Strange Disease

[Kirstie]

A couple of my fish have died recently from this really strange disease. I've never seen it or heard of it before, but here's what's happening. The fish will get really sluggish and start hanging around at the bottom of the tank. Then, a couple of days later, they get a film or bubbles on their eyes. My molly, who died 2 days ago, had a really inflamed belly and the weirdest thing was her scales. They lifted completely off her and were standing straight up, but they didn't fall off. She looked like a pine cone! What is it? When I came down and she was dead, she wasn't lying on her side or anything. She was floating with her mouth touching the gravel....straight up too. Does ANYONE know what on earth is going on?

 

[wetwetwet]

Sorry to hear this Kirsty

The 'pine cone' symptoms you desribe are probably dropsy.....

......usually not down to any one particular cause but due to poor water conditions or lack of regular maintenance....

Can you give us some more info on your water parameters - size of tank, ammonia,nitrite, nitrate, pH, Gh, temp and water changes/maintenance schedule etc. and someone might be able to come up with something more usefull.....

 

[Kirstie]

Yeah, I know my ammonia levels are O. I should really get some tests for my other water parameters, because I think that that is the problem. My temp is always 27 celcius. I change 20% of my water every week. In fact, tomorrow is my cleaning day. I will let you know!

 

[wetwetwet]

Kirsty, I'd say one of the most important things is a regular maintenance schedule....


...what size tank, what fish and how many and how often do you do a water change and how much.

sorry about the q's but the more info the easier it is to come up with some help ...maybe

 

[wetwetwet]

Oooops, .....sorry... didn't see the edited post


other q's still stand though

 

[Kirstie]

I have a 10 gallon tank, which Iexpect to upgrade to a 20 by early April. I have 2 guppies, 1 very small red swordtail (he's still and adult) and a painted swordtail who is on his way out and an Otto Cat. I also have a divider with 10 baby guppies on the other side.

 

[Kirstie]

Well, I cleaned my tank just now, and I would have to say that the tank and the fish look all the better for it. :biggrin: I'm gonna drive to Petland later and get tests for all of my water parameters. What do I need again? I already have ammonia!

 

[Amadaca]

You should probably delete those excess posts, Kirstie. You need test kits for nitrite, nitrate, Gh, pH, & IMO your temperature is a tad high. 24-25 C, or 75-77 F, should be aimed for.

 

[Kirstie]

How do I delete them?

Which one would you say is the most important to get right now? I, of course, will get them all, but right now, I can only get one until I'm paid.

 

[Amadaca]

Damn, I just assumed you could delete your own posts, my bad. This forum's different to most I've ever visited.

Anyway, ammonia & nitrite are the most lethal to test for, but then, your pH & Gh are exceptionally important too. Start with ammonia & nitrite.

 

[Kirstie]

My ammonia is 0. But, I have found the problem....I think. My Ph level is 8.5 and it's supposed to be 7.2-7.6 for livebearers. I've been treating it with Ph Down,it says to use 2 drops for every gallon, which would mean 20 drops for me, but i'm only putting in 1-2 drops a day, so as not to make the shock for the fish too big.

 

[Kirstie]

Cuz, ya know, it DOES contain sulfuric acid, so I thought I better go slowly, and that is also what the guy at Petland told me.

Damn smilies still don't work.

 

[Kirstie]

What just happened there? I did one of those sideways smilies, ya know, with the colon and the right bracket? And it made this

 

[cichlidmaster]

Kirstie,

The guy at Petland is correct. When adjusting ph (up or down) it is recommended that it not be adjusted more than .2 degrees in a 24 hour period.

Be careful!! When trying to modify the ph you should monitor it constantly. Ph can and often does go haywire when doing this.

Keep us posted!!

I deleted all the extra post's for you as well!!

CM

 

[Kirstie]

Thanks so much I just brought my Ph down a tad. It was at 8.0 and the maximum is 7.6 for my livebearers. I lost a couple of my guppy babies but the rest , 8 (cool) are healthy! I just cleaned my tank with my best friend, Angie. True test of friendship, eh? 2 hours of scrubbing and suctioning. Lol.

We haven't even had breakfast and it's 12:05. Hmmm.....

Catcha Lata,
Kirstie