New Member With A Huge Problem. Help Me!

[B Rolls]

And just to add, overfeeding the fish is a good point. It may cause ammonia spikes without you even knowing it, unless you test twice a day at least.

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks.

 

[dh058977]

You still havent actually answered my questions but everything you have said points towards poor water quality and an uncycled filter. A water change once a month just isnt good enough. With an uncycled filter and fish in your tank you should be doing regular water changes to keep harmful levels of Ammonia and Nirtrite down, some people doing fish in cycles end up doing changes every day just to keep on top of things.

Ammonia should be 0, anything more than that is toxic to your fish and will be killing them.

Simple answer to your problem, you have an uncycled filter that you have caused further issues with by changing the filter. Secondly you have high amounts of Ammonia in your water that you are not changing, this will stress your fish, kill them and leave them open to other infections etc

 

[snazy]

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks

This is deadly. Surprised they lasted 3 days, not to mind 3 weeks. Go get the buckets and start water changes. Then test again and make sure you've done enough water changes to not be able to detect any ammonia. There is no fin rot there, you are poisoning your fihs is my opinion. Sorry if I sound cross, but that's the truth. What are the nitrites?

 

[B Rolls]

Eveything you say just points to poor water quality as being the cause, although you may have been unlucky with having bad batches among those fish. So you kept fish before the house move? Were you able to keep fish alive for some time in the previous house? Or did the problems start when you started to use the well water in the new house? What do you use to test your water with?

Also, trying to read through that block of text (what a nightmare), I'm not convinced that your filter is cycled. Can you list everything that you add to your water please?

And changing the water once a month is just not good enough. Another reason to suspect poor water quality.

I have never had a batch of fish stay alive longer than 2 months. I only tried the well water once. Then did a complete clean with a bleach solution, and filled it again with natural spring water. It seems to be as soon as I added these tetras about 4 days ago that's when the fin rot started. Everything in the tank was fine until then. I am sorry about the text. I tried to space out the paragraphs but the topic text page would not allow the Tab button to work beneficially. All I added to the water is stress coat, coppersafe in a low dose to cure ick from the store when I first got the fish, and it worked great I might add. I added some aquarium salt(about 4 tbsp) when I first set the tank up. Like I said its a lot to do water changes where I am because I have to drive 20 miles to get the spring water place. Another thing is how can the water be so bad in a matter of 3 weeks. These fish come from streams and lakes where the natives wash their dirty feet in, and they drain their waste into. I'm sure my water isn't worse that those ponds and streams in Africa. Ive seem tanks so much more worse than mine in real life, and they have had their fish for years.

 

[dh058977]

Why can you not do water changes using your tap water and a decent dechlorinator? Your water is that bad in three weeks as your filter is uncycled and levels that hare harmful to your fish can build up extremely quickly. Im not sure what tanks you are refering to but your setup is not the same as theirs, they may have a cycled filter, they may have had their fish for a long period of time and find themselves in an 'old tank syndrom' situation. Regardless, it is irrelevant to your setup.

You need to do frequent large water changes to bring down that Ammonia. Dont add anymore fish untill you have cycled your filter.

 

[shepo1981]

right i had same problem and tryed ever think im in the uk and its a big problem fin rot is from the pet shop ,i tryed ever type of med that there was in the shop .well melafix work a treat for me is smell a bit but worth the money not only dose it treat u fish it all so treats new fish some people say after u sort u tank do a water change to take the med out ,i havent and it work spot on i have loads of fish happy in the tank now and plenty dropping babies .hope this help you as it help me

 

[B Rolls]

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks

This is deadly. Surprised they lasted 3 days, not to mind 3 weeks. Go get the buckets and start water changes. Then test again and make sure you've done enough water changes to not be able to detect any ammonia. There is no fin rot there, you are poisoning your fihs is my opinion. Sorry if I sound cross, but that's the truth. What are the nitrites?

