Help! Sick fish!

[Justfishin17]

Hey everyone! I've got a 45 gallon tank and I have recently lost 3 fish. I'm currently trying to cycle my tank. I had a neon barb that got very sick and the others picked his fins off. He then got some cloudy white stuff where his tail would be so I euthanized him. I also had another tiger barb lose fins and wasn't looking so well either and he died. Today I found one of my Mickey Mouse Platys dead. What could it be? And how so I fix it?

 

[blert]

If you are currently "cycling" the tank then that is likely the issue.

What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels?
What size tank?
What type and size filter?
What is the total stock list?
How often are you checking toxin levels?
How often are you doing water changes?

 

[Justfishin17]

If you are currently "cycling" the tank then that is likely the issue.

What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels?
What size tank?
What type and size filter?
What is the total stock list?
How often are you checking toxin levels?
How often are you doing water changes?

I'm kinda worried about fin rot. But my parameters are as follows:
Ammonia 0.5 (before water change)
Nitrite & nitrate 0
Ph 7.6 (water has been consistently hard cuz of my tap)
45 gallon
Marina Filstar idk size off the top of my head ( it's a canister filter)
2 Denison barbs, 2 albino barbs, 4 tiger barbs, 3 red platys, 1 Mickey Mouse platy, 1 sunburst platy, and 1 clown pleco
Checking toxins daily
Small water changes everyday but since fish died I did a 50% change yesterday.
Hope this helps

 

[phishfriend]

Ok, so you are way over stocked for a "fish in" cycle. You need to try and keep your ammonia below .25 better at 0 but with that many fish it may not happen. So your looking at WC's and a lot of them. Small ones aren't going to cut it.

 

[phishfriend]

Edit-- you also need to be testing daily before your WC so know how much to change. Good luck!!

 

[blert]

You need to do a water change any time the ammonia and/or nitrite reads 0.25 or above (to be safe). Test your tap water for ammonia and nitrite as you won't be able to get the toxins any lower than that. Use a good water conditioner, like Prime or something, that can temporarily detoxify ammonia.

If your tap water has zero ammonia and your tank has 0.50ppm then a 50% PWC will reduce the ammonia in the tank to 0.25ppm. Do as many appropriately sized water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm.

Barbs can be a little (or a lot) aggressive and when kept in small schools they may pick on the more peaceful guys in your tank. Don't get any more fish until your tank has completely "cycled".

 

[Justfishin17]

Ok so I've been treating my tank with seachem prime and stability daily. But I'm confused on how bacteria will grow of the ammonia levels are at 0. I do know that my tap water has 0 nitrates and ammonia. My barbs are schooled up really well and don't bug my other fish. I'm obviously a victim of terrible advice haha! Any help you guys can give me is awesome. Thank you.

 

[blert]

There will always be some ammonia in the tank but you don't want it to get too high. The bacteria will adjust to the bio load. Ammonia (and nitrite) is very toxic. Without getting into temperature and pH vs ammonia toxicity, you need to try and keep it close to zero or the fish will suffer. If you would like to have a good read on ammonia toxicity then take a look at this...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html
If you use this information to help you deal with your ammonia spikes remember that when the nitrite starts to spike you have no choice, you will have to stay on top of the water changes if your fish are to survive.

 

[Justfishin17]

There will always be some ammonia in the tank but you don't want it to get too high. The bacteria will adjust to the bio load. Ammonia (and nitrite) is very toxic. Without getting into temperature and pH vs ammonia toxicity, you need to try and keep it close to zero or the fish will suffer. If you would like to have a good read on ammonia toxicity then take a look at this...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html
If you use this information to help you deal with your ammonia spikes remember that when the nitrite starts to spike you have no choice, you will have to stay on top of the water changes if your fish are to survive.

Ok so I did a 50% water change and my ammonia dropped to .25ppm but my nitrites spiked to 3.0. I know that nitrites are toxic to fish but is also necessary for the cycle. I have a couple fish not acting well. So where do I go from here?

 

[Kat767]

More water changes

 

[solo]

You can make fresh water from a Ro/Di system takes out all the waste and chlorine from your city water. Make water purified good luck and don't over stock remember one inch of fish per gallon of water plus size they grow to

 

[blert]

More water changes

Yup, get that nitrite down.

 

[Justfishin17]

Ok so I did a water change after the high nitrites as tested first thing the following morning and my ammonia was at 0, my nitrite was at 0 and my nitrate was at 0. I didn't quite believe it so I did a 20% water change. I tested again a few minutes ago and my ammonia is at 0, nitrite is 0, an my nitrate is 0. Is that even possible? My fish seem ok except one of my denisonii barbs is still not swimming right and has a slightly bent back. Suggestions anyone?

 

[Kat767]

Ya it's possible. 0 nitrates means the tank is not cycled. When the tank is fully cycled your wading should be 0 for ammonia 0 for nitrites and 5-20 for nitrates. Just keep an eye on things and when ammonia or nitrites get to high to a water change

 

[Justfishin17]

Ya it's possible. 0 nitrates means the tank is not cycled. When the tank is fully cycled your wading should be 0 for ammonia 0 for nitrites and 5-20 for nitrates. Just keep an eye on things and when ammonia or nitrites get to high to a water change

Ok will do. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks

 

[Justfishin17]

Ok so just an update. I tested my water again and I've got 0 ammonia, 0.25 nitrites, and 0 nitrates. The guy at my local fish store says that my tank should be fully cycle within the next few days. Is that true?

 

[blert]

Ok so just an update. I tested my water again and I've got 0 ammonia, 0.25 nitrites, and 0 nitrates. The guy at my local fish store says that my tank should be fully cycle within the next few days. Is that true?

Maybe, probably not though. If the ammonia stays at zero then it all depends which direction the nitrite goes. The nitrite phase is longer then the ammonia phase, the little buggers just don't seem to multiply as fast.
If the ammonia starts to rise again then you have a while to go.
Things will be getting "close" when you see nitrate rising.

 

[Justfishin17]

Ok so for the past few days I've been at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate. My fish are doing awesome except for 1. He appears to have nitrite poisoning (no idea how). He is a denison barb. He is laying on his side, unable to right himself, has a bent spine, and is flushing water through his gills at a rapid rate. I cannot see the color o his gills. That was 2 days ago. Since then, I did a 50% water change after I noticed him and added aquarium salt, separated him to a plastic breeder at the surface, and places him near my bubbler and filter output so he can get plenty of oxygen. Each day I've tested my water and it hasn't changed but I've done 25% changes anyways. Today he was able to eat and can right himself for about 5-10 seconds at a time. Is there anything else I should be doing for him? I'm shocked that he's lived this long and seems to be improving. And should I be worried that my cycling has stalled since I've had 0s across the board for several days?

 

[Deej20]

What I did and it work is leave the tank for 2 weeks, then add a bit of food every day and then buy 6 hardey fish like zebra danios , and then check your levels every other day and see how that goes it worked for me and now had a problem with any of my levels.

 

[Justfishin17]

What I did and it work is leave the tank for 2 weeks, then add a bit of food every day and then buy 6 hardey fish like zebra danios , and then check your levels every other day and see how that goes it worked for me and now had a problem with any of my levels.

I've already got fish in my tank unfortunately so this wouldn't be feasible.