bottom dwellers keep dying

[ggic]

My son has a 5 gal tank w/ biowheel filtration. The frogs and now the plecostomus have died. I have the last frog isolated in a 2 gal bowl with something the pet store gave me. They were covered in patches of slime that was whitish. nothing like ich. It was mildew like and growing. I have the frog in the bath solution changed in 3 day intervals and most of it has disappeared. The danios appear to be about to breed as they are swimming near the bottom and are usually at the top of the tank. They appear to be healthy. I treated with stresszyme also. The filter has been changed to, but not the wheel. The tank is about 3 months old. Any suggestions??
Thank you!

 

[wuvmybetta]

There isn't a pleco in the world who could live comfortably in a 5 gallon My only suggestion would be no more plecos. Get an apple snail

 

[ggic]

That was awful nice of the pet shop guy to sell us one knowing that it was a 5g tank... any thoughts on what could be killing the frogs? We have a snail. 5g tank is a starter to help teach my son about fish and the care of them. The isolated frog seems to be doing fine in the bath.

 

[wuvmybetta]

hmmm, perhaps an ammonia spike was killing the frogs & plecs? If you'll take a water sample to your lfs, they should test it for you and make sure you have
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
and reasonable nitrates.

A 5 gallon won't be able to support the beneficial bacteria that it would need to break down pleco poo, since plecos poo a lot. I'm not sure what frog waste looks like (yaay,lucky me!) but I know people keep them in 1 gallon containers so I'm sure he's fine in the 5'er.

I hate to think that your son will be turned off of fishkeeping because of a rough start Keep encouraging him and explain that everything about fishkeeping revolves around a nitrogen cycle,explained here and about appropriate tank size, water quality and compatability