INSTANT REPLIES PLEASE!!! 5 FISH ARE SUFFERING!!

[Satsumas]

I just looked at my tank and 2 red honey's i neon dwarf and 3 tiger barbs are struggeling to breathe!!

Im 99% certain it was the tretment i put in it said make sure its all dissolved and i just put some in before i read it!

I was holding my fish over my compressor to get o2 to their gills, that does work but i cant do that all night. Any suggestions??

I just ran out of aqua safe (makes tap water safe) so i cant do a water chnage

 

[lyquidphyre]

Do you have an air stone and pump running in there?

 

[Satsumas]

I just tested my water and it seems ok. The PH is between 6.5 and 8.5

Does anyone think i should just do a water change without treating the tap water?

It will affect the water obviously and stir it up a bit. what do ppl think?

 

[Satsumas]

im contemplating wether to put them in a goldfish bowl. its room temp and has everything to be a tropical tank but a heater. although i could put my heater in there?

I tested it and the ph is roughly the same as my tank.

 

[Satsumas]

i have an air pump in there yes (compressor)

 

[Devilishturtles]

I just tested my water and it seems ok. The PH is between 6.5 and 8.5

This is a HUGE span, and either extreme could be harmful to the fish. You need to do a better test, IMO.

I was holding my fish over my compressor to get o2 to their gills, that does work but i cant do that all night. Any suggestions??

This probably isn't the best idea for you. This is extremely stressfull to the fish.

Does anyone think i should just do a water change without treating the tap water?

Does your water come from a municipal supply (chlorinated)?

Also, how big is the tank? What kind of filter do you actually have on it?

 

[JohnPaul]

Sat, what did you put in the tank to begin with that started causing the problems? It would help us a lot if we knew what we were dealing with here.

If the problem is lack of oxygen, then anything you can do to put more oxygen in the water is good. A second air stone, lowering the water level a bit (if you have a HOB filter) so that the filter creates more splash, and lowering the temp a few degrees are all things that will bring more oxygen into the water.

And if you don't normally have salt in the water, adding some salt (dissolve it first!) will help as well...try adding at an amount of 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons.

 

[Satsumas]

I put some anti-internal bacteria treatment into the tank and im almost certain that caused this. I just removed my last neon dwarf and 1 of my red honey gourami's.

2 tiger barbs are in bad condition and my bala isnt swimming well at all.
He tries to swim but always falls slowly to the bottom.

What's the best thing i can do? A water change?

My tank is about 80 litres - 20 gallons

How would i go about dissolving the salt and putting it in?

It really does seem like their not breathing well, there gills are constantly moving to gasp for oxygen.

My water test thing is new and i havent used it b4, its one where you compare the colour of the water to this chart. before that i use these strips that you dip in the water. That was easier to see what the perimeters were.

 

[Satsumas]

Ive lowered the temperature and water level.

Will a water change help at all?

What will the salt do and how should i put it in dissolve it etc??

My shark is trying to swim but his tail is always curled round so he dosent get far and ends up at the bottom.

1 red honey died but 1 had survived through the night and he is still suffering.

Danio's and black neons are loosing colours.

 

[Billsgate]

Why did you lower the temperature? How much is it now?
Get some aquasafe as soon as possible and do a 50% water change once you have that.
Temperature should be somewhere in the range of 78-82 F
Add carbon to your filter to remove the medication from the water, since you think this is what caused it. When dosing medication, you should start with half the dose of what the package tells you.
Maybe add 4 tablespoons of salt, take some tank water, put it in a container, dissolve it by stirring, and then add it back to the tank.
You have too much fish in that tank, so I'm thinking that it could be ammonia or nitrite or nitrate poisoning.
If you have all the fish in your signature in a 20 gallon (80 litre) tank, you should return at least 2/3 of them to the shop or get a bigger tank.
How long has the tank been set up and did it cycle properly?

Don't feel too guilty, but don't add anymore fish, and ask for advice before you buy fish, and read about what size they will reach, what their needs are, etc.

 

[Satsumas]

I lowered my temp to 23 degrees.c cus john paul said to lower it a couple of degrees its usually 25/26 degrees C

Well i have no neon dwarfs 5 tiger barbs 1 bala and a red honey less than whats o the list.

