New here, fish problem

[NoahFL]

Hello, I stumbled into this forum and could really use some advice.

I set up my tank about a year ago. I have (had) 6 Gouramis, 6 Danios, 2 Neon Tetras, and 2 Albino catfish. All my chemicals were stable up until about 2 weeks ago. I started getting green algae on the filters (UG filter) and I had two fish with open red sores. At that time, all I had was 1 dose of Tetracycline. I did a 25% water change, and no change in readings.

Then, here were the chemical readings (Sept 11):

PH: 6.2
Nitrate: 200+ ppm (off the chart)
Nitrite: 0
Hardiness: 75ppm
Alkalinity: 80
Ammonia: .25

Size: 55gal tank 6
Fish: 6 gouramis, 2 tetras, 2 swordtail, 4 danios
Filter: UG Filter, carbon changed 1 month ago
Partial water change: yesterday 25%

September 12 - Did a 50% water change.

I had put in a PH increaser, and that seemed to do nothing. On September 12, I had ordered the following:

Stress Zyme-16 fl. oz
Stress Coat (16 fl. oz.)
MelaFix (8 oz.)

Now, to add more problems, Hurricane Ivan hit us on September 16th. We were w/out power, but I had my tank on battery airators for 4 days and I hooked up the filter to my truck battery daily for about 30 minutes. The 5th day of no power, I hooked them up to a generator all day.

I received my ordered and put the above chemicals in the tank today. So, as of today (we have power now), here are my readings:

PH: 7.2
Nitrate: 200+ ppm (off the chart)
Nitrite: .5ppm
Hardiness: 75ppm
Alkalinity: 80
Ammonia: .25

Since the storm, I have lost 2 Gourami's and 2 Danios. The smaller fish are sitting on the bottom of the tank.

Can anyone offer any advice? Thank you in advance.

~Noah

 

[David]

If you have had the tank for over a year, how come it still isn't cycled?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

to the forum. Introduce yourself in the newbie section.

There have to be reasons why your tank wasn't stable. The only reason ammonia levels increase is if the nitrobacter and whatnot bacteria die out, if the tank is polluted (dead fish bodies, excess food), or if too many fish are added all at once.

Had you been playing around with chemicals prior to these spikes?

Are the fish that are at the bottom looking sick? What symptoms do they have?

How much water did you change the last time you did so?

Never add too many chemicals at once. Do you have chemical filtration in your tank (carbon)?

Hope we can help you out. It seems kind of severe, what's happening in your tank.

 

[NoahFL]

Thanks for the replies. The tank has been cycled for about 10 months. This all happened rather sudden for reasons I don't know. Prior to loosing power from the hurricane, the Nitrites were at zero. The Nitrites only rose w/in the past 5 days. I test on a weekly-biweekly interval.

Had you been playing around with chemicals prior to these spikes?

None at all. The last time I did anything was changed the carbon cartridges about 6 weeks ago.

Are the fish that are at the bottom looking sick? What symptoms do they have?

They seem very sluggish and are all close together. Other then being sluggish, they look normal. Prior to loosing power, I keep the tank at 78. During the storm, the temp rised to 82, but it's back down to 78 now that the AC is back on.

How much water did you change the last time you did so?

50%

Do you have chemical filtration in your tank (carbon)?

I have an UG filter and I'm using 4 carbon cartridges. I changed them out about 6 weeks ago.

Also, the water has a slight brownish color to it and I have green algae growing a lot around the bubble tubes. This tank has been running great for the past 10 months and all my readings had been perfect. I'm very diligent about getting any dead fish out immediately. I usually do a 25% water change about every 3 months and change the cartridges out about every 6-8 weeks. I have the flourescent lights on for about 3 hours each night.

Thanks again for the replies. Hopefully with your help, I can figure out what's going on here.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

25% water change every three months! No wonder!

Normal maintencance is any from 25% a week to 50% a month. Your schedule needs to be redone so you can clean out the tank more often. remember all the nitrogenous waste excreted stays in the tank, and like cholera and other such disease, decaying fecal matter can cause stress and disease. I'd suggest 25% water change twice a week in order to get your tank in order.

In order for the chemicals to take effect, you need to remove the carbon cartridges because they take out all the chemicals.

If I didn't answer anything or you need clarification, just ask. More than willing to help.

