My Black Moor Is Floating By The Bottom Of The Tank All Afternoon/ Eve

[pandamonium86]

I have 4 fish (3 fantails, 1 black moor)in a 150l tank.they were moved into here almost 2 weeks ago ( the tank was up and running before this for 1 week). they all settled in well, but now 2 weeks in, the black moor had some damage to his eye (a tiny red dot) and a white mrk on his fin (possibly fungal infection? not sure- maybe nothing- it seems to be gone now) so i put in some tetramed which says it cures more or less anything (that was 2 days ago) and also today i put some stress zyme (says to add every 2 weeks to keep tank healthy). i also added a gravel airstone to aeriate the tank just yesterday. i am concerned that the two are related as it was just this afternoon he got sick, is there any way that something above may have affected him? the other three fish appear totally normal. i am really worried that he is acting most odd and hardly moving at all. he s normally the most lively in the tank although he does sleep more than the rest. does anyone have any idea what it might be and if there is anything else i can do for him? i thought about doing a water change but i only did a 20% water change just 2 days ago. i used tap safe like usual, and the water was warmed to room temperature in their old 20l tank before i put it in their new tank. is it possible that bacteria got from the old tank or something as this has not been used past 2 weeks since i moved them (i did rinse it with just water). i have tested water and although the Ph seems to have gone up nothing else has changed, the ph is still in what is marked as acceptable at 7.6. please help! i dont want to lose him as both i and the other fish really love him. cheers in advance for your advice.

 

[blinky000]

I'm guessing this is a cycling issue. Have you tried seeding the bacteria from their old filter into the new one? Because they're in a new tank, the bacteria on the current filter won't be established yet, so their waste isn't being converted, hence they get ill. The moor is probably the first one to get sick because they're a little more... inbred than the fantails. I'd start with a 50% water change, pick up some Nutrafin Cycle or equivalent and that should get them back on track. If you still have the old filter media, you could try seeding too

 

[pandamonium86]

thank you for your quick reply. what does seeding mean with the old filter media? i do still have it yes both the foam and the carbon. i washed them with water though as they were pretty dirty. that old tank was too small for them (didnt realise when i bought them) so the filter was pretty yucky. should i put the foam part in the new filter? i put stress zyme, which has waht they call good bacteria. would that be the same as the cycle stuff you are recommending?

incidently i did change the water in the middle of the night (only 10%) caus i couldnt bring enough to room temp that quick, and that seems to have perked him up a bit. he is swimming a little but not his usual self still. i did all the water tests and didnt see nitrite or nitrates so is this still likely to be a cycling issue?

they have also started fighting which they never did before. they normally get on really well but they chase each other more now.

you are right about the black moor he is always the first one to get sick.i will keep an eye on him. fingers crossed.when will the tank be fully cycled and these sorts of things stop happening?

i think maybe because i put all 4 in the tank at once as well, but like i said it was an emergency because they were in such a small tank and it got so dirty even in the two weeks they were in there with even with regular water checks. its not an ideal situation but i just want them all to be ok.

thanks again,

 

[pandamonium86]

by the way i did move across their old toys and some gravel to aid cycling. and there is a plant in the tank as well.

 

[blinky000]

Ah, the brown goop is the stuff you needed to save. Check if you can save any that may be left in the sponges. It just happens that I'm about to do a seeding this evening myself. I'll do a photo diary thing for you. Watch this space!

 

[pandamonium86]

thanks that would be really helpful

 

[pandamonium86]

he is looking almost back to his usual self after the two water changes last night and today, which is a massive relief.ive ordered an ammonia test online so i can keep an eye on this as well as nitrate etc in future. after watching a video online i think i now understand cycling more and that the ammonia is the most harmful and needs to be converted to nitrite and then nitrate? is that right?

 

[blinky000]

Ok, this is my method of seeding, I'm sure other people do it differently but this has always worked perfectly for me.

You will need:
Old filter media
New filter
A bucket

1. Put the sponges in the bucket.

2. Fill the bucket with water from the tank. Using plain tap water may kill the bacteria.

3. Squeeze like you've never squeezed before! Get as much of the beneficial bacteria out of those sponges as you can!

4. Take the sponges out. Your water will probably look a bit grubby by now but that's exactly what you want to see.

5. Stick the new filter in the bucket, make sure it's submerged and flick it on.

6. Leave the filter on for about an hour or until the water is clear with the majority of the gunk on the bottom having been sucked into the filter (mine only has sand left)

7. Put the new filter in the tank and you're done! It's always advisable to put some Nutrafin Cycle in there too, just to give it a bit of a boost.

From what I've read, Stress Zyme seems to be more about maintaining the bacteria father than establishing them in the first place. Something that fast forwards the cycle going to be better for your fish at this stage. The reason you're reading zero for nitrate and nitrite is because of where your tank is in the cycle. This should help: http/fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

 

[pandamonium86]

wow thank you so much for this. i wish i had known as i washed the old filter media as it looked yucky and all the gunk you are talking about is gone. oh man. i have bought some of that cycle stuff as im worried now as to how much good bacteria is in my tank. i mean its been running 3 weeks, 2 with the fish in it, so i guess there must be some. i didnt realise stress zyme was for maintenance either, it says on the back of it that you can use it to kick start when you want to put fish straight in- you just put more and more often then it says even 7 days after that. at least in future i will know what to do but i think this time all i can do now is add cycle as i dont have this gunk from the old tank any more unfortunately.i was told at the pet shop where i got them that it was enough to use the old gravel and some of the water from their old tank. its so frustrating. i realise now that i should have researched more about this before rather than after buying the fish, but i didnt realise all these things needed to be done. thank you again so much for your help and for the pictures. its so helpful to have other people who have more experience to guide us new fish owners. cheers,