Halfbeak Help!

[Stifler100]

Can anyone suggest what i can do to save one of my female halfbeaks....for the last week she has sunk to the bottom and acting weird. She seems to have lost part of her tail fin and is really struggling. At first i thought she might b pregnant but not so sure now....shes hanging on there but think im gona lose her soon...any help would be good.
Thanx

Stifler

 

[Flute]

Hi Stifler,
Could you give us some more information please? Tank size, tank mates, water readings (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), how long has the tank been running for, how was it cycled, etc.
 
The more info you give us the more chance we have of helping you figure out what's going on

 

[Stifler100]

Hi ya
Ok its 3ft tank so about 90-100litres i think....been going for about a year but longer really as got it from someone already set up. I have got a few gourami, male and female fighters, neons, red tail and silver sharks, and a few different loaches plus a few plecs.
The nitrate is good <0.3mg...the ph is about 6.8. The temp is currently at about 75. In terms of the ammonia im not 100% sure but i have the ammonia remover bags in the filter which i change every 6 wks which is the exterior 204 fluval filter..

Stifler

Also i tend to do a 10% water change every5-7 days and the filter is cleaned every other week

 

[Flute]

I'm sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but my first thoughts are that your tank is very over stocked with no where near enough maintenance. A few notes on my biggest concerns:
 
Male and female fighters (betta) should not be kept together, the males are often far too aggressive and will terrorise the females. Even if it works for now, it's safer to keep them separate  I've only ever seen it done in much larger tanks, with loads of plants for the females to hide in. Chances are they will eventually also clash with the gourami (do you know which type they are?)
Red tail sharks will outgrow this tank.
Silver sharks/bala sharks will also outgrow this tank even more so, and are a shoaling species meaning that they should be kept in groups of 6 or more. Because of their size, you're looking at a 7 foot tank to be able to keep them appropriately.
You say you have a few plecs, do you know which species? If they're something like bristlenoses or bulldogs, then you should be fine, but if they're common plecos/sailfin plecos then these will also out grow your tank and be adding a massive amount to your bio load.
 
How do you clean your filter? In old tank water or fresh tap water?
 
With the huge bio load and the small water changes, then I'd be inclined to say that there's a good chance that your halfbeak's condition could be related to water condition. I really recommend you up your weekly water changes to about 50%, rehome some of the species I've outlined as being possible problematic for you, and get yourself a test kit for ammonia and nitrite. That's the first area we need to rule out as to what could be causing possible problems.

 

[Stifler100]

Ok thanks for the tips....ive got one male and a much older female fighter who just seems to hide all the time in the plants so never seem to clash. Ive got one common plec which yeah was thinking of getting rid of to the shop but the other two r the bristle noses. Watching the halbeak it does look like she trys to swim back to top but her tail fin appears partly missing so not sure whats possibly bitten it off....def gona up my water changes and possibly take some fish out to help with the bio load etc. I clean the filter with the same water i take out of tank so not using tap water.
The filter has always got me to be honest....books and net say diff things but i tend to have one carbon bag in bottom tray with polywool, some biomax in middle and the bag of ammonia remover..the small top tray is empty as have trouble putting lid back on if put anything in it....does that sound ok?? Oh obviously there r 4 sponges which i change 2 at a time every 6 wks....
Ive got the nitrate test kit which u do 7 drops of the two chemicals and it seems to stay in the yellow section surprisingly...i took a sample to local shop and was told everything came back ok except for the ph being slightly low but if i up the water changes should that balance that out?? I do have the multiple strip test kit too but how accurate that is i dont know?

 

[techen]

Don't change the sponges ever, Only change them when they fall to bits and even then only replace one every month or so. These are what hold your bacteria to handle your bioload.
 
You don't need to use carbon unless your using meds, It give you no benefit. Also ammonia remover is fine but if your tank is cycled it's just more money.
 
You want to get a API masters kit. You need ammonia, Nitrite, nitrate and PH is good to have as well.
 
Test strips are useless, As I said above you want to get yourself a masters kit, They last forever.

 

[Stifler100]

Ok thanks for yr advice i just get told diff things but def take yr advice about kits and the sponges

Kind Regards

 

[phoenixgsd]

plus 1, for the advise on API kits, you wont regret it, and deffo dont change the filter sponges, as already said thats where all your good bacteria live, save your money  

 

[Stifler100]

Many thanks. Will do

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

This tank sounds heavily overstocked, which is not a good situation to be in with any fish, but even moreso with Halfbeaks. Adults are very sensitive to water chemistry changes, I lost 3 of my 9 Hageni Halfbeaks and I still do not know to this day if bi-daily 10-15% water changes were too much, given that the tank has a substanital amount of bogwood in there that would have been releasing tannins.
 
Have you had any baby Halfbeaks that were saved from cannabalistic parents? I had two fry born the first weekend I had them, during the F1 Italian grand prix, the first was gone in <3 seconds but the second one was saved as is growing nicely in another tank (slightly bigger than my Beckford Pencilfish now).
 
These fish can be a bit fiesty with each other, their behavior reminds me a lot of my old Humphead Glassfish group, in that they can be best buddies one second and then fiesty the next. However, when halfbeaks get fiesty, those long beaks can do a lot of damage. This could be another possible cause of my losses, despite being in my Rio240 (as could the strong current I had in their or my Zaire River catfish).
 
I would isolate her in a quarantine tank using water from the tank, with daily 5% changes, being ready to use a broad spectrum medication like Myxazin or Esha2000 if the fin damage looks like fin rot. My six have been in my reduced volume (~80l now) plastic tub QT for a couple of weeks, as one was getting off-white patches on its back (a symptom shown by the 3 fatalities). Thankfully the sick one is looking much better, I'm keeping them in there for a few more days while I sort out the setting up of a 72x18x18 and the consequent fish juggle. 

 

[Stifler100]

Yeah it def is so im in the process of cutting it down to the right amount.....a few of the small fry have now been moved into my 30L shrimp tank whilst the larger plecs and gourami are prob gona go back to shop etc....so hopefully this will help regulate the levels to what keeps them happy in there.