Fish keep dying

[Bilbo Baggins]

For the past couple of months I've been losing fish on a constant basis. I must admit i've only picked up on the hobby at the end of last year so I'm still a newbie, even though I've been reading a lot about it ever since.

I have a 55 gallon cycled planted aquarium. Temp 25 °C , PH 7, KH 4, Ammonium/Ammonia (NH4) 0.05, Nitrite (NO2) 0.05, Nitrate (N03) 5-10.

At the time I had 6 neon- Tetras, 2 Angel, 2 Keyhole cichlid, 4 German Blue Ram and 6 Guppies. Once they settled in I bought 2 Chinese Algae eaters, because i started getting a lot of algae. That's when the problems started.

Now I am left with only 2 Neon Tetras from the starting fish. Even when my guppies had 10 fry and i kept them in a breeding tank, separated from the rest of the rest of the fish they eventually all died, most didn't last more than a week, the bravest almost a month.

At first i thought it might be the CAE since they seemed the most active and loved to pick on the rest of the fish, so I removed them. But I still lost 2 other fish, the latest one being the Keyhole cichlid.

The most common symptom i've noticed is that they tend to stop being so active and constantly hiding, barely eating than laying at the bottom of the tank for a week or so and a day before they pass away they swim to the top. I've noticed this behaviour in all of my fish except the tetras.

I've bought shrimps recently to replace the CAE and snails came unexpectedly with them, and they both seem to be thriving so far. The amount of snails have increased significantly in a couple of weeks.

What could be the problem? I've tried using stress guard by seachem to reduce their stress and help them heal, but it didn't help at all.

I've attached a photo of my aquarium and 2 of my fish before they passed away. I have a pic of my dead keyhole cichlid, but don't know if it's allowed to post it or not.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Watch for any symptoms of disease.

If it's gill flukes infection, your fish will be scratching against objects or the glass in the tank.
At final stage of gill flukes infection, the fish will breathe very fast.
Did you observe the above symptoms?
Gill flukes will kill fish one by one slowly or within a few days to 1-2 weeks depending on the size of the fish.
Big fish will take longer to die than small fish.

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

Watch for any symptoms of disease.

If it's gill flukes infection, your fish will be scratching against objects or the glass in the tank.
At final stage of gill flukes infection, the fish will breathe very fast.
Did you observe the above symptoms?
Gill flukes will kill fish one by one slowly or within a few days to 1-2 weeks depending on the size of the fish.
Big fish will take longer to die than small fish.

I haven't noticed them scratching against anything, although they did look like they are breathing very fast, especially the keyhole cichlid.

Is there anything i can do to prevent, and heal the remaining fish?

Does it affect snails and Shrimps?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

For the past couple of months I've been losing fish on a constant basis. I must admit i've only picked up on the hobby at the end of last year so I'm still a newbie, even though I've been reading a lot about it ever since.

I have a 55 gallon cycled planted aquarium. Temp 25 °C , PH 7, KH 4, Ammonium/Ammonia (NH4) 0.05, Nitrite (NO2) 0.05, Nitrate (N03) 5-10.

Hi, Bilbo. Welcome to the forum. I've never met anyone from Malta before.

Your tank isn't cycled. Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero. If you're still getting detectable amounts, that's your problem. I advise not adding anymore fish, temporarily rehoming the ones you have, and finish fishless cycling before you get on with it.

What kind of filter are you using, and how are you maintaining it?

That said, it's a really nice-looking setup. Live plants?

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

Hi, Bilbo. Welcome to the forum. I've never met anyone from Malta before.

Your tank isn't cycled. Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero. If you're still getting detectable amounts, that's your problem. I advise not adding anymore fish, temporarily rehoming the ones you have, and finish fishless cycling before you get on with it.

What kind of filter are you using, and how are you maintaining it?

That said, it's a really nice-looking setup. Live plants?

Hi Whistling Badger, Thanks! nice to meet you too.

My tank has been set-up for a few months now and I've cycled it before i put the fish in.

For the ammonia and nitrite, that's as low as my tester would go. It's probably anywhere between 0 and 0.05.

I am using a mechanical filter with cotton fiber, activated carbon, coarse foam, and activated clay and with a flow rate of 810 I/h. I change around 30/40% of the water every week, and i rinse the filters with tank water every 2/3 weeks.

Yes they are all live plants, but I am battling with a lot of algae now too!

