Things Are Looking Bad....

[Chris0422]

Monday when I got home from work my red rainbow had pop-eye. I started a treatment of anti-fungal. I did a water change of just under 10 gallons today finishing the anti fungal treatment. I got home 4 hours later to find all four of my rainbows and one of my upside down cats swimming in the stream from my air stone at the top of the tank gasping at the surface. I also have another upside down, leopard centapoma, and a peacock goby. My tank is a 55 gallon 4'x12"x22". I dont have any water stats at the moment. When I left they all looked great. Fungus had even cleared up a lot. Looks like a lack of oxygen. But other than that I'm lost

 

[This Old Spouse]

My first guess would be ammonia poisoning. I'd immediately do a huge water change, leaving just enough water for the fish to swim upright, using temp matched and dechlorinated water. 

 

[Chris0422]

Just got done. I noticed some wood had some funky white stuff on it took it all out. Turned light out. Fish are looking a lot better. I'll have to see on the morning. Also lowered water level to allow my filter to cause more surface disruption.

 

[techen]

Get yourself a testing kit. If your fish have been fine till now it's most likely ammonia than lsck of oxygen.

 

[This Old Spouse]

^^

 

[Chris0422]

I am ready for to hear it for this. I don't test my water. I did when I first started and it drove me nuts. I was always trying to get it just right and worrying way to much when it was not. I tested when I had a my salt tank as well. I have very little die off. Maybe one fish a year. I had and ich attack about 5 years ago and this is the first time I have had any problems since then. Don't believe in testing. 10 gallons per week and not over feeding have kept me going and my fish happy and long lived.

 

[lock77]

I am ready for to hear it for this. I don't test my water. I did when I first started and it drove me nuts. I was always trying to get it just right and worrying way to much when it was not. I tested when I had a my salt tank as well. I have very little die off. Maybe one fish a year. I had and ich attack about 5 years ago and this is the first time I have had any problems since then. Don't believe in testing. 10 gallons per week and not over feeding have kept me going and my fish happy and long lived.

Brave confession!

 

[frapadoodle]

I only test when there is a problem, or out of curiosity.

 

[Chris0422]

I guess its not a bad thing to have. I'm pretty sure the problem was a piece of Wood I had found in a attempt to try and diy drift wood. I was real soft when I took it out last night, think it was decaying, so I got rid of it. Everything seems great today. Pop-eye is 99% gone Lil white spot under my rainbows eye. But everyone is back swimming, hiding and eating.

 

[frapadoodle]

Good to hear. Hope that was all it was.

 

[TooManyChoices]

At the crux of it testing water is practically what fish keeping is about. Keeping water healthy to keep fish. 
 
I would bet my bottom dollar that your tank has a MASSIVE amount of nitrate. Nitrate build doesn't follow a simple schedule, it doesn't go up 10ppm in one week, and then you do a water change a remove exactly one weeks worth of nitrate. It builds up gradually over time and one water change will only remove a bit of it, so the next time there'll be a little bit more. 
 
High nitrates will cause fish to be unhealthy and susceptible to illnesses. I believe it can also drain the water of oxygen!
 
Admittedly I can be a bit lazy with testing myself, and pH and hardness I don't particularly worry about. Ammonia and nitrite, if the tank is well cycled and you don't do anything to disturb it, they shouldn't be present at all. Nitrate however I look at as the most important test!
 
Do it once a week and take action as necessary.  
 
I guess this shows what can happen if some kind of water testing is not undertaken at all. I've learnt from this and I hope others have as well so thanks for sharing and being brace admitting to not testing!
 
I'm of to do a water change just in case!

 

[frapadoodle]

Actually studies have been done showing no harm to fish at 400ppm.

 

[TooManyChoices]

Actually studies have been done showing no harm to fish at 400ppm.

 
Well that blows my understanding of water quality/water keeping out the window?
 
What do we bother with nitrate control and testing than? By no harm does it mean no direct damage to the fish but can it still cause things like oxygen depletion?


Are certain diseases 'caused' by high nitrate? Does the nitrate levels, regardless of direct damage, make for a poor environment in which diseases can take hold?

 

[DrRob]

Personally I always have a test kit, and don't use it much. I tend to run regular large water changes, 25% is normal and often more. 50% in EI planted tanks.
 
I use a test kit if I've messed with anything big (or really messed with the filter) or if I'm worried about anything not looking right.
 
As for high nitrate, we tend to use it as a measure of everything else that is going on. Nitrate itself, particularly built up slowly, isn't really all that toxic to most freshwater fish, but it's presence generally reflects a situation where things have been allowed to build up faster than the water changes clear them and you'll end up with lots of untestable random organic toxins slowly rising in levels. Hence the interest in it, it's a marker of other things going on.