 

[Satsumas]

I just put the 4 tablespoons of salt in, dissolved it in a pint of tap water

What will the salt do?

Im gonna buy some stress zyme (improves the development of the biological filter)
and some aqua safe (makes tap water safe) then do a 50% water change. yeah?

 

[Satsumas]

no sorry i dissolved the salt in a pint of tank water!

 

[Jchillin]

Have you tested your NO2 and NO3 levels? I'm thinking that with that bio-load (number of fish in tank) you may have toxic levels of either one.

Do the PWC and test all your parameters again. Do not add any additives other than dechlorinator.

 

[Satsumas]

I done the water change and added some stress zyme (improves filter development)

All the fish are fine, they've all got there colourback and look healthy

 

[Billsgate]

Good, Keep up your water changes.
You can keep the temp at 25°C, lower temperatures make your fish go sick faster.
Update your fish list, so we can see if you have too many fish in there or list all of them. It is likely that this crisis was brought on partially because of overstocking.

 

[JohnPaul]

Billsgate, the reason I suggested lowering temps was because it sounded like the fish were struggling for oxygen. Since higher temperature water holds less oxygen than lower temp water, in general if something is wrong in a tank and fish are struggling to breathe, it is usually best to lower the temperature until that crisis is past.

Lack of oxygen will almost always kill a fish faster than a disease will.

Plus, I am not at all sure what diseases you are referring to when you say lower temps make fish go sick faster. Bacterial diseases tend to spread faster at higher temps (bacterial grow faster the warmer they are), and ich multiplies & spreads faster at higher temps as well.

 

[Billsgate]

and ich multiplies & spreads faster at higher temps as well.

Not entirely true there, you treat ich with heat and salt.
But you are right that most bacterial diseases do spread faster at bit higher temps. But general fish resilience will be lower at lower temps IME. That's why fish are kept at 25-26°C, not the 23°C he has his tank now.

And yes, a good call on lowering temperature for more oxygen, but now his fish are fine I would suggest raising it back and see if it's a problem. If it is, you need more surface agitation, or maybe an air stone.

 

[youronlysin]

I dont want to jump into the middle of a large battle, but I think its important to note the reason for increasing the temperature when treating ich.

The free swimming parasite is the only thing we can treat. We can not kill the cysts, nor can we kill the parasite once it burrows into the fish's skin. Because the parasite can only be killed if it is free swimming, then it stands to reason that we would want to accelerate its life cycle. The life cycle of ich completes much faster at temperatures above 24 C. It is also scientifically proven that ich parasites cannot properly reproduce at temperatures above 30C.

Also...some people are advocates against the use of salt in freshwater aquariums. A lot of us here at AA recommend the use of salt when treating ich. It is proven that some fish species are more tolerant of salt than others. It is also scientifically proven that the ich parasite is not tolerant of salt, and levels in excess of 2-3 parts per thousand can erradicate the parasite. We dont generally recommend this much salt, but most tropical fish can endure some level of salt if properly acclimated to it. Normal waterchanges will also dillute this salt level once the outbreak is cured.

 

[Satsumas]

I think i was on very thin ice with the amount of fish i did have in my tank.
The filter was having to work rather hard and any mistakes or not doing a water change in time would make more work for me and would be a problem.
In my case a fatal one for 2 fish which could've easily been 5!


My fish list (BEFORE): 2 Neon Dwarf Gouramis, 4 Black Neons, 2 Silver Sharks, 2 Red Honey Gouramis, 2 Botia Loach, 2 Leopard Danios, 2 Zebra Danios, 1 Pleco (dwarf type unaware real name) 6 Tiger barbs (2 Green, 2 Gold/Albino, 2 Black striped) Total - 23

My fish List (NOW): 4 Black Neons, 1 Bala Shark, 1 Red Honey Gourami, 2 Botia Loach, 2 Leopard Danios, 2 Zebra Danios, 1 Pleco (dwarf type unaware real name) 5 Tiger barbs (2 Green, 1 Gold/Albino, 2 Black striped) Total - 18