I have a 20g high, moderately planted tank. I use tap and some R/O, and treat with Seachem Prime. My heater is set to 80 degrees. I run an AquaClear 30 and a Penguin 150. Instead of carbon, I have Purigen and an empty cartridge in the Penguin, and two bags of biomax with a sponge in the AquaClear. My tank has been running for about a year and a half. I do two 20% water changes a week. I feed live blackworms, Cyclops-eeze, and Sera FD Mixpur. I test my water every week using the API Master Test kit.
pH: Middle to high 7s
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20-40
Stock:
Ctenopoma ansorgii, 3 peacock gudgeons, kuhli loach, blue neon goby, 4 neon blue ricefish, 3 pacific blue-eyed rainbowfish, 4 celestial pearl danios, cinnamon dwarf gourami, scarlet badis, pipefish, and a Vietnamese blenny.
I'm assuming 3 of the CPDs and 2 of the rainbowfish died from stress because of a particularly bratty male rainbowfish. Fine.
About three weeks ago, I bring home 2 ricefish to add to the pair I currently had. They do well. I wake up one morning, and I see a few spots of ich on one of the ricefish. I don't hesitate- I bag up all four, and drive them back to the store. I'm told to do a 45% water change to make sure my water is okay, to turn up my temperature to 84, and to just put them back because "they don't look that bad". I do all of that.
The next morning, I wake up, and the rainbowfish, the CPD, all 4 ricefish, and the ctenopoma have ich. I panic, and drive the ricefish back to the store again. I'm told conflicting info- the water change was too much, turn up the the temp to 86, and buy medication. I leave the ricefish there, and go home with Herbtana (since I have plants and scaleless fish). I turn up my heater and dose my tank. Cool. That evening, I lose the rainbowfish and the CPD.
I'm down to the ctenopoma, 3 gudgeons, kuhli loach, blue neon goby, dwarf gourami, and the scarlet badis (at this point, I don't have the pipefish or the blenny). The next morning, the ich has worsened dramatically on the ctenopoma. I keep dosing for the next week. I don't lose any more fish, but I'm very certain I'm about to lose the ctenopoma despite the medication. I move him into a hospital tank and start dosing Tetra Lifeguard. That evening, I lose the goby.
I'm down to the ctenopoma, 3 gudgeons, kuhli loach, dwarf gourami, and scarlet badis. Things in my 20 have seemed to stabilize- no one else is showing signs. My ctenopoma has improved. It's been about 2 weeks. I go back to the store. They tell me I'm okay to add fish now. I buy a pipefish and a blenny. I acclimate them, add them, and things seem to be okay. A few hours later, my male and a female gudgeon are dead. I panic and call the store back. They tell me to calm down, and that the Herbtana probably caused it. I add bags of carbon to each filter and do a water change to help clear it.
Things are okay for a day. Ctenopoma has improved. New fish are eating, etc.
Next day/yesterday: Ctenopoma randomly dies. Pipefish dies. Down to a gudgeon, kuhli loach, dwarf gourami, scarlet badis, and blenny.
Today: Everyone was fine. I tested my water this morning, and everything was okay. Tonight, I lost my badis.
I have no clue what's happening. No signs of ich. Water is fine. And, yet, I've never suffered this much stock loss (I had only lost 4 fish prior to this, and it was killifish and a different gourami). I've racked my brain trying to figure out what could cause it, and I've only got a couple of things that may be totally irrelevant:
- I dose Flourish, Flourish Excel, and iron. I also use Sera plant tabs. Maybe it's putting off something?
- About six weeks ago, I took sand from someone else's aquarium and added it to mine, since my substrate has always been a little thin and some of my plants were uprooting. I made sure to thoroughly rinse it, but...maybe it was harboring some disease?
-When I did that massive 45% water change, my AquaClear shorted out and I had to buy a new one. I moved the media into my Penguin so it would stay viable, but maybe something is happening now that it's back to a new filter?