 

[fishdudein]

How many tanks are you talking about? Kind of confused, I think it is one, but seeing info that might be 2?

Algae, in and of itself is not really a problem, it is there because of your high nitrate readings, it is a natural attempt by the system to "fix" a problem. Mother Nature doesn't really care if the glass on your tank can be seen through or not, she does know that high levels of nitrate can be brought down with a good growth of algae (or any type of plant), and there shouldn't be a problem in her environment to find some creature that will in turn consume the algae. My "guess" would be that you have been overfeeding, however I could be wrong (and have been before )

My concern is the fish with the open red sores. Which fish had these sores, and where on the fish were the sores located? Are the fish still alive, or were they part of the fish that you lost? Have you noticed any aggression in the tank?

After your power went out, what was the temperature like? If it got very hot and your power was out for 5 days, that would be long enough to stress the fish out and cause the sitting around at the bottom of the tank. Unfortunately, if this is the case, you may well lose the rest of the fish also.

Hope your luck improves...keep us posted!!

edit: disregard redundant questions, I see they have already been answered, last two posts "sneaked in" while I was writing mine!

 

[pnyklr3]

Someone at my lfs told me to do a 20% water change once a month so that the quality of my water isn't jeopardized and changed too much. They haven't let me down yet....but is this their first mistake?

Edit: spelling errors!

 

[NoahFL]

Thanks so much. Since I have medications in the tank, when should I start the 25% change? Once I start the 25% change, should I do the 25% change biweekly until the readings normalize, then resume it to 25% change per week?

Due to the hurricane, we're suppose to boil our tap water for consumption. Will the tap water effect the fish right now? Bottled water is hard to find right now.

Also, what can I do about the green algae?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

What are the specs of your tap water?

Do you happen to have another tank to which you can move the fish with the red sores?

You're going to have to do water changes in order to get the chemistry of the water to levels that the fish can tolerate. That is the most important thing you can do now. I suggest water changes, like before, but you should also add the medicine that will treat the highest number of symptoms. If you start mixing chemicals, you might kill your fish...

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Also, if you can go to a bookstore or library at the moment, get "The Manual of Fish Health". It contains all the essential information about anatomy and water chemistry, and it also gives symptoms and treatments for various ailments.

 

[NoahFL]

How many tanks are you talking about? Kind of confused, I think it is one, but seeing info that might be 2?

1-55gal tank. I use to have a 20gal, but migrated to just the 55gal and transfered all the fish to the new tank.

My "guess" would be that you have been overfeeding, however I could be wrong

I feed the fish flake food once a day 1 pinch. My daughter puts in 1 algae wafer in a day. The kissing Gourami's and catfish seem to like them. The ritual of giving them 1 wafer a day started about 3 months ago.

My concern is the fish with the open red sores. Which fish had these sores, and where on the fish were the sores located? Are the fish still alive, or were they part of the fish that you lost? Have you noticed any aggression in the tank?

The fish above died, but the Pearl Gourami had the same type lesion, but it has healed. I haven't noticed any aggression.

After your power went out, what was the temperature like? If it got very hot and your power was out for 5 days, that would be long enough to stress the fish out and cause the sitting around at the bottom of the tank.

The tank got up to 82 degrees. In the last 24hrs, it's gone back down to 78 which is where I keep it.

Sorry if I sound like a fish-newb

~Noah

Note: Just lost a Kissing Gourami.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Grr.

Darn it.

Do the water changes now. If you haven't done it already. Do water tests before and after, if possible.

That algae wafer might be part of the reason it's so bad. All the parts that are not eaten rot in the tank and pollute it. That's probably why the ammonia levels are so high.

List the fish that are still alive. Give the full common name (i.e. "kissing gourami" instead of just "gourami").

 

[NoahFL]

Tap water:

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Total Hardiness: 25ppm
Total Alkalinity: 180ppm
PH: 8.4

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Yeah... that pH just won't do....

I would suggest that once the problem stabilizes (let's hope you down hate to tear everything down and restart ) you should get fish that like in alkaline waters. That way you don't have to worry about changing the pH, and the fish can handle it.

But now, the problem at hand. I still need that report.

 

[NoahFL]

I have:

1 Snakeskin Gourami
1 Moonlight Gourami
2 Blue Gourami
1 Pearl Gourami

6 Zebra Danios
2 Albino Catfish
1 Swordtail
1 Neon Tetra