Problem With My Soroity

[nortonmad213]

hi all, so i set up a sorority a few months ago, everything has been fine, hierarchy got established and since then there has been very little squabbling. lately i have only one or two active fishies and all the rest will just lie on the floor or a plant apart from feeding time.
any ideas? 
thanks a lot

 

[attibones]

What size tank is it?
Full stock?
Temp?
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?
Any rapid gill movement?
Did you cycle the filter before starting the tank?
Have you added anything new?
Have you messed with the filter media at all?
Water change frequency?
What dechlor are you using?

 

[vespabloke27]

have you tried putting water in the tank?..
 
 
temperature?

 

[nortonmad213]

170l
15 female bettas, 2 adult bn's plus babies and 2 peppered cories
27 degrees celcius
will let you know when i get home
gill movement is normal
tank had been running for a year before i changed stock to bettas
last addition was three months ago
filter got cleaned when i moved house 4 months ago apart from that no
25% weekly
will let you know when i get home

 

[attibones]

Hmm. I would have added about ten more females. It sounds very tightly stocked like that, but that extra females really do help make sure a proper hierarchy is established.

I'm sure you know the corys would appreciate more friends, but not right now, of course, while you're dealing with this lethargy. How are the catfish behaving? Are they swimming and eating normally?

What do you feed everybody?

It's likely that you are not having a many spike, which was my first hunch. If the tank had been established so long, cleaning the filter would have resulted in a loss of some bacteria. However, a tank well established usually bounces back quickly.

It's odd that a few fish are not affected. Are they the same fish each day or does this change a bit?

When was your last water change? I would do one as soon as you get home, around 50 percent, and see if that helps. Then I would leave the water level a little lower than usual for better gas exchange and to enable your bettas to have easy access to the surface.

 

[nortonmad213]

Just a quick add to first reply
Am 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 15
Dechlor is fluval aqua plus
I did a 25% yesterday doing another now under your instruction. The cories seem fine no darting to the surface the bns are normal parents. Make protecting this set of eggs. Bettas get hikari Betta gold. Cories and bns get veggies and plec wafers have added an airstone since symptoms started in case it was airflow was the problem

 

[attibones]

Hmm. I don't know what to tell you. If the corys and BNs were behaving similarly, I would think you've got an air issue. But it doesn't seem that way.

Back when I had a sorority, several of my females did this after I introduced a few new females and one juvie male (didn't realize he was a male plakat at the time). He bullied the brave girls to death before I could move him and then I lost two of the remaining three due to stress and injuries. He was in there for only a few days. I'm assuming you haven't had this happen to you, but I thought I would throw it out there in case you have any questionable females in the mix.

Food sounds like it isn't an issue either. I don't know. I would just keep the water a little lower than normal and wait and see. Maybe the airstone will help perk them up.

 

[Wildbetta]

How long has this been going on?  Also, the temperature of the tank -- is that the reading off the heater (what you have it set at) or what an internal thermometer says?
 
Can you get a picture of the girls just laying around to see if maybe a photo would help with figuring out the issue?

 

[nortonmad213]

A week
Temperature is off of a internal thermometer
Will get a pic when I get home
Just found this on one of them

Unsure if these are burns or bites?
Think this one isn't long for this world

 

[Wildbetta]

Oh man they are not looking good at all.    Not sure exactly what might be wrong but I would see if you can find an antibiotic specifically one that treats gram negative bacteria and start dosing the tank.

 

[nortonmad213]

I will do another water change when I get home as have very little money atm. I have a general anti bacteria med will that help?

 

[Wildbetta]

It might and at this point it might be as good as option as any to see if it will help your girls.  When you get a chance, will you post a pic of the medication and the ingredient list please.  
 

 

[nortonmad213]

No ingredient list on bottle will Google for it

 

[nortonmad213]

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't bns veggy eaters? Just saw my girl bn eating what's left of one of my girls :'(

 

[Wildbetta]

BN's are omnivores and will consume both meat and plant matter.  It is actually very common in tanks where there are both snails and plecos (of any variety) for dead fish to go missing before they are found because they can be consumed rather quickly.  Although I am sure that is not something most people really want to think about on a regular basis.  
 
On a separate note, sorry to hear that one of your girls has passed.