New and need help

[Despresamy]

Hello my name is amy and I have a 30 gallon tank with a few fish and a red tailed shark who I have had for a few years now ... My shark for the past two days has been acting kinda sluggish wich for him is unusual beacuse he has always been active but now he just stays in one spot and barley moves... Could he be dying???

 

[Fishie]

Welcome!! What are the PH,nitrates,and levels in your water? Any ammonia? Make sure you he is not getting bullied! Does he look okay?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hello my name is amy and I have a 30 gallon tank with a few fish and a red tailed shark who I have had for a few years now ... My shark for the past two days has been acting kinda sluggish wich for him is unusual beacuse he has always been active but now he just stays in one spot and barley moves... Could he be dying???

Hi an welcome!
What other fish do you have in the tank(kind and number)?
How long ago where they added?
Do you own a test kit? What are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Have you changed any filter media recently or washed under tap water?
When was the last time a water change was done and how much?
How often do you do them and how much?
Do you use a dechlorinator?
If you can answer these questions it will help us help you!

 

[Despresamy]

My ph is fine and he looks normal I don't think he is getting bullied usually he is the one that bullies the other fish...

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Welcome!! What are the PH,nitrates,and levels in your water? Any ammonia? Make sure you he is not getting bullied! Does he look okay?

Usually the red tailed sharks are the ones doing the bullying! Anyways, i agree with the above post, what are the levels? Also what tank mates?

*edit* wow, i sent that message and then saw that you said he usually bullies other fish right after i said the same thing. Lol

 

[Mumma.of.two]

My ph is fine and he looks normal I don't think he is getting bullied usually he is the one that bullies the other fish...

What is your pH? Did you add anything to alter it?

 

[Despresamy]

Right now I have two gold fish one male bata and a few tetras and they have all been in the same tank together for almost a year now with the shark

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Right now I have two gold fish one male bata and a few tetras and they have all been in the same tank together for almost a year now with the shark

Ok. So I'm assuming you don't know your parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH). Can you take a water sample to you local fish shop (LFS) to get tested? Make sure they use a liquid test not strips.

Now for the bad news
Two goldfish (fancy goldfish not common, commet or koi) absolutely maxes out your tank. You are very over stocked. Sorry.

How often do you change water?

 

[Despresamy]

I just tested my ph and it's normal I use the correct ph tablets...

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I just tested my ph and it's normal I use the correct ph tablets...

Changing the pH of your water with chemicals is a big no no. They can do more harm than good. It is better to have a stable pH than a chemically altered one. No need to change it at all unless it's in the extreme ranges (less than 6 or more than 9). If its consistently the same number it's good.

Do you know what the nitrogen cycle is?

 

[Despresamy]

I dont really use anything else other than the ph corrector in my tank... I just did a water change about two weeks ago and I had to change my filter today cuz my old one broke...

 

[Despresamy]

I have no clue what the nitrogen cycle is

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I dont really use anything else other than the ph corrector in my tank... I just did a water change about two weeks ago and I had to change my filter today cuz my old one broke...

Ok that's your problem. Did you keep the old filter pads and put them in the new filter?

 

[Despresamy]

No I had new ones

 

[fort384]

Good point so far from mumma. The other issue I see here is you are keeping goldfish with a betta, and tropical fish. These fish have different requirements, especially when it comes to temperature. Also as mumma said, using a pH correcter is most likely not necessary and will do more harm than good.What is the pH of your tank and what is the pH of your tap water?

Also, you said you did a water change a couple of weeks ago.. with fish like gold fish, you should be performing weekly water changes.

 

[Despresamy]

Ok so the best thing would be to put the gold fish in a separate tank ...

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I have no clue what the nitrogen cycle is

Ok I will explain:
Your fish produce ammonia. Ammonia builds up and can poison your fish causing them burns and maybe death. Cycling a tank means growing beneficial bacteria (BB) in your filter to process the ammonia. A set of bacteria grow and consume the ammonia and turn it into nitrite. Another set of BB grow and consume the nitrite and turn it into nitrate. Nitrate is then removed by weekly partial water changes (PWC).

What happened when you changed filters is you threw out all your BB so now the ammonia is building up and poisoning your fish.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Good point so far from mumma. The other issue I see here is you are keeping goldfish with a betta, and tropical fish. These fish have different requirements, especially when it comes to temperature. Also as mumma said, using a pH correcter is most likely not necessary and will do more harm than good.What is the pH of your tank and what is the pH of your tap water?

Also, you said you did a water change a couple of weeks ago.. with fish like gold fish, you should be performing weekly water changes.

Thanks fort. I was getting to that didn't want to put too much out there at once.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok so the best thing would be to put the gold fish in a separate tank ...

Yes. Fancy goldfish need 20g for the first and 10g for every fish after that. So 2 need 30g to themselves. Now if they are common, commet or koi goldfish they get too big for tanks and need to be rehomed. They are pond fish and IMO don't belong in a tank.

 

[Despresamy]

Ok that sucks but I'll have to give them away