disease spreading?

[FishyLuva]

hi, my best friend has about 15 gallon tank thats about 2 - 3 years old.The problem is that her fish keep dying. She use to have 4 danios but 2 died.So she got 3 danios more but then one by one they died.She has pleco named spike and she doesnt want it to die bacuase she had it 4 a long time and raised it when it was just a baby. Also in her tank we notice that spike isnt eating alot. Anyway I have another question is it bad to move around gravel in your tank while fish is still in there? Becuase my friend thinks that its not bad to do that. Can anyone help us please?

 

[mike47517]

Does she keep up with her PWCs? No its not bad to move the grvel with the fish still in the tank it actually helps you when your doing a water change cause it gets more of the gunk out of the tank. What are you water parameters? Did you notice anything like parasites on the fish before it died? plecos are very tuff fish and can take alot of things that would kill the average fish. You wont always see your pleco eating but as long as he keeps kickin he must be eatin something.

 

[FishyLuva]

Well Im not sure but she says she cleans her tank when it gets dirty. Also Im not to sure what '' parameters '' mean.

 

[mike47517]

Does she have a water test kit. "parameters" means ph, nitrates, ammonia and stuff like that.

 

[bluerose]

If she's just cleaning the tank 'when it gets dirty' and parameters are an unknown, I think it's a relatively safe bet that these fish are dying due to ammonia/nitrite poisoning.

I would suggest a 50% PWC *now* (be sure to match temp and use a dechlorinating product) and get a test kit (such as API Master Freshwater Test Kit- it's worth the $) ASAP and test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Do not get test strips- they are generally inaccurate.

Acceptable levels of ammonia are 0-.25ppm; nitrite, 0-.25ppm; nitrate, below 40ppm. Ideal levels of ammonia and nitrite are 0 and a healthy, mature tank will have nitrate levels of above 10ppm (regular partial water changes are needed to keep nitrates under 40ppm). If ammonia or nitrite is over .5ppm, a 50% water change is in order. Your friend will need to test for ammonia and nitrite daily until they have remained stable at 0ppm for several days, and test for nitrate regularly to make sure it has not risen above 40ppm (another alternative is to do weekly PWCs of about 10-25%).

Moving the gravel about isn't a bad thing per se; however in an unhealthy tank you can release enough waste to cause an ammonia spike and kill fish...

 

[FishyLuva]

well thank that is alot information. I would tell her now... but im not aloud to call people after 8:00. but i will tell when i get up. She might have a test kit but im not sure. Im 75% sure that she doesnt hav one though.

 

[mike47517]

Well if she doesnt have a test kit then she needs to get one. a test kit is a must have. and yeah it cost a little but it will save you in the long run.

 

[FishyLuva]

yeah I told her to clean her tank now and i told her to get a test kit. She said sure but she ask'' y u need a test kit 4 fish? '' Well i told her y but she still dont understand....

 

[mike47517]

tell her that it measures your water level so if anything happens she can fix it.

 

[missileman]

Also, is she adding plain tap water?
If it has any chlorine in it and she does not treat it that will kill fish as well.

 

[FishyLuva]

Well... she gets water from the sink and tries to make the water tempature same wuth the on e in her tank. But i really hate to say but she doesnt do any thing with the water though.

 

[bluerose]

That's definitely a problem.

She needs to be treating that water with a dechlorinator like Prime or NovAqua+... that by itself could be killing her fish as could her lack of water changes/proper water chemistry.

So the petstore list is 1. dechlorinator, 2. test kit.

 

[FishyLuva]

Thaks 4 the info guys we appreciate it

 

[mike47517]

Your welcome