HELP ME PLEASE!!!

[phishphood]

I woke up this morning to find my water slightly cloudy and my guppies and swordtail were hovering at the top, I turned on the air pump (its too noisy to have on all night) and fed them, and I found one of my silver tip tetras dead . There had been nothing wrong with it last night . I had to go to school, so I didn't have time to get it out. I came home again at 12pm and got the dead one out, and tested the water, ammonia 0 mg/l, nitrite between 0.8 and 1.6 mg/l, nitrate between 50 and 100 mg/l (the nitrate reading of our tap water is already 50 mg/l so I don't have much chance of keeping that down . The temp. is 28C, which is what I always have it at.
I did a 40% water change, and cleaned the filter (in tank water). I have just been back up to check on them, and all the fish, apart from the cories, are at the top gasping for air, and the water has become even more cloudy . The only things that have gone into the tank are interpet fresh start with the new water, and some interpet anti-fungus and finrot a few days ago to treat one of the guppies. There is a full list of my fish in my sig, I know its a little overstocked, but I'm working on getting a new tank, and I do regular water changes, so I don't know what has caused this huge nitrite spike, and why the water has suddenly gone cloudy, its always been crystal clear from the day I set up the tank.
Please help me, I don't want to lose any more fish, I lost my 2 female swordtails a few weeks ago (both within 24 hours) and there were no water problems then so I don't know what was wrong them, their only symptom was lethargy and shyness.

P.S. I forgot to say that the filter's a fluval 2+

 

[ste2k3]

I would do a 20% waterchange every day for a week to keep on top of the water quality. if you can get some nitrazorb to put in your filter, then get some in and also, is your air pump powering any type of filter or is it just for airation?. make sure that the filter is not blocked and that there is pleanty of flow going through. also, do you clean the gravel? there may be a build up of detritus there. if your tapwater has 50mg/l of nitrate (which seems a little high), then It may be a good idea to get a nitragon or simular to prify your water for water changes as 50mg/l is too high.

 

[Sea_Monster87]

I would do a 20% waterchange every day for a week to keep on top of the water quality.

I'd also add melafix, it made my nitrates go WAY down.

 

[suemack]

hi there phishphood - it may have been something like the anti-fungus meds that have caused the nitrite spike. Whatever the cause - the daily water changes will dilute the nitrite in the tank, you could also add another airstone to the tank. IMO adding a small amount of salt to the changes will also help the fish to be able to deal with the nitrite (it apparently reduces the toxicity of nitrite) - I've added approx 1/4 teaspoon disolved into each gallon (4.5 litres) without harming the more salt sensitive fish. About turning the pump off for the night - have you looked around for a quieter pump - while you have the problems it would probably be a good idea to leave it on.

good luck - sue

 

[millym]

oh i hope your fishies are ok - read my post in the topic 'i blame the manufacturer' in this same forum on interpret No8 fin rot treatment, it seems to seriously affect some fish.( although we did stuff up & overdose our tank - dumb dumb i know ) keep with the water changes as suggested & increase your oxygenation in your tank as much as poss.
good luck

 

[phishphood]

I added another airline and some oxygentaing tablets and all is well again. The air pumps are tetra whisper and Rena silent/quiet or something, they are the quietest ones I could find. The filter causes a lot of water disturbance so I hope that oxygenates the water enough during the night as I really can't stand the noise of the two air pumps when I'm asleep, its like a constant low rumble and I end up waking up with a headache.
The water has cleared up now and the fish are all happy again, so I'll leave the extra airline in the tank from now on.
Thanks guys

 

[petshop johnny]

the cloudy water bacteria bloom.your fish are as good as dead without an airpump.
i suggest flushing then down toilet and starting over.sorry to be so blunt but swordtail are used for bloody feeder fish in the u.s.a.the water is tainted with meds start over it painful but let it go :smb:

 

[RobertK]

the cloudy water bacteria bloom.your fish are as good as dead without an airpump.
i suggest flushing then down toilet and starting over.sorry to be so blunt but swordtail are used for bloody feeder fish in the u.s.a.the water is tainted with meds start over it painful but let it go :smb:

