Help!

[ihassomefishes]

hey all-

i have a 37g tank w/ 7 platys (and a few fry) and 5 corys. one of my platys has large white spots that look a bit fuzzy (but are close to the body and not on her mouth or gills). i treated the tank with quickcure, thinking it was ich, which has worked for me in the past. i treated for 3 days with no improvement, filtered the tank for a couple of days and did a 30% water change...still no improvement.

now, the rest of my platys are swimming erratically and aimlessly..none of them have white spots, but something is definitely wrong.

what's going on?? it doesn't look like ich-the white spots aren't small or saltlike, they're larger. i'd attach a picture, but she's gold and the spots aren't showing up in photos.

tank stats:
ammonia (please don't tell me this is the problem) reads high on the API test, and has for months now..it started after i used ammolock when i had a .5 spike. i have an ammo alert in the tank that always reads normal. fish are showing no signs of ammonia poisoning and i do bi-weekly water changes..
nitrite, 0ppm nitrate 10ppm

thank you!!

 

[WILDER]

Immediate water change and increase aeration.

A high ammonia reading can soon kill fish. You have to find out the cause of it.
Test your tap ammonia reading.
]
How often do you preform a water change and gravel vac.
Do you over feed.


Any redness to the white spot on the centre of the spot, or a red edging around the spot.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.

 

[ihassomefishes]

like i said, i've had high ammonia readings for a long time without any symptoms of ammonia poisoning or fish death. there is no ammonia in my tap water..it has a low pH (6.4-6.8). i did my regular water change yesterday. i have a 12 inch airstone that's always airating, and i do bi-weekly 20-30% water changes/gravel vac (25%). i did daily 25% changes after the initial spike with no improvement in my ammonia reading. my ammo alert read .25 once, and went back to zero after a large water change...so, i'm hoping that it's accurate, and there's another reason my liquid test is reading so high.

i feed twice a day, corys get 2 shrimp pellets and platys get tetramin in the morning and algae crisps at night.

no redness, one of the spots is darker than the others..maybe more gray than white? i haven't seen her flashing or anything.


thanks for the response

 

[WILDER]

Ammonia in a tank takes it toll on fish as it causes stress and disease. Also the blood dosn't flow throw the blood vessel or gills well.

Is the tank a 37 gallon or 37 litres.
What filter are you running.
Do you only have 7 platys, 5 corys, a few fry in the tank.


If the spot bigger than a grain of salt and the fish are not flicking and rubbing, it sounds like columnaris spots.

Swimming erratically can mean bad water quality, toxins, ph shock, overdose of med, parasites.

Any signs of laboured breathing or gasping.
Any excess slime on the fish body or gills.

 

[ihassomefishes]

i know that high ammonia levels are dangerous, but like i said..the readings seem to be incorrect. the liquid API test is reading at 8ppm.

it's a 37g tank, and those are the only fish i have.
i have a 40g carbon filter, but i have some extra media in there to keep the bacteria healthy through filter changes.
no slime, no trouble breathing.

any suggestions for columnaris treatment? i didn't think that's what it was because it's not around her mouth or gills, but it's definitely not ick.

 

[WILDER]

I would ask the lfs to test your water and ask them to write the readings down for you.

I would try anti internal bacteria med by interpet.

Is the test kit out of date.

 

[ihassomefishes]

no, it's a brand new kit. expires in 2013. i don't understand what's going on, there's no way it's reading correctly. i'm going to do another water change tomorrow, and then i'll treat the tank.

 

[Wills]

Using Ammo lock can seriously mess up test results as the drop kits measure ammonia and ammonium as the same thing. Ammonium is what ammo lock creates.

Also with ammonium present in the tank this can starve your filter bacteria of ammonia and cause the bacteria to die off more. So as a long term solution Ammo lock does more damage than good, its only real use would be if you had a to separate a fish for a number of days so you add ammo lock and an air stone to help out?

I was in the same situation a few years ago, my filter crashed for un known reasons so I changed filters but while I was waiting for the delivery of the new filter I used ammo lock which just prolonged the cycle if anything.

So I would imagine what has happened now is the ammo lock has locked the ammonia into ammonium which filter bacteria can not process and the high level of ammonium is possibly releasing a source of ammonia but because the test kits are measuring the ammonia and the ammonium any actual levels of ammonia in the tank are not being realised simply because of the situation.

I would do a large water change tonight and then an other in 2 or 3 days time of equal size just to try and get all the ammonium out of the tank.

Wills

 

[WILDER]

Good post wills.

 

[Anna Robinson]

Ammonia treated with Ammo-Lock is still fully available to filter bacteria, so Ammo-Lock won't delay filter cycling. I wouldn't think there is any Ammo-Lock left in Ihas's tank by now anyway, after a few months and with constant water changes.

Definitely get the water tested by someone else, to decide the ammonia issue once and for all. If the tap water tests negative for ammonia using the same test kit, though, that does suggest the reading might be real (the blip with the ammonia alert also adds to this). If so, my money is on some problem with the filter (perhaps a clogged flow, too many media changes, or being washed under the tap?), possibly combined with over-feeding.

 

[fluffycabbage]

can i just ask if you have left the carbon filter in during treatment?

 

[ihassomefishes]

i turn the filter off during medication...but, keep tank water in the chamber to keep the media wet. i always rinse in tank water when changing, and i have additional media to keep the bacteria happy and alive.

i've done a gazillion water changes since the first ammolock dose, but i have used it since then because of the high readings. i'm hpoing that the wonky readings are because of the ammonium (the ammoalert supposedly doesn't react to ammonium). i'm gonna cut the ammolock and go back to bi-weekly changes to see if i can get a normal reading...but that didn't work before. i've done a 50% change without any change in the reading...doesn't make any sense.

the white spots have gotten better in the past couple of days..i haven't treated the tank with anything new yet..i'm gonna see how she is after another water change, i'm hoping this is a water quality issue? ...sigh.