What could be wrong?

[dieanna]

I recently lost a dwarf gourami to black spot disease (I think) and dropsy. I had him quarantined. I've watching the rest of the fish closely, but haven't seen any sign of infection. I've noticed since yesterday, the remaining gouramis and tetras seem to be hanging out at the top of the water. I just did a water change last night and I think I'm going to do one in minute, too. Plus, the gourami's have lost a lot of their coloring and their spots are almost non existant. Nitrates are about 15ppm right now. Could the nitrates be the cause or are there other things I should be looking at.

 

[Jchillin]

To be on the safe side, you may as well check everything. Ammonia, Nitrite, ph and kh.
You're nitrate result could not be the reason unless the result is in error. What type of testing equipment are you using?

Have you added anything new to the tank recently?

 

[dieanna]

Okay... Here's the current readings. I have both the Freshwater Master Test Kit and those 5 in 1 strips you can get at walmart and pet stores.

temp - 80
ammon - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 15 - 20 (haven't done todays pwc yet)
GH - 150
KH - 80 - 120
pH - 7.6 - 7.8

 

[Jchillin]

Hate to be a bother but which test kit provided which results? Test strips aren't always accurate.

And the other question was did you add anything to the tank recently.

 

[dieanna]

I used both tests just now, they both had the same results when it came to the ammonia, NO2, NO3, and pH. The only way I can test GH and KH is with the strips. I haven't added anything to the tank within the last week. The last thing was a plant I bought and I'm not too sure what it was, I lost the tag. I don't add chemicals at all, just Prime when I do pwc's. I did remove the mollies about 2 days ago because the female was chasing and nipping everyone in the tank. That's about it.

 

[Jchillin]

Water parameters look fine. When you get the chance, get the liquid kit for kh (just a suggestion). The gourami's could be stressed from the loss of their tankmate. Or, it's possible that they may have been infected as well. Keep an eye out for any signs of it and treat as soon as it appears.

As far as the tetras are concerned, unless they appear to be gasping, they may still be skittish from the nipping from the mollies (I'm guessing they were normal prior to the nipping incidents)?

 

[dieanna]

Yes, the tetras are acting normal still. They just tend to hang at the top for the past day. I've never seen them do that. I don't know what the problem was with the molly, but she's doing good in the 10 gal, no probs. Her main attention was with the gouramis in the big tank, she actually took a small gash out of the gourami's tails! Maybe it was the whole molly incident that's got them down. I'm actually running out to the store in a little bit, I'll look for one of the liquid tests while I'm there. And I will also keep my eyes open for any disease.

 

[Jchillin]

Sounds good....keep us posted.

 

[dieanna]

Will do. Thank you for your advice, too!

 

[tetrin]

what kind of filtration are you using? if its a canister, please check for the water outflow rate. sometimes i've found my fish to hang near the top of the tank when my fluval had a reduced flowrate (due to buildup of decaying plant matter in the intake tube).
also you could add an extra airpump (if you have one lying around) and see if there's any improvement. if its a hob, you could lower the tank level and let the water splash.

 

[Jchillin]

This may seem odd but I had to recently do just the opposite with some new fancy guppies I added on Wednesday. I have them in my 30 gal which has an AC HOB and a nice airstone. Until I shut off the airstone and reduced the splash, they stayed at the top. Now they venture to mid-level.

 

[tetrin]

JC, guppies thrive in lower currents, especially fancy ones. so they'll seek out the region of the tank that has the lowest turbulence and stay there. the design of a hob makes the middle of the tank the most turbulent region. whereas the upper portion of the tank in front of the return will be comparatively a lot calmer.
so the guppies would have found the most comfy place for them .

*edit* attached a rough diagram

 

[Jchillin]

That's my point exactly Tetrin. They stayed in the higher, more turbulent water (right under the splash) which I found puzzling. I had expected them to go to mid-level immediately, which they didn't. I even had two of them that seemed to enjoy the bubbles and wouldn't move from that one spot. I made everything calm and now they seek less turbulent waters.

Just thought I'd share that observation.

 

[dieanna]

I have an Aquatec HOB filter that came with the set up (Walmart). I also have a 16" bubblewall. There's lots of current through the tank. Maybe they don't like the current? The filter is on the far left sid of the tank and the wall right in the middle back. They tend to hang out on the far right. Throughout the morning, the tetras retreated. They're now back hanging out at the bottom. Maybe I should put a smaller airstone in the tank?

 

[tetrin]

JC, i'm stumped too. my guppies stay away from the currents as much as they can :? . anyway, just goes to show that these fishy dudes don't follow any set trends .

dieanna, if the fish are doing ok now, i wouldn't worry about it much. and a 16" bubble wall is plenty of aeration (depending on tank size of course).