How do I fix my 30 gallon tank? Fish keep slowly dying.

[oceanArnold]

I set up my dads 40 something year old 30 gallon fish tank back in December of 2023. All of the gravel and rocks were also my fathers and were sanitized using boiling water before placed in the tank. The tank only ran for about 2 weeks before I got fish a beginners mistake I was way to excited, and realize that this was a grave mistake, but never the less I started with 4 swords, 2 platies, and two guppies. I also had bought one live plant which had brought two stowaways, snails, which at the time I did not realize how much of a pest they would become. Within 2 weeks everything was still going well and we bought a Chinese algae eater and a common pleco. About a week later the big male platy died and all of the fish were constantly hiding turns out it was the chinese algae eater and we had to return him. Within a couple days my pleco died, we believed that he starved to death. When we brought the dead pleco in we bought almost 8 guppies (probably the biggest mistake I had ever made. Little did I know that the fish store we bought our fish from had columinaris and within a month all of my fish were dead other than the 5 babies that had been had my some of the guppies and the 2 platies and 3 swords and one adult guppy named Aunty blue tail. the columinaris I stopped with hydrogen peroxide over a period of a month. Weeks later I bought a little female micky platy from petsmart, to test if the columinaris was gone and a week after that my friend bought me 4 danios for my birthday. A week after that I got 3 baby blue wag platys. And a week after that the micky platy wasted away and died, then my female platy did, then my male platy did, then I got a endler and 3 neocardinias (shrimp) to deal witht the hair algae problem. Then one of the swords wasted away and died and then another did and a third did, then the two female baby platies died and all three shrimp died.( note at this point there are 40 or more snails and lots of algae). At this point I thought that the snails were the problem and that crushing them and feeding them to my fish was not working, so I stopped doing that and I got a chain loach and he cleaned up most of the snails and I got my dream fish which I was debating because I knew that fish were dying but my dad trying to not have me freak out just said fish die and none had died in about 2 weeks. So I got a hillstream loach. Except I have a under gravel filter and the snails reproduce under the panels and come up through the up pipes so they re populated and one of my baby guppies wasted away and died, and now I treated the tank with prazi pro and the next day my fat danio had a bunch of hoels in it and was dead, then death stopped for a week and then Aunty blue tail got it and has been wasting away, and that is were we are at. I am infested with snails, Aunty blue tail has a bent tail and has fin rot on her tail and is emaciated jusst like all of the other ones who have died before her, and just like them eventually I will find her breathing really hard on the bottom of the tank and then dead. And at this point the thought is that the ethical choice is to give all of my fish to the one store I trust because they actually are good with fish and are proffesionals/experts not just people hired for $15 an hour. They raise the fish and so on. I just do not know what to do anymore.

 

[Colin_T]

Pictures of any remaining fish?

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the aquarium water (in numbers)?
What sort of filter is on the aquarium?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?

What is the water temperature?
What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

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Stop adding things until you figure out what is wrong.
If a fish dies, don't add anything to the tank for at least a month. If there is a disease in the tank, adding new fish will make it worse. If the new fish, shrimp or snails have a disease, they add to the problem with the new disease, which may add to the disease/s already in the tank.

If a fish dies, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate straight away. This dilutes pathogens and nutrients in the water and helps slow the spread of any disease.

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BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Post clear pictures and video of the fish so we can check them for diseases.
You can upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone horizontally (landscape mode) so the footage fills the entire screen and doesn't have black bars on either end.

 

[oceanArnold]

I do now know the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels as I have no way of testing it as my father thinks you do not have to because he never did. The pH is 8. The filter is a whisper filter and it is on the side of the tank and at the moment is cleaned daily as a way of removing algae from the water although the water is pretty well clear. Water changes are sparce because my father does not think they need to happen for a while it was 5 gallons once a week but the water has not been changed in over two weeks because I feared that maybe that was stressing the fish out and that was the cause.I do not clean the gravel because there is a under gravel filter (but thats 40 years old). I am using well water ( it has sulfur in it and I have just started letting my water age when doing water changes). The water fluxuates but it is about 75. And the tank is a 30 gallon long so it is 36 long, 16 tall and 12 wide.

 

[MaloK]

How much sulfur ?

Specifically, is it the reduced forms of sulfur, such as hydrogen sulfide.

these are toxic compounds often producing a rotten egg smell...

