Losing fish left and right

[becrac16]

I decided to consolidate my earlier threads into this one.

This past week, I was losing panda corys like nobody's business due to (what I think is) fin rot. I lost 3 out of 6. Water parameters showed a really high level of nitrates (160ppm) so I've been doing water changes for the past 3 days and gave one dosing of melafix. My tiny bristlenose pleco seems to have started coming down with it too, but it doesn't look like it has gotten worse in the past few days.

Today, the rummynose tetra school seems out of sorts. One died and the rest are hanging out close to the bottom. I did notice that the one that died looked like it had red gills, but it's hard to tell one a rummynose.

The tanks is planted, but I wouldn't say heavily. Its a 55 gal that has been set up for over a year, but just recently (2 months) has it had fish in it again. Ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, pH is 7, temp at 76.

Any ideas on what to do? It seems like the corys are doing a bit better (haven't lost any) but the bristlenose, rummynose, and healthy sterbia corys have slowed down a lot. Should I dose again with melafix? Gah.

 

[becrac16]

I'm starting to think it is neon tetra disease. The rummynoses have stopped schooling and are twitching...

 

[becrac16]

help?

 

[Andrewz00]

are you dosing the tank with any meds? declor?

im actually suprised that the nitrates are so high considering you havnt had any fish in there... why type of filtration? when was the last time the filter was cleaned?

 

[becrac16]

I'm putting some dechlorinating stuff in there when I put new water in, and I dosed the tank with melafix two days ago. But I realized that my HOB filter has carbon in it...should I take that out or leave it in?

The filter I didn't clean for a long time, but I put new ones in about a week ago. I had been running the filter with the old stuff in it though and it showed no signs of the spike before I put fish in.

 

[Andrewz00]

what type of filter? a HOB?
you completely removed the old media and replaced it?
if thats the case, im guessing your tank may be going through a mini-cycle. filter media should almost never have to be replaced... only rinsed in old tank water during a pwc. the majority of beneficial bacteria live in/on the filter media...

yes, the carbon removes toxins from the tank negating any type of medication your are dosing... once done with medicating i would replace the carbon to remove the remaining medication.

i NEVER run carbon in my filter unless im trying to remove meds.


if it is indeed fin rot... reduce stress on the fish... steady light cycle and plenty of hiding places... you can most likely push the temp of the tank up another degree or two.... plently of PWCs....

 

[HN1]

Continue with the water changes to get nitrates down and run carbon (just in case it's a contaminant causing issue).

 

[Andrewz00]

Continue with the water changes to get nitrates down and run carbon (just in case it's a contaminant causing issue).

wouldnt running carbon remove any meds hes dosing?

 

[becrac16]

If I should never remove the filter cartridges then why do they sell them? Just a marketing ploy or something?

 

[HN1]

wouldnt running carbon remove any meds hes dosing?

It will. I'm not sure the meds are needed. I'd be more worried about clean water (lower nitrate & chem free) than medicating and if a chemical got in there the only thing that will help is carbon.

If I should never remove the filter cartridges then why do they sell them? Just a marketing ploy or something?

Exactly. They sell them because they can. Print instructions on something and people tend to follow them, including (paraphrasing) "Change every month and buy more so that we continue to profit". Until they are falling apart, they're good and they house the majority of your bacterial colonies. Just rinse each month in tank water (or treated tap) and use the savings for more fish!

 

[becrac16]

Exactly. They sell them because they can. Print instructions on something and people tend to follow them, including (paraphrasing) "Change every month and buy more so that we continue to profit". Until they are falling apart, they're good and they house the majority of your bacterial colonies. Just rinse each month in tank water (or treated tap) and use the savings for more fish!

Well sheesh. Lesson learned!

If it is fin rot though, I'm thinking I should dose because melafix is anti-bacterial...

Everyone but the rummynoses are looking better today, not by a lot but a little. How much percent of the water should I change? and how often?

 

[Andrewz00]

i have to agree with NH1 here... keep the carbon in and continue PWCs.... get the nitrates to an "acceptable" level, remove all chems and the assure the water is clean.....

 

[HN1]

Well sheesh. Lesson learned!

If it is fin rot though, I'm thinking I should dose because melafix is anti-bacterial...

Everyone but the rummynoses are looking better today, not by a lot but a little. How much percent of the water should I change? and how often?

50% is always good IMO. Easy to gauge and makes the math easier.

IME, Fin rot will usually clear up and heal without meds when the fish is in good water and can get strong.

 

[mudraker]

I agree with H1. I aquired a whole tank of fish from a garage sale with severe finrot last summer. It went away quickly with clean water and I didn't lose a single one.

You don't have to remove carbon to dose melafix, but you probably don't need it unless you see wounds or badly ripped or nipped fins on top of the finrot.

 

[becrac16]

you probably don't need it unless you see wounds or badly ripped or nipped fins on top of the finrot

I'm not seeing horrible fins, but the ones I lost to apparent fin rot were baby panda corys, and I have 3 out of 6 left so I want to save the rest of them if I can. I'm not sure what happened to the rummynose...

Its too bad though, I really thought this LFS was a good store. But it seems their fish aren't the healthiest. The corys definitely came in with fin rot and I don't know what is up with the school. I got the bristelnose from a petco, and while their fish aren't healthy either it seems that they don't have major diseases. Bummer.

 

[HN1]

Its too bad though, I really thought this LFS was a good store. But it seems their fish aren't the healthiest. The corys definitely came in with fin rot and I don't know what is up with the school. I got the bristelnose from a petco, and while their fish aren't healthy either it seems that they don't have major diseases. Bummer.

Quality can be a matter of timing with a lot of stores. Even the best suffer losses (trust me). If they haven't been tanked at the store for at least 2-3 weeks you may be playing with fire.

The question, "How long have you had them?" is always a good one to ask.

 

[mudraker]

Its also why a quarantine tank is a very important to have if you are serious about fish keeping.

 

[becrac16]

Making progress! I checked nitrate levels last night and they were down from 160 to 20! The fish look crazy happy today, the pandas are swimming around like they should be. The beginnings of fin rot are still present in my bristlenose but he/she's a tough one and will make it. I'll do one more water change tonight and hopefully that will be it!

 

[HN1]

Keep us updated!

 

[libbyb]

Also, while you're picking out your fish, don't be afraid to tell the person at the lfs that you want or don't want a particular fish. If it looks unhealthy, pick another one. It may still be infected just by being in the tank but at least it's not necessarily a full blown problem. And if you're QT'ing, it's even better.