I am horribly close to just breaking down my tank and giving up. I've lost at least a couple hundred dollars in fish at this point. I'll be devastated if I lose my blenny. Does anyone have any idea as to what could be going on?
This is my tank a little over three weeks ago, shortly before the ich breakout.
pH: Middle to high 7s
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20-40
Stock:
Ctenopoma ansorgii, 3 peacock gudgeons, kuhli loach, blue neon goby, 4 neon blue ricefish, 3 pacific blue-eyed rainbowfish, 4 celestial pearl danios, cinnamon dwarf gourami, scarlet badis, pipefish, and a Vietnamese blenny.
I'm assuming 3 of the CPDs and 2 of the rainbowfish died from stress because of a particularly bratty male rainbowfish. Fine.
About three weeks ago, I bring home 2 ricefish to add to the pair I currently had. They do well. I wake up one morning, and I see a few spots of ich on one of the ricefish. I don't hesitate- I bag up all four, and drive them back to the store. I'm told to do a 45% water change to make sure my water is okay, to turn up my temperature to 84, and to just put them back because "they don't look that bad". I do all of that.
The next morning, I wake up, and the rainbowfish, the CPD, all 4 ricefish, and the ctenopoma have ich. I panic, and drive the ricefish back to the store again. I'm told conflicting info- the water change was too much, turn up the the temp to 86, and buy medication. I leave the ricefish there, and go home with Herbtana (since I have plants and scaleless fish). I turn up my heater and dose my tank. Cool. That evening, I lose the rainbowfish and the CPD.
I'm down to the ctenopoma, 3 gudgeons, kuhli loach, blue neon goby, dwarf gourami, and the scarlet badis (at this point, I don't have the pipefish or the blenny). The next morning, the ich has worsened dramatically on the ctenopoma. I keep dosing for the next week. I don't lose any more fish, but I'm very certain I'm about to lose the ctenopoma despite the medication. I move him into a hospital tank and start dosing Tetra Lifeguard. That evening, I lose the goby.
I'm down to the ctenopoma, 3 gudgeons, kuhli loach, dwarf gourami, and scarlet badis. Things in my 20 have seemed to stabilize- no one else is showing signs. My ctenopoma has improved. It's been about 2 weeks. I go back to the store. They tell me I'm okay to add fish now. I buy a pipefish and a blenny. I acclimate them, add them, and things seem to be okay. A few hours later, my male and a female gudgeon are dead. I panic and call the store back. They tell me to calm down, and that the Herbtana probably caused it. I add bags of carbon to each filter and do a water change to help clear it.
Things are okay for a day. Ctenopoma has improved. New fish are eating, etc.
Next day/yesterday: Ctenopoma randomly dies. Pipefish dies. Down to a gudgeon, kuhli loach, dwarf gourami, scarlet badis, and blenny.
Today: Everyone was fine. I tested my water this morning, and everything was okay. Tonight, I lost my badis.
I have no clue what's happening. No signs of ich. Water is fine. And, yet, I've never suffered this much stock loss (I had only lost 4 fish prior to this, and it was killifish and a different gourami). I've racked my brain trying to figure out what could cause it, and I've only got a couple of things that may be totally irrelevant:
- I dose Flourish, Flourish Excel, and iron. I also use Sera plant tabs. Maybe it's putting off something?
- About six weeks ago, I took sand from someone else's aquarium and added it to mine, since my substrate has always been a little thin and some of my plants were uprooting. I made sure to thoroughly rinse it, but...maybe it was harboring some disease?
-When I did that massive 45% water change, my AquaClear shorted out and I had to buy a new one. I moved the media into my Penguin so it would stay viable, but maybe something is happening now that it's back to a new filter?
I am horribly close to just breaking down my tank and giving up. I've lost at least a couple hundred dollars in fish at this point. I'll be devastated if I lose my blenny. Does anyone have any idea as to what could be going on?
This is my tank a little over three weeks ago, shortly before the ich breakout.