New here, have problems

[Potluck]

Here is my tank setup
55 gallon
Aqua clear 110 filter
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 1 ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm
Ph 7.5
Water temp 79
Salt <1

I've asked around to every one of my lfs and they all say my salt is perfect but other forums pretty much say my lfs are brain dead and salt is bad for my tank, but I've never had an issue unless i raise it and then it has an effect on my plants.

So here's the issue, i recently had 3 fish with red sores on them 2 Australian rainbows and a rosy barb, i called /went to 4 aquatic stores all really high rated they all were baffled to what was going on, gill flukes ruled out as per another forum said it was gill flukes, i was trying my best to heal the one Australian rainbows i had left but unfortunately he died yesterday, my closest lfs has me doing rid ich to treat for possible parasites, and melafix for possible bacterial.

I'm so lost all my levels are perfect, i do 25% weekly water changes with prime all maintenence etc etc meaning i take extremely good care of the tank but i still have fish getting sick and dying, it's too the point i wanna give up.


So what are you guys opinion on what my lfs has me doing, your opinion on salt, what i could be doing wrong. Thanks in advance.

 

[mambee]

Salt is only added if you are treating fish for an illness. In the old days, everyone was told to add it as a prophylactic, but this is out of date advice.

Are you sure that your tank is cycled? Your nitrate reading seems too low.

I've had Australian rainbowfish in the past with sores, and I think that it was fish TB which was untreatable.

 

[ImACoolguy]

^ +1

Salt is a natural stressor and should only be used for medicinal purposes. A few exceptions can be like guppies and mollies that that some believe thrive better more towards the brackish side.

Aside from those, salt with over time weaken the immune system and may have caused what you have here?


Caleb

 

[Delapool]

Interested in what units of measure the salt is in? Just curious on that as it sounds plants are fine with it.

Thinking bacterial of some sort. What anitbiotics can you get?

 

[Potluck]

The salt isn't read on a hydrometer it's micro something, what every lfs had told me is im way way below brackish the stores i go to are family owned not pet smart or a chain store and have been doing this for 30+ years but right now i should have 0 salt as I'm doing rid ich/melafix right now with 15% water changes daily, the gentleman i talked to that told me about dabbing benadine (spelled wrong) on the sore has been doing it 61 years, yes this tank had been set up 3 years my Nitrate was 10 then i added plants and it dropped to 1-2, right now as far as antibiotics go i just have melafix.

 

[Potluck]

Oh i forgot to mention, when this All started i had bought some plants didn't soak them first and i got an abundance of snails, which my lfs said the pest snails could be the culprit so I've been hand picking them daily until i my lfs gets some Assassin snails in the submerging lettuce didn't work for all of them, with regards to the Nitrate being low, I'm confused because everyone I've talked to wants it <5

 

[ImACoolguy]

I wouldn't even bother with the Melafix...

The bottle is 99% water 1% tea tree oil.. It's on the ingredients and the SDS

That makes it impossible for Melafix to cure diseases because tea tree oil is only a antiseptic naturally. Meaning it cleans wounds not cures diseases.


Caleb

 

[Potluck]

How can i post a picture on here to show you what the sore looked like im new and my url doesn't work unleaded my phone just doesn't let me see it

 

[Potluck]

The thing with antibiotics is they have limited them to fish stores due to people come in and buy them to treat themselves instead of going to the doctor so my lfs just had all api products.

 

[ImACoolguy]

The thing with antibiotics is they have limited them to fish stores due to people come in and buy them to treat themselves instead of going to the doctor so my lfs just had all api products.

Antibiotics are in no way limited to fish stores!

Tons of places online to order them

Amazon holds a bunch of different ones.


Caleb

 

[Potluck]

Okay, i live in Michigan and most of the lfs around me do not carry antibiotics except one that's 2 hours away, my lfs said i could go on the Internet and order them, do i have to use taptalk to post images Caleb

 

[Delapool]

This may be useful reading just in case.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumMedication2.html

 

[ImACoolguy]

Okay, i live in Michigan and most of the lfs around me do not carry antibiotics except one that's 2 hours away, my lfs said i could go on the Internet and order them, do i have to use taptalk to post images Caleb

If you are on iPhone it should be the little mountain photo. Select your pic and it will post it.


Caleb

 

[Potluck]

S6 the file is 211.50 kb but says upload failed maybe too high rez its 16 megapixel

 

[Potluck]

http://imgur.com/wBJrZI3

 

[Potluck]

dunno i give up i tried modifying them in adobe to fix the size issue it still says upload failed

 

[sinibotia]

dunno i give up i tried modifying them in adobe to fix the size issue it still says upload failed

Try uploading the file to an image hosting site and posting it here that way

 

[Delapool]

dunno i give up i tried modifying them in adobe to fix the size issue it still says upload failed

Should be visible now?

 

[ImACoolguy]

http://imgur.com/wBJrZI3

It is visible now. Ouch that's a nasty Mark.


Caleb

 

[Potluck]

Nope still upload failed, i tried using imgur is says invalid file, it's a jpeg