Dying Fish! Please Help

[ravenouscreations]

Please help me...
It started a week ago...i dont know if its fin rot. it started with one angel and it slowly ate away at the fins like it was melting and sliming away. That one angel died then a female beta died with the same symptoms...i went ahead and got a tetracycline treatment from Petsmart when i saw that the goldfish in there had a huge gash in its tail that was eating away. I did the treatment for 3 days and the water turned dark red..i thought everything was good because the goldfish was healing so today i started doing more water changes and noticed that my favorite little angel had it...

please help ive seen it happen to 2 other fish that died in my tank...
any help on what to do ...
thanks....
Tank is a 10 gallon
i have total
2 small angels
4 small tigerbarbs
1 beta
1 pleco
2 small tetras

water test just shows hard water and has been high on nitrates since i started it and been cycling it.

 

[dougie]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your problems, you say "since you've been cycling it" is it a newly established tank?
You've also got notorious fin nippers in the Tiger Barbs, best kept in groups of around 8 or more to prevent them turning on tankmates (in decent groups they just hassle each other), unfortunately your tank is pretty small for your stocking levels too. Think of the pleco, poop machines & the eventual size of Angels.
Lastly nitrates can be harmful too if at high levels for extended periods, it can stress the fish, stress leaves the fish more susceptible to disease.
Not much help I'm afraid but hopefully given you a couple of things to look to.
Good luck.

 

[sadguppy]

That's a lot of fish for a small tank and they are not compatable. For a start a goldfish shouldn't have been in with the tropicals as they don't thrive in warm water, and the barbs will nip the betta and angels .. you need to reconsider your stocking and either downsize or get a bigger tank.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

That's a lot of fish for a small tank and they are not compatable. For a start a goldfish shouldn't have been in with the tropicals as they don't thrive in warm water, and the barbs will nip the betta and angels .. you need to reconsider your stocking and either downsize or get a bigger tank.

+1.

You really do need to think about either re-homing these fish (if and when they get better) or get yourself a much larger tank...the other inhabitants, volume and probably dimensions of your tank are all wrong for these fish, which i would say maybe the root of the problems you are currently experiencing.


Terry.

 

[ravenouscreations]

i took out some of the other fish and placed them in separate containers..
all i have right now in the tank are 4 small tiger barbs the angel two tetras and the pleco...
Im doing another water change right now of 50% and ill see if that helps...

Also i was asking for advice on how to keep them alive..
for example ...
separate the fish .... do a 50% water change twice a day...get some anibiotics... etc...
i understand that i have too many fish in here and im trying to fix it without them dying...

thanks

 

[mhancock]

That's a lot of fish for a small tank and they are not compatable. For a start a goldfish shouldn't have been in with the tropicals as they don't thrive in warm water, and the barbs will nip the betta and angels .. you need to reconsider your stocking and either downsize or get a bigger tank.

+1, also Betta and Angels not a good combination, sorry

 

[ravenouscreations]

That's a lot of fish for a small tank and they are not compatable. For a start a goldfish shouldn't have been in with the tropicals as they don't thrive in warm water, and the barbs will nip the betta and angels .. you need to reconsider your stocking and either downsize or get a bigger tank.

+1, also Betta and Angels not a good combination, sorry

surprisingly the beta has never once attacked the angels. he totally ignores them.....he would only go after the goldfish and after a month he never went after him anymore...
anytime. When he became aggressive the barbs would go after and nip the beta..Everyone's fins have been in excellent condition since ive had it.. i know the tank is small but ive never had any agression issues at all until i put in another small angel..remember i got all these fish really young and tiny.

 

[afremont]

i took out some of the other fish and placed them in separate containers..
all i have right now in the tank are 4 small tiger barbs the angel two tetras and the pleco...
Im doing another water change right now of 50% and ill see if that helps...

Also i was asking for advice on how to keep them alive..
for example ...
separate the fish .... do a 50% water change twice a day...get some anibiotics... etc...
i understand that i have too many fish in here and im trying to fix it without them dying...

thanks

Did you measure your ammonia and nitrItes? Do you have a heater on it? You're going to have a maintenance nightmare, I think I'd just put all the fish back in the main tank. I would change 50% twice a day for a while and monitor the ammonia and nitrItes closely and use Prime as a dechlorinator. It sounds like a water quality issue to me.

 

[ravenouscreations]

Update...hey guys ive been doing a 50% water change everyday and it seems to have helped...
the fin is looking much better...
so for a 10 gallon how many fish should i have in here...
1 beta
4 small barbs
2 small angels
2 pleco
2 small tetras
1 comet goldfish

i understand this is too much and i dont want to be a fish hoarder...
can i get a suggestion on which fish to get rid of...and how do i get rid of them? can i take it to a petshop?

thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

The plecos, angels and the goldfish definitely need to go ASAP; some shops will take them, or you could try Aquarist Classified (if you're in the UK) or Gumtree/Craiglist.

The barbs and tetras, depends on what species they are.