PLS HELP ME FIX MY DEATH TANK :(

[GuppyLady1986]

This is a serious problem,

Do not buy 10 or 20 KG of salt, go to you local store or deli and buy Kosher salt. Do NOT add the salt directly to the tank get a jug put some tank water in it and dissolve the required amount salt in the jug then add it to the tank.

NO Colin I do not care what you say about adding undissolved salt to the tank being OK.

What should I do? Or should I just leave it alone? At this point I’m ready to burn it down

 

[stanleo]

What should I do? Or should I just leave it alone? At this point I’m ready to burn it down

I believe people have already told you what to do. There are no quick fixes here. A fish in cycle can take 4 weeks minimum. You could try Seachum Stability to jump start it but even that isn’t a magic potion.

 

[Colin_T]

do a 75% water change each day for the next 3 weeks.
make sure any new water going into the tank is free of chlorine/ chloramine.

put some medication in asap or the fish will die.

only feed the fish a little bit every second day. remove any uneaten food after 2 minutes.

 

[GuppyLady1986]

I believe people have already told you what to do. There are no quick fixes here. A fish in cycle can take 4 weeks minimum. You could try Seachum Stability to jump start it but even that isn’t a magic potion.

Wow thank you I think this is actually the key piece of information no one’s ever told me it takes four weeks for a tank to cycle I thought it was maybe two or three days I guess I’m going to ride this out and see who lives.

 

[seangee]

Wow thank you I think this is actually the key piece of information no one’s ever told me it takes four weeks for a tank to cycle I thought it was maybe two or three days I guess I’m going to ride this out and see who lives.

Actually with fish in the four weeks is minimum - it could take as long as 12. Not trying to put you off but there is no magic number. The important things you have been told:
Change water daily
Test water daily until ammonia and nitrites are both zero and stay there

 

[An76]

This is a serious problem,

Do not buy 10 or 20 KG of salt, go to you local store or deli and buy Kosher salt. Do NOT add the salt directly to the tank get a jug put some tank water in it and dissolve the required amount salt in the jug then add it to the tank.

NO Colin I do not care what you say about adding undissolved salt to the tank being OK.

Don't ever put salt directly to tank ever

 

[Byron]

That is correct, salt must be dissolved completely in water before being added to an aquarium with fish. And it should be slowly added, over several hours (depending upon the amount being used).

Salt crystals on their own (not dissolved first) can burn fish. And adding salt can seriously compromise the fish's homeostasis if not done slowly.

[I'm not implying salt in this particular issue, merely making some facts clear in general.]

 

[GuppyLady1986]

****UPDATE****

I want to continue to thank everyone for their advice, tips, and hints on how to fix my problem.

My master kit arrived last week as I previously posted it I have been testing the pH every day I have managed to get the pH down to about 8.0- 8.2, still very terrible I know. But the fish that have made it thus far seem to be doing OK. The plants in the tank are actually starting to sprout and grow so I don’t know if that’s a positive sign or not. Will this help the tank cycle faster? It appears that the illness my angel fish has has stopped progressing. All of the redness is gone but he is still very white and fuzzy. He has lost his entire top fin. One picture is of my sick angelfish the other is of the healthy one for reference.

My questions:
It was suggested to me that I should add distilled white vinegar to my tank that it would maybe help with the pH, have any of you ever heard of this?

Should I leave the live plants in my tank that appear to be sprouting? Are they helping or hurting at this point in my cycle?

 

[Byron]

The plants in the tank are actually starting to sprout and grow so I don’t know if that’s a positive sign or not. Will this help the tank cycle faster?

Should I leave the live plants in my tank that appear to be sprouting? Are they helping or hurting at this point in my cycle?

Yes, leave them, this is ideal. Plants take up ammonia/ammonium as their preferred form of nitrogen and they can use quite a lot of it, the faster growing species anyway. Nothing wrong here.

It was suggested to me that I should add distilled white vinegar to my tank that it would maybe help with the pH, have any of you ever heard of this?

No. First, vinegar is an acid but it will poison your fish. Second, you do not want to be fiddling with pH adjustment, ever, in a tank with live fish. Fluctuating pH, which will inevitably result from this, is far worse and can kill fish.

The pH is tied to the GH and KH. The higher these, the less the pH will move naturally. And the KH serves to buffer pH so it will bounce back to where it normally is in the source water.

 

[GuppyLady1986]

Yes, leave them, this is ideal. Plants take up ammonia/ammonium as their preferred form of nitrogen and they can use quite a lot of it, the faster growing species anyway. Nothing wrong here.



No. First, vinegar is an acid but it will poison your fish. Second, you do not want to be fiddling with pH adjustment, ever, in a tank with live fish. Fluctuating pH, which will inevitably result from this, is far worse and can kill fish.

The pH is tied to the GH and KH. The higher these, the less the pH will move naturally. And the KH serves to buffer pH so it will bounce back to where it normally is in the source water.

Excellent, I’m happy about the plants. As far as the ph goes I’ve resigned myself from fixing it. It’ll just have to do what it’s gonna do and I’ll keep hoping that some of the fish survive. Will the ph naturally fluctuate while it’s cycling?

 

[Byron]

Excellent, I’m happy about the plants. As far as the ph goes I’ve resigned myself from fixing it. It’ll just have to do what it’s gonna do and I’ll keep hoping that some of the fish survive. Will the ph naturally fluctuate while it’s cycling?

No, not on its own so far as I know, but let it do what it does, the fish will be better.

 

[GuppyLady1986]

No, not on its own so far as I know, but let it do what it does, the fish will be better.

That’s pretty much what I’m doing. No other choice lol I am extremely emotionally attached to the angels and I really hope they survive. The one just looks so rough

 

[Colin_T]

as Byron said, do not adjust the pH at all. Just leave it at 8.2 and don't try to modify it.

Your angelfish still has some red but it has reduced. The white fluffy stuff is fungus. You need to continue treating until there has been no signs of disease (bacteria or fungus) for a week.