changes instead of once fortnightly ones either way though .

To make sure this is just fungal and bacterial infections you are fighting in your fish though, what at the exact symptoms of all fish whether behavioral or physical etc (even if the symptoms appear insignificant, like a slight change in behavior)- what is their weight like too, no sunken looking stomachs?

 

[dolphin2305]

hello size of tank is about 40 gallon the types of fish at current are 2 angels, 2 kissing gouramis, 7 Black widow tetras 4 platys and 1 cory cat, the brand of medicine is Interpet, i feed them twice a day once in the morning and again at night only put a pinch in (enough for them to feed for about 2 mins) i always use dechlorinator ( Tetra aqua ) i have been told that 25% of the water change every two week is fine, but you get that much info you dont know what is right sometimes, temp is 28c and yes i do have a heater and the filter is Shark ADV and it claims to filter up to 60 gallon, when we bought the tank from a very good Aquarium they actually advised us on the size of filter so we bought them at the same time. I hope this info helps a bit more. Sue

How long did you treat them with the fungal treatment for? I would definately keep on treating them with the anti bacterial med as it is still early days in the treatment, the fish mostly sound like they are suffering from fungal and bacterial deseases/infections. I would personally combine either the interpet anti bacterial med with Pimafix for best results, or combine the interpet fungal med with Pimafix.
If the filter in the tank does not appear to be doing the job properly enough, then adding another filter to the tank with the current one is no problem at all, but i would still advise doing 30-60% once weekly water changes instead of once fortnightly ones either way though .

To make sure this is just fungal and bacterial infections you are fighting in your fish though, what at the exact symptoms of all fish whether behavioral or physical etc (even if the symptoms appear insignificant, like a slight change in behavior)- what is their weight like too, no sunken looking stomachs?

hello again, i started the fungal treatment yesterday and did the anti internatl bacteria today, the fish seem lathargic and sometimes thye will sit at the bottom of the tank, the kissing gouramis are not kissing, this morning when i fed the fish even the angel fish didnt come to the top as usually they know when its feeding time and are straight to the top of the tank, at the moment they seem a bit more lively than this morning, i had my water checked today at a garden centre where they sell fish just to get a second opinion and he said that everything was ok except the ph was a bit high so he gave me this stuff to put in, when i got home he had only give me something to make the ph even higher, i dont think he knew what he was doing, so i will have to go back tomorow to change it, will doing another water change today do any harm, and will it lower the ph in the tank?

 

[hogan53]

hello
just a thought do you clean your gravel / substrate its rare for corys to die if the gravel is well maintained

 

[dolphin2305]

hello
just a thought do you clean your gravel / substrate its rare for corys to die if the gravel is well maintained

hiya yes i do clean the gravel with a gravel cleaner

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

hello again, i started the fungal treatment yesterday and did the anti internatl bacteria today, the fish seem lathargic and sometimes thye will sit at the bottom of the tank, the kissing gouramis are not kissing, this morning when i fed the fish even the angel fish didnt come to the top as usually they know when its feeding time and are straight to the top of the tank, at the moment they seem a bit more lively than this morning, i had my water checked today at a garden centre where they sell fish just to get a second opinion and he said that everything was ok except the ph was a bit high so he gave me this stuff to put in, when i got home he had only give me something to make the ph even higher, i dont think he knew what he was doing, so i will have to go back tomorow to change it, will doing another water change today do any harm, and will it lower the ph in the tank?

Have you increased the airation in the tank at all during these treatments? If i were you i would go out and get my own ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ph testing kits as one persons definition of good water quality may not be the same as anothers, its good to know the exact stats, i wouldn't mess with the ph too as ph is generally best left untouched as it can cause more stress to the fish changing it in the long term than keeping it as it is, as long as the ph is not in the extreme's, most common and hardy aquarium fish can adjust themselves to any ph .

 

[dolphin2305]

hello again, i started the fungal treatment yesterday and did the anti internatl bacteria today, the fish seem lathargic and sometimes thye will sit at the bottom of the tank, the kissing gouramis are not kissing, this morning when i fed the fish even the angel fish didnt come to the top as usually they know when its feeding time and are straight to the top of the tank, at the moment they seem a bit more lively than this morning, i had my water checked today at a garden centre where they sell fish just to get a second opinion and he said that everything was ok except the ph was a bit high so he gave me this stuff to put in, when i got home he had only give me something to make the ph even higher, i dont think he knew what he was doing, so i will have to go back tomorow to change it, will doing another water change today do any harm, and will it lower the ph in the tank?

Have you increased the airation in the tank at all during these treatments? If i were you i would go out and get my own ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ph testing kits as one persons definition of good water quality may not be the same as anothers, its good to know the exact stats, i wouldn't mess with the ph too as ph is generally best left untouched as it can cause more stress to the fish changing it in the long term than keeping it as it is, as long as the ph is not in the extreme's, most common and hardy aquarium fish can adjust themselves to any ph .

hiya i have not increased the airation at all, in fact i have made no changes, i always test the water myself anyway as i have my own testing kits, i havent used the ph drops as i tested it again myself and it was normal according to the charts so i am not messing with it like you say, i will keep on doing more water changes and treat them with the medicines, thanks for your help, Sue

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

hello again, i started the fungal treatment yesterday and did the anti internatl bacteria today, the fish seem lathargic and sometimes thye will sit at the bottom of the tank, the kissing gouramis are not kissing, this morning when i fed the fish even the angel fish didnt come to the top as usually they know when its feeding time and are straight to the top of the tank, at the moment they seem a bit more lively than this morning, i had my water checked today at a garden centre where they sell fish just to get a second opinion and he said that everything was ok except the ph was a bit high so he gave me this stuff to put in, when i got home he had only give me something to make the ph even higher, i dont think he knew what he was doing, so i will have to go back tomorow to change it, will doing another water change today do any harm, and will it lower the ph in the tank?

