Sudden Fish Death / Using Baking Soda In Tank? Ich?

[BobV27]

Added new fish to the tank about 2 months ago and they seemed perfectly fine (cichlids). They started dieing recently and showed no signs of infections, etc. Noticed that they stopped eating but nothing else. My nitrates are high and i have a decent amount of algae in the tank. I just bought the 5 in 1 test strips and it looks like my nitrites are fine. I understand that the nitrites are more important than the nitrates.... My Ph usually runs a little low by the end of the week and I have recently been using baking soda to raise the ph. I have found it difficult to find pet shops that have the ph up in the powder form and only sell the ph up in the liquid bottles that are a waste. So i have been using baking soda for a few months instead and it seems to work fine.
I recently started changing the water 50% each week to reduce the nitrate levels. I did not want to do it more often for fear of stressing out the fish. I now have a huge Parrot fish that is lying on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. He gets up to eat when I feed him though. I don't want to loose him.
I have not cleaned my Eheim filter in about 8 months and that will be the first thing I do tommorow. I will also change the water 50% again.

I think I may the fish may have ich. The fins are frayed on my Silver Dollars and it looks like there a tiny spots on them. My Tricolor Sharks look like they have tiny specs on them & I noticed that they are on the bottom of the tank. Cannot see any spots on the Parrot fish. Should I treat the tank for ich? If so what is the best medicine to use? Need something safe for use with Silver Dollars.

Appreciate your help.

BobV27@aol.com

 

[Tolak]

Please fill this out to help us help you;

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):


Also, what are you using to treat the replacement water & how much? Are you on a municipal water supply, and what country are you located in?

 

[BobV27]

Thanks for your reply. Additional info as follows:

Tank Size 55 gal
Ph 7.0
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 160
Kh 40
Gh 60
Tank Temp 70
Symptons Parot fish lying on the bottom. Comes up to eat only. Other fish lying on bottom. Noticed that there are very tiny white spots on Silver Dollars and Tricolor Sharks and one Angelica Catfish. Fish are dying unexpectely when appearing no signs of illness. A few of the Silver Dollars have frayed fins. I think its ich. My Nitrates has always been high and I get a good amount of algae.

Frequency of Water Changes: I usually change 1/3 every 4 months. I have just started to change 50% of the water every week since my Nitrates are high. Did this so far 3 times.

Media: I have a Eheim filter as my primary filter and also use 2 filters on the back of the tank as extras that filters up to 60 gallon tanks combined.

Fish in tank: 3 Silver Dollars, 2 Cichlids, 2 new small fish that are elongated, yellow with black stripes (these are the new ones), 2 Parrot fish, 4 Tricolor Sharks, 2 Angelica Cats, and one large fish that is elongated, gold colored with a red tail that hangs out at the top of the tank. One of the new fish just died.

Recent Additions: 2 elongated fish about 1 1/2" long, yellow with black strips

Exposure to Chemicals: None

Region: Westchester County, New York, USA

Photo could not be Attached. File too large. Gave up.

Water added is from the municipal water supply. I always add Stress Coat and Aquarium salt to the new water. I adjust the Ph using baking soda to raise the ph. Is this harmful to the fish???

Sorry I don't know the exact names of the fish. I have a bottle of Malchite Green. Before I use it, should I remove the Silver Dollars and the Anglica Cats since the bottle says that it is toxic to scaleless fish. I think both of these fish are scaleless??? Is there a better drut to use? I have not cleaned my Eheim filter in 8 months. Should I just turn it off so that the charcaol does not remove the chemicals I add to the tank and then clean it out 100%. Then restart it AFTER the chemical treatment period? I can use the 2 back filters that have the cartridges in it as my filtration for the interim period and easily remove the charcoal.

Appreciate your help. If you like, you can call me to discuss it further 914-391-4281

 

[Athena]

You can simply remove the carbon sponge from your filter and then you'll be able to keep your filter running during treatment. Not a good idea to have your filter turned off for longer than the time it takes for tank maintenance, really.

Just wondering - those yellow/back stripey fish you bought - could they have been Clown Loaches perhaps? They are notorious for getting Ich! They are usually a yellowish/orangey colour with wide black stripes.

I normally use Protozin for whitespot disease and it's always worked really well. Not sure if that's available where you are (I'm in the UK).

Sounds like yours may have Ich and Fin Rot disease (unless the sharks have been nipping the silver dollars)

Just a little tip for future reference, that might help. It's always a good idea to make a note of the type of fish that you're buying (a lot of us will research the fish before buying) so that whenever there are problems you will be able to research that particular fish and find the best remedy for it. Also, it helps to know what you're getting so that there are no compatibility issues in your tank. The other thing is that each fish species will have particular needs, likes/dislikes etc and you won't be able to find these things out if you don't know what fish you have.

Hope you manage to get your current problem solved without losing any more fishies.

All the best - Athena