can anyone shed some light on my problem.? i'll start at the beginning. 6 months ago i bought 125lt fluval tank, filled with fish via instructions from fish shop. everything was great, stunning healthy fish. then my kids favorite dwarf blue gouarmi died, not wanting to tell them, i went to an aquarium that i dont normally use and bought another one. it had only been in the shop 12 hours after coming from singapore. a few days later i noticed its skin was peeling and a few red ulser like marks started to appear on my red dwarf gourami which had been fine in my tank for 4 months.! i used waterlife fin rot and ulsers treatment, nothing happened , i lost about 4 fish over the next couple of weeks, fish shop recommended medica tremaex, i made the stupid mistake of following his instructions and not the instructions on the pack, then lost my £70 pleco and about 5 more fish. a couple of weeks passed, all seemed ok , so i added a couple of more fish rosey barbs, they lasted a week. so i have used, again recommended, interpet anti internal bacteria 9 which ironically has a picture of the fish which has caused all my problems on it.! he is no longer in the tank. all seemed ok for 3ish weeks so i bought some more fish and 2 of those have died. symptons are dulling of colour, loss of appetite and vertical body position for a day or so, then just sinking and laying on side. i have done 2 lots of interpet treatment and after following instruction correctly i am on my 2 set of medica tremaex. i will say that my water temp is 26 my ph is blue, ammonia is 0 yellow, nitrite 2 is 0 blue and nitrate 3 is 0-5 ppm just off yellow. which im told is what they are supposed to be. needless to say, i dont know why im losing fish every couple of weeks.! i water change every week. ive even lost snails. naturally im NOT buying any more fish but im at a total loss at what to do. please can anyone help.? thanks
Hi Everyone. Can You Help.?
- Thread starter lyd
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Do you know what cycling is? If yes, how did you do it for your tank?
After 6 months or so, the tank would have cycled itself, which would explain the readings you are currently getting. It would have been good to see a set of readings that were current when the problem started. My initial suspicion is that it's ammonia poisoning which has done for your fish, and latterly, the delayed effects of ammonia poisoning.
It's a bit like humans smoking, it can take a while for the effects to become apparent.
After 6 months or so, the tank would have cycled itself, which would explain the readings you are currently getting. It would have been good to see a set of readings that were current when the problem started. My initial suspicion is that it's ammonia poisoning which has done for your fish, and latterly, the delayed effects of ammonia poisoning.
It's a bit like humans smoking, it can take a while for the effects to become apparent.
hi lock man, thanks for reply, my readings initially surged, as was told would happen in a new tank, but regularly did water tests and have always been within safe limit, a couple of times my nitrate got to red about 60 ppm but was quickly rectified as i was over feeding, is there anything i can do for ammonia poisoning.?
What did you consider to be a safe limit for ammonia, and what did it surge to ? Also what is your pH in numbers? (blue doesn't mean anything, as I may well use a different test kit)
i use an api freshwater master test kit, the ph has always been 7.6-7.8 the fish shop said this was ok, my ammonia got up to 4.0ppm in the first couple of weeks but dropped back to 0 and on occasion has gone up to 0.25 but generally stayed at 0.
tank readings this morning were, ph 7.6, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate about 2ppm fish left in tank; honey 1x gourami who isnt looking 100 % 4 guppies i swordtail , 2 cherry barbs 2 danios these are whats left of my original stock. newer arrivals are 1 baby plec 4 tetra 1 angel fish. these have been in the tank 4+ weeks, (added in stages)
WIth a high pH and an ammonia test result of 4.0, you have got a seriously lethal amount of ammonia in the tank, and this could easily be the source of your problem.
Have you had a problem with fish dying since the ammonia came under control?
Have you had a problem with fish dying since the ammonia came under control?
sorry i must have wrote that wrong, my ammonia only surged to 4 when i first set the tank up 6 months ago, it has been 0 or 0.25 for 5 months. is my ph too high.? fish shop said it was ok, it has always been 7.6-7.8,
Just a piece of advice.. Dont believe too much on fish shop's staff..