Ok if this still doesn't solve the problem. If I do a water change and do all this stuff to prevent this, I still don't know what is going wrong. I came to this site for answers, not to just for people say how bad I am at keeping fish. I came to this site for one last effort to try to save these animals before I drain the thing and either sell it, or use it for target practice. Someone please tell me how to correct the tank and get it to be healthy and happy for years to come please. I'm begging you.

 

[CezzaXV]

You don't need to use spring water or anything fancy like that. Normal tap water will do fine as long as you add dechlorinator to it (Seachem Prime is recommended by most folk here).

There are probably a number of different diseases that your fish have succumbed to, but the majority of them will have probably happened as a result of bad water quality. My advice for you as a recommended course of immediate action is to measure your ammonia then keep doing so every day for at least a week. Any time your ammonia is above 0, do a massive water change, and at the end of the week, do a reasonably large water change anyway, whether the ammonia is 0 or not. You really need to be doing weekly water changes on a tank of any size - there are very few tanks which can get away with not doing so.

You also really dont need to change your filter cartridge unless it is literally falling apart. Manufacturers will tell you to change it more often so they can get more money out of you but it's really not necessary.

 

[dh058977]

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks

This is deadly. Surprised they lasted 3 days, not to mind 3 weeks. Go get the buckets and start water changes. Then test again and make sure you've done enough water changes to not be able to detect any ammonia. There is no fin rot there, you are poisoning your fihs is my opinion. Sorry if I sound cross, but that's the truth. What are the nitrites?

Ok if this still doesn't solve the problem. If I do a water change and do all this stuff to prevent this, I still don't know what is going wrong. I came to this site for answers, not to just for people say how bad I am at keeping fish. I came to this site for one last effort to try to save these animals before I drain the thing and either sell it, or use it for target practice. Someone please tell me how to correct the tank and get it to be healthy and happy for years to come please. I'm begging you.

With all due respect, I have already answered this in post 5.
- Return the fish that you currently have.
- Drain, clean and refill your tank.
- Read the beginners section of this forum, paying close attention to the fish less cycling.
- Buy some household Ammonia and fully cycle your tank.
- Restock your tank from a new LFS avoiding tetras until your tank matures.
- Maintain good water change, cleaning and testing routine. (This means more than 1 water change per month)
- Enjoy your fish.

 

[B Rolls]

Why can you not do water changes using your tap water and a decent dechlorinator? Your water is that bad in three weeks as your filter is uncycled and levels that hare harmful to your fish can build up extremely quickly. Im not sure what tanks you are refering to but your setup is not the same as theirs, they may have a cycled filter, they may have had their fish for a long period of time and find themselves in an 'old tank syndrom' situation. Regardless, it is irrelevant to your setup.

You need to do frequent large water changes to bring down that Ammonia. Dont add anymore fish untill you have cycled your filter.

My well water has many harmful bacteria that come from acid rain. We do not drink our water and I don't think the fish will live long in it. Unless you think otherwise. Dechlorinator would not do any good because this is a drilled well not a city water supply.

 

[B Rolls]

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks

This is deadly. Surprised they lasted 3 days, not to mind 3 weeks. Go get the buckets and start water changes. Then test again and make sure you've done enough water changes to not be able to detect any ammonia. There is no fin rot there, you are poisoning your fihs is my opinion. Sorry if I sound cross, but that's the truth. What are the nitrites?

Ok if this still doesn't solve the problem. If I do a water change and do all this stuff to prevent this, I still don't know what is going wrong. I came to this site for answers, not to just for people say how bad I am at keeping fish. I came to this site for one last effort to try to save these animals before I drain the thing and either sell it, or use it for target practice. Someone please tell me how to correct the tank and get it to be healthy and happy for years to come please. I'm begging you.

With all due respect, I have already answered this in post 5.
- Return the fish that you currently have.
- Drain, clean and refill your tank.
- Read the beginners section of this forum, paying close attention to the fish less cycling.
- Buy some household Ammonia and fully cycle your tank.
- Restock your tank from a new LFS avoiding tetras until your tank matures.
- Maintain good water change, cleaning and testing routine. (This means more than 1 water change per month)
- Enjoy your fish.

