wrmiller
Aquarium Advice Freak
So, here is my situation. My pleco and Bristle Nose Catfish seem to be having fin issues. Meaning that they seem to be either eaten away by someone or something. I don't believe it is fintail rot as no other fish in my tank are experiencing this issue. The other fish I have are Corys and also barbs and a small convict. To the best of my knowledge and while watching the fish, nothing is picking on them. Everyone is getting along so I don't think it would be another fish doing this damage. From last night till now, I would say over half of the small pleco's tail fin is gone and his dorsal fin is also looking tattered.
My water is currently about 85 degrees and I have 1 TBSP of salt added per gallon of water as I am in the second week of treating Ich. No signs of Ich for about 5 days now. This coming Sunday will be two weeks of treatment.
This tail issue with the Pleco and Bristle nose seems t0 be a new development over the last two days or so and no new fish have been introduced to the tank recently so I don't think it is a disease of any kind that was carried home to them. Is it possible the salt and heat treatment that is causing these issues for them?
Any advice or thoughts will be greatly appreciated and I have answered the requested questions below.
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.). - Pleco and Bristle Nose Catfish / Fin issues
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values. - Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (nothing I can do to bring the Nitrate down as I have Nitrate in my tap water)
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? - 37 gallons & A couple of months
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. - AquaClear 70
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? 4 Tiger Barbs (about 1 inch each), 3 Clown Barbs (about 2 inches each), 1 Convict (about 1.5 inches), 4 Cory Cats (up to 1 inch each), Bristle Nose Catfish (about 2.5 inches), pleco (about 1.5 inches)
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? Yesterday evening, I try to do a little each time, 2-3 times a week right now as my filter is fairly new and I have this Nitrate tap water issue I'm trying to deal with and find a solution for. About 20-30% I would say.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? - About 3 weeks to a month and they acclimated by floating and then slowly introducing water to their bag over a time frame of about 30 minutes after floating.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? - No, new was added week before last. Old filter media is still in new filter to seed it.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? - Flake 1 -2 times a day and an algae wafer at night for bottom feeder but everyone jumps in and enjoys themselves.
My water is currently about 85 degrees and I have 1 TBSP of salt added per gallon of water as I am in the second week of treating Ich. No signs of Ich for about 5 days now. This coming Sunday will be two weeks of treatment.
This tail issue with the Pleco and Bristle nose seems t0 be a new development over the last two days or so and no new fish have been introduced to the tank recently so I don't think it is a disease of any kind that was carried home to them. Is it possible the salt and heat treatment that is causing these issues for them?
Any advice or thoughts will be greatly appreciated and I have answered the requested questions below.
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.). - Pleco and Bristle Nose Catfish / Fin issues
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values. - Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (nothing I can do to bring the Nitrate down as I have Nitrate in my tap water)
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? - 37 gallons & A couple of months
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known. - AquaClear 70
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes? 4 Tiger Barbs (about 1 inch each), 3 Clown Barbs (about 2 inches each), 1 Convict (about 1.5 inches), 4 Cory Cats (up to 1 inch each), Bristle Nose Catfish (about 2.5 inches), pleco (about 1.5 inches)
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time? Yesterday evening, I try to do a little each time, 2-3 times a week right now as my filter is fairly new and I have this Nitrate tap water issue I'm trying to deal with and find a solution for. About 20-30% I would say.
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them? - About 3 weeks to a month and they acclimated by floating and then slowly introducing water to their bag over a time frame of about 30 minutes after floating.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? - No, new was added week before last. Old filter media is still in new filter to seed it.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? - Flake 1 -2 times a day and an algae wafer at night for bottom feeder but everyone jumps in and enjoys themselves.