About to give up

[dsbanderson]

Hi my name is Sara and I have a 30 g hexagon. In the last year i have had problem after problem and i'm almost ready to take down the tank. I can't handle watchign anymore of my fish die. I have a underground filter with a powerhead but have never used any sort of charcoal with the filter. About 6 months ago i had a entire wipeout of the tank due to ich so i dumped loads of salt and raised the temp to 90 and left the tank empty for about 3 months. I restocked the tank and have been doing ok for a while and about 4 days ago i did a 3/4 water change using my cyphoner hose and did everything normal. Now i have tetras dieing and my two large angels have what looks like fungus on their sides or nose. its not a raised fungus just flat and on my one angel it looks stringing off her top flowing fin. I have included some pics if i can get them to upload. I started penicillin yesterday to try to help the problem and i have 3 more days of treatment until the cycle is done. My angels don't seem in desperation but my tetras are another issue. so that's where i'm at. I cannot get the attachments to work i will post this and try to work on the photos. thank you

 

[dsbanderson]

.
the tetra, you can't really tell but there is fuzzy stuff on him

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi and welcome!
Do you own a test kit?
What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
Have you changed anything in the tank recently like filter media?
Do you use a dechlorinator?
How often do you do water changes and how much?
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[dsbanderson]

I do not own a test kit but will get one and i use stress coat dechlor. i usually change water about every 3-6 months depending on how dirty and i usually do from 1/2 to 3/4. i haven't changed anything other than water.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I do not own a test kit but will get one and i use stress coat dechlor. i usually change water about every 3-6 months depending on how dirty and i usually do from 1/2 to 3/4. i haven't changed anything other than water.

Can I get you to google 'old tank syndrome'? My guess (hard to say without test kit) is your tank is suffering from this. When you did the water change it's shocked your fish. You need to pick up a vigorous weekly water change schedule of 50% a week from now on to remove total dissolved solids and nitrate.
Please read the link above also.

 

[dsbanderson]

ok so after trial and error my tank reads like this

ammonia 3.0
nitrate no3 40
nitrate no2 0.5
hardness 425
alkilinity 0
ph less than 6.4

 

[Mumma.of.two]

ok so after trial and error my tank reads like this

ammonia 3.0
nitrate no3 40
nitrate no2 0.5
hardness 425
alkilinity 0
ph less than 6.4

Ok, not good. Ammonia and nitrite need to be 0. You will need to do daily water changes to keep it down until the bacteria has time to multiply and consume it. what did you use to test? Did you read the article?

 

[dsbanderson]

ok i will due daily water changes. i did read several articles after i googled that topic. I don't honestly feel like i don't take care of my fish but i will be much more attentive. I have really struggled to keep things alive the last year, so i will work on the water changes. I'm hoping my fish get better as i can't stand to watch them suffer. thank you for your help. i will start doing a 50 percent water change tomorrow, do i need to cyphen the rocks, or just basically change just the water.

I bought a mardel master test kit.

 

[librarygirl]

Looks like you undid the cycle. When you broke down the tank and let it sit empty all of the beneficial bacteria you had in your filters and the tank that keeps the tank healthy all died off. Then you added fish too soon after settign it up again so now the tank is cycling again. Also once the tank is cycled you want to change 50% of the water weekly as proper maintenance. For now though those levels need to come down; I'd do a few 60-70% water changes today using dechlorinator to get those levels down ASAP.

 

[dsbanderson]

i bought the mardel master test kit

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What changes are the key. The more fresh water you can flush though a tank the better IMO. You don't need to clean the rocks. Bacteria live on them also. All you need to do is vacuum the gravel to remove waste and change the water. I'm not familiar with that test kit. Is it liquid or test strips?

 

[dsbanderson]

it is a test strip its made by sentry AQ. I will be sure and buy the liquid one by API tomorrow. my poor fish. i think all the tetras are dead but my angels are hanging in there but the fungus or bacteria seems to be growing. i bought the melafix for bacteria and the other one for fungus. do you think that will help.. thanks again for you help

 

[dsbanderson]

i'm going to do a 50% change as soon as i get my kids to bed. thanks again

 

[Mumma.of.two]

it is a test strip its made by sentry AQ. I will be sure and buy the liquid one by API tomorrow. my poor fish. i think all the tetras are dead but my angels are hanging in there but the fungus or bacteria seems to be growing. i bought the melafix for bacteria and the other one for fungus. do you think that will help.. thanks again for you help

Good idea test strips are rubbish. IMO melifix and pimafix will do nothing clean water wouldn't do. Some swear by them though. I couldn't really see anything in the pictures you posted so could you get some closer, clear ones? For now, along with the water changes, I'd recommend some aquarium salt (kosher is the same) added to the tank. You want 1 flat tablespoon per 5 gallons of tank water. Dissolve it in a container of tank water and slowly add it over couple of days. Salt doesn't evaporate so it's only removed by water changes. If you do a 50% water change you are removing half of the salt so half a dose needs to be put back in. Salt will help kill whatever bacteria or fungus your angels have.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#ERM
Have a read of this and see if anything fits.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

i'm going to do a 50% change as soon as i get my kids to bed. thanks again

Your welcome

 

[dsbanderson]

ok so i will pull some water out and add 1flat tablespoon of instant ocean salt and disolve it and slowly put it back. maybe a gallon or so. i used instant ocean when we had hermit crabs. i am uploading new pics. now i'm worried its ich.. i'm at a loss. but oh well i'm trying at least..

 

[Mumma.of.two]

ok so i will pull some water out and add 1flat tablespoon of instant ocean salt and disolve it and slowly put it back. maybe a gallon or so. i used instant ocean when we had hermit crabs. i am uploading new pics. now i'm worried its ich.. i'm at a loss. but oh well i'm trying at least..

Instant ocean is marine salt. Totally different type of salt, don't add it!

 

[paytertot]

Yeah you want something that says aquarium salt. I use the API kind.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yeah you want something that says aquarium salt. I use the API kind.

Yes for fresh water aquariums. Rock salt, kosher salt or any salt that has no iodine or anticaking agents is the same just cheaper.

 

[dsbanderson]

on the black angel you can see it on the face almost like webbing or where skin is sloughing off. on the pearl colored one you can see it most and the ridges of her body, above her eye and on the tail again like webbing.crud i'm gonna delete the previous pics it says i can only up 4 pics per thread. sorry i'm totally new to this site