The problem is I have done this so many times I want to make sure this is my last time for a long time. What if I do what you say, drain everything and clean. Read all I can about it. Could I get like 1 cooler fish, such as a green terror and have only him in the tank? That way I can focus on just that one fish instead of many. I will make sure to get him from a lfs that is very well on there upkeep of there tanks. Would that be ok to have just like 1 or 2 south American cichlids?

 

[CezzaXV]

Most good dechlorinators will also get rid of any harmful metals in the water as well as any chlorine. Although your well water might not be ideal, to be honest, I think more frequent water changes using your well water is going to do less damage to your fish than leaving water changes once a month or whenever you can get the spring water. Although I dont think the lives of fish are something throwaway, the way I see it is this: if you don't do massive, frequent water changes at least until your filter is fully cycled, your fish will definitely die of ammonia poisoning or related illnesses. If you change it with the well water, there's a chance they may survive. I think it's worth a shot.

 

[dh058977]

Ok let me add this. I just now did an ammonia test. It reads 0.50. That seems very little to be able to bring down a healthy fish in 3 weeks

This is deadly. Surprised they lasted 3 days, not to mind 3 weeks. Go get the buckets and start water changes. Then test again and make sure you've done enough water changes to not be able to detect any ammonia. There is no fin rot there, you are poisoning your fihs is my opinion. Sorry if I sound cross, but that's the truth. What are the nitrites?

Ok if this still doesn't solve the problem. If I do a water change and do all this stuff to prevent this, I still don't know what is going wrong. I came to this site for answers, not to just for people say how bad I am at keeping fish. I came to this site for one last effort to try to save these animals before I drain the thing and either sell it, or use it for target practice. Someone please tell me how to correct the tank and get it to be healthy and happy for years to come please. I'm begging you.

With all due respect, I have already answered this in post 5.
- Return the fish that you currently have.
- Drain, clean and refill your tank.
- Read the beginners section of this forum, paying close attention to the fish less cycling.
- Buy some household Ammonia and fully cycle your tank.
- Restock your tank from a new LFS avoiding tetras until your tank matures.
- Maintain good water change, cleaning and testing routine. (This means more than 1 water change per month)
- Enjoy your fish.

The problem is I have done this so many times I want to make sure this is my last time for a long time. What if I do what you say, drain everything and clean. Read all I can about it. Could I get like 1 cooler fish, such as a green terror and have only him in the tank? That way I can focus on just that one fish instead of many. I will make sure to get him from a lfs that is very well on there upkeep of there tanks. Would that be ok to have just like 1 or 2 south American cichlids?

The choice of stocking shouldnt be an issue and is purely down to personal taste and what your tank can accomodate. After all, you dont keep fish, you keep water!
Regardless of the fish you choose, your filter needs to be cycled to handle thier bioload and you need to maintain your tank.

Despite the name, a good quality Dechlorinator will remove more than chlorine from the water, such as metals etc.

Can I ask how you have cycled your tank in the past?

 

[B Rolls]

Most good dechlorinators will also get rid of any harmful metals in the water as well as any chlorine. Although your well water might not be ideal, to be honest, I think more frequent water changes using your well water is going to do less damage to your fish than leaving water changes once a month or whenever you can get the spring water. Although I dont think the lives of fish are something throwaway, the way I see it is this: if you don't do massive, frequent water changes at least until your filter is fully cycled, your fish will definitely die of ammonia poisoning or related illnesses. If you change it with the well water, there's a chance they may survive. I think it's worth a shot.

Like I said, What if I drain everything, clean it out. Fully cycle the filter. Could a green terror survive if I use my well water and a good dechlorinator?

 

[CezzaXV]

There's no reason any fish couldn't survive if you fully cycle the filter.