What's wrong with my fish and what should I do?

[fishyfun&fans]

You needed to wait out the 7 days I mentioned after the ich treatment

 

[fishyfun&fans]

The first line in my post was wait out the 7 days like you mentioned yourself

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

You needed to wait out the 7 days I mentioned after the ich treatment

Sorry, I completely misunderstood. I thought you meant to wait the 7 days then give another medication, but to use the salts in the meantime. Thank you for your help. Hopefully they won't all die.
Keeping fish is so much more stressful than I had anticipated. Does it get easier?

 

[fishyfun&fans]

It does get easier over time but it’s like any pet they get health problems regardless of how well there looked after

but there’s things you can do to sometimes prevent these illnesses etc and things you can do to stimulate good behaviour and good health

it’s all about researching the fish first thoroughly each type you have can they be together are they aggressive or passive?

can they eat each over?

how many should I keep together in a group and is the tank big enough for them all?

next comes what do they eat how much should I feed them then theres what plants will this fish like to hide in?

Then comes filter maintenance and mastering water changes.

Once all this is practised well it becomes easier to deal with illness/disease and health problems

 

[Colin_T]

So I added some aquarium salts, but I spoke to the aquarium shop and they said that it is toxic with the ich medication and I needed to do a water change asap.

What are the ingredients in the ich medication?

You can use salt with most medications, however you need to increase aeration/ surface turbulence when using salt or medications because they reduce the oxygen in the water.

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

I have posted about this before, but I have more information now and I still have not got to the bottom of it and I don't trust the advice from the aquarium shop anymore, so I'm really hoping someone on here can help.

Today's water test showed the following readings:
NO3: 0
NO2: 0
GH: 4
KH: 8
pH: 8
Cl2: 0
Ammonia: 0

I have an 85l tank with live plants. Before this all started, I had 8 platies, 8 guppies and a handful of neon and rummy nose tetras. The tank had been cycling for approx. 6 weeks before I introduced any fish. Before purchasing fish, I took a water sample into the shop for testing. I explained that I wanted to have guppies and platies and I asked if the water was suitable. They told me it was "perfect", but they recommended that I started with platies and added guppies 6 weeks later (they also recommended tetras after 2 weeks). According to my tests from that time, the readings were:
NO3: 0
NO2: 0
GH: 3
KH: 3
pH: 6.4
Ammonia: 0

Since introducing fish, I have changed 30% of the water weekly and used tap safe. There did not seem to be any problems with the fish until the last 2 weeks. Now 7 platies, 2 guppies of the same variety and 1 rummy nose tetra have died. All the remaining guppies and tetras seem very healthy.

Shortly before this all happened, I bought another platy from the same shop where all my other fish have come from. Within the first day, it did not seem well. It was lying on the bottom of the tank and did not eat much. I told the shop and they took it back and exchanged for another one (currently this is the only platy that is still alive). I got the shop to test my water again and they again said it was "perfect", but this was before I adjusted the KH/pH. I noticed some ich shortly afterwards and the fish were treated. The ich seemed to have been cured, but I did notice that the ich mainly affected the platies, which are now all dead, except for one. Meanwhile, I noticed that one by one, the platies started looking unwell. They would lie on the bottom of the tank for a few days and then I'd find them dead.

In an effort to resolve this, I added some aquarium salts, but did a big water change and added the carbon filter back in within 30 mins as I found out it can be dangerous when combined with the ich treatment I was using. So that should have removed the medication and most of the salts helping to alleviate the problem before any more damage occurred. This was a mistake, but I don't think it is the cause of the platy deaths as the problems started before this and before the ich treatment.

