My fish are dieing!!

[tyslia]

Please help me. I have had my tropical fish for about two years. In the last couple of months I changed tanks and over the last four weeks I have lost six fish. I had an anmonia problem but this now seems to be under control. Is it to late for my fish has it already got to them, or should the rest come right. I did have a gournami with ulcers and has been treated but he still dosn't look to good, will this spread. I have also been told that second hand tank can be contaminated, is this true and if so how do you rectify it. Please help me poor dieing fish.....it is so sad I have never had any problems before.

 

[fishwatcher]

Post your water test results (amm, nitrite, nitrate, ph), size of tank, types of fish in it. It sounds like your tank has cycled, and the cycle was too much for some of the fish. But when you post your stats everyone here will be able to help much more.

Edit: Until then, do about a 25% water change (using dechlorinated water). That should help at least a little.

 

[Toonarmy]

well i am new to this myself so i will probably be corrected, but if the tank has been contaminated when used previously, teh infection could well still be in the tank. I understand that you cannot use normal cleaning products to clean the tank as that is harmful to the fish that will be put into it. I believe that you should clean the tank using bicarbinate of soda & white vinegar to make a paste and then use clean paper towel to clean the tank and any equipment (filter, heater etc) and if the filter already has pads in it, to replace them, then rinse with water.

thats what i read somewhere on the net, sure i will be corrected if i'm wrong

 

[fishwatcher]

Oh it certainly could be contaminated, but I would start with the easiest thing first, and that would be to check all the water stats. You wouldn't want to break it down and scrub it only to find out that the nitrites were too high, ya know? I'd do a good water change, and post the water results (the actual numbers, not "safe, caution, etc") ASAP. Then if the water tests are all good, that would be something to consider acting upon.

 

[3fsh]

It sounds as if your fish have just been damaged by the ammonia. They will most likely have weakened immune systems their entire lives due to this. I would treat them with an antibiotic to help their bodies fight off the infection. Maracyn is a good medication for this. You can also add some aquarium salt (not to be confused with table salt) to help heal their wounds. As far as the tank being "contaminated", it should kill the nasties in the water if you medicate. A good tank cleaning is always a positive thing, but I don't think it's necessary to completely take down the set up and disinfect it just yet.

fishwatcher is right, you should go buy a good test kit and see if there is still an underlying water quality issue.

 

[tyslia]

Thank you all for your response, this is the best site ever. I will do a water check and post all stats.

 

[tyslia]

All stats seem to be okay, except for the ammonia is still high. I have ammo lock and an ammonia ball. What can I do to bring this back down to the right level. I am not familiar with cycle and ammonia spike, I am just a domestic hack, who obviously has been very lucky over the last couple of years not to have something wrong.