Help! We upgraded from a 33 gallon to a 75 gallon freshwater tank on January 14th and have had multiple fish die since then and 3 more are currently sick. We got the tank from a lady who was giving away her tank and asked that we take and care for her fish. She had GloFish tetras, which she said she had for 3 years, and a Chinese algae eater that she had for 2 years. Her fish all appeared healthy and active and her tank water tested well, but we only saved enough of her water to transport her fish. Our fish were healthy before the tank upgrade. I did not quarantine her fish prior to introducing them to my fish, which I know now was a huge mistake. I put nearly all of our water from our 33 gallon tank into the new tank and we did not drain our Fluval FX4 or clean its media so that the bacteria would get into the new tank. I also added some QuickStart since we had a little less than half the amount of tank water needed for the 75 gallon.
Since the tank upgrade, 2 of 3 of our Corys died (I did not observe any unusual symtpoms in them prior to death), our Angelfish died (acted oddly, stopped eating and I think was flashing as it appeared he had rubbed some areas of scales of prior to death, but no white spots that I could see), our Guorami died (looked bloated before death), and one of the prior owner's GloFish died (appeared to have swim bladder problems prior to death). Currently, one of her GloFish has a single large white spot that has evolved into a blister looking bump (this has been going on for a few days), just this morning I saw that one of the other GloFish has a red ulcer over its gills on one side, and my rainbow shark is barely moving and hiding in the corner hanging vertically behind the heater (he is moving just enough to let me know that he is still alive).
I have carefully monitored the water since the upgrade. My ammonia meter says ammonia is at a safe level and has been that way since the tank upgrade. I have done a total of three water changes since the upgrade 2 weeks ago. The first two were about 30% water changes and this past Friday I did close to 50% water change. Nitrates are currently 20 ppm and the highest I have seen them get since the change was 40 ppm (right before the water change). I put in a half-dose of API Ich medicine on Saturday evening due to my concern that the weird white spot/blister on the GloFish is ich; I did a half-dose because I have scaleless fish. The second dose is due tonight, but I am not sure if I should give it since all the fish seem to have different symptoms.
Tank size: 75 gallons
tank age: see above
pH: looks like 7.0
ammonia: "safe" Per meter
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20 ppm
kH: will need to check and update
gH: usually comes out right in the middle of the test strip (will need to recheck for specific number)
tank temp: 80 degrees
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Sand substrate, 1 piece of drift wood, couple of decorations, and a few fake aquarium plants. We use StressCoat+ with water changes and I added a half-dose of API ich on Saturday.
Tank inhabitants: 5 GloFish tetras, 2 plecos, 1 chinese algae eater, 1 shovelnose catfish, 1 black knifefish, 1 rainbow shark
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Just the merging of the two fish communities as mentioned above.
Exposure to chemicals: None, except ich treatment.
I want our poor fish to stop being sick and dying, but I can't pinpoint what the problem is. Please share your thoughts.
Since the tank upgrade, 2 of 3 of our Corys died (I did not observe any unusual symtpoms in them prior to death), our Angelfish died (acted oddly, stopped eating and I think was flashing as it appeared he had rubbed some areas of scales of prior to death, but no white spots that I could see), our Guorami died (looked bloated before death), and one of the prior owner's GloFish died (appeared to have swim bladder problems prior to death). Currently, one of her GloFish has a single large white spot that has evolved into a blister looking bump (this has been going on for a few days), just this morning I saw that one of the other GloFish has a red ulcer over its gills on one side, and my rainbow shark is barely moving and hiding in the corner hanging vertically behind the heater (he is moving just enough to let me know that he is still alive).
I have carefully monitored the water since the upgrade. My ammonia meter says ammonia is at a safe level and has been that way since the tank upgrade. I have done a total of three water changes since the upgrade 2 weeks ago. The first two were about 30% water changes and this past Friday I did close to 50% water change. Nitrates are currently 20 ppm and the highest I have seen them get since the change was 40 ppm (right before the water change). I put in a half-dose of API Ich medicine on Saturday evening due to my concern that the weird white spot/blister on the GloFish is ich; I did a half-dose because I have scaleless fish. The second dose is due tonight, but I am not sure if I should give it since all the fish seem to have different symptoms.
Tank size: 75 gallons
tank age: see above
pH: looks like 7.0
ammonia: "safe" Per meter
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20 ppm
kH: will need to check and update
gH: usually comes out right in the middle of the test strip (will need to recheck for specific number)
tank temp: 80 degrees
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Sand substrate, 1 piece of drift wood, couple of decorations, and a few fake aquarium plants. We use StressCoat+ with water changes and I added a half-dose of API ich on Saturday.
Tank inhabitants: 5 GloFish tetras, 2 plecos, 1 chinese algae eater, 1 shovelnose catfish, 1 black knifefish, 1 rainbow shark
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Just the merging of the two fish communities as mentioned above.
Exposure to chemicals: None, except ich treatment.
I want our poor fish to stop being sick and dying, but I can't pinpoint what the problem is. Please share your thoughts.
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