Sick balck Moore

[DeVille]

Hi, this is my first post.
I have a bunch of problems with my tank. Can anyone help. Thanks in advance
i have, sick fish, a snail with poor shell and plant disease


4 FISH + 1 SNAIL
One large black Moore 8cm from head to end of tail, two very small gold fish about 3 cm, a bristle nose about 8cm long. And a 4cm golden snail
The black Moore has a fuzzy white fungus on its lips
The large black Moore, bristle nose and snail have been in the tank for 10 months and the two small gold fish for two weeks.
The large gold snail has a very poor shell. The shell is weak and has stripes wrapping around the snail where the shell is very thin


TANK
The tank is 120 litre tank, with surface area about 75cm X 40 cm
I have had the tank set up for about 10 months


PARAMETERS
about PH 7.2 – 7.3
Ammonia 0
23-24 Degrees Celsius
I have just started adding some lysophos bacteria occasionally
The only filtration is an Aqua Clear 20 filter in the tank
I change about a third to a half of the water approximately once a week
the water has an oily slick on the surface
I have an automatic fish feeder which feeds them Wardly goldfish pellets twice a day. (it probably dispenses a bit more than they need)

PLANTS
I have a large piece of drift wood with Fiji fern on it. And one Anubis plant which I put in the tank about a week ago. There is some kind of grey mold or fungus on the edges of the leaves (not the black fuzzy mold some people get, its more like tiny grey curly hairs about 3 millimeters long ). Also there is rusty dark brown patches on of the leaves with some holes through the leaves.


LIGHT
I have a GLO T5 light with one small fluoro tube which was running at 10 hours a day until a weeks ago, I have changed it to 7.5 hours. I recently reduced the hours of light because the fiji fern was getting some transparent sections at the ends of the leaves.
The transparent ends of the leaves seem to be happening less however


thanks for your help

 

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Did u cycle your tank first?

 

[DeVille]

yes, i kept one fish in the tank for about one week, but that was over ten months ago

 

[jsoong]

It is likely that the tank is cycled after 10 months. Also the lack of ammonia will indicate that, although you would want to test for nitrites to be sure.

30 gal (120 l) is rather small for that many fish. It takes a lot of work to keep goldfish in small tanks, and they are susceptible to disease with overcrowding.

First, you would want to check nitrates. High nitrates would indicate an overloaded tank. The oily sheen may be another indication.

ATM, you are overstocked already ... 2 x 8 cm fish is about the max for a 30 gal when dealing with goldfish ... add in the other 2 goldfish, you can easily exceed the capacity of your system. To overstock a goldfish tank, you need to have massive over-filtration, and meticulous water maintenance (which may mean daily water changes.) A/C 20 is too small IMO, you prob need at least a second HOB or a small canister for the long term.

For now, I would suggest:
1. Increasing your water changes, maybe to twice a week.
2. Check for nitrate levels. <This may not be reliable in a planted tank, as the plants may take up all the nitrates, but there are still other stuff floating around.>
3. Check for KH & GH. I suspect that these will be low with the low pH. Snails need minerals to build their shell, and will not do well in water depleted of KH & GH. You can feed it a source of calcium carbonate (say a piece of cuttle bone in the tank) to help with shell problems.
4. Consider treating the fish with an anti-biotic food if you think the white fuzz around the mouth is an infection. You might want to post a pic of that to see what we think. I personally would lay off the meds for now unless the fish is acting sick (lethargy, etc.), and see if improving the water will bring the fish around.
5. Consider feeding high quality food. (Wardley is not really the best ...) You might want to add "real" food - like some blanched peas (shelled & chopped), other veggies, some chopped cooked shrimp, etc. Fish that are nutritionally depleted are also prong to ailments.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Personally, I think one of your biggest problems is filtration right now. I'd say you desperately need at least to double or triple your filtration.

 

[DeVille]

thanks

thanks for the advice, i will post an update on progress

 

[DeVille]

It is likely that the tank is cycled after 10 months. Also the lack of ammonia will indicate that, although you would want to test for nitrites to be sure.

30 gal (120 l) is rather small for that many fish. It takes a lot of work to keep goldfish in small tanks, and they are susceptible to disease with overcrowding.

First, you would want to check nitrates. High nitrates would indicate an overloaded tank. The oily sheen may be another indication.

ATM, you are overstocked already ... 2 x 8 cm fish is about the max for a 30 gal when dealing with goldfish ... add in the other 2 goldfish, you can easily exceed the capacity of your system. To overstock a goldfish tank, you need to have massive over-filtration, and meticulous water maintenance (which may mean daily water changes.) A/C 20 is too small IMO, you prob need at least a second HOB or a small canister for the long term.

For now, I would suggest:
1. Increasing your water changes, maybe to twice a week.
2. Check for nitrate levels. <This may not be reliable in a planted tank, as the plants may take up all the nitrates, but there are still other stuff floating around.>
3. Check for KH & GH. I suspect that these will be low with the low pH. Snails need minerals to build their shell, and will not do well in water depleted of KH & GH. You can feed it a source of calcium carbonate (say a piece of cuttle bone in the tank) to help with shell problems.
4. Consider treating the fish with an anti-biotic food if you think the white fuzz around the mouth is an infection. You might want to post a pic of that to see what we think. I personally would lay off the meds for now unless the fish is acting sick (lethargy, etc.), and see if improving the water will bring the fish around.
5. Consider feeding high quality food. (Wardley is not really the best ...) You might want to add "real" food - like some blanched peas (shelled & chopped), other veggies, some chopped cooked shrimp, etc. Fish that are nutritionally depleted are also prong to ailments.

thanks for the advice