PLEASE HELP

[PipValentine]

I am at my absolute wits end. My fish won't stop dying and I'm so frustrated I'm literally crying.

I am new to fishkeeping--I've been at it for roughly 8 months. I have a 20 gallon community tank. Originally I had 11 cardinal tetra, 1 guppy, 1 platy, 1 albino bristlenose pleco, 2 rams and some shrimp in the tank. I added a Dwarf Gourami about a month ago. The tank was cycled--this tank was up and running smoothly for about 4 months.

Threeish weeks ago I noticed one of my tetra was growing fuzzy white tufts on his side (I'm thinking obviously secondary fungus infection). I euthanized him in a panic not knowing what it was. A day later, I noticed another tetra with a white spot--not fuzzy--but I kept an eye on it. The next day it started to become fuzzy. More fungus. Day four, another tetra dead and stuck to the filter--no apparent fungus.

BEFORE this outbreak my water parameters were fine. Readings of 0 for nitrates, nitrates, ammonia. Temp of about 78. PH of 7. I was doing about a 20% water change once a week.

After this started I figured my tests (which were still reading fine) must be faulty. I started daily 30% water changed. My electric blue ram began acting sluggish and losing color. I was keeping an eye on him and continuing water changes. The next day I couldn't find my 2nd ram for a while until I found her on her side--I spooked her and she pinwheeled in circles. One of her eyes had popeye and her abdomen/anal area was massively inflamed and red. I euthanized her and took my water in for a change yesterday. All water tested PERFECTLY fine. I was prescribed E.M Erythromycin and Prazipro and started treatment yesterday. Immediately after my gourami started tilting to the side and gasping for air. Today he's doing the same thing and the front of his body is turning black.

I also just noticed my electric blue ram, who is still hanging on, has red tufts coming out of his anus. Googling makes me think it's camallanus. Now he and my platy are brushing against the rocks and substrate.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. The water has literally never shown any problems whatsoever. I'm doing everything I can. I've devoted an hour to water changes every night. I feel like I'm seeing bacterial, fungal, and NOW parasitic problems. I am so frustrated I could scream. To make matters worse my betta in a separate 5 gallon tank is developing red sores which I'm afraid is from cross contamination? I clean my tanks WEEKLY--since this started, every single day. What do I do PLEASE HELP.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and sorry for the late reply. I only just came back to the forum.

It sounds like the dwarf gourami brought something in. All new fish should be quarantined for a month before being added to a healthy tank. Too late now I know but for future reference it is a good idea to quarantine all new fish.

Mixing anti-biotics and deworming medications can be bad. Most medications are meant to be used on their own because they can poison the fish if over dosed. If you use 2 different medications at the same time, it is virtually the same as over dosing.

The little red worm like things hanging out the blue ram are probably camallanus, which you found on the net. Intestinal worms are in virtually every fish that comes from Asia, and that is about 90% of aquarium fish sold in shops. Worms do not normally kill their host because they die if their host dies. However, they do weaken fish and make them more susceptible to other diseases. You can treat the worms after the other issues have been resolved. The worms are the least of your worries now.

The fungus on the neons is most likely a secondary infection, with the primary infection being bacterial or protozoan. Neons do get bacterial infections so it could be that.

The female ram that was spinning around and losing balance sounds like she had a protozoan infection or a virus. Dwarf gouramis and most labyrinths (gouramis & bettas) carry an Iridovirus that can cause fish to lose balance, spin around and die. However, if the new dwarf gourami was quarantined for at least a month before the shop bought it (which is law in Australia, not sure about other countries tho), then it is unlikely the virus.

When you started treating with the erythromycin and the gourami started gasping at the surface it sounds like you over dosed and the oxygen levels in the water dropped suddenly. Labyrinths like gouramis can breath air from the surface of the water. They do this with the aid of a Labyrinth organ in their head. The anti-biotics you added will have wiped out the beneficial filter bacteria and probably every other bacteria in the tank. This will have caused an ammonia reading and potentially depleted the oxygen levels in the water. Any chemical (like anti-biotics) that you add to the water will normally reduce oxygen levels in the water. You can help counter this by adding a couple of airstones to the tank in an attempt to increase surface turbulence, which will help increase oxygen levels.

The male fighter in the smaller tank probably has the same issues caused by cross contamination, like you suggested.

I am unsure who supplied you with erythromycin but it would not have been my first choice.

First thing to do is wipe down the inside of the aquarium with a clean sponge. Then do a 90% water change and complete gravel clean. Then wash the filter and filter materials under tap water. The beneficial bacteria is dead anyway and right now you need to clean the tank up to remove the medication and rotting organic matter. The big water change and clean will also dilute the harmful pathogens (most likely protozoans) in the tank and give you time to sort this out.

You can do the 90% water change and complete gravel clean each day and it should help keep the remaining fish alive until you get some different medication. I would look for a broad spectrum protozoan treatment containing malachite green, methylene blue and formaldehyde. Something like "Waterlife Protozin" would be a good start.

Try to do 2 x 90% water changes before you start treating with a new medication. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before being added to the aquarium. This will ensure there is minimal residual medication left over from the previous treatment. Then work out the volume of water in the aquarium. Tanks sold as 20gallon tanks do not normally hold 20gallons of water when you have rocks, gravel, etc in them.

To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length, x width x height in cm,
divide by 1000
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height of the tank, measure from the top of the gravel/ substrate to the top of the water level.

There is about 3.785 litres in a US gallon and 4.5 litres in a British gallon. No idea why they can't just use litres Try to use litres, it's much more accurate.

Make sure there is no carbon in the filter because it will absorb medication.

Treat the fish as required. You may as well do a huge water change and gravel clean and then treat the male fighter in the smaller tank too.

Make sure you increase surface turbulence with an airstone in every tank you treat.

Wash your hands and arms well with warm soapy water after cleaning and treating the tank. The chemicals in medications are quite toxic and it's best to avoid contact with them.