Fish Lost All Colour

[Fizzy]

Hi, last month my Siamese fighting fish turned ill, It lost all its colour, didn't eat and just found a quite place in the tank to hide away.
I spoke with someone in a fish shop about it and he said it was probably old age, seemed unlikely to me seen as he was out and about eating so well, playing in bubbles etc just 2 days earlier but i left the fish to it and he died about a week later, looked very slow and somewhat unconformable death for him.

The last few days i notice another fish is showing the same symptoms, right now it's swimming almost vertically upwards in the darkest corner of the tank, almost see-though and very weak, it can hardly fight the current of the water from the filter..
Maybe 3 days ago he was fighting fit and swimming round with the 3 patties, he seemed to think he is 1 of these but he's actually a "Orange guppy" which i have 3 of (soon 2 i expect).

Their health seems to deteriorate to fast for old age to me, anyone else with more experience know can give me any tips on what it could be?

Also my PH is perfect, i feed them plenty and nitrate at about close to 0, my fish seem to be thriving, loads of fry and play so i think the conditions aren't the cause, maybe overstocked though seen as i have about 30 baby fish, 22 golden mollies?

I'm considering euthanasia because he really looks bad, like the fighter fish and that 1 lasted 7 days like this.
Please advise, thanks

 

[Spooky76]

Hey
Firstly what are all your stats ? Unless you do alot of hefty water changes your Nitrate shouldnt be 0
Whats your ammonia and Nirtite readings ?
What the temp ?
Are the fish gasping at the surface ?
What size is the tank ?

If I were you i would do a 20 or 30% water change asap.

How often to you change water and vac the tank ?

Fighters usually last about 6 months I think, they dont live long...or so I heard.

Can the fish swim around in a controlled way ? Any other external signs like thinning out ? scales sticking out ? Red anus ?

 

[Fizzy]

Hey
Firstly what are all your stats ? Unless you do alot of hefty water changes your Nitrate shouldnt be 0
Whats your ammonia and Nirtite readings ?
What the temp ?
Are the fish gasping at the surface ?
What size is the tank ?

If I were you i would do a 20 or 30% water change asap.

How often to you change water and vac the tank ?

Fighters usually last about 6 months I think, they dont live long...or so I heard.

Can the fish swim around in a controlled way ? Any other external signs like thinning out ? scales sticking out ? Red anus ?

ammonia: 10
nitrate:1
temperature:24.2°C
70 litre
The ill fish i guess is "gasping" at the top
I do 25% water change weekly and gravel vac monthly, as well as a quick wipe down of glass and filter
The ill fish seems to do as little swimming as it can but when i saw it move didn't look controlled, only physical thing i notice is the loss of color.

I've had the tank about 5 months and like i said they seem to be thriving, even the snails seem happy, like this now ill fish was a few days ago, so i think it won't be the water conditions.
Thanks for reply and hope this answered all needed.

 

[the biffster]

i will ask the same things dose any one smoke were they are as any body used air freshener or spray polish
or carpet freshener any vapors from any thing how do you clean your filters in old tank water or under the tap
i would be worried about that much ammonia that should be zero nitrite zero nitrate under five try and get the ammonia level down by doing water changes


good luck biff

 

[Fizzy]

i will ask the same things dose any one smoke were they are as any body used air freshener or spray polish
or carpet freshener any vapors from any thing how do you clean your filters in old tank water or under the tap
i would be worried about that much ammonia that should be zero nitrite zero nitrate under five try and get the ammonia level down by doing water changes


good luck biff

I say 10 but it's hard to read from the test strips i use, it's very low anyway, below 10.
and yes i do smoke in the same room but it has solid top and most the smoke passes out the window&door: http/www.lifeforceonline.co.uk/pictures_view/a3260.jpg
and for cleaning the filter i basically just dip it in the old water i just removed.

Could someone tell me what I might see from old aging fish?

many thanks

 

[the biffster]

i will ask the same things dose any one smoke were they are as any body used air freshener or spray polish
or carpet freshener any vapors from any thing how do you clean your filters in old tank water or under the tap
i would be worried about that much ammonia that should be zero nitrite zero nitrate under five try and get the ammonia level down by doing water changes


good luck biff

I say 10 but it's hard to read from the test strips i use, it's very low anyway, below 10.
and yes i do smoke in the same room but it has solid top and most the smoke passes out the window&door: <a href="http/www.lifeforceonline.co.uk/pictures_view/a3260.jpg" target="_blank">http/www.lifeforceonline.co.uk/pictures_view/a3260.jpg</a>
and for cleaning the filter i basically just dip it in the old water i just removed.

Could someone tell me what I might see from old aging fish?

many thanks

how do you aerate the tank is it Thur ventury or air pump if so it will still get in if its in the air it in you tank test strips i don't trust as far as i can throw
aquarium pharmaceuticals fresh water master test kit about 20 quid in the UK about$29 in the US




you dont say were you from in the world

 

[Spooky76]

lol - as said, I would ditch the test strips, they are wofully inaccurate and can mislead you.
Spend the extra and get an API Freshwater master test kit, about £23 in uk.
Secondly, as I said get going with the water changes. The fish are losing colour becase they are dying. Your ammonia is too high and depending on your PH level it could be worse than that in effect.

As long as you dont let tap water near your tank its OK then.

As for old fish. Usually it depends on the fish. Some fish dont de-grade in appearance. They can just die with no warning, or because their immune system becomes weaker, they can be prone to other deseases. Its hard to know but generally if you know a neon has lived for 3 yrs and just died...you know why

EDIT : START THE WATER CHANGES RIGHT NOW....OR AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

 

[Fizzy]

Okay thank you all for replies, i will do as advised right away but i must admit I'm reluctant to believe water conditions are a problem, PH is spot on 7, i have about 49/50 fish doing really well, their color is bright as can be, they're always playing with each other and trying to mate pretty much always
Just 2 problems in around 5 months owning them.
Btw i realize I'm well overstocked, they keep having fry, i even gave about 10 to a friend, atm i have ~20 orange molly, 5 sunset platty, 4 silver molly, 1 black molly baby fish (3 weeks old for most) i guess this could be a cause for high ammonia but still looks very close to totally white (0) on this strip, will get right on retesting and reducing that anyway.

 

[the biffster]

in a cycled tank once the cycle is over to much ammonia be comes a problem and is in fact a poison the reason you have an high ammonia reading is that your tank is over stocked and your filter cant cope with the load its about time for a trip to the Lfs to of load some of them fish


good luck biff

 

[Fizzy]

hey, just a update, i took a NH3 test and to my surprise it was 0.