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I haven't noticed them scratching against anything, although they did look like they are breathing very fast, especially the keyhole cichlid.

Is there anything i can do to prevent, and heal the remaining fish?

Does it affect snails and Shrimps?

Usually the common medication is Praziquantel(Prazi) but some flukes may have developed immunity to Prazi.
You may have to dose at least 1 month or longer as the flukes eggs may still be around and will only hatch only later.

If you don't have Prazi on hand, you can try using salt for 3 weeks.
Then switch to Prazi as salt cannot be used for too long, else it may damage their kidneys. Livebearer such as Guppies have more tolerance for salt but not the Keyhole Cichlid.
Use about 1 tablespoon of salt for every 10-20 liter of water.
For quicker relief, you can dip the fish in Potassium Permanganate probably for 30mins to a few hours.(maximum 4 hours).
It's best to dip the fish in a bare tank or bucket and observe them during the dip. If they get uncomfortable, you have to remove them quickly.

By the way, I succeeded only in getting rid of all the flukes after 3 months of treatment with Flubendazole.(Wormer Plus)

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I forgot to mention that shrimps and snails probably won't be affected by the flukes.

Your plants and snails can't withstand the salt. They will die.

Prazi is safe for shrimps and probably the snails also.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Praziquantel:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006JLPCC/?tag=ff0d01-20

Flubendazole:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TQ75Z5/?tag=ff0d01-20

 

[Essjay]

@Bilbo Baggins as you are in Malta, can you get eSHa or NT Labs products?


But do not add any medication until you are sure the fish do have a medical condition. Just a bit of flashing does not necessarily mean disease.

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

Usually the common medication is Praziquantel(Prazi) but some flukes may have developed immunity to Prazi.
You may have to dose at least 1 month or longer as the flukes eggs may still be around and will only hatch only later.

If you don't have Prazi on hand, you can try using salt for 3 weeks.
Then switch to Prazi as salt cannot be used for too long, else it may damage their kidneys. Livebearer such as Guppies have more tolerance for salt but not the Keyhole Cichlid.
Use about 1 tablespoon of salt for every 10-20 liter of water.
For quicker relief, you can dip the fish in Potassium Permanganate probably for 30mins to a few hours.(maximum 4 hours).
It's best to dip the fish in a bare tank or bucket and observe them during the dip. If they get uncomfortable, you have to remove them quickly.

By the way, I succeeded only in getting rid of all the flukes after 3 months of treatment with Flubendazole.(Wormer Plus)

Thanks that was very helpful, although i couldn't find Prazi or Flubendazole over here.

I was thinking of getting the JBL gyrodol although i would have to remove my shrimps, don't know how easy it is going to be to locate them. I've never seen them all together, let alone trying to catch them. Unfortunately there are a lot of hiding places in my tank. Trying to catch the Chinese algae eater was a nightmare, ended up uprooting most of my plants.

 

[Essjay]

Thanks that was very helpful, although i couldn't find Prazi or Flubendazole over here.

What about eSHa gdex (praziquantel, says it does not harm crustaceans) or NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer or Kusuri Wormer Plus (both flubendazole, will kill shrimps)

But do not add any medication until you are 100% certain the fish do have a disease.

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

@Bilbo Baggins as you are in Malta, can you get eSHa or NT Labs products?


But do not add any medication until you are sure the fish do have a medical condition. Just a bit of flashing does not necessarily mean disease.

I think we have both of these products available, which one do you recommend? I've seen this one at my local fish shop ESHa Gdex, and it seems it's shrimp safe. So that's definitely a plus

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

What about eSHa gdex (praziquantel, says it does not harm crustaceans) or NT Labs Anti Fluke & Wormer or Kusuri Wormer Plus (both flubendazole, will kill shrimps)

But do not add any medication until you are 100% certain the fish do have a disease.

Yes I have looked eSHa up, we have that available here. So will keep monitoring my remaining fish and give it a try.

Can the parasite survive without a host (fish)? If all the fish die can i introduce new fish after a while, and a proper water change, without having to introduce any medicine to my tank. Or do i still have to medicate my tank?

I'm evaluating whether it's worth trying to save the 2 remaining tetras or risk hurting the shrimps.

 

[Essjay]

That contains praziquantel. eSHa says:

eSHa gdex® treats skin and gill flukes (Monogenea like Gyrodactylus sp. And Dactylogyrus sp.) And tape-
worms (Cestoda).

 

[Colin_T]

pictures of the remaining fish?