Freshwater Aquarium Help

[takesomeadvil]

Hey, I'm new to the fish-world, and recently, I started a freshwater tank (about 6-7 weeks ago). I had 4 Neons, a dwarf frog, a suckerfish, two full-grown "mickey mouse fish" and 2 baby mickey mouse fish. The MickeyMouse fish were transferred from an older tank to my new tank about a week or two after my new fish were introduced to the new tank.

Yesterday, a baby and a full-grown mickeymouse passed. I knew there was something wrong when I noticed them sitting on the bottom of the tank, and that they lacked an appetite. The baby passed about 17 hours before the adult. I couldn't figure out why they passed. The pH levels were where they were supposed to be.

Today, I noticed that the other baby mickeymouse was acting the same, and tonight, he passed as well. The last adult out of the 4 of them is acting in the same manner as the last 3, and I can probably guess his fate. The other fish/frog seem to be fine.

I decided to vaccuum the tank this evening, and I started noticing little mold-spore-sac-looking type things. There were 3 or 4 on the filter intake, a few on some of the plastic plants, and they were embedded in the rocks. I must have removed close to 10 or 15. (I Have a 10-ga tank by the way). I also did a 50% water change, and rinsed and removed the mold-looking sacs from the plants.

Being a beginner, I think I might have let the filter go too long without changing it (about 5 weeks b/c the package says 2-6), causing some kind of infection or something throughout the tank. I don't want my other fish to suffer the same fate as my mickey mouse fish..

the spores are round, sort of jelly-like (almost as if it were an egg maybe?), and it looks as if green algae hairs are coming from it. they were found embedded in the rocks, and clinging to the plants. If somebody has any advice, or can direct me to someone who does, I would be grateful

~sam

 

[Inedaan]

Now I'm not an expert of any sort, but I would suggest to closely watch your other fish for signs of distress such as clamping. And what do you feed your fish? I know my betta pellets atleast if they get left in the water too long form into weird looking spore things, so be sure to always remove all extra food Would also help if you posted the water stats (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and such)

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Your tank may not be cycled yet. What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? How many/what type fish do you have?

I'm not sure what the mold looking stuff is but I don't think not changing thefilter is a problem. Actually, you really shouldn't ever change the filter pads/bag unless they ae too worn and ragged to do the job. Changing them is just what the filter manufaturers tell you to do so they can sell more filters. Your benerficial bactera colonize on them so changing them removes the bacteria your tank needs to process ammonia.

A few other questions that may help:

How often are you doing water changes?
What chemicals are you adding to the tank?
Have you recently added anything new to the tank (new fish, plants, decorations)?
Are the plants live or fake?
Were the fish showing any signs of problems other than just sitting t the bottom of the tank?