Found bloated dead fish

[mwestendorf]

1~What type of fish is afflicted?
Random fish are affected, they seem to get bloated then die I lost a gourami and a guppy. My neon tetras seem to be dropping like flies. Had 9 now down to four

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)?
Ammonia-barely reading so less than .25 ppm
nitrites-0
Nitrates<5
Temp 76
Ph 7.4

3~ the tank is 90 gallons and has been set up for 3 months

4~What type of filtration are you using? emperor penguin 400 and a walmart brand hob rated for a 55 gallon for extra filtration
.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
3 guppies
4 mollies
4 corries
4 neon tetras
4 walmart mystery snails
5 ghost catfish
1 female beta
1 dwarf gourami
All of these are about an inch long except for one of the corries he's pushing 2
1 peacock eel about 5 inches

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? the last time yesterday changed about 50% I also changed 50% on sunday, my nitrates were super high because I had not been changing the water often enough.

Going forward I plan on changing it once a week about 10% if that is enough.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
The last round of fish were added about two weeks ago I floated the bag and drooped some tank water into it and let it sit for about an hour.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Id say yes I was sold shrimp pellets for the eel but I'm sure the rest are eating them it as well.

[HUKIT]

Let's here more details on the bloated areas, is it the whole stomach area or a specific spot swollen?

[Shadowraven]

Without more information it is hard to tell. They do sound like they could be succumbing to dropsy, which is a symptom of another problem. You could be having an internal infection or parasite making the rounds of your tank's inhabitants.

To correctly diagnose the problem we would need more information. Specifically info about changes in coloration, spots, strange marks, odd behavior, hiding, hanging at the bottom of the tank, swellings, etc.

Also as Hukit asked, exactly where are the swellings occurring and a description on the fishes appearance when swelled up.

[mwestendorf]

The whole stomach area.

I haven't noticed anu visual changes but the guppy was having problems swimming. swimming vertically with its tail up in the air.

If they have been hanging out anywhere id day its been near the top not the bottom. But that seems to have corrected itself when I changed the water.

[Shadowraven]

I'd say that it was dropsy that killed those fish, but like I said above, that is just a symptom of bigger problem. Even though your parameters are looking good now, if your nitrates have been super-high (how high) then the damage has been done. Your fish will have become more susceptible to disease from the nitrate level, so opportunistic infections will arise. I'm not surprised that the neons have succumbed first, but now it seems to progressing on to other fish.

I don't normally advocate this, but just to be safe, you might try a course of Jungle Fungus Eliminator. It is a very good broad spectrum remedy and it won't harm the fish. This can help to take out any infections present before they can spread any further. Just be sure to run a complete course of treatment before stopping it. If you are using any activated carbon in the filter, remove it during the treatment. Be sure to replace it with new carbon when you are done since it's likely that it needs to be replaced

A 10% PWC is not enough. You should be doing more like 20% PWC at a minimum. Keep your substrate vacuumed and clean. If you have no plants in the aquarium, it wouldn't hurt to let some algae grow on the glass in back or on the sides. That is what I am doing and it seems to help.

The vertical swimming is often associated with water condition problems. Keep an eye on your parameters and make sure you condition any water BEFORE you add it to the tank. I'd use twice the recommended amount.

Good luck with this. Be sure to keep us informed on your progress and watch those parameters closely!

[mwestendorf]

Ok. How long do I wait before putting my filters back in?

Is it normal to have blue streaks in my sand?

Thanks for your help

[Shadowraven]

Originally Posted by mwestendorf

Ok. How long do I wait before putting my filters back in?

Is it normal to have blue streaks in my sand?

Thanks for your help

Wait until the course of treatment has been completed before you put the carbon back into the filter.

Blue streaks? I've never heard of that before, so I can't offer an opinion without more information. What do the blue streaks look like? Pictures?

[mwestendorf]

The directions didn't say how long the treatments should take I guess that is what I was trying to ask how long is the course of treatment?

Here are some pictures.







Edited: because of autocorrect on phone

[Shadowraven]

I'd give it 10 days if there are no other directions available.

I have some ideas about this other issue, but I need you to to answer some questions first:

1) Is this something that has just recently developed, has been there for awhile or has it always been present?
2) How good is the water flow in your aquarium?
3) What is your regimen for cleaning the tank?
4) What kind of sand are you using?

BTW, thanks for the excellent pictures. It really helps to identify a problem when you can see it clearly.

[mwestendorf]

Originally Posted by Shadowraven

I'd give it 10 days if there are no other directions available.

I have some ideas about this other issue, but I need you to to answer some questions first:

1) Is this something that has just recently developed, has been there for awhile or has it always been present?
2) How good is the water flow in your aquarium?
3) What is your regimen for cleaning the tank?
4) What kind of sand are you using.

Sorry for some reason I spaced over your questions.

Its just recently developed I had a batch of fry that caused me to rethink my cleaning methods. That was when I noticed the nitrates were on the highest end of the test kit. Changed 50% of the water every other day 3 times.

I don't think the water flow is very good. Just the two hang on back filters, I was considering putting in a bubble wall on the back for both looks and to help move the water in the vertical column.

Cleaning the tank, my new regime is to vacuum the tip of the sand lightly on one half of the tank while draining about 20 gallons. This is done weekly. Then the next week I vacuum the other side.

The sand is silica can't remember the brand but it was recommended when pool filter sand is not readily available.

About the sand, the top quarter inch or so is now stained blue is there anything I can do?