Bath Tussue
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- Oct 9, 2007
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For the past few days, I notice that one of the 10 swordtails I have has its fins against its body.
I got the fish from a "home breeder" (he breeds the fishes himself as a hobby).
they were put into a barely cycled tank which is now overstocked... (i blame my mother for buying so many fishes even though i keep warning her)
Tank size: 20gal
pH: between 6.6 and 6.8, depending on how i read the test tube (same as tap water)
ammonia: between 0.25 and 0, depending on how i read the tube. before, it was at around 1 until I added an Ammonia remover insert to the filter
nitrite: appx. 1.0 (4th box)
nitrate: appx. 5 since about a week ago (2nd box) constantly almost 0 before.
kH: not tested
gH: not tested
tank temp: 26.5 C
(still cycling)
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
It stays at the bottom of the tank 50% of the time.
Fins are against the body all the time.
but it will still come up and "fight" for food along with other fishes whenever i feed them
Volume and Frequency of water changes:
25% (5gal) water change everyday
gravel cleaned with gravel cleaner every week
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
Aquaclear 30 with sponge filter rinsed in tank water everyweek,
carbon filter replaced about every 4 or 5 weeks (old carbon hang in a mesh bag beside intake tube for 2 more weeks),
added an ammonia remover last week
added some Sera (brand) additive that removes NH3 and NO2
Tank inhabitants:
10 swordtails (from the home breeder) (one of them is the one with the problem) (first batch of fish on un-cycled tank)
10 angle fish (from the home breeder) (first batch on uncycled tank)
3 dwarf gouramis (all male) (from a chain pet store) (last addition, 3 weeks after first batch))
2 fish that i can't identify, one male and one female. they look almost like the swordtails, but instead of gold in colour, they have a black head, silver body, and golden tail without the "sword". (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
2 Bala shark. (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
1 pleco. i don't know the exact type. it is dark in colour, with white/light gray dots all around its body. (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
2 plants, i don't know the type.
1.5~2" thick gravel about 3~5mm diameter, uncoloured (natural gray)
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
floating thermometer, replacing the one that sticks outside the glass
Exposure to chemicals:
water conditioner
Cycle
the above mentioned Sera (brand) additive
another Sera (branded) plant fertalizer
Feeding habit:
first 2 weeks, mother overfeeds them with floating flake food in the morning, with all the extras on the gravel.
after i take over the feeding, i feed them just enough that they finish in at most 3 minutes, and at most 1 or 2 small pieces that got flushed to the bottom only to be eaten by the bala sharks within another 3 minutes. this is done twice a day, once in the morning, and once again early evening but with less food.
about 10 minutes after the evening feeding, i would feed 2 pieces of frozed blood worm, all eaten in 5 minutes
Recent deaths (not included in the fish count above):
1 dwarf. i didn't see any symtoms. it just died one morning, 3 days after putting into the tank
2 fish that i can't identify. description same as above. also one male and one female.
the male was a bully that bullies the current surviving one all the time. i was there when it died. before dying, it went berserk, darting from one end of the tank to the other end, hitting the glass before changing direction. on the 3rd hit, it fell to the gravel like a falling leaf. As i was scooping it out, it suddently start breathing again, so i left it in the tank for a while more thinking the hit on the glass made it faint. it would stop breathing once a while, but not swimming anywhere. a few minutes later, after i think it is dead, i removed it from the tank.
the female died the next morning. the only symtom is that it isolated itself from all other fishes a few days before its death.
Digital photo (include if possible):
I got the fish from a "home breeder" (he breeds the fishes himself as a hobby).
they were put into a barely cycled tank which is now overstocked... (i blame my mother for buying so many fishes even though i keep warning her)
Tank size: 20gal
pH: between 6.6 and 6.8, depending on how i read the test tube (same as tap water)
ammonia: between 0.25 and 0, depending on how i read the tube. before, it was at around 1 until I added an Ammonia remover insert to the filter
nitrite: appx. 1.0 (4th box)
nitrate: appx. 5 since about a week ago (2nd box) constantly almost 0 before.
kH: not tested
gH: not tested
tank temp: 26.5 C
(still cycling)
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
It stays at the bottom of the tank 50% of the time.
Fins are against the body all the time.
but it will still come up and "fight" for food along with other fishes whenever i feed them
Volume and Frequency of water changes:
25% (5gal) water change everyday
gravel cleaned with gravel cleaner every week
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
Aquaclear 30 with sponge filter rinsed in tank water everyweek,
carbon filter replaced about every 4 or 5 weeks (old carbon hang in a mesh bag beside intake tube for 2 more weeks),
added an ammonia remover last week
added some Sera (brand) additive that removes NH3 and NO2
Tank inhabitants:
10 swordtails (from the home breeder) (one of them is the one with the problem) (first batch of fish on un-cycled tank)
10 angle fish (from the home breeder) (first batch on uncycled tank)
3 dwarf gouramis (all male) (from a chain pet store) (last addition, 3 weeks after first batch))
2 fish that i can't identify, one male and one female. they look almost like the swordtails, but instead of gold in colour, they have a black head, silver body, and golden tail without the "sword". (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
2 Bala shark. (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
1 pleco. i don't know the exact type. it is dark in colour, with white/light gray dots all around its body. (from pet shop, owned by friend's family) (2nd addition, 1 week after first batch)
2 plants, i don't know the type.
1.5~2" thick gravel about 3~5mm diameter, uncoloured (natural gray)
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
floating thermometer, replacing the one that sticks outside the glass
Exposure to chemicals:
water conditioner
Cycle
the above mentioned Sera (brand) additive
another Sera (branded) plant fertalizer
Feeding habit:
first 2 weeks, mother overfeeds them with floating flake food in the morning, with all the extras on the gravel.
after i take over the feeding, i feed them just enough that they finish in at most 3 minutes, and at most 1 or 2 small pieces that got flushed to the bottom only to be eaten by the bala sharks within another 3 minutes. this is done twice a day, once in the morning, and once again early evening but with less food.
about 10 minutes after the evening feeding, i would feed 2 pieces of frozed blood worm, all eaten in 5 minutes
Recent deaths (not included in the fish count above):
1 dwarf. i didn't see any symtoms. it just died one morning, 3 days after putting into the tank
2 fish that i can't identify. description same as above. also one male and one female.
the male was a bully that bullies the current surviving one all the time. i was there when it died. before dying, it went berserk, darting from one end of the tank to the other end, hitting the glass before changing direction. on the 3rd hit, it fell to the gravel like a falling leaf. As i was scooping it out, it suddently start breathing again, so i left it in the tank for a while more thinking the hit on the glass made it faint. it would stop breathing once a while, but not swimming anywhere. a few minutes later, after i think it is dead, i removed it from the tank.
the female died the next morning. the only symtom is that it isolated itself from all other fishes a few days before its death.
Digital photo (include if possible):
