new here, big problems with my tank

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Sadie12345

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
7
Location
South Carolina
ok, here we go with much information to get up to date. Hi all,
I have been having problems with fish deaths for a few months and now I am down to 2 fish and thinking I am dealing with a contaminate of some kind and must do a complete cleaning of tank with all fresh water. I also want to switch from gravel to sand. Please give me all the advice you will. Ok, I have had tank for about 3 years, 29 gallon, Marineland 200 filter with biowheel heater. I have had a community tank with honey gouramis, lots of small tetras, some rasboras, a bulldog pleco. This summer I put 2 african dwarf frogs in it. I have had a couple of fish over the last 6 months which had a lesion on them and a rummy nose tetra that lost part of its tail. Also had cory cats who all would die and lost their tails so I quit buying them. However I never treated the tank with antibiotics until this month. I had 3 fish when the treatment started, Furan-2 for 4 days. The rummy nose died, but the other 2 fish, a honey gourami and a halfbeak, still living. The treatment was over this last Wednesday. I have always taken very good care of my tank, do 25-30% water changes every 7-10 days. I put the water back in by jug because I was told by local fish guy I trust to do it this way, safer. My numbers are always good, I have a reputation at the fish store for always having a very clean tank. The numbers are: Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, KH 3, GH 7, Nitrate 10. I have been having the problem when I look back, since the summer. Fish would die within a week or 2, would buy 5 at a time. Would have around 15 fish. I thought I was overstocked was why they died, at the time. Oh my pH is 7.6. I keep a bag of coral in with the filter to keep it stable. I used to have problems with it being too low, like down to 5. I keep temp. at 78.
Thanks for any/all help.
 
how often to you change the filter cartridge? do you use dechlorinator when u change water? if so what kind? have you tested the water? if so what are the ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate readings? what is/was/has been in the tank, and what did you lose, any signs of illness? were all fish properly acclimated? quaranteened? i know thats alot of ?s... but the answers will help us help you better.
 
hello, I change the filter monthly, i use Prime or AquaLife in every jug that I pour in the thank. My water testing was in my initial post but are, Ammonia 0, nitite 0, KH 3, GH 7, Nitrate 10 and pH 7.6. I acclimate all fish, float 10 minutes, add small amts. tank water every 10 minutes times 3. I do not quaranteen the fish. I know many advise this. I have lost fish for about 3-4 months. Because my numbers are always good, I attributed the loses to overstocking on my part. However I have had a couple of fish with a lesion or missing part of their tail before death. Most just have died with no warning. Most have been rummy nose tetras or Cardinal tetras. But recently I lost fish I have had a long time, over a year, honey gouramis and a bulldog pleco. So that is when I treated the tank with the Furan-2, last week.
 
let me add, at the start of the medicine I had 3 fish and one died on the 4th day, the last rummy nose tetra. That leaves me with a halfbeak and a honey gourami. They are still living 4 days after treatment is over , and today I changed out gravel for sand in the tank. I will check the ammonia and nitrites as the lfs man told me to to watch for any spikes. If this goes well for a few days, I suppose I will assume the problem was taken care of with the Furan-2. And I will try a couple of new fish? That sound reasonable?
 
Everything sounds good, except i the filter... most of the more experienced ppl on here suggest only changing ur filter when you have to, ie when its falling apart. This is because most of the bacteria that keep ur ammo and trites down is in the filter, so why would you want to throw them away once a month?? I have switched to this since joining the site, and my tanks have been healthier because of it imo. I also have switched to quilt batting for media and no carbon. What did the lesions look like?? It may have been a bacterial thing. Did you add any new fish right before this happened?? Im srry you lost so many fish.
 
Thanks for writing... yes lots of fish lost. I wish I had acted sooner to treat, never had to before. I am thinking was a bacterial thing and hopefully is taken care of since both the living fish are still living. The tank seems fine too, with the change to the sand, the ammonia and nitrites still at 0.
Thanks for reminding me about not changing the filter monthly, I had not thought about it, I will try that and maybe my tank will be healthier too!
 
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