Losing Fish

[kdcorliss]

Hello All,

I have been losing fish the last few days.

Here are the water parameters:

7.2 ph
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
10 Nitrates
78-80 Deg F

I believe this tank is cycled, as I havent seen any Ammonia or Nitrites in a couple weeks. I did have some ammonia problems 4 weeks ago when I found my test kit giving me incorrect readings. The ammonia was at 7ppm and I promptly started doing more frequent pwc's to fix this.

It appears I have something else wrong with the tank now as the water tests ok. For the better part of a week I have watched a Paradise Gourami slowly get weaker and weaker. There are two red (blood) streaks on its body one in its midsection and the other closer to his tail. Also in the past 24 hours I have noticed area on top of its head appears to be rotting away. Also I noticed a second Gourami acting the same way although there are no blood streaks he is developing a white spot on his head. Their fins are being held pretty tight to the body and almost seem to be rotting away.

The other fish in my tank appear to be fine but I lost a platy and a molly for no explanable reason. The molly was introduced a few days before it died and platy has been in the tank for over 8 weeks.

Any clues to what is going on or other symptoms I should be looking for ?

 

[dskidmore]

How big is your tank?
What is your complete stocking list?
Do you have a QT you can get those sick fish into right away?
Does the white spot have any texture to it, or is he just losing his color?
How much do you feed your fish?
How long has this tank been running?

There are two major possibilities for the red streaks and fin rot:
A) ammonia burns from your 7 ppm period
B) infection

You need to get a handle on your water quality, and start medical treatment.

Medical Treatment: Go down to your LFS, look at the back of all the medicine boxes, most of them have diagnostic charts. If none of them look like your problem, pick up some melafix. (Melafix is a generic healing aid, discrourages the growth of bacteria on fish without huring your nitrogen cycle too much.) This will help prevent secondary infection, whatever the primary problem is. If you pick up an antibiotic, test your water for ammonia daily, and make a 50% water change if the ammonia is above .25.

Water Quality: Leave a glass of tap water out overnight, then use your test kits on it. If there is ammonia or nitrite in your water, you will need an ammonia locking solution. (I like Prime, but there are other choices.) Once you have pure or detoxified water, you can improve the quality of your water by doing frequent water changes. When fish are sick, it is not unreasonable to change half thier water every or every other day.

 

[Menagerie]

You need to answer the full array of Qs asked of all ill fish owners (many incorporate what dskidmoreasked) and then check out Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites. The second link in the Disease Diagnostic Charts and Other Helpful Sites has pictures--many find it helpful. You may find this more helpful than going straight to the store, since you can look at the fish and the picture.

Answer these Qs to ensure we have as much information as possible about your ailing fish and its environment:

1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?