Have you increased the airation in the tank at all during these treatments? If i were you i would go out and get my own ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ph testing kits as one persons definition of good water quality may not be the same as anothers, its good to know the exact stats, i wouldn't mess with the ph too as ph is generally best left untouched as it can cause more stress to the fish changing it in the long term than keeping it as it is, as long as the ph is not in the extreme's, most common and hardy aquarium fish can adjust themselves to any ph .

hiya i have not increased the airation at all, in fact i have made no changes, i always test the water myself anyway as i have my own testing kits, i havent used the ph drops as i tested it again myself and it was normal according to the charts so i am not messing with it like you say, i will keep on doing more water changes and treat them with the medicines, thanks for your help, Sue

What are the exact stats for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and ph then?
You should always increase the airation in the tank when using meds, it also specifically says to do so in the in Anti fungus and finrot Interpet med instructions, if there is little airation in the tank then this is why your fish are sitting at the bottom of the tank being lethargic. I would advise going out and buying something like a bubble pump while you are treating the fish with meds, always read the instructions carefully when medicating fish.

 

[dolphin2305]

hello again, i started the fungal treatment yesterday and did the anti internatl bacteria today, the fish seem lathargic and sometimes thye will sit at the bottom of the tank, the kissing gouramis are not kissing, this morning when i fed the fish even the angel fish didnt come to the top as usually they know when its feeding time and are straight to the top of the tank, at the moment they seem a bit more lively than this morning, i had my water checked today at a garden centre where they sell fish just to get a second opinion and he said that everything was ok except the ph was a bit high so he gave me this stuff to put in, when i got home he had only give me something to make the ph even higher, i dont think he knew what he was doing, so i will have to go back tomorow to change it, will doing another water change today do any harm, and will it lower the ph in the tank?

Have you increased the airation in the tank at all during these treatments? If i were you i would go out and get my own ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ph testing kits as one persons definition of good water quality may not be the same as anothers, its good to know the exact stats, i wouldn't mess with the ph too as ph is generally best left untouched as it can cause more stress to the fish changing it in the long term than keeping it as it is, as long as the ph is not in the extreme's, most common and hardy aquarium fish can adjust themselves to any ph .

hiya i have not increased the airation at all, in fact i have made no changes, i always test the water myself anyway as i have my own testing kits, i havent used the ph drops as i tested it again myself and it was normal according to the charts so i am not messing with it like you say, i will keep on doing more water changes and treat them with the medicines, thanks for your help, Sue

What are the exact stats for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and ph then?
You should always increase the airation in the tank when using meds, it also specifically says to do so in the in Anti fungus and finrot Interpet med instructions, if there is little airation in the tank then this is why your fish are sitting at the bottom of the tank being lethargic. I would advise going out and buying something like a bubble pump while you are treating the fish with meds, always read the instructions carefully when medicating fish.

hiya the stats for amonia is 0.1 Nitrate 10 Nitrite 0.1 and ph is 6.4 also i have two airstones the longer version so how do you increase the airation, i have added another filter at the weekend and up to now the fish seem a little better

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

hiya the stats for amonia is 0.1 Nitrate 10 Nitrite 0.1 and ph is 6.4 also i have two airstones the longer version so how do you increase the airation, i have added another filter at the weekend and up to now the fish seem a little better

Hm, ideally, the ammonia and nitrites should both be 0 but if the test kit is not the most accurate, then a reading of 0.1 ammonia or nitrites could just be an error- however i would do a small water change either way (maybe around 25%) just to be on the safe side as ammonia can have a similar effect on fish as what carbon monoxide has on us (remember to top up any meds lost by the water change too). Nitrates and ph sound absolutely fine though, just test ph every now and then to make sure no changes in ph are taking place (ph should be stable in the tank and not quickly change) .
Are the fish showing any odd behavior like flicking/rubbing/itching themselves of objects in the tank at all?

 

[dolphin2305]

hiya the stats for amonia is 0.1 Nitrate 10 Nitrite 0.1 and ph is 6.4 also i have two airstones the longer version so how do you increase the airation, i have added another filter at the weekend and up to now the fish seem a little better

Hm, ideally, the ammonia and nitrites should both be 0 but if the test kit is not the most accurate, then a reading of 0.1 ammonia or nitrites could just be an error- however i would do a small water change either way (maybe around 25%) just to be on the safe side as ammonia can have a similar effect on fish as what carbon monoxide has on us (remember to top up any meds lost by the water change too). Nitrates and ph sound absolutely fine though, just test ph every now and then to make sure no changes in ph are taking place (ph should be stable in the tank and not quickly change) .
Are the fish showing any odd behavior like flicking/rubbing/itching themselves of objects in the tank at all?

thanks for that, no the fish are not showing any odd behavior but what i did notice today is one of the balloon rams has a white spot like a grain of salt on its body and lower fin! i have heard of white spot, but if it is whitespot can you treat for that as well as other medications?