HELP..My fish are dying

[(GTV)Chris]

My fish are dying one by one.
3 Male guppy's
and 3 Silver mollies have passed away in the last two days.

My water is as follows..and I have suspicion that it may be the Ph

Amonia 0.1
Ph 5.0
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 0.0
Wter temp about 28 degrees
I recently took out my Java Fern as i was suspicious that it was causing the green water with blooms of thisk algea.
Another starnge thing is that the remaining fish huddle around the tank heater?
I did a 30% water change the week before i took it out and then another one last week due to Amonia levels being on the high side.

I also use a waste control, this is because I could see a lot of waste build up a on the gravel...it looks like coton wool.

What urgent measures do I need to do...It is stressing the fish obviously and now I feel terrible guilty

I have 4 Mollies left and a Platty.

any help greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

[OohFeeshy]

OK.. tanks size? Is it cycled? I suspect its not, or is going through a mini-cycle. You'll have to go through the cycling with fish now. Read the pinned topics in the beginners section.

 

[(GTV)Chris]

It is approx 8 gallons.

Most of the fish had been in the tank for almost a year. Most of the Mollies were fry.
I have 1 adult female and 3 little ones. The Platy is a red mickey mouse male adult.
I hadn't added fish to it for at least 5 months.

Cheers

Chris

 

[(GTV)Chris]

The male platy is now just resting on the bottom of the tank and the female Mollie is vertical..with her nose pointing downwards.

Does anyone know what is happening? I have noticed that there are white patches developing on her tail and fins.
I have treated the tank with a whitespot medication.

Chris

 

[squeeker]

How often have you been doing water changes and gravel cleanings? Do you do them regularly?

What is the pH of the water out of your tap, and do you use this tap water when you do water changes?

What is your KH and GH?

The pH of 5 suggests old tank syndrome... ie, not enough water changes... or a lack of buffer.

 

[andykites]

Hi Chris,

Your pH is very low. A pH of about 6 is the acidic limit for a lot of fish. Also pH is a log scale so pH5 is 10 times more acidic than pH6. Your temperature seems to be ok. Have you added any new rocks or ornaments lately

 

[(GTV)Chris]

Hi, thanks for all responses
I do a 20% water change every other week...Is that not frequent enough?
I haven't added any new things to the tank..only taken out the java fern.
Not sure what KH and GH is sorry.
I try to clean the gravel..but recently this cotton wool type bacteria has formed..I am assuming it was because i added a waste control..I think I have been over feeding them..because a lot of the food settles on the bottom.
I was thinking of removing the gravel and cleaning it but I didn't want to stress whats left of my fish?

Hope this is enough info

Tap water is Ph7.0 and it is waht i use to do the water changes...I use a water safe additive

Manythanks

Chris