!!Fish Emergency!!

[brookie_uk]

Just to let you kow I am an HE nor a She, Brook is my last name.

I will read up now on cycling. I do a test everyday and my pH is 7.5 which i beleive is fine. My amonia, nitrate, nitrite levels are fine.

The fish i have is a Red Finned Shark, Silver Shark, now only 5 Neons (out of 10), 7 Guppy's, And a Sucker Cat Fish.

So far I have had a beautiful cat fish die which upset me a little. 5 neons, and 1 guppy.

 

[gaya]

It's really surprising that your water stats are all fine. That's impressive and a very quick cycle. But just in case their not perfect it may not be a great idea to start adding chemicals to your tank. I've always wondered if certain meds could potentially react with elements like ammonia in a negative way. I've also heard that over use of them or using them when not needed, can potentially weaken a fish’s immune system making it vulnerable to future problems. Members on this forum definitely have opposing views regarding the use of meds. I only use them as a last resort. If I were you, I would do 25% water changes every day for 4 or 5 days before you decide to medicate. Try picking up some vitamin-enriched food to boost your fish’s immune system. Maybe you can get some colloidal silver as that is supposed to be healthy for fish and people and it is natural. I read some where recently that plants like silver too. Good luck.

 

[Bloo]

My amonia, nitrate, nitrite levels are fine.

What do you quantify as fine ? It would really help if you could provide actual readings and not just say they are "fine"..... At this stage PH is probably least of your worries (though not entirely unimportant).

And how many gallons do you have your fish in ?

 

[sarah-j]

hi, has your tank cycled yet? i.e have you seen a rise and fall of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. If your levels have been at zero all the time then your tank is not cycled. My tank took 3 weeks to cycle with fish in and i lost a lot of fish, i wont be doing it ever again. it was beginners niavity. anyway i would presum your tank hasn't cycled therefore a lot of daily water changes are needed and if you can add some media from an established tank that may help. also did you add your good bacteria the day after you added dechlorinator? if not the dechlorinator will have killed of your bacteria from the bottle. what size of tank and how many fishes do u have?

 

[Bloo]

how many fishes do u have?

He has already answer that part:

The fish i have is a Red Finned Shark, Silver Shark, now only 5 Neons (out of 10), 7 Guppy's, And a Sucker Cat Fish.

So far I have had a beautiful cat fish die which upset me a little. 5 neons, and 1 guppy.

 

[brookie_uk]

It is a 72 Litre Tank (20gallon i think).

 

[gaya]

I’m sure you’ve been reading the pinned topics here so you know that you are over stocked. Having that many fish before your tank is cycled will wreak havoc. It’s no wonder your fish aren’t surviving. I’m gonna venture to say that you probably have sky high ammonia levels in your tank. The only way your fish will survive this is if you do daily water changes as others have recommended.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It's really surprising that your water stats are all fine. That's impressive and a very quick cycle. But just in case their not perfect it may not be a great idea to start adding chemicals to your tank. I've always wondered if certain meds could potentially react with elements like ammonia in a negative way. I've also heard that over use of them or using them when not needed, can potentially weaken a fish’s immune system making it vulnerable to future problems. Members on this forum definitely have opposing views regarding the use of meds. I only use them as a last resort.

I agree but aquarium salt isn't realy a med as such- the problem with using meds is that they prevent the fish's imune system from getting any better off after fighting the desease as most meds are antibiotical, but as far as i know salt doesn't have the same effect.
If you use salt baths like i suggested to brookie before, you can treat individual fish without having to put all the fish in the tank through the whole med experience and thus not cause unesarsary stress to fish that are not sick.
The water changes as i suggested before will also help alot too in fighting the desease and if this is a case of columnaris brought on by the nitrites in a cycling tank, removing as many nitrites as you can will help the condition alot.

ps: brookie you must post the actual water stats, having low water stats isn't always a good thing and we will be able to help you alot more if you post the stats, but i don't think most members will believe you will have good water stats in a cycling tank and with so many fish too.

 

[gaya]

I agree but aquarium salt isn't realy a med as such- the problem with using meds is that they prevent the fish's imune system from getting any better off after fighting the desease as most meds are antibiotical, but as far as i know salt doesn't have the same effect.
If you use salt baths like i suggested to brookie before, you can treat individual fish without having to put all the fish in the tank through the whole med experience and thus not cause unesarsary stress to fish that are not sick.

I am a total supporter of the salt bath and if he decides to go that route I hope he takes the time to read the link you provided and follow the instructions precisely.

 

[brookie_uk]

Right, When i get home I will give actual readings of my test results.

 

[brookie_uk]

Here are my test results that i have just taken:

pH= 7.5
Amonia= 0ppm
Nitrite= 0ppm
Nitrate=20ppm +

 

[sarah-j]

emm, thought you could'nt use salt with CAT Fish. I have been told on this forum that they are scaleless and get burnt with salt. I wouldn't suggest using it. Daily water changes are the best as I know from first hand experience as I did exactly the same thing about 3 weeks ago.
Honestly in 2 weeks I dont beleive your tank could be fully cycled especially with all that fish I would'nt be surprised if you get different readings over the next week. Im just giving my honest advise because as i said i been through this and I came to the forum for help. Let me know how you get on. If you can I would rehome some of your fish.

 

[Bloo]

The readings unfortunately do not seem indicative of a new (and overstocked) tank. Unless you used a filter (or media) from an established tank.
I suspect your tank is still cycling and your readings will most certainly still change over the next couple of weeks until things settle.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

emm, thought you could'nt use salt with CAT Fish. I have been told on this forum that they are scaleless and get burnt with salt. I wouldn't suggest using it.

Yes but the catfish is dead already.

 

[sarah-j]

oh sorry, must have missed that bit, silly me. anyway... do u still think the tank is cycling? 2 weeks seems a bit short for a full cycle. I remember tokis giving me my first help.