Sorry Johnny.
But in my opinion advising some one to flush there fish down the toilet is not only unhelpful but disrespectful.
People come here for advice about their fish for which they care for a great deal, and if you read the thread properly you would see that the water has cleared up and the fish are now happy, so why on earth would some one want to flush them down the pan?
Maybe you do use Swordtails in the USA for feeder fish, but elsewhere they are admired for what they, a beautiful and interesting addition to a tank, so don't assume that because you have no value for a fish, no one else does either.
Some people come here looking for answers, and more often then not have no idea whether a piece of advice is valid or not, so advice like that, which is not an acceptable way of disposable shouldn't be given.
I remember how excited I was with my first fish tank, I'm glad I didn't get advice of people who were so blunt.


Robert.

 

[phishphood]

the cloudy water bacteria bloom.your fish are as good as dead without an airpump.
i suggest flushing then down toilet and starting over.sorry to be so blunt but swordtail are used for bloody feeder fish in the u.s.a.the water is tainted with meds start over it painful but let it go :smb:

That is really mean, fyi, the cloudy water was due to the interpet meds, which incidentally can be removed using carbon/zeolite filter media. There was already an airline in the tank, I added another to help with the problem. There is over £60 worth of fish in that tank and there is no way I would ever dispose of perfectly healthy fish. I am offended by your comments and I'm sorry to say you are the only person on this forum who is unkind and not at all helpful and you have just made yourself look stupid by saying this when there are many other things that can be done to help that are not cruel. I do not only have swordtails in my tank, the one that I have left is a particularly pretty one and I don't care if you use them as feeder fish. A lot of people keep them because they are nice to look at and easy to keep and breed. I also keep guppies, cories and clown loaches and have no problem with them, and I love my fish and would never do anything to purposely harm them. I think you owe myself and other people on this forum an apology, as your "advice" is hurtful not only to me but to other people who use this forum for real advice on how to help their fish.

P.S. thanks Robert for you comments. I went to Lizard in the summer, and although it was a cold wet day, it is a beautiful place.

 

[mjs1]

the cloudy water bacteria bloom.your fish are as good as dead without an airpump.
i suggest flushing then down toilet and starting over.sorry to be so blunt but swordtail are used for bloody feeder fish in the u.s.a.the water is tainted with meds start over it painful but let it go :smb:

Sorry Johnny.
But in my opinion advising some one to flush there fish down the toilet is not only unhelpful but disrespectful.
People come here for advice about their fish for which they care for a great deal, and if you read the thread properly you would see that the water has cleared up and the fish are now happy, so why on earth would some one want to flush them down the pan?
Maybe you do use Swordtails in the USA for feeder fish, but elsewhere they are admired for what they, a beautiful and interesting addition to a tank, so don't assume that because you have no value for a fish, no one else does either.
Some people come here looking for answers, and more often then not have no idea whether a piece of advice is valid or not, so advice like that, which is not an acceptable way of disposable shouldn't be given.
I remember how excited I was with my first fish tank, I'm glad I didn't get advice of people who were so blunt.


Robert.

good call

 

[petshop johnny]

sorry just joking

 

[david27]

Well johnny If youv'e ever had serious problems with your tank you should know how stressful it is so why make such a silly comment, if youv'e had just plain sailing when you do have a drama I hope that you will then appreciate how bad you can feel. Please think about your posts!

 

[david27]

You might try packing the air pump in a shoe box with filter foam, it might make it quieter at night. Just remember to put a couple of holes it the side.

Don't know if it will work but worth a try.

hope everything gets sorted out

David

 

[Olive]

My pumps used to be noisy too. I just put a small dish towel under them and set them on the box they came in on the fish tank stand. It seems to really quiet them down to a tolerable hum. You might try that, as going without a pump even for a little while can spell disaster if another small problem is lurking in the night. Besides, would you rest at night very well if someone plugged up your nose and you could only breathe 75% of your regular 02? You really seem to care for your fish and I know you wouldn't want to ever make them uncomfortable..................

 

[phishphood]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, I left them on last night and they were soooooooo noisy so I'm going to try out what you guys said, thanks a lot