K1ngaRR
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi all, I've been reading posts and getting advice from this site for the past two years and I wanted to thank you. Up until now, I've been able to find all the advice and information I've needed, but I can't figure this out.
I have a long 20-gallon planted tank with an AquaClear 50 (200gph) and an airstone.
The tank has been running for 7 months now and is fully cycled. It gets a ~50% water change and a gravel vac every week.
API test results: Ammonia 0ppm - Nitrates 0ppm - Nitrates 10ppm - PH 7.9 Tempurature - 25C
I've been very careful not to overfeed them, they have been getting a combination of NutraFin MAX, Zucchini, Shrimp pellets, algae Pellets, baby Brine shrimp, and bloodworms.
I used pure ammonia and some filter media from my 5-gallon tank to seed the cycle. After the cycle was finished, I added a Bristlenose Pleco and 5 X-Ray Tetras. A month later I got 5 Black Mollys - 1 Adult Male and 4 Females (2 adults, 2 juvenile) from PetSmart. The tank seemed stable and healthy.
Around month 4, my girlfriend brought home a German Blue Ram (GBR). I turned up the heat in the tank and added some driftwood to lower the ph. After a month the GBR developed a white spot on its tail and side. Eventually, the spot on the tail became a hole. I quarantined it in a 5 Gallon tank and attempted to treat it with aquarium salts at a ratio of 10g/Gallon. Unfortunately, the fish died after 4 days. My other fish looked alright and I read that GBRs are sensitive so I assumed that the spots were the result of a poor immune system caused by stress and my hard water.
A few weeks later, My girlfriend came home with a Blue Gourami that will definitely outgrow my tank. I told her not to buy me any more fish. I ended up keeping the Gourami because I have a friend with a beautiful 120-Gallon that will take him when he gets too big.
Fast forward to last month, my male black molly started swimming vertically and appeared to sink quickly. I assumed he had some sort of infection so I added a low, plant-safe amount, (40g) of salt to the tank.
A week later, the male molly developed a small white spot on his side that looked like it may be a missing scale. I kept an eye on it for a week or so and began noticing that he was developing more white spots on the body and fins. The spots looked raised, fluffy, and cauliflower-like. At the same time, the Gourami developed a white spot on the top of his head. I figured it was a fungal infection.
I did a water change and tested my water to get a baseline. I then removed my carbon and slowly increased the water temperature to 27 degrees Celcius. I treated the tank with 18 drops of 0.5% malachite green (Nox-Ich) for three days. The situation did not improve, I did a 25% water change, waited a day, and then treated with 18 drops for three more days.
Throughout the week my other Mollys have developed more white spots but as far as I can tell the tetras are fine. All the fish are still active and eating. I don't think this is ich because it's not responding to malachite green. It's not very easy to find information online about white spots that are not ich so I decided to ask and see if anybody has experience dealing with something similar.
I'm not sure whether or not the GBR had the same infection as the Mollys so I'm considering trying Aquarium Salt again. I would have to quarantine the Mollys so I don't kill my plants. I'm not sure what else to try, any input would be greatly appreciated.
I have a long 20-gallon planted tank with an AquaClear 50 (200gph) and an airstone.
API test results: Ammonia 0ppm - Nitrates 0ppm - Nitrates 10ppm - PH 7.9 Tempurature - 25C
I've been very careful not to overfeed them, they have been getting a combination of NutraFin MAX, Zucchini, Shrimp pellets, algae Pellets, baby Brine shrimp, and bloodworms.
I used pure ammonia and some filter media from my 5-gallon tank to seed the cycle. After the cycle was finished, I added a Bristlenose Pleco and 5 X-Ray Tetras. A month later I got 5 Black Mollys - 1 Adult Male and 4 Females (2 adults, 2 juvenile) from PetSmart. The tank seemed stable and healthy.
Around month 4, my girlfriend brought home a German Blue Ram (GBR). I turned up the heat in the tank and added some driftwood to lower the ph. After a month the GBR developed a white spot on its tail and side. Eventually, the spot on the tail became a hole. I quarantined it in a 5 Gallon tank and attempted to treat it with aquarium salts at a ratio of 10g/Gallon. Unfortunately, the fish died after 4 days. My other fish looked alright and I read that GBRs are sensitive so I assumed that the spots were the result of a poor immune system caused by stress and my hard water.
A few weeks later, My girlfriend came home with a Blue Gourami that will definitely outgrow my tank. I told her not to buy me any more fish. I ended up keeping the Gourami because I have a friend with a beautiful 120-Gallon that will take him when he gets too big.
Fast forward to last month, my male black molly started swimming vertically and appeared to sink quickly. I assumed he had some sort of infection so I added a low, plant-safe amount, (40g) of salt to the tank.
A week later, the male molly developed a small white spot on his side that looked like it may be a missing scale. I kept an eye on it for a week or so and began noticing that he was developing more white spots on the body and fins. The spots looked raised, fluffy, and cauliflower-like. At the same time, the Gourami developed a white spot on the top of his head. I figured it was a fungal infection.
I did a water change and tested my water to get a baseline. I then removed my carbon and slowly increased the water temperature to 27 degrees Celcius. I treated the tank with 18 drops of 0.5% malachite green (Nox-Ich) for three days. The situation did not improve, I did a 25% water change, waited a day, and then treated with 18 drops for three more days.
Throughout the week my other Mollys have developed more white spots but as far as I can tell the tetras are fine. All the fish are still active and eating. I don't think this is ich because it's not responding to malachite green. It's not very easy to find information online about white spots that are not ich so I decided to ask and see if anybody has experience dealing with something similar.
I'm not sure whether or not the GBR had the same infection as the Mollys so I'm considering trying Aquarium Salt again. I would have to quarantine the Mollys so I don't kill my plants. I'm not sure what else to try, any input would be greatly appreciated.
