I Need Help Please

[tracey11]

hi
   i am after some help as i am now really stumped i have a 162 litre aprox tank with 2 goldfish 3 taliking catfish and  that had been running fine with no problems for at least 8 years( i brought the tank second hand 8 years ago which had a eheim external pump with built in heater so im unsure how old the pump was but it started to get really slow )anyway as my tank was covered with algae i brought 2 small bn plecs and then 2 weeks later i brought 2 more they settled in fine no problems i decided it was about time i brought a new filter Eheim external with built in heater i put some of my original filter media in the new pump and away we went 2 weeks ago my catfish started to seem ill and they were covered in sugar like grains so i thought they had white spot so i went to my local petshop and they said to treat with protozine so i did they didnt seem to be getting any better in fact they looked worse so i went to another fish shop and they surgested i test my water which i had never done before so i did the ph was fine but the amonia level was through the roof and the nitrite was also high he said to stop using the protozine and to concentrate on lowering the amonia i have been doing daily water changes but i have now lost 2 of my catfish the goldfish and the plecs are doing fine but my last catfish has just started to eat small amounts again but is still not right but my amonia level is still really high and i cant seem to get it down i cant understand why as i am only feeding small amounts every couple of days i am doing daily water changes and i have halved the amount of gravel that was in there so i get all the waste when im hoovering it out the temp is 26c and i have an airstone in there aswell i had a few live plants in there but 1 type made the water smell of onion or garlic so i thought that was not helping so i tool it out i also had 2 pieces of planted bogwood i recently put in for the plecs but have taken that out but even after the water change the amonia level is stll high  please help i am loseing the will to live sorry for the essay just wanted to give all the informationthanks in advance for your help 

 

[Fishmanic]

I assume you are dechlorinating the water for the water change.   You now have an uncycled tank due to the filter change.  You must get the ammonia down---do at least 50% water changes for as many days as necessary to get ammonia and nitrites near or at 0.  You will need to keep a close eye on your nitrate/ammonia levels for several weeks and continue water change as necessary to keep them low or at 0.  Your fish may have ich which would require medicating or heat/salt method to cure it.   Would you have a closeup picture of the fish with the sugar like spots?

 

[tracey11]

hi yeah im putting the stuff in to take the chlorine out im doing 50% water changes every day but the amonia is still really high i forgot to say that the sugar like grains have gone from the fish i have left thanks for quick reply

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sorry for your losses.
 
Ok, first off, ammonia comes from fish waste, goldfish and catfish do produce a lot of waste, especially in a 162 litre tank which is actually a bit too small for them all.
 
Ammonia is usually dealt with by the filter which should contain bacteria which will convert this to nitrite then convert this to nitrates basically in a nutshell. 
 
So if you have good colony of bacteria in your filter, this should deal with ammonia and you shuild not be getting readings of ammonia or nitrites at all, just readings of nitrates. And nitrate is usually dealt with by weekly water changes of at least 20% or more.
 
All three of these elements are toxic to fish, so this would explain why your fish have been getting ill and for your losses.
 
Sounds like you are in a mini cycle or getting spikes as the change in filter has disrupted your bacteria and these need to colonise or settle again. So that means do continue with daily water changes until your filter and tank are cycled again.
 
I would recommend you get yourself a test kit, API Freshwater Test Kit is fairly decent and good value for money, ca be obtained online or from you LFS. Once you get a test kit, you then do regular testings so you know what is happening and would say it would be good if you can post exact readings of tests on this thread so we can help you with decent advice.
 
One last thing, goldfish do not do so well in tropical tank or at tropical temperatures, these are really cold water fish am afraid.
Here is a little bit of basic info on goldfish just in case you did not know
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/417799-goldfish-for-beginners/
 
EDIT - By the way 

to the forum!

 

[tracey11]

hi ch4rlie
              thanks for answering i have had my goldfish in this tropical tank for at least 8 years along with the original 3 talking catfish with absolutely no problems at all until i recently added 4 bristlenose plecs  and upgraded the filter i was told that my 162 litre was plenty big enough for the fish i had guess i was fed a pack of lies all i have left now is 1 talking catfish 2 goldfish and 4 bristlenosed plecs apart from the water changes is there anything else i could do to decrease the amonia level i just dont understand why its still to high as there is hardly any waste when i hoover the gravel thanks again x 

 

[fluttermoth]

Ammonia doesn't just come from solid waste or fish poo; the fish also excrete it from their gills as a by product of respiration.
 
What exactly is your ammonia level now?

 

[Ch4rlie]

This may help you a little bit, well worth reading and is informative.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

 

[tracey11]

the amonia level is 2,0 mg/l but it has been 5,0mg/l the nitrite is between 0,0mg/l and 0,5mg/l

 

[tracey11]

thanks everyone

 

[fluttermoth]

I would guess that your 50% daily water changes aren't big enough.
 
Try doing 75 or 80% (do make sure the water is properly temperature matched and dechlorinated when doing big changes); if that doesn't start getting it down, you might have to do more than one water change a day.

 

[tracey11]

thankyou i will try doing bigger water changes i really am losing the will to live i love my fish thankfully my catfish has started eating today so hopefully he is on the mend fingers crossed wish i had never changed the filter now x 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hi tracey, and welcome to the forum.
 
A lot of folks make mistakes early in the process, and that's what it is - a learning process.  I made a lot of mistakes when I first started fishkeeping. 
 
The one great thing about this hobby though, is that you will always be learning new things!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Can agree with Eaglesaquarium there, most of us, I certainly have, have made mistakes we would rather not have happened but the best you can do from mistakes is to learn from them.
 
Fishkeeping is a great learning experience and will probably always be something new to learn, thats why i like it so much 

 

[tracey11]

thanks for all of your help i will try bigger water changes and hope it settles down soon thanks again x 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Like Ch4lie said, get your own test kit, instead of relying on the LFS. API liquid master test kit is good value for money. 
While you are going through is mini cycle, test daily and if the ammonia is above 1, do a 80% water change. At your current reading of 2ppm, a 50% water change would only take the ammonia down to 1ppm, and by the next day when you do the next water change, the ammonia will probably be back up at 2ppm. It would be best if you can do a large water change (leave enough water for the fish to swim upright in) and then keep doing your 50% water changes, wait until you have your test kit to see how big your water changes need to be in order for the ammonia to be kept under 1ppm.
 
What is your pH?