Need Some Questions Answered

[Cdepriest6009]

I have currently started a new aquarium, I have had them before but not in a long time. I bought a used 20 gallon Eclipse tank from a lady i work with and my wife bought me some fish for Christmas. We bought a Eclipse Catfish, a Pangasius Catfish, a Bala Shark, and an alge eater. The alge eater died within a few days, I think that the guy from petsmart sold us a sick one, and the Shark died about a week ago, the two cats seem to be doing fine. After the shark died I got to doing some research and thought that I might have got a fungus in my tank some how and i treated the tank for it. My Eclipse Catfish still has red marks on its side, which I believe are signs of a fungus, and the other cat seems to be kinda bugeyed even after I treated the tank. Could I have another problem than a fungus or what? My wife and I was wanting to get some more fish for the tank but I dont want to buy fish to just have them die on me, I wanna make sure its safe for them first. I have tested the water for Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Chlorine, Alkalinity, and pH and they have all tested out just fine. Do I have a problem or is it safe to go ahead and get some more fish?

 

[tyspot1000]

I have currently started a new aquarium, I have had them before but not in a long time. I bought a used 20 gallon Eclipse tank from a lady I work with and my wife bought me some fish for Christmas.
We bought a Eclipse Catfish, a Pangasius Catfish, a Bala Shark, and an alge eater. The alge eater died within a few days, I think that the guy from petsmart sold us a sick one, and the Shark died about a week ago, the two cats seem to be doing fine. After the shark died I got to doing some research and thought that I might have got a fungus in my tank some how and i treated the tank for it. My Eclipse Catfish still has red marks on its side, which I believe are signs of a fungus, and the other cat seems to be kinda bugeyed even after I treated the tank.Could I have another problem than a fungus or what? My wife and I was wanting to get some more fish for the tank but I dont want to buy fish to just have them die on me, I wanna make sure its safe for them first. I have tested the water for Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Chlorine, Alkalinity, and pH and they have all tested out just fine. Do I have a problem or is it safe to go ahead and get some more fish?

Do you happen to know the Aquarium nitrogen cycle? If not, heres a link:The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle . Most likely the Bala and algae eater died from the ammonia and nitrite in the tank from not being cycled.

The red marks sounds like the Catfish scraped itself on something not fungus. Do you have any sharp objects in the tank? The 'bugeyed' look on the other catfish sounds like pop eye. It is caused by bad water quality.

What test kit are you using? dont Ever use test strips, they are highly inaccurate and give false results everytime. Liquid test kits are more accurate and I recommend getting one.

I would recommend (since you tank is not cycled) to do partial water changes (also helps with the healing of pop eye) everyday with addtional prime (detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for 24 hours). Until the ammonia and nitrite are gone and there are some signs of nitrates. Thats when you can add fish,

Also, I recommend to get rid of the Pangasius Catfish and the Eclipse Catfish. They both get fairly large and need bigger aquariums.