Pale (And Dying) Sailfin Mollies

[bigfish-smallpond]

Hi... Had tank running for 6 months+ with no probs (except the usual beginner problems...user errors lol)..... water changes and usual checks all as normal... got a present from a neighbour via local provider of fishies of a cory to replace one that died a long time ago. Within two days got a bit of fungus on one sailfin molly and one swordtail platy. Popped to pet shop n dosed tank (correctly) with usual interpret remedy. That fixed problem but then had three mollies go pale in colour n just die on me. This is stressing out my daughter. (daughter is autistic n its difficlt to explain things,,,,)....Need some advice quick! There are no other visible signs of problems on deceased fish helllllppp!

( 2 foot tank....internal filter and airstones,,,, fed normal tropical flake fish food etc)

Hi... Had tank running for 6 months+ with no probs (except the usual beginner problems...user errors lol)..... water changes and usual checks all as normal... got a present from a neighbour via local provider of fishies of a cory to replace one that died a long time ago. Within two days got a bit of fungus on one sailfin molly and one swordtail platy. Popped to pet shop n dosed tank (correctly) with usual interpret remedy. That fixed problem but then had three mollies go pale in colour n just die on me. This is stressing out my daughter. (daughter is autistic n its difficlt to explain things,,,,)....Need some advice quick! There are no other visible signs of problems on deceased fish helllllppp!

( 2 foot tank....internal filter and airstones,,,, fed normal tropical flake fish food etc)

.... water changes weekly... approx 1/3 rd.... have upped it to twice a week this week.

 

[KISSfn]

Exact water parameters mg/l of Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate? Did you remove meds from tank immediately after treatment complete?

 

[ninjacheesefish]

Get the water tested to make sure it wasn't nirite/ammonia posioning.
Get the dead fish out the tank (if you haven't already) because they release toxins.
Invest in some Melafix and Pimafix, solves any bacterial/fungal problems.

Did you take the carbon out the filter when medicating?

 

[bigfish-smallpond]

Get the water tested to make sure it wasn't nirite/ammonia posioning.
Get the dead fish out the tank (if you haven't already) because they release toxins.
Invest in some Melafix and Pimafix, solves any bacterial/fungal problems.

Did you take the carbon out the filter when medicating?

nitrite/ammonia tests came up as zero on my kit... popping to pet store tmoz to get them to check. No carbon in my filter so didnt need to remove it. dead fish (3) all removed instantly. (as soon as i saw them) . meds stayed in for 7 days then removed by water changes (1/3rd of water with conditioned water)

think test will come up ok.... i will see tmoz. cheers for response

 

[bigfish-smallpond]

Just got back from lfs in Beverly. Chp there was most helpful.(and i dont say that very often about shops! Ran full range of tests for me on my water sample- Ammonia is at zero as with all other tests , PH was dead on 7 but Nitrate is high. Hopefully this is the culprit. It didnt show up on my test...must be cos its an old kit. Anyway... kit is in the bin and some nitrate-minus going in the tank tonight. Some fish off to a new home tmoz to reduce the population of the tank a bit. Hopefully fish will recover soon.

Cheers for your help- Will update this if anything happens!

 

[KISSfn]

Nitrates would have to be very high to hurt your fish >300. Nitrates are removed by water changes and you said you did 2 water changes a week so I don't see how your Nitrates could be so high. Sounds like the helpful chap just wanted to sell you some Nitrate-minus (which I never heard of) and no one here I know uses any chemical to reduce Nitrates!

 

[bigfish-smallpond]

it was quite pink on the indicator strip. it should have been white.cant remember the exact figure. he did say but ive got memory like sieve. He did say it was dangerously high for fish. I've put the product in and will wait and see if it works. Four quid wont break the bank. did another small water change at the same time.

do you recommend more often small water changes or bigger more infrequent ones? i.e 8 litres out of total of 47 every other day or 17 outta 47 twice weekly till it reduces nitrate level? ...any why?? im trying to learn a bit more so i can understand why it happens etc.

 

[KISSfn]

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. You need a liquid test kit. Larger water changes more often are better if your ammonia and/or nitrite are greater than zero and if your nitrates are really high >300. Two types of good bacteria will form in your filter. One type processes ammonia to nitrites, the other processes nitrites to nitrates. Nitrates are removed by weekly water changes.

 

[bigfish-smallpond]

cheers for that ... had a bit of a surprise moment.... mentioned to 'the better half' that i may have to give away some fish cos of the potential overstocking issue and she said "that would be a shame... after you have spent ages breeding them n raising them from fry... why don't you get a bigger tank and keep them all"

this is only weeks after the comment " we dont want a bigger tank in the lounge.. it takes uo far too much room now already" I popped out to garden and into garage and appeared with big tank in my arms... gotta strike whilst iron is hot lol... think the was thinking that it wold take a while for me to save up for it lol... anyway... all water transferred with filter and fish and they are looking a lot better... more alert and active,,,,building up water level bit by bit so not to shock them n allow bacteria to build up... will check levels of ammonia and nitrate much regularly from now on.

 

[KISSfn]

No worries. Glad she's come around! You already had a bigger tank stashed in your garage? Most of the bacteria is in your filter, not water so your filter has the capacity to handle your present bio load now.

 

[bigfish-smallpond]

Yer.. It just happened to be in the garage . I sussed that bacteria would be in filter and took all the water n crap from gravel with it. Fish now looking so much better and seem to be loving the 110 litres of swimming space , a decent improvement from 47 Some fish that never used to visible are swimming about in full view. Happy fish, happy owner

 

[KISSfn]

Glad to hear!