If it's the case I would believe that the fish are poisoned then they become weak and fall sick.

Rapid breathing and lethargy are symptoms of sulfur poisoning.

 

[Colin_T]

Do you have any pictures of the dead or remaining fish?

You could have an ammonia reading and that will kill fish, especially if the pH is 8.0 (or in fact anything above 7.0).

How do you clean the filter?

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Undergravel filters need to be gravel cleaned to remove the gunk that settles between the gravel. If you don't gravel clean it regularly, the rotting gunk can cause problems and encourages diseases. It's preferable to gravel clean the substrate whenever you do a water change.

There's a picture of a basic model gravel cleaner in the following link. If you don't have access to one you can make one out of a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and a length of garden hose. Cut the bottom off the plastic bottle and throw the bottom bit away. Remove the plastic cap and ring from the top and throw those away. The remaining bottle is the gravel cleaner. Stick a garden hose in the top of the bottle and run the hose out onto the lawn. Gravel clean the water outside, then refill the tank. leave the fish in the tank while you clean and drain it.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

It's a good idea to change at least 50% of the water every week to dilute disease organisms, nutrients like ammonia, nitrite & nitrate, as well as other things that build up in the water.

I would suggest getting the well water tested by a professional water testing company to find out exactly what is in the well water.

I would suggest getting the aquarium water tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If you don't have test kits, take a glass of tank water to the local pet shop and ask them to test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they do the tests. If they say the water is fine, ask them what the results are in numbers.

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At this stage I would do a 50% water change each day for a week or until the well and tank water is tested, and you can post some pictures of any remaining fish.

Aerate the well water for 24 hours before using it. Just fill a couple of clean buckets with the well water, add an airstone if you have one and let it bubble away for 24 hours. If you don't have an air pump and airstone, just let the well water sit outside in the sun for a day before using it. If you can scoop some up in a smaller bucket you can pour it back into the bucket to help aerate it. Do this a few times while its out in the sun.

 

[Sparx]

Wow this sounds like a fish horror story.

I can’t give any extra advice from what’s already been given, but I have to reiterate frequent water changes and gravel cleaning is a must.
Fish keeping/care has probably come a long way in 40 years, I’m sure your father thinks he knows best and probably means well, but the people on here have expert knowledge and advice to give.. please listen to them. Head out and buy a water test kit.
You don’t keep fish, you keep water. The water keeps the fish.

Good luck in your recovery.

 

[MaloK]

Things changed a lot. Fish in the hobby are healthier today than ever before.

This Tank has reached the "Restart threshold" at least three times for me in the first post.

Edit: To clarify The "healthier today than ever before" statement. means proper QT and everything.

Once introduced and all is "illness" good... I like the fact that mainstream hobbyist tightens the water parameters to something that is much, much better for the fish...

And a lot more work to achieve.

 

[charliemusicfan]

I was told when starting a new aquarium you add easy to care for fish gradually, only one or 2 a week until you have a fully stocked tank. I think you added too much to soon and overwhelmed the fish.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Please have a read here. You are past this point but it will help you to understand what is going on.
https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

Then there are two more articles designed to help with your situation. They offer two options for how to deal with your tank now.

https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i.433769/

https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

 

[Fishfunn]

over a period of a month. Weeks later I bought a little female micky platy from petsmart, to test if the columinaris was gone and a week after that my friend bought me 4 danios for my birthday. A week

1) One very important point I learned is to never buy fish from big chains like Petsmart, Petco, Petsupermarket, etc. Instead, buy fish from a local fish store that sells only tropical fish. The big chain stores do not properly take the time to find, quarantine, and treat sick fish before selling them to customers. If you want to get a deadly disease like columnaris, this is how you find it.

2) Always quarantine your fish before putting them into your main tanks. Observe your new fish in a quarantine tank for a week or two to verify they do not have a disease. This saves you all the heartache of killing your prized fish unnecessarily.

3) I use bottled bacteria to speed up the nitrogen cycle in my tanks.
4) Buy a test kit so you can verify your nitrogen cycle and the functioning of your filters. You also need to know the quality and water parameters of your aquarium water to prevent disease and death.

Amazon.com

 

[Colin_T]

Things changed a lot. Fish in the hobby are healthier today than ever before.

I'm going to disagree with this statement. In my opinion, fish at home in a healthy aquarium are probably in better shape than they were 40 years ago, but aquarium fish from fish farms are more diseased now than they were 40 years ago. And inbreeding is a much bigger issue now too.

