Rapid deterioration of skin

[jack36547]

At least that's all I can think of to describe it. I recently purchased 4 rummynose tetras from my lfs, for the first day everything was great. They were all schooling wonderfully with my existing rummynose and seemed quite happy. I purchased the fish last Friday and as of now, 4:30 Monday, only one remains and is currently knocking on deaths door. No changes in diet or anything else that I know of.



All of the effected fish became quite lethargic, and within about 6 to 8 hours of doing so developed white tails. Not a very good explanation I know but i really looked like the fish from about half way back had been cooked. Tail fins started to shrivel up into nothing, and white spots appeared on a few mouths. Water levels are very good pH about 7.4, ammonia 0ppm, nitrite probably around 0.5 ppm, and nitrate around 20-40 ppm. This is a 55 gallon tank which has been running for a week with water and filter media from two other tanks of mine. ( No problems in the other tanks at all) Currently running a Marineland Emperor 400 and housing 2 angels, 4 Bolivian rams, and 9 rummynose tetras. I've been changing water on my normal schedule of about 5-10 gallons every day to every other day. Today I did a 50% water change and added some aquarium salt.

Also, while removing one of the dead fish earlier today I noticed a strange spot around the stomach area of the fish and with the slightest pressure I gave my unlucky friend a squeeze. To my surprise his stomach burst open and many tiny white dots came from him. I'm not sure if this is relevant but figured I would include it.

Any ideas on how dangerous this is for my other fish, what it could have been and how to treat it will be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Alzy]

Hello, Iam also a newbie but I did hear tell of leaking tank heaters slowly cooking fish. Not sure though.

 

[jlk]

You should consider doing big water changes more frequently. Any time your amm/nitrite hit .25ppm (or higher), you need to bring these levels down to keep your fish healthy. A nitrite level of .5 is enough to kill fish. There is also the possibility you purchased sick stock but I believe nitrite is the most likely culprit. Do not add any more fish until your amm/nitrite levels have stayed consistently at zero for atleast a week (preferably longer) and consider using a qt tank for any new fish that you may consider purchasing to prevent introducing diseases into your main tank.