whats wrong with my tank??? please help!!!

[tailbarlionfish]

hey there,
I really need some advice. My 30x12x15inch tank has been suffering from some sort of disease. I've lost 6 fish in a week. I asked for advice from my LFS and they told me it was gill flukes. The fish that have this 'mysterious disease' have rapid gill movement. One day they're fine, the next they're breathing fast. They eat on the 1st day but then they lose their appetite. Within a few days they are dead. So far i've lost 2angelfish, a cory, a clownloach and a gold ram. The gold ram was slightly different however. When I found her dead this morning she had a very bloated belly which was very red/pink.

At the moment im treating my tank with Sterazin(antiparasite)to get rid of the gill flukes, if there are any that is. I've been treating it for 6days now and it has 2 treatments left.

Please help me, I don't want to lose all my fish!
Laura xxxxx

 

[Devilishturtles]

How long has your tank been up running? How many fish and how many gallons?

Test your water? What are the readings? How long have you had the fish? Any just introduced. Sounds like ammonia poisoning to me.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Water quality issues is the likely cause. Do a full run of water tests. If you don't have a test kit, go buy one. They are a great investment. Liquid kits are better than strips. A water change or three is probably in order.
When posting about sick fish answer these: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=33947 and we will be able to help you more.
(P.S.-Devilishturtles, he has fish numbers in his sig.)

 

[tailbarlionfish]

All my readings are ok! Been doing PWC every few days before i add the next lot of treatment.
Im afraid I think another one of my fish is catching this mystery disease; a ram.
Been running more than 5years, its an 18gallon tank(23US gallons) with 13 at the most(although i haven't seen one of my clownloaches for a while)
2angelfish,1goldram,3rams,3corys,1zebraloach,3/2clownloaches.
Its so annoying and I really dont want to lose any more of my fish really. What can you suggest

Please reply!!!!!!!!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

You say the readings are ok, but what are they? Please post them.

Even if thw tank has been up and running for a while, how long ago did you recently add fish?

It's always a possibility that medicines can affect the readings in your tank, sometimes killing a lot of beneficial bacteria in your tank. Like Apocalypse said, it does sound like water quality issues to me as well.

Btw, is your sig updated since losing the fish? Please read the link Apocalypse posted and answet hose questions as well.

Good luck.

Btw: Thanks Apocalypse, for pointing that out. I guess my brain doesn't function as well at night. Hehe

 

[tailbarlionfish]

Yes i have updated the fish numbers.
Ammonia is 0, Nitrite is 0 and Nitrate ranges from 0-10. I added some fish quite recently; 2 corys. The problem hadn't started then but since then, they have both lost one of their eyes. It was really strange. Then about a week and a half ago the problem started and it affected my favourite angelfish first then another angelfish, then a cory(not one of the new ones though) then one of my new clownloaches and lastly(at the moment)a gold ram. As I told you, the gold ram was slightly different as she had a very bloated belly which was very pinky/reddy/purple.

I'm really stuck on ideas for the cause now. Only the Gill fluke idea from my LFS although i'm going to ring up another LFS to ask them(they are experts). I really would like to move my fish out of that tank except i have no spare tanks and if i moved them to my other tank the disease would probably follow...

 

[Devilishturtles]

I would, if you can, get another tank. This is why it is important to QT in the first place because you will prevent things like this from happening. You can find a cheap 10 gallon tank here in the US for less than $20. I'm sure you can find one similarly cheap in the UK.

Otherwise, there is nothing else you can do but be patient and keep treating the fish, sadly.

You say your ram had a very bloated belly and was red. Was the scales flush to the body, or do you remember them sticking straight out? Vertical, like a pinecone. This could be dropsy, and is more fatal than flukes.

 

[tailbarlionfish]

No the ram didnt have protruding scales. I cant really get another tank - i have nowhere to put it and i have no money either!
No more of my well established fish have taken a fall...only another of the rams(a new one), it seems to have a swim bladder dissorder. It swims odd, in circles. Then lies on its side. But strangely enough its breathing is rapid like its that stressed. Weird huh?

So you think the main problem is gill flukes or some bacterial infection going around...or both?

 

[rubysoho]

With the information you provided, it could be any mixture of diseases or one that just isn't common enough for there to be much data on it. Think back to when it had started. Do you remember a small change in something (fish, pH, your habits) that might have been the catalyst? I don't think this is a water quality issue because the angels went first instead of the more sensative fish like the gold rams and cory cats. It is risky to keep a tank when you are on a tight budget and can't afford a QT, but then, you risk losing all your fish and in the end spend more to replace them.

When you say this:

only another of the rams(a new one)

when did you add the "new one"? I believe in a previous post the only new fish you said you had were two cories, and then things happened a week later. (just trying t oget details straight)

 

[tailbarlionfish]

The only thing that me n my mum did differently was that i cleaned the filter instead of her. After that we had a minor problem with the filter because there wasnt enough good bacteria but now its fine. I just cleaned the filter pads a bit too much.

I added the rams around the time it started I suppose. I normally only buy fish if the tank they are in has no ill or dead fish in it. The ram's tank in the shop was clean so i got 2. One has now died, but from swim bladder problem(so bacterial infection).

I have put the 2nd to last dose of Sterazin to kill the gill flukes(thats what my lfs said the problem was) today. On Sunday i put the last dose of Sterazin in and then (fingers crossed) i will not suffer many(ideally none) more deaths.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sounds like a combonation of many things, IMO. Best you can do is be patient and hope for the best. Good luck.

 

[tailbarlionfish]

ill post with updates soon!!!
thankyou so muc hfor the info guys!!!!!