Sick Fish ..please Help...stupid Owner ...want To Do The Right Thing

[highspirit]

help!!!!!
I have been really stupid !!!
I bought atank from someone and moved it with the water fish filter etc.It is 24" by 15" by 12" which i now realsie is tiny.It had a bleck molly with 15 fry ,3 guppies,3 neon tetras,3 white cloud minnows and a guppy fry and 2 platy fry.I then added a male sailfin ,a pleco(8 cms ) and 2 zebra danios,and then a female sailfin as the male was chasing everyone and then worse i then added my goldfish
The molly fry perished ,i have since lost the 2 guppies,the rummy nosed tetra and a neon tetra.
Yesterday i thought the fish had finrot as i noticed white stuff on their mouths (2 sailfins and black molly) so treated water with that now today they have white spots everywhere .I have also noticed 3 guppy fry in there which are tiny so they must be fairly newborn.The sailfin male was really aggressive so i quarantined him off and he has since calmed down but hes in a bad way now at the bottom unbalanced .The black molly is attacking the goldfish so shes in the net breeder right now.I dont know what to do next.i have a 4ft tank coming on monday.Also the pleco is looking different with white patchy areas but is eating fine.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Test your water- sounds like ammonia.

You do realize those fish do not belong in the same tank? Take the goldfish back for sure. The gibbys get big- 15-20 inches and need a lot of filtration and space.

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons or litres is the tank, need water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate, and ph, goldfish need a least a 20gal for the first one as they are massive waste producers, and you shouldn't be keeping it with tropical fish.
Also what kind of plec is it.
The white on the mouth sounds like mouth fungus columnaris.

 

[Bloo]

That's roughly 19 US gallons - your tank is extremely extremely overstocked
Which leads to water quality issues (not to speak of cramped conditions which causes severe stress) which leads to ammonia / nitrite and nitrate build up - which leads to bacterial infections and much more. You also have cold water and tropical water fish together in one tank.
I'm really sorry to say this withouth coming across harsh - but you have some big problems to solve there urgently.

The only way to start doing this is by seperating the cold water and tropical fish - in larger tanks or holding containers.
And if you can't house them properly long term - rehome them or return what you can to the lfs.

 

[WILDER]

I would try and take the healthy fish back if there is any to the lfs fast, then you will have to treat the one for mouth fungus, need location for a med.

 

[PlecMama]

You've got an 8cm plec in there, you didn't say what kind he is? or I missed it...?
If he's gone blotchy but doesn't seem to have fungus, he's probably very stressed. They do go patchy when stressed, they can appear very two-tone.

What are you going to do on Monday? stick them in the new uncycled tank with fresh water and hope they do ok? doesn't sound like it would be the worse that could happen - although I'll probably get lynched for saying that - but if they are all really in a bad way because they are jammed up together and making each other sick, it might just be what you have to do. Sounds like you might have already run out of time to mess with them.

Good luck.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdcolumn.htm

The goldfish what type is it, as if its a common goldifsh and not fancy you could try and find someone with a pond for him, and that would take the pressure of for now.

 

[highspirit]

You've got an 8cm plec in there, you didn't say what kind he is? or I missed it...?
If he's gone blotchy but doesn't seem to have fungus, he's probably very stressed. They do go patchy when stressed, they can appear very two-tone.

What are you going to do on Monday? stick them in the new uncycled tank with fresh water and hope they do ok? doesn't sound like it would be the worse that could happen - although I'll probably get lynched for saying that - but if they are all really in a bad way because they are jammed up together and making each other sick, it might just be what you have to do. Sounds like you might have already run out of time to mess with them.

Good luck.

Thanks for your speedy responses.I was planning on monday to move the tropicals to the bigger tank and make the present one for coldwaters.I have read that it would be better to do a fishless cycle but obviously I don't think it can wait!!!
Yes I now realise I have made some very bad errors since I just went by how nice it looked ...and then started reading up and boy you know the rest.The pleco I'm afraid i don't really know the type but have been told by someone that he will grow quite big provided the tank is a good size.Also should I be feeding him anything else other than these algae chips??!!I will add photos tomorrow of the white spot and the pleco.Thanks again,,,water stats are ph 7,ammonia 0-0.1,nitrites 0.1 and the nitrates are a sky high 75-100(red) when test is done .I have done several 30% water changes in the last couple of weeks the last being yesterday and am adding biosafe when i add new water.I have also been adding cycle to try to sort the water out!!???The goldfish are not one but four and are two common and two fancy.I had them in a little tank but felt sorry for them in there when I bought this one and decided theyd have more space in here .BIG MISTAKE!!!!

 

[highspirit]

THIS MORNING THE FISH ARE LOOKING A BIT BETTER .THE MOUTH PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE SUBSIDING .SHOULD I STILL DO A 50% WATER CHANGE TO KEEP THEM COMFORTABLE OR NOT AS THIS WATER HAS THE MEDS IN.THE PLECO LOOKS NORMAL AGAIN.THE MALE SAILFIN IS SWIMMING AROUND NORMALLY AGAIN ALTHOUGH HE STILL HAS A FEW WHITE SPOTS AD DOES THE FEMALE.THE BLACK MOLLY 'S MOUTH HAS ALSO IMPROVED BUT SHE HAS QUITE A LOT OF WHITE BITS ON HER NOW ,ON HER UNDERNEATH AND FACEETC .TRIED TO GET PICS BUT THESE GUYS ARE HARD TO PHOTOGRAPH .THE MOLLY PICTURE IS BLURRED BUT THE IMPORTANT POINT IS THAT THE WHITE SILVERY BITS STILL SHOW.AM UNABLE TO UPLOAD PHOTOS !!!!!

 

[Bloo]

OK, sounds like you've at least been trying to do some reading up and correcting a problem
I have some more bad new though - common goldfish get absolutely HUGE and the general rule for fancy goldfish (if I remember correctly) is 20 US gallons for the first fish and then 10 gallons for each additional fish. very important: See this thread on important Goldfish keeping facts - you also cannot keep common and fancy goldfish together

You nitrates are through the roof because of the goldfish. They are extremely high waste producers. Waste = nitrate. I'm sure you know by now, but the levels are you dealing with are detrimental to the health of your fish. As is the nitrite and ammonia.

Once they are all separated as need be, you can start treating them.

Good luck.

 

[KathyM]

I would definitely return the plec to the LFS. They grow big in ANY tank, and if cramped will stunt which will shorten his life and make him ill. Common plecs can reach 2ft in length, gibbys not being far behind in size. Good luck

 

[PaulEbs]

.Also should I be feeding him anything else other than these algae chips??!!

They love a bit of cucumber.. Although I strongly recommend re-thinking your stocking strategy.

 

[highspirit]

Hi everyone I am much happier today as i have my new tank set up ..its lovely and the golfish now have a 19 gallon for 4 of them which I know is still not ideal but its a vast improvement .Thanks guys for all your help.Whitespot seems to have all but disappeared ..still doing finrot meds and im pleased because i think thats what they need.Female sailfin has a chunk of her tailfin missing and hasnt been attacked a s far a s i know.

 

[WILDER]

What med are you using, as if it's anti fungus and finrot i would move on anti internal bacteria med by interpet, good luck with the new tank.

 

[highspirit]

What med are you using, as if it's anti fungus and finrot i would move on anti internal bacteria med by interpet, good luck with the new tank.

Thanks wilder I will get soem tomorrow.Any idea how many gallons a 48" by 18" by 15" is please?
stats are now nitrite 0 ammonia 0 ph around 8 nitrate around 50 or so (light orange) on interpet easy test kit