Help: Fish At Top Of The Tank

[AoifeUnudottir]

Hi all,

Sorry if I misspell - my fish are acting really funny and I need advice.

Okay, we have about a 21L tank (I think) without 9 guppies (male) in there. We have a filter pump which provides good surface movement and an air filter. We recently had a golden applesnail but he died.

In the last few days, the nitrate levels have been quite high, but we've been managing to keep on top of it. Then suddenly tonight all the fish started going to the surface. We instantly checking with a testing strip (I know they're not the most accurate, but they're all we have) and the nitrates came out really high. We did a 40% water change and cleaned the filter (rinsed in tank water) as various online forums suggested.

One of the fishes died instantly after the water change, but that might have been becaus he was very old and the water change might have shocked him. The fish are still swimming at the top of the tank though.

Please help, we really don't want to lose them.

 

[AoifeUnudottir]

Sorry, I skipped straight to the post. As above, most of this information is recorded with test dip sticks, which are all we have. Hope this information is useful:

Tank size: ~21L
pH: <6
ammonia: <<Not tested on our strips>>
nitrite: 'okay'
nitrate: high (returning to normal)
kH: nearly 0
gH: +180
tank temp: '24C'

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Swimming at top of the tank, gills NOT gasping/going quickly ('breathing' normally)

Volume and Frequency of water changes:
Normally once a week (10%). Filter rinsed in tank water once a month.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
AquaSafe Ammonia Remover, Easy Balance, General Tonic

Tank inhabitants:
9 Guppies (Now 8 as of about 15 mins ago )

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
None.

Exposure to chemicals:
None, other than those added.

 

[dh058977]

Unless your Nitrates are stupidly high then I doubt they are what is causing the issue, what was the number? Ammonia > Nirites > Nitrate which we remove with water changes.

A few questions that might point us to the answer what are you readings for Ammonia and Nitrite (test strips not the best but might give an indication), how long has the tank been setup, was the filter cycled, how was it cycled, when did you last add fish, what is your water change schedule?

 

[AoifeUnudottir]

Unless your Nitrates are stupidly high then I doubt they are what is causing the issue, what was the number? Ammonia > Nirites > Nitrate which we remove with water changes.

A few questions that might point us to the answer what are you readings for Ammonia and Nitrite (test strips not the best but might give an indication), how long has the tank been setup, was the filter cycled, how was it cycled, when did you last add fish, what is your water change schedule?

Sorry, ammonia isn't tested on our strips. Nitrite approx 80 mg/L.

Tank has been set up since before Christmas, left to cycle for 2 weeks before adding fish. Last fish were added well over a month ago. We usually do water changes (10%) once a week, and our filter is rinsed once a month.

 

[dh058977]

Ok, if your tank was just left without fish for two weeks then your filter was not cycled properly although by this point I would expect your filter to be ok.

I would suggest getting a liquid testing kit as a Nitrite reading that high would mean dead fish for sure. Any Nitrite or Ammonia reading above 0 is extremely harmful for your fish and you should do a large water change asap.

 

[AoifeUnudottir]

Ok, if your tank was just left without fish for two weeks then your filter was not cycled properly although by this point I would expect your filter to be ok.

I would suggest getting a liquid testing kit as a Nitrite reading that high would mean dead fish for sure. Any Nitrite or Ammonia reading above 0 is extremely harmful for your fish and you should do a large water change asap.

I take it there's nothing else we can do tonight? We've done a 40% water change, added Easy Balance, General Tonic and Ammonia Remover (after each, we waited to see if the fish would drop from the surface. They didn't.)

Thank you for your help.

 

[dh058977]

I can only assume from what you have told us that your fish are suffering from Ammonia poisoning (or a lack of oxygen?), for peace of mind I would do another large water change with dechlorinator. Empty the tank until the fish have just enough water to swim in and replace it with temperature matched dechlorinated water.

 

[AoifeUnudottir]

I can only assume from what you have told us that your fish are suffering from Ammonia poisoning, for peace of mind I would do another large water change with dechlorinator. Empty the tank until the fish have just enough water to swim in and replace it with temperature matched dechlorinated water.

Thank you very much for your advice. Some of the fish seem to be dropping further down into the tank now. The Ammonia remover is also designed to remove chlorine, so maybe it's already working. I hope so. I've suggested the large water change to my partner (who mainly looks after the fish tank). Wouldn't such a large change kill them? We've got the buckets standing by just in case though.

 

[Tonyb111111]

I can only assume from what you have told us that your fish are suffering from Ammonia poisoning, for peace of mind I would do another large water change with dechlorinator. Empty the tank until the fish have just enough water to swim in and replace it with temperature matched dechlorinated water.

Thank you very much for your advice. Some of the fish seem to be dropping further down into the tank now. The Ammonia remover is also designed to remove chlorine, so maybe it's already working. I hope so. I've suggested the large water change to my partner (who mainly looks after the fish tank). Wouldn't such a large change kill them? We've got the buckets standing by just in case though.

Hi, on the contrary, a large water change is a really good tonic for your fish. Just make sure the temp is broadly equivalent to the tanks water temp, as a big difference can shock your fish, and dont forget to dechlor. IMO it does sound like Ammonia poisoning (I am assuming you meant nitrATE is 80mg/l, not nItrITE. As dh058977 has said I would be doing 90% water changes until you get your ammonia test kit, and you should limit the number of fish losses. Remember as an example that if Ammonia is 2ppm a 40% water change will only bring it down to 1.2ppm, 90% would bring it down to 0.2ppm, which would be acceptable in the short term. Obviously it should be zero. Post your results when you get your test kit

 

[AoifeUnudottir]

I can only assume from what you have told us that your fish are suffering from Ammonia poisoning, for peace of mind I would do another large water change with dechlorinator. Empty the tank until the fish have just enough water to swim in and replace it with temperature matched dechlorinated water.

Thank you very much for your advice. Some of the fish seem to be dropping further down into the tank now. The Ammonia remover is also designed to remove chlorine, so maybe it's already working. I hope so. I've suggested the large water change to my partner (who mainly looks after the fish tank). Wouldn't such a large change kill them? We've got the buckets standing by just in case though.

Hi, on the contrary, a large water change is a really good tonic for your fish. Just make sure the temp is broadly equivalent to the tanks water temp, as a big difference can shock your fish, and dont forget to dechlor. IMO it does sound like Ammonia poisoning (I am assuming you meant nitrATE is 80mg/l, not nItrITE. As dh058977 has said I would be doing 90% water changes until you get your ammonia test kit, and you should limit the number of fish losses. Remember as an example that if Ammonia is 2ppm a 40% water change will only bring it down to 1.2ppm, 90% would bring it down to 0.2ppm, which would be acceptable in the short term. Obviously it should be zero. Post your results when you get your test kit

Thank you everyone for all your information and help. You learn something new every day it would seem, and today I'm learning about fish.

I'm not sure if it was nitrite or nitrate, as my partner does the tests on the tank and sometimes my hearing isn't too great. It might not be until Monday when we can get a proper test kit though, so we're just going to have to sit tight. I'll suggest the 90% change again, and hopefully we can hang on to our fishes.