Very Sick Skirted Tetra

[Jonesthecatfish]

Need advice quickly please. I have a 95 litre tank fishlesly Cycled for 2 Months, 0 Ammonia , 0 Nitrites ,20 Nitrates before adding 6 skirted Tetras but i never read the filter instructions properly as it has a Zeo/carb box in the top half and i have soaked it in separate tank water as with the foam media (bottom part of filter)but never replaced it every month as i now realise it says to do. Ive since added Guppies and lost 5 over 3 weeks now a Skirted Tetra has 2 bulging eyes , distended abdomen and whiteness over the abdomen area, the other Tetras have no symptoms and the Guppy that came with the others is fine too . I do a 10% water change every week , just read 40 Nitrates so did another 10% change . Im worried that all this may have something to do with the Zeo/Carb in the filter a Jet Flo 100 . In desperation i added some Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria but didnt take the Zeo/Carb out as stated as i had been hoping it had used itself up and was holding bacteria and i was worried the filter wouldnt cope with just the single foam in the bottom. All along i thought id done a Fishless Cycle now im worried i havent though my Ammonia and Nitites are still 0. My Tetra looks really bad and is not eating , i really want to save her but dont know what to do.
Now i know more about it ive decided i dont like the Zeo/Carb thing now as i think its ruining the natural setup of the tank, should i replace the Zeo/Carb with foam like in the bottom part But most important what can i do for the Tetra , im due to add second dose of medication on Friday should i take the Zeo/Carb out this time, how can i save the Tetra ?

 

[mark4785]

Zeolite and carbon filter media should always be taken out when you add medication. Zeolite isn't essential in normal situations where you have conducted a successful fishless cycle as it's role is to remove ammonia which you are already able to do in doing the fishless cycle. Carbon media absorbs contaminents in the water which includes medication!

I was concerned that removing my carbon sponge (which is 15cm long) would cause problems with my water quality since it was installed when I did the fishless cycle and so I presumed filter bacteria would be on it. However, I was adviced, on this forum, to remove it. I did exactly that and my ammonia/nitrite level didn't rise.

40ppm of nitrates isn't enough to cause the problems you are describing.

Your fish are most likely suffering from an internal parasite which is causing bad appetite. I don't know what the whiteness is though that you have described. Can you supply a picture?

edit: is there any ulceration of the abdomen? If so, it could be lateral line disease.

I found this quote particularly interesting in that it attributes over-use of active carbon to hole-in-the-head and lateral line disease:

Head and Lateral Line Disease is also known as Hole-in-the-Head Disease, Lateral Line Erosion (LLE), and Lateral Line Disease (LLD). It is attributed to a nutritional deficiency of one or more of: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus. Though its cause is not definitively determined, it is thought to be caused by a poor diet or lack of variety, lack of partial water changes, or over filtration with chemical media such as activated carbon.

 

[Jonesthecatfish]

Ive just taken a photo but how do i up-load it please ?

 

[mark4785]

Ive just taken a photo but how do i up-load it please ?

Hi,

Go to here: http/imageshack.us
Click the 'browse' button and find the picture on your PC's harddrive.
Make it as big as possible by clicking on 'resizing'.
Then click 'upload now'.
Insert the picture URL (that imageshack supplies you with) between the following words within your forum reply: [ img ] [ /img ] (No spaces though!)