 

[oceanArnold]

How much sulfur ?

Specifically, is it the reduced forms of sulfur, such as hydrogen sulfide.

these are toxic compounds often producing a rotten egg smell...

If it's the case I would believe that the fish are poisoned then they become weak and fall sick.

Rapid breathing and lethargy are symptoms of sulfur poisoning.

enough sulfur that people say it smells like eggs of course I cannot smell it because I have lived with it my whole life. The fish stop eating and then become lethargic and then they develop rapid breathing, some get fin rot and then they die (of course this usually happens after their spine gets all bent. Is there a way of solving the sulfur water other than aging it.

 

[oceanArnold]

Do you have any pictures of the dead or remaining fish?

You could have an ammonia reading and that will kill fish, especially if the pH is 8.0 (or in fact anything above 7.0).

How do you clean the filter?

------------------

Undergravel filters need to be gravel cleaned to remove the gunk that settles between the gravel. If you don't gravel clean it regularly, the rotting gunk can cause problems and encourages diseases. It's preferable to gravel clean the substrate whenever you do a water change.

There's a picture of a basic model gravel cleaner in the following link. If you don't have access to one you can make one out of a 1, 1.5 or 2 litre plastic drink bottle and a length of garden hose. Cut the bottom off the plastic bottle and throw the bottom bit away. Remove the plastic cap and ring from the top and throw those away. The remaining bottle is the gravel cleaner. Stick a garden hose in the top of the bottle and run the hose out onto the lawn. Gravel clean the water outside, then refill the tank. leave the fish in the tank while you clean and drain it.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

It's a good idea to change at least 50% of the water every week to dilute disease organisms, nutrients like ammonia, nitrite & nitrate, as well as other things that build up in the water.

I would suggest getting the well water tested by a professional water testing company to find out exactly what is in the well water.

I would suggest getting the aquarium water tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. If you don't have test kits, take a glass of tank water to the local pet shop and ask them to test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they do the tests. If they say the water is fine, ask them what the results are in numbers.

------------------

At this stage I would do a 50% water change each day for a week or until the well and tank water is tested, and you can post some pictures of any remaining fish.

Aerate the well water for 24 hours before using it. Just fill a couple of clean buckets with the well water, add an airstone if you have one and let it bubble away for 24 hours. If you don't have an air pump and airstone, just let the well water sit outside in the sun for a day before using it. If you can scoop some up in a smaller bucket you can pour it back into the bucket to help aerate it. Do this a few times while its out in the sun.

 

[Colin_T]

The guppy with the curved body is skinny and could have intestinal worms and gill flukes. Most common livebearers from Asian fish farms have these parasites and the fish usually die before anyone works out what is going on. If you want to treat them for worms and gill flukes, section 3 of the following link has info about it.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

If you have sulpha in the well water, that could be a bad sign. You really need to get the well water tested to find out if it's safe for people and fish.

If it does have sulpha in, it needs to be aerated for at least 24 hours before it's used in an aquarium. Filtering it with carbon would probably help too. You can put a plastic box filter in a container of well water. Have the box filter full of activated carbon and let it run for a couple of days to clean up the water. The box filter is attached to an air pump by airline. The air pump sits outside the tank or water container.

 

[MaloK]

enough sulfur that people say it smells like eggs of course I cannot smell it because I have lived with it my whole life. The fish stop eating and then become lethargic and then they develop rapid breathing, some get fin rot and then they die (of course this usually happens after their spine gets all bent. Is there a way of solving the sulfur water other than aging it.

It's generally not recommended. While venting water can help to reduce the sulfur smell in water, it doesn't necessarily remove all the sulfur compounds or other contaminants that could harm your aquarium inhabitants.

The symptoms description you give all fits except for the bent spine, Sulfur poisoning can lead to various health issues in fish, including respiratory problems, organ damage, and weakened immune systems.

But "Bent spines" suggest Fish TB.

I'm going to disagree with this statement. In my opinion, fish at home in a healthy aquarium are probably in better shape than they were 40 years ago, but aquarium fish from fish farms are more diseased now than they were 40 years ago. And inbreeding is a much bigger issue now too.

That was exceptionally badly expressed...

What I meant. Is peoples in the Hobby today are maintaining their Aquarium and Fish a lot healthier than before, by a large margin.