Mini Cycle?

[Amunet]

I had a 29gal set up for years. Everything was fine with the tank, no issues with it at all other than some algae problems.
 
Got a used 55 gal from my mom and decided to transfer all of the 29gal fish to it along w/ the old filter media.
The day after transfering, the tank water went cloudy but cleared right up after another day so I thought everything was ok since it's the same fish, just in a larger tank. That is until I started noticing some fuzzy white spots on some fish.
Now there is a 0.5 ammonia reading and I've had a few fish die already.
 
I did a 50% water change yesterday (still a .5 ammonia reading after) and have dosed the tank w/ Prime twice now in hopes that it would help to turn the ammonia nontoxic.
 
Will dosing w/ Prime every 12-24hrs help while the tank goes through this hopefully mini-cycle?
WHY is this happening? The old media never touched untreated water and it was never given the chance to dry out or anything. Is it just b/c it needs to catch up to the higher volume of water?
 
Anyone deal with this issue? And if so, what "fixed" it?
Would really like to keep the rest of the fish alive while the tank sorts itself out.
 
 
 

 

[Amunet]

Just tested nitrite and nitrate.
Nitrite was 0 and nitrate is 5
Nitrate reading showed up pretty much as soon as the liquid was mixed and hasn't changed.
Not sure how accurate it all is since the tests are pretty old though (years). Do these tests go bad?
I've used the same ones over the years and they seem to still work.

 

[Dmbandstef]

Did the old tank get cleaned? If you used bleach or soap there still may have been some traces of it when you put the water and fish into it. Also the move could have stressed out the fish. 50% WC is a lot for one day. Anything more than 20-25% in 48 hours can throw off the biological cycle.

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

Did the old tank get cleaned? If you used bleach or soap there still may have been some traces of it when you put the water and fish into it. Also the move could have stressed out the fish. 50% WC is a lot for one day. Anything more than 20-25% in 48 hours can throw off the biological cycle.

 
 
I dont exactly beleive in this. The biological cycle is in the filter, on decor, in the substrate, etc, not in the water. Alot of us do 50%-75% changes weekly to keep our nitrates down add and some need minerals to the water. I've done a 100% change making sure the filter media stayed wet and my cycle was fine.
 
For the OP, the Prime lasts 24 hours, but test your tap. Put a cup of water out on the counter with an airstone in it and test 24 hours later. You may have ammonia in your tap.
 
Just do changes as needed and hopefully it will get through this.
 
Tests can go bad.
 
As for the white dots. Are they fuzzy looking? Are there alot? 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Prime will cause false positive ammonia readings unless you test the water immediately after adding it,
 

 
A salicylate based kit can be used, but with caution. Under the conditions of a salicylate kit the ammonia-Prime complex will be broken down eventually giving a false reading of ammonia (same as with other products like Prime®), so the key with a salicylate kit is to take the reading right away.

from http/www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime.html
 
Fuzzy white patches on fish not on the lips or mouth area is fungus. Maroxy by Mardel  is a good treatment.

 

[Amunet]

It's not ick. It's def white fuzzy patches on their mouths, the 'saddle' look and some have it on the top of their head. One fish's fins completely disappeared in a day and a half and it was def not from fish pecking at it. Poor thing
So far the rest of the fish aren't showing any signs of illness.
I've taken out all of the sickly looking ones, most have died or are in the process of dying.
It appeared VERY suddenly and killed them very quickly.
 
The fish didn't die after the water change, they died before it.
And the only thing I used to clean the 55gal was a little bit of vinegar to try to get the hard water stains off. Then the tank was sprayed down with water very very thoroughly.
I know my mom didn't do anything to it either except for take out the fish, the large decor she had in it and the water. That was it.
 
I'm not sure if our tap has ammonia. It's never been a problem before, but who knows, things could've changed. I have a 125gal tank that I do 30-40% water changes in w/ no issues.
I'll check it out though. I know at our old house, there was ammonia in the tap, so it could be possible.
Yeah, I read that the test will still pick up the ammonia after using Prime.
 
I should mention that Prime isn't the conditioner I used before I got the ammonia reading. The one I normally use doesn't have any kind of ammonia remover in it so the reading I got beforehand was def just what was in the tank.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Columnaris-
 

Mouth Fungus

   Symptoms: White cottony patches around the mouth.
 
Mouth Fungus is so called because it looks like a fungus attack of the mouth. It is actually caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. It shows up first as a gray or white line around the lips and later as short tufts sprouting from the mouth like fungus. The toxins produced and the inability to eat will be fatal unless treated at an early stage. This bacteria is often accompanied by a second infection of an Aeromonas bacteria.
 
Penicillin at 10,000 units per liter is a very effective treatment. Treat with a second dose in two days. Or use chloromycetin, 10 to 20 mg per liter, with a second dose in two days. Other antibiotics can also be effective. Kanacyn (kanamycin) will treat both bacteria at once. Maracyn (erythromycin) is effective against C. columnaris, and using Maracyn 2 (minocycline) in conjuntion with it will treat the Aeromonas bacteria as well.

from http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/Diseases.htm#Bacterial%20Diseases

 

[Amunet]

Thanks for the article..... and everyone thanks for the suggestions and help so far. Really appreciated.
 
Yeah I figured it was columnaris. I've had to deal with it numerous times in the past so was certain that's what it was and why I took the fish out ASAP.
Thankfully the fish remaining in the tank still look to be in decent health. No fuzzy white patches as far as I've noticed.
 
And more good news, it looks as though the ammonia readings are going down. Took a test before and after using some Prime, and the readings are encouraging. It's 0.25 and only just barely. Very very light tint of green.
Looks as though the bacteria is finally catching up. Thank goodness!

 

[Amunet]

Spoke too soon. My blue rasbora died
Saw it acting skittish and then lethargic. No fuzzy white spots but it looked like one side of it's gills were inflamed. Took it out but it died soon after. Sucks b/c we've had that fish for years.
Will be watching the rest of the tank like a hawk. Keeping an eye on the Gourami right now. No visible signs of illness, but it's been constantly swimming against the glass like it's trying to find a way out.
Tested nitrite and that's still 0. Ammonia is still the same as earlier.
Hoping that whatever damage that was done isn't enough to cause any more harm to the rest of the fish.