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itsjuliiia

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
15
Location
West Virginia
Hi all! My name is Julia and I am located in West Virginia. I am new to fish keeping, and I am in need of some help right now!!!

First of all, I started out this 55 gallon fish tank with 2 angelfish and 1 irredecent shark. After losing 2 irredencent sharks and learning that my tank was not properly cycled, we added in Aqueon PURE balls to help finish the cycle and level out the high nitrites in the tank.

Two weeks later, all is well with the tank so I decided to add in a couple of new fish and an algae eater. All is well with the new fish a week later, so I add a few more.

My tank now has a severe ich infection (even my Brittlenose Pleco has it). I started treating the tank with Herbvana and high temp treatment on Thursday of last week. However, as of today, my Angelfish are beginning to show signs of fin rot as well. One Angelfish even has a red ring around one of his fins. They are all very uncomfortable and hard to take pictures of right now, but I have added what I could capture below.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!! I have tried everything that myself and google can find with no results. I am at my wits ends with this fish tank and just want my little friends to be healthy and happy again ?
 
Do you have your water parameters? If not, get a test kit and find out what they are. That should always be your first thing to do if you have issues followed up by a water change if there is anything amiss.
 
Re:

Thank you for the feedback! Below are the current conditions:

Nitrates: <20
Nitrites: 0
Hardness: Hard <75
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: <40
pH: Neutral 6.8
Temperature: 80 F
 
Re:

Do you have your water parameters? If not, get a test kit and find out what they are. That should always be your first thing to do if you have issues followed up by a water change if there is anything amiss.
Thank you for the feedback! Below are the current conditions:

Nitrates: <20
Nitrites: 0
Hardness: Hard <75
Chlorine: 0
Alkalinity: <40
pH: Neutral 6.8
Temperature: 80 F
 
Unfortunately, my water testing kit does not include a reading for ammonia.

Should I be worried about bacteria? I had the carbon filters removed and only had bio wheels in place while treating with Herbtana - I replaced carbon filter and am doing a water change so that I can add in Fungus Clear in 24 hours. Is there anything else I can be doing?
 
Unfortunately, my water testing kit does not include a reading for ammonia.

Should I be worried about bacteria? I had the carbon filters removed and only had bio wheels in place while treating with Herbtana - I replaced carbon filter and am doing a water change so that I can add in
 
The problem here is that the parasite that causes ick, unless you have very strict quarantine procedures, will be present in pretty much every aquarium. But, healthy fish wont be affected by it. So, if your fish has ich, the underlying cause is likely to be poor quality water reducing its tolerence of infection. The red fins and fin rot sound like ammonia poisoning, and the ich is taking advantage. Until you can test for ammonia you have no way of knowing if you have a cycled tank. If it isn't cycled, you can treat the ich, but the underlying cause will still be there.

Herbtana (not herbvana, thats something else entirely) is an ich treatment. It doesnt appear to be anti-bacterial, in which case it shouldn't affect the beneficial bacteria responsible for your cycle. So i would say carry on that treatment, but making sure you have a cycled tank, and ensuring you have good water conditions should be the priority and will be more beneficial than medication. Get a test kit that includes ammonia. Preferably a liquid test kit as they are more accurate and cheaper in the long run. If you see ammonia, then you arent cycled and you will need to do a fish-in cycle.
 
Thank you so much for the advice! I will go pick up a new testing kit tomorrow that include ammonia. Would adding in more PURE beneficial bacteria assist in finishing the cycle?
 
Yes. But, your tank might be cycled. We won't know until you have an ammonia reading. Won't hurt to pick up a bottle while you are getting your test kit. I suspect it isn't cycled, or possibly it is now, but wasnt at some point after you started adding fish. If we can cross off cycling from the issues, treating the ich will be that be much easier.

Are all your fish sick? Can you seperate healthy and unhealthy fish into a quarantine tank?

Always, if in doubt, test the water, then do a water change.

API master test kit covers the basics, and most people find it reliable. Will last for 100s of tests as well, so its good value for money in the long run.
 
My Cory cat seems to be the only unaffected fish at this point, but I assume it would be best to treat him as well considering all of the others are covered. Only my angels seem to be experiencing the fin rot, though.
 
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