This Could Be Bad..

[gennine]

request help..

i realise i have overstocked my tank, and ammonia levels have been high. fish have been fine for a while, but have started showing early signs of distress this past couple of days. guppies started showing some pale scales. gouramis not been happy, looking scruffy. had i been advised at the shop properly, i would not have purchased the due to having a hex tank ,ph and other reasons.
some fish showing signs of pineconing, but not bloating. and have ocasionally flashed plants to scratch, but its not that often. pleco got ich i think today noticed salt like spots. have also suspected paracite, and bacteria but think there are many things because of the amonia. apart from the gouramis everyone have been happy fish acting normally. how do i treat this one? i dont want to misdiagnose anything, in combination with water changes
i have done lots of research, and have changed 50% water (i treat with stress coat and i heat and oxygenate.)
Tank size: 10 g hex. i treat as a 8 g
pH:8 (high for gourais)
ammonia:has been 0.6 or just under, - trying to find a chart that has ph 8 - 0.6 amonia, no luck, anyone?
nitrite: less than 0.1
nitrate: -
kH: the area is hard water - lots of limestone in the area - i have an electrolytic scale inhibitor on my pipes, - i have a bit of wood in tank - would that contribute to lowering ph?
gH:
tank temp:27 c

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):see above

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 2g, treated and heated every 1 1/2 - 2wks - i clean surface gravel and filter regularly

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: eSHa optia fish health booster 8 drops forghtnightly, ocasionally a little tonic salts

Tank inhabitants:see below..

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
2 blue dwarf gourais - a regretable mistake
Exposure to chemicals:nothing i am aware of. plants died,


ps, i know i overstocked the tank.. .. a lesson i have learnt!

please help me fish gods!

genie x

 

[Tolak]

You have about 3x the stocking for that tank. That means, with a cycled tank, you would need to do maintenance at 3 times the normal amount. That would end up being a 50% water change twice weekly, minimum.

I'm sure someone from the UK will check in soon, med availability differs from country to country, what I have available here in the US is probably not available there. I would med for the ick, as this will take out all the fish if let progress. Once a fish starts to pinecone it is a sign of internal organ failure, a tough one to treat, even with antibiotics it's 50/50. I know good antibiotics are near impossible to get in the UK without a prescription from a vet, so I would concern myself with the ick, and since it is a cycling tank do a 50% water change daily.

 

[gennine]

thankyou!

eek.


My tank is 10 UK gallons, hopefully you calculated for US and my tank is not as overstocked as you said. as you can imagine i am extremely worried! i didnt think i overstocked as much as 3 times over, and i wouldnt say it looks overcrouded, all the fisshies have their bit of space. my tank is not planted up at the moment so there is a bit more space for the to swim in.

any other suggestions would be very much appreciated at this point.

cheers guys.

 

[Tolak]

No biggie, it's a typical beginner's thing, something everyone, including myself, does at first.

What you can do is look up your fish on the fishprofiles site, and add up the size of the fish times the number of fish you have, minus the plecs. With the fish you have, you could go by the inch per gallon guideline, that is a good stocking maximum for someone starting out. Many aquarists with more experience will go beyond that stocking, but have a backup plan if they are wise. This usually includes spare tanks and the needed equipment to run them.

Plecs include a wide range of species, from bristlenose, which max out at about 5", to common plecs, which can hit 20" or more. Even the smallest plec needs more than a 10 gallon, I keep them in 20's or larger.

10 UK gallons equals about 12 US gallons, there isn't a lot of wiggle room with two more gallons.

 

[gennine]

may i ask why minus the plecs?
I realise the size they grow to can be very big. i am hoping to get a 25 g tank in a couple of months time.

ok. I dont have ich, i thought i did have, but my plec must have swam through the air curtain getting little salt grain like bubbles on him. however his skin looks a little pale , assuing as a result of the amonia situation.

cheers

g x

 

[Tolak]

You can't really go by the inch per gallon guideline with plecs, they grow larger than 3", and produce more waste than a similar fish their size. A 25 gallon tank would be slightly overstocked with what you have, but nothing unmanagable or out of the ordinary, as long as those plecs are one of the smaller species.

Fading colors are related to stress, and that is probably a result of the ammonia levels.

 

[gennine]

its been a long day..
thankyou for you help.
will stay informed.