vertical tetra/whole tank ill HELP

[samantha]

I know i have seen this in a forum but now cannot find it.
I am very new at this and am having an unbelievably hard time.I have a 15gallon Biorb(like a big bowl ) I did a fishless cycle using raw shrimp to establish the bacteria.All parameters fine.Live plants were added 2 weeks before the fish and everything seemed fine. I added 6 tiny Neon Tetras.one died in the first 24hrs from what looked like net injury (not me or when purchased ) then I had a snail infestation! then whitespot, then finrot! I have treated the white spot with a specific treatment(kings british) and have Melamix for the fin rot.Things not looking good though, did a 20% water change last night and nitrates and nitrite still high. Lfs says treat disease then worry about water quality. Now have a vertical Tetra! the other 3 are swimming relatively normally. dont have any oh2 tablets what can I do? do you think the white spot is in the gills of this one fish? also one disappeared last night think it died and the others have eaten it.are they all doomed?
parameters are. ammonia 0.Ph 6.5,Kh 6,Gh 10,N02 5mg/l,No3 50mg/l
I know the No2 and No3 high should I do another water change and dilute the meds?
What can I do ? PLEASE HELP

 

[Devilishturtles]

Do 50% water changes daily. Your LFS is a bit incorrect about water quality. It can be the most powerful medicine you can give your fish, and many fish can fight finrot on their own, with no medicines at all. Just pristine water.


Is your tank heated?

 

[samantha]

yes it is heated to 26 deg C

 

[Zagz]

I'd have to agree, water quality is key in treatment. Do you have a filter on the tank? If so are you removing the carbon when treating with meds? Carbon removes medications from water. Your fish will appreciate the cleaner healthier water and heal faster.
The snails probably hitchiked in on your plants. They are a pain to get rid of, IMO manual removal is best. The additives you can put in the tank to get rid of snails do more harm than good IMO.
Do you have your own test kit?

 

[samantha]

Have not removed any part of filter as it is sealed unit on the biorb.Should I take it out altogether? and hope enough bacteria in the substrate and water?
Have lowered the water level for the fish that is struggling so max surface area, only thing is pump has to be off for it to get to surface. Will this starve the others of oxygen?Cannot control how strong the air filter is.
I manually removed the snails , have not used any treatment to get rid of them.
Dont think there is oxygenation problem other than with this fish.What can cause this?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The key is water quality. As for the filter, if it has carbon in it and you have nothing to replace it, as in a filter cartrige with no carbon, then I'd just leave it in. You need the bacteria in there. Also, on most meds, it tells you if the carbon has been in the system for x days, then there's no need to remove it, as it won't absorb too much more and needs replacing anyways. So if the filter has been in there a while, don't worry about removing.

When I treated my Bala for popeye, I used Maracyn Two, and the instructions say if the carbon has been in the system longer than 6 days, no need to remove the carbon. So I just left the carbon in the system as it was in for over 2 weeks.

Just keep on the water changes. The filter should be providing some oxygenation. Might look at the store for a small cheap bubble stone and pump temporarily, if you feel it needs it.

 

[Arshis]

Vertical Tetra as they are in a vertical position?

Alot of times when fish seem to be in a vertical position (ex. it seems like their tail is always floating up to the surface and the fish constantly has to swim down) it has to do with their body not getting rid of the oxygen in their system causeing them to float. I dont remember to much I just know it has to do with water quality and is often fatal. But is treatable at early stages, maybe someone in this fourm knows more.

 

[samantha]

Am desolate. Came down this morning to find four little corpses.
Have broken the tank down and am sterilizing everything.
for all the advice guys, not sure if going to try again am feeling like a fish serial killer right now.
RIP my little musketeers.

 

[samantha]

Meant to say thank you for all the advice but got a smiley instead, so thank you.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sorry about the losses, samantha.

Don't give up! Restart you tank and cycle. If you didn't already get rid of it, your filter from the tank will help amazingly well in speeding up your cycle. Bad things happen, I just feel you got the wrong advice from your lfs, and maybe things would have gone better.

Best of luck in the future.

Also, the disease to which Arshis is describing is swim bladder disease, which effects the internal organ that helps keep fish afloat in the water correctly. Stress can also harm the swim bladder.