I have been carefully looking at the fish for signs of infection and I couldn't see anything wrong at all. I went back to the fish shop and I was advised that the KH was much too low and this would cause immunosuppression in livebearers. So, for the last week I have gradually increased the KH and pH. However, today, I was told that the KH would not have this affect and it's the GH that should have been raised. I really enjoyed keeping platies and I was sad to see them all die. But, I still don't have a clue what is going on or why my fish keep dying. I feel that I have struggled to find reliable advice so I'm hoping that someone on here may be able to help. I feel like if this can't be resolved, I'll be ready to give up the hobby, because I do not want to keep fish just to watch them all die.

Thank you

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

What are the ingredients in the ich medication?

You can use salt with most medications, however you need to increase aeration/ surface turbulence when using salt or medications because they reduce the oxygen in the water.

Sorry for the late reply, it's formaldehyde and malachite green oxalate. This may be stupid question, but how do you increase the aeration/turbulence? Is it just turning the filter to a higher setting or should I have something else in the tank for that?

 

[Essjay]

If you can change the direction of the filter outflow, point it at the surface.
Or if the filer can be moved higher, that should increase turbulence at the surface.
Or use and air pump and airstone.

 

[Circus]

It seems that some Ich treatments tend to do more harm than good. The best cure for it, according to many forum members, is turning the heat up to 82-84°F. To keep things more stable I keep crushed coral in my filter, using a mesh bag. I also test my gh/ph using my kit and add the appropriate level of mineral buffer for the specific fish (live bearers, cichlids, etc.).
From my (very modest amount of) experience, it sounds like they might have had some sort of internal parasites to go along with the ich. Perhaps @Colin_T could be more help than me.

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

If you can change the direction of the filter outflow, point it at the surface.
Or if the filer can be moved higher, that should increase turbulence at the surface.
Or use and air pump and airstone.

Thank you. I'll try that.

 

[Colin_T]

Pictures of the fish?

It's a disease and has nothing to do with water chemistry. However, the GH is too low for guppies and platies to thrive in long term. They do best in water with a GH above 200ppm (11-12 dGH).

the GH of your water is good for tetras, barbs, Corydoras, rasboras, etc.

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

Pictures of the fish?

It's a disease and has nothing to do with water chemistry. However, the GH is too low for guppies and platies to thrive in long term. They do best in water with a GH above 200ppm (11-12 dGH).

the GH of your water is good for tetras, barbs, Corydoras, rasboras, etc.

I can't get any clear photos, I only have my phone camera and it's just not good enough to focus through the glass when they're moving around. There's only one platy left now. I looked online for fish diseases and nothing seemed to fit. There is possibly some fin clamping to start with and then the fish have moved down to the bottom of the tank where they hide amongst the plants. They are like this few approx. 3 days and they don't want to eat in this time. The day they die, them seem to have a good appetite. The fins and scales appear in good condition.

As suggested, I've ordered some crushed coral to increase the GH and hopefully that will help. I expect the last platy will not make it to the end of the week. I've really enjoyed keeping platies. So, if the guppies and tetras are fine, how long would I need to leave it and what steps should I take before getting platies again? I'd probably start off with one or two, to check that they survive.

I really appreciate all your help with this.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

Fin clamping could be an ammonia issue

What type of tests are you doing if you don’t mind me asking

 

[SwanseaGuppies]

Fin clamping could be an ammonia issue

What type of tests are you doing if you don’t mind me asking

No problem, thanks for your help.
I did an ammonia test this morning and it was 0. I'm using Ammonia Test Strips and they're well within the use-by date (08/2022). I've just finished the last one, so I'll buy some more shortly.

 

[Colin_T]

So, if the guppies and tetras are fine, how long would I need to leave it and what steps should I take before getting platies again? I'd probably start off with one or two, to check that they survive.

You should wait at least one month before adding new fish to a tank that has had a problem with fish dying. This gives the remaining fish a chance to recover from the problem (be it disease or water quality), and for things to settle down.

You can also quarantine new fish in a separate tank for 4 weeks. This means the new fish won't introduce diseases into the main display tank.

You should do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for one week after you lose a fish. This will reduce any disease organisms in the water and give the remaining fish the best chance of recovering.