I believe you didnt cycle your tank and add the fishes straight in? just asking..
I bet someone will come along and help you with an expert answer on your issue..
Hang in there!
I believe you didnt cycle your tank and add the fishes straight in? just asking..
I bet someone will come along and help you with an expert answer on your issue..
Hang in there!
OK so your aquarium is roughly 27 gallons. You are a tad bit overstocked with this.
I personally would stop adding fish until the issue is all sorted out. The angel and pleco need to go. One is a huge waste producer, the other, he will get cramped in there. Angels get to be big fish, and can be aggressive depending on several factors, temperament of individual fish being one.
I personally would stop adding fish until the issue is all sorted out. The angel and pleco need to go. One is a huge waste producer, the other, he will get cramped in there. Angels get to be big fish, and can be aggressive depending on several factors, temperament of individual fish being one.
the pleco is a dwarf and will get to max length of 5-6 inches, the angel fish was tiny when i got him and yes he is growing quick, but still very friendly at the moment, i will be watching very closely. have been advised on the fish i have chosen, that i can have upto 25 fish, 3 independent aquariums have given me this figure, because i dont want to over stock. water was in tank 2 weeks with plants and conditioner before i added fish, and then only put in 3, waited a week then put in another 3, etc etc. all done on the advise of fish shop. just wondered if anyone has heard of this before and could give any advise.
gabriel.mihu
Fish Fanatic
Advice: try finding some images on google similar to what you have on your fish (illness) and put the links here. Searching for an image on google and visiting the page related to that image often offers an answer.
Ammonia was indeed high, but at the beginning of the cycle, as you say. I assume any new fish you added to the tank afterwards should not die because ammonia poisoning, only possibly the ones who were there during that period.
Sorry about your pleco, but it probably was a pretty small home for him anyways. Try following my advice with google images. I was in similar cases with algae/bacteria/microorganisms as you are now and found the answer that way. I even took photos and posted them on forums, but got no relevant answers... sometimes the ones that know the answer don't read all the posts. Try google images to find your answer for the ulcers on the fish.
Yet another advice: try less chemicals. Sometimes there is a "no chemicals" cure, and most owners and fish prefer that instead of chemicals. Also try setting up a quarantine tank (a cycled, smaller tank) and move the sick fish there during treatment.
Ammonia was indeed high, but at the beginning of the cycle, as you say. I assume any new fish you added to the tank afterwards should not die because ammonia poisoning, only possibly the ones who were there during that period.
Sorry about your pleco, but it probably was a pretty small home for him anyways. Try following my advice with google images. I was in similar cases with algae/bacteria/microorganisms as you are now and found the answer that way. I even took photos and posted them on forums, but got no relevant answers... sometimes the ones that know the answer don't read all the posts. Try google images to find your answer for the ulcers on the fish.
Yet another advice: try less chemicals. Sometimes there is a "no chemicals" cure, and most owners and fish prefer that instead of chemicals. Also try setting up a quarantine tank (a cycled, smaller tank) and move the sick fish there during treatment.
Can you post pictures of your fish on here? I may not be able to tell straight off what is wrong with them but pictures will most certainly help someone who can.
I also have to agree that you are over stocked on a tank that size. If you plan on getting a larger tank then I think you may be able to stick with your stock but you should think about either removing some or getting a new tank sooner than later.
Until you figure out if this really is an ammonia or another water issue I would refrain from adding any new fish to the system. If this is something that was brought in by the fish that was an import to your LFS then all you will be doing is putting the new fish at risk.
I hope that you can figure out what is causing this illness soon.
I also have to agree that you are over stocked on a tank that size. If you plan on getting a larger tank then I think you may be able to stick with your stock but you should think about either removing some or getting a new tank sooner than later.
Until you figure out if this really is an ammonia or another water issue I would refrain from adding any new fish to the system. If this is something that was brought in by the fish that was an import to your LFS then all you will be doing is putting the new fish at risk.
I hope that you can figure out what is causing this illness soon.
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