OK.
First things first: take a deep breath, let out a big sigh, make a cup of tea and generally try to relax a little.
OK? Done that?
Lets have a think about what can be done.
Your not in a great position and it's likely that you might yet loose a few more fish. The important thing is to make sure you don't loose all of them.
If you've been cycling for a week with all that load in the tank, one of two things has happened:
1) You've already had a big ammonia spike, and the fish have been knocked about by it.
or
2) You've yet to have an ammonia spike. You say you have some nitrates, but without knowing the history of the tank, this could just be background nitrates from the tap water.
You'll know which is which though.
Lets assume that it's 1) for now, and we can always come back to it if you haven't started to cycle yet.
OK, here are some basic tactics:
1) Get as much air as possible into the tank. Oxygen, and especially Ozone, of which there are trace amounts in the atmosphere, destroy ammonia and nitrIte. ( sadly don't do anything for NitrAte though. ). If you have an internal filter, get the venturi fitting attached. If your using a canister, get some pipe ( cansiter piping is fine) drill a load of holes in it, and attach it to your outlet above the water. You've just made yourself a spray bar.
Make sure your air stone is running flat out as well.
2) water changes: If you have already completed your cycle, you can do a massive water change. Best way to do it is to do a 50% water change, leave it a few hours, and then do another 50% water change. Then start a daily or every other day water change of 15-20% for a couple of weeks.
if your still cycling, then you have more than enough bio-load in the tank to allow 15-20% water changes DAILY, maybe even twice daily, and still continue the cycle.
3) don't mess about with gadgets: There is a temptation to hit the web, or your LFS, and get anything that seems like it might be useful. pH Up and pH Down are often added when people are having a panic. Try to let the fish get used to their enviroment without changing it even more. Remember the thing about being calm? Every time you start to panic, just walk away from the tank/LFS/Net, have a drink, a smoke, and look at the situation objectively.
4) Don't mess up the water. The fish have either already had a hammering or are going through one at the moment, depending on whether the tank has already cycled or is still cycling.
So:
-Keep your hands out of the water. no changing planting schemes etc.
-Don't add meds to the tank. If you need to treat fish at the moment, use a bath ( essentially, you take the fish out, put it in a container with the treatment, usually at a much stronger dose, and then put it back after 15 minutes or so. You'll need to ask specific questions about that, as you have some fairly delicate fish, like the glass catfish, so you will need expert advice on meds, treatment methods etc.) reason for this is that all meds stress fish to some extent, and you don't want to be adding even more chemicals to he water if you can help it.
5) Calm the fish down. Fish get stressed, just like people do, and, just like people, they die easier when stressed. Keep the lights low or off for a few days. Make sure there is no loud stereo/TV/Computer speakers etc next to tank. don't tap the glass. Keep hands out of tank etc etc.
6) remove some of the fish:
I know you've said that this is difficult, but it can be done. Post a message on here to see if there is anyone in your area that has a quarentine tank that they will let you keep your fish in for a few days, or more than one. There are a fairly big number of people on this board with 5 or even 10 quarentine tanks, supporting 100 or so actual tanks.
lastly, remember the not panicing thing. I started with a 30 liter tank, and within 6 months had a 600 liter tank, and I packed it out with every interesting fish I could find. And I'll freely admit that a lot of fish got sick and/or died. But, looking back, it was only when I rushed about in a stress that I made the really big mistakes. So, keep a level head on, think about things in a really critical, objective manner, ask what ever questions you can.
There are more than 30,000 registered members on the forum. Someone will be nice and also live near by and provide you with used media. Someone will have a spare quarentine tank for half your fish. EVERYONE will offer useful advice and suggestions, so just keep working at the problems one by one and you'll get there in the end.
hope this helps a bit.
Steve
are the white spots ich? I hope everything turns out ok. Best of luck with your fishies!
