All My Fish Are Dying..

[Moses]

Hi all,

I've got big problems in my 30 Gallon tank.

Temp: 29C
PH: 7.0

Readings after 15% water change
Nitrite: 0.05 - 0.1
Nitrate: 0.25 ppm

The only change in the last 3 months is that I've put in some new plants, and started using fertilizer and iron tablets to try and keep them alive.

About a week ago I lost the pictus catfish who had been a stayer for years in the tank. He could have been dead up to two days as he was fairly rotten when we got back from the weekend.

Last night I lost a pakistani loach and two clown loaches - the big one rotting inside his ship. Two other clowns had really white clouded over eyes and were unresponsive on the bottom so I reluctantly put them down (in the freezer). This morning we'd also lost the other pakistani loach and a few others were looking terrible.

This afternoon I lost the my remaining tri-colour Australian rainbow, my two Rainbow Sharks are looking very white spotty (photo coming), and the silver sharks are looking a bit different around the front. There's also a white spot on one of my blue rams....

I think it's white spot so started treating with Protozin today. Not sure what else to do, but would like to save the remaining guys, specially the breeding pair of Angels and the Pleco.

 

[Moses]

this rainbow shark deteorated over the last hour and was lying upside down on the bottom.. had to be put down

this one is lying on the bottom now but can hopefully be saved

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the tank is cycling, you can tell by the water readings, occasionally this will happen even in established tanks, something happens which kills off the bacteria and starts the cycle process over again.

possible solutions

1 - daily 25% (or more) water changes until levels of ammonia and nitrite reach 0

2 - look for bio spira (USA) or Bactinettes (UK), these are the only two bacteria in a bottle type producs which are recommended generally on thos forum, they are relativley expensive but if you can find a shop selling them from one of their fridges then this will kick start the process (only buy them from a fridge, if they're on the shelf they're no good)

3 - get a donation of mature media from someone else's healthy cycled tank and put it into your filter, this should cycle the tank either instantly or within a few days.

 

[Colin_T]

The cloudy eyes and white film on the fish is a clear indication of poor water quality, probably brought about by the dead catfish. When something dies or breaks down in the water it releases ammonia. As the ammonia levels build up the filter bacteria convert it to nitrates. However, if a big fish dies or any fish dies and is not removed immediately the ammonia levels can skyrocket and then all the fish get stressed and start to die. Then in a matter of hours or days you can lose an entire tank.
If you lose a fish and it is rotting in the tank then get it out ASAP and do a massive 75-90% water change using dechlorinated water with a similar temp & PH to the tank. This big water change will dilute the ammonia and reduce the stress to the remaining fishes. Don't feed them for a few days and if the ammonia levels are still up do 50-75% daily water changes until they are gone.

Medications will quite often add to the problem if the fish are stressed. Try to get the water quality back to normal before adding more medication.

Is your tank normally 29C? If so I would lower it to 24-26C. The higher temperature will mean there is less oxygen in the water and the fish will have even more stress.
Increase surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen levels in the water.

 

[Moses]

I'm in Australia - not so sure if either of those products are available here.

I used to have one called Stress Zyme that I'd add each week, now I've got one called 'Cycle' which I added the other day.

if it's not white spot, then I guess I should stop adding the protozin, just with the while spots on that rainbow and the fin rot I thought that could be it.

Assuming it is a cycle, is it likely that the bottom dwellers would be the first to go? I read somewhere that the ammonium stays towards the bottom of the tank, which would explain the loaches and pictus catfish being the first casulties.

 

[Moses]

hey colin_T, just read your additional post.
29C is what I've always had, will lower temp if that's advisable. Should I lower it slowly, as in 1 degree at a time?

Just tried feeding some small amount of flakes - hadn't read your post before then. The only one who went for them was the big Angel, who'se always hungry...

water changes bigger than 15% are difficult - my tank is 120L and the side tank is only 20L. Can I use two buckets as well with the changes? Other issue here is I don't want to take out huge volumes of water as teh Angels like having some vertical to swim in.. I suppose I could get up to 30% though with a few buckets..

 

[Colin_T]

I think bactinex (not sure about the spelling) is available in Aus. Sera does Nitrivec which is a liquid bacterial supplement.

The white patches/spots on the rainbow shark’s fins is excess mucous. Whitespot is a much smaller spot and generally doesn't stick out from the fish. So no need for the medication just yet. You might need it in a few days if the fish develop bacterial or fungal infections.

Most bottom dwellers succumb to poor water quality because they are scaleless fishes. Basically they don't have scales to protect them from the ammonia and other chemicals in the water. They just have skin and the chemicals go straight thru it. The scales add a layer of protection for other fish species.

If you can drop the tank temperature by 1 degree each day until it gets to 26C. Then leave it there.

When fish are sick they generally ignore food. The more food that goes in the tank now the higher the ammonia levels will get and the more stress the fish will be under. Fish can go for weeks or even months without food so a couple of days certainly won't hurt them.

You can use as many buckets as you like for water changes just make sure they are free of any chemicals and haven't been used in the laundry. Your best bet is to go and buy a 45 or 72 litre plastic rubbish bin from Big W or any hardware. Rinse it out and use that to make up some water. You can add dechlorinator and an airstone and get it to the correct temperature, then use it for a water change.
The reason I suggest a big water change is because it will drop the ammonia level quicker. Small 10-15% water changes won't do squat to lower the level. If it comes to the angel lying on its side for 10 minutes in 2inches of water, or the fish dieing from ammonia I would prefer to upset the angelfish for a few minutes.