Is my tank sick????????? kind of long post

[steeldude]

Hey there,
I've been a Lurker for some time here, learned alot and got alot of great advice. But now I must ask for some assitance about a potentially sick tank:

First the set-up
30 gal , Eheim Classic, Air Stone

Water Info: 20% water chnage yesterday
Amonia - .01
Hardness: 120
alk: 30
ph: 7.2
nitrite: 0
Nitrate :0
temp: 82

Brief Tank History
Cycling for approx 4 weeks,
Got anxious and stocked the tank at 2 weeks, checked levels everyday during cycle and every other day since. 25% Water Changes twice a week with proper measurements of Stess Zyme.

Population:
2 Platy's
2 Clown Loache (1 - 1.5") (1-2.5")
2 Keyholes (matched pair)
1 Peacock Eel (4")
1 Black Ghost Knife
3 Marble Angles
1 Tri-Color Shark
2 Ghost Shrimp

I realize that I may be overstocked but I am fully prepared to upgrade my tank when neccesary.

problem#1:
I noticed that my tri-color was covered in white spots on his fins and one of my angel back fin was frayed and one of the other angels tail was just basically a stub (the 3rd angel is perfect). I visited the lfs this past Friday and told him of my concerns, he prescribed both Melafix and Pimafix in equal doses every two days(dose= 1.5 tsp each).He suggested that I treat the entire tank. I'm pretty sure that the Tri-color has Ick and he seems to be getting better, he's eating and swimming and banging into the wall as usual and the spots seem to be going away, but I noticed that his stomach(or chest) seems a bit inflated (see Pic). My angels are not doing any better yet (I know its only been a few days) But I was wondering If maybe their tails are missing or frayed is due to some nipping by another fish. I've noticed aggression in the female Platy and the angels take turn with aggression. All fish are eating and swimming normally all other fish exhibit good health.

I will attempt to attach a few pics, perhaps you can tell me the following:
1. What is with the sharks stomach?
2. What do you think is happening with the angels?

THANKS FOR READING

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Steeldude and welcome to Aquarium Advice!

I don't have the fish you mention, but I'll try to help. First of all, can you double-check your ammonia level? On the test kits that I have seen, the lowest discernable reading is .25 ppm. If the level is .25 or higher, do water changes to bring the ammonia down (how much and how often depends on what the level is). Has the tank cycled? Did you see any nitrite or nitrate readings before you got the 0 readings? When you say cycled for 4 weeks, what did you cycle with? You have to introduce ammonia into the tank for the cycle to start; the tank can't merely sit empty. Some people do cycle with fish, but the preferred method is a fishless cycle -- using household ammonia, with no detergents, to start the cycle.

About the use of Stress Zyme, I recommend that no additives, other than a chlorine/chloramine remover are used. Stress Zyme will not add the proper cycling bacteria to your tank. I did try it once, a long time ago, and it did nothing to lower the ammonia levels. The true cycling bacteria should start to take hold, though, if they haven't already, and they will most likely out-compete the Stress Zyme for the ammonia. So once the tank is cycled, there is no need to add weekly doses of Stress Zyme. Bio-Spira is true cycling bacteria. It was unavailable for awhile, but it may be coming again soon. Check the stickies in the General Discussion forum. I have used Bio-Spira with great results. You can use Bio-Spira to cycle a tank in a few days, versus a few weeks with fishless cycling!

Your tank does seem overstocked. That could be what's causing the angel's fins to erode -- stress from the overcrowding, and/or ammonia, if present. This also could be why the angels and platies show aggression. I did a search on "tri-color" and "bala" sharks and it seems like they grow very large -- up to 14 inches. Your shark didn't look exactly like the pictures I saw. Maybe he a juvenile. I'm glad you plan to upgrade to a bigger tank. Here is a site with shark pics -- maybe yours is pictured here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/minnