My fish arent happy

[lado078]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

Give us some numbers, and if you can, take a couple pics of the sample tubes for each, side by side, and have the color key in the background, try flash/no flash/side lighting, try to get a decent pic and maybe that would help us help you.

My tap pH is off the API chart - 9.0+ and sitting in a 5g bucket w/a power head running in it, it drops very slowly to about 8.2 in 24 hrs and eventually stabilizes in my tanks at 7.4-7.6.

With the fungus it sounds like something else going on though, possibly at the fish store. Sometimes you have to watch where you get them. Also, did you cycle the tank before putting the fish in?

1= Thank you firstly for replying,my knowledge of aquarium should of been better before been too keen on getting these fish i feel i have let them down and cant bare to watch them suffer SLOWLY.Is it too late?
2=Will leave some tap water to balance for 24hrs,test and put side by side with aquarium test then photograph for you asap.
3=what is W/a power head?
4=(CYCLE TANK)if you mean did we set up and leave 2 weeks before adding then we did.(this was the advice from petstore)
5=OUR SET UP=125ltr many planted tank,with one rock from petstore
5 neon teras(only two poorly ones left)unknown gender
5 black phantom teras(all well for mo)one female
5 guppies(all well for mo)all male
2 ram cichlids-my favourite(1 of each)male left
3 leopard corydoras(all well)unknown gender
6 plattys(3 of each-although one female has died)
everything is bought all from the same store and was added to tank in order above and at the times and ways suggested by the store,but i feel we now should of not put so many in so soon with only 24hrs introduction but the damage is done so what can i do now?
6=i thnk they have ich=neons started with white spots,added salt and treatment protozin for suppected fungus,unexpected dead female platty the next morning,next morning damaged poorly looking female ram took 24hrs before dying,then neons white spots didnt improve after treatment the male plattys tried eating the ones with bigger spots until dead,still left with 2 poorly neon teras who dont come out from plants even to feed,the plattys and guppies have been seen rubbing against rocks ocassionally. Lost 5 fish in total. Apart from pic to send is there any more info ive missed for you to be able to advise?????????

[Floyd R Turbo]

First of all, the people at your pet store are total idiots. This is unfortunately very common.

It takes a minimum of 4-6 weeks for your tank to cycle, and you can't just let it 'sit there', you have to add food or ammonia daily or a piece of cooked shrimp so the nitrifying bacteria have something to feed on. Read this:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articl...le-/Page1.html

Your fish are stressed because this wasn't complete before you added them, and quit possibly they were sick when you bought them.

Ich can be treated holistically w/o (without) meds but late for that now.

w/a = with a, power head is a power head (google it)

You need to get an ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH test kit immediately. If there is any ammonia or Nitrite present you need to do a large (50% minimum) water change.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Also, still looking for the numbers of the pH difference between the tap and tank.

I just re-read your original post and it said you started the tank with Nutrafin Cycle. While these products promote a quick cycling of the tank, they generally don't work so you still have to test the water before adding any fish to make sure the cycle is actually complete.

Also, you probably shouldn't have added all those fish at once. Even if the Nutrafin Cycle worked, whatever bio colony it had established was probably minimal, inadequate to support such an immediate bio-load, and you probably had a cycle start again (mini-cycle, best case).

On top of that, I couldn't find much information about the Protozin as it is a UK product, but it very well could have knocked out your entire biological colony, meaning you're going to start the whole Nitrogen cycle over again. But read the label/insert and see if it says anything about if it is safe for beneficial bacteria / bio-colony, etc.

[dkpate]

Another way to treat ich is to raise the temp, and add aquaruim salt. The ich cannot breed in that high of temps, and the salt helps your fish create a slime coat (stress makes them lose it). But you should make sure your scaleless fish can handle the salt before you put it in! Good luck!