Having CraZy water quality Issues in an Established Tank & a sick Catfish

[Shrimpy McShrimperson]

Hi guys,

I know you've read and answered these questions many many times, but my fish and inverts are suffering!

I only have a 10gal freshwater tank at the moment, but the past two weeks (after having no water quality issues or dead fish) things are going nuts!

I have a planted tank, all Swords all healthy at the moment.
2 Moss Balls (real not covered with a styrofoam core)

5 Neon Tetras
3 Lowlight Tetras
3 Black skirt Tetras
1 Albino Cory Catfish
1 small Algae Eater (can't remember name)
5 Glass Shrimp &
1 Snail
1 African Dwarf Frog
*Using a charcoal filter, tank heater kept at 78deg F, and airstones.

Ok things were good until I noticed my Cory Cat getting some grey blotches behind the gills by its pectoral and underneath by the ventral fins.
Talked with some people, and mainly just told me to do a 25% water change getting as much detritus and food waste out of the gravel as possible.

I did this, treated all the water, dechlorinated, added healthy bacteria, blah blah blah.

The water was CRYSTAL clear for a good week +
Woke up this morning and It was cloudy. quite cloudy. I WAS going to add some water clarifier but then noticed that my Albino Cory Cat now has a fairly distended gut. I know thins can mean a tape worm, or maybe another parasite (I don't know how b/c I've had him a good while with the rest of the community fish and inverts and they're fine. I decided it was more important to medicate the tank with the 250mg Metranydozol (sp) for my Cory Cat.
**I don't know if it's SAFE to medicate & use Water Clarifier at the same time. Would it affect the medication i'm putting in the tank???**

About 45 seconds after I put in the 'General Medication' (The metranydozol/250mg) I saw my snail detach from the side of the glass sink and die. Did he take a concentrated dose of the medication in through his siphon and OD!? I don't know what happened there at all...

Anyway the water is still cloudy, but I have to medicate every 48 hours for 4 days.
So can I NOT use the clarifier until day 5?! I'm worried about the health of the rest of my tank now NOT just My Catfish....

I tested the water quality and things are Crazy. My results were:
GH: 180ppm (i live in the desert and we have HARD water and the test maxes out at 180 so could be higher)
KH: 80ppm
PH: 8.0
NO2: 5ppm
NO3: 80ppm
Ammonia: 0.25ppm-ish (it's in-between 0 & .5)

Before all of this the NO2 & NO3 were 0.

What Numbers should I be shooting for with these fish/inverts in a lightly planted 10gal tank.


In my situation with these specific fish and inverts what numbers should I be shooting for? I've read all around but it all has different numbers for different types of fish, even if they're all Tropical Community fish.
So ANY educated hobbyist opinions are very very welcome.

Aside from the water quality issues (it's too late to do anything about it now, hopefully I'll get some answers here by morning and I can correct what needs to be adjusted) my other question is can I STILL use Water Clarifier during the same 96 hour period that I will be putting medication in my tank for my Cory Cat?? Or will that sure everything up?

I want to make my water safe and stable.
Clear out the cloudy haze (The medication for my Cat made it even more cloudy)
& Hopefully help my Cory Cat get better

Thank you all so much for any help you may be able to give me. My little community tank will surely appreciate it, as will I.

-Shrimpy

 

[Byron]

I will not guess as to the "disease" issues, but a couple of other things stand out.

First, do not use water clarifiers. These often do not work, but regardless of that, they are stressful on fish. They can bind up the gills. When the fish are already suffering stress from something else, the last thing you want is to add more stress. Stress causes 95% of fish disease.

Second, on the metronidazole, this is most effective when mixed in the food. Take some of the normal flake food (roughly enough for 10 normal feedings), place it in a zip-lock bag with a measure of metronidazole (I assume this is the white powder) and close the bag. Shake the mixture up well. The metronidazole will be taken up by the moisture in the flakes. Feed this food exclusively for 10 days, and don't worry about getting some of the white metronidazole in the water.

For corys and bottom feeders, take a sinking tablet food (shrimp pellets don't work as they fall apart too rapidly), moisten it with tank water (just enough to get the tablets wet throughout), add the metronidazole and mix. Drop in a tablet, no other sinking foods.

To the water tests. Ammonia and nitrite must be zero. Nitrates should be as low as possible, this will depend, but with regular water changes (assuming there is no nitrate in the tap water to start with) and live plants nitrates should be low, certainly not above 20 ppm and more likely below 10 ppm.

I would do larger water changes. These will not only help to lower the numbers, but long-term are better to avoid problems. A change of 60-70% won't hurt. Use your water conditioner. I don't know what "bacteria" you added previously, but this shouldn't be necessary and may have played a part in this. The metronidazole shouldn't cloud the water, but it is an antibiotic and thus may kill bacteria, good and bad.

Going forward, you have too many fish in this 10g tank. And water changes should be more substantial, around 50% once a week when things are back to normal.

Byron.

 

[Demeter32]

Depending on how long the tank has been set up, you are probably going through a nitrogen cycle. The bacteria colonies have not been established in the filter so all the waste is building up and harming your fish. All the fish poo and ammonia is stressing the fish out and opening them up to diseases. The filter can't possibly keep up with the amount of waste all those fish are producing. I don't know how familiar you are with fish keeping, but I can tell you that that's waaaayyy too many aquatic babies for a ten gallon. A fairly decent rule to go by is one inch of (adult) fish per gallon. Of course this rule doesn't always apply for certain species, but for arguments sake, it will suffice. I would think about reviewing your stocking or perhaps getting a larger tank. All species of plecos create a surprising amount of waste, even if they are small, that's why IMO no species of pleco should be kept long-term in a 10 gallon.

In a lightly planted tank, you could probably keep the shrimp, neon tetras and snail, that would probably be plenty for the 1 inch per gallon rule.

For now I would be drastically upping the water changes. Many health issues are often resolved with a good water changing routine. Don't bother with the water clarifier, its probably a bacterial bloom that can be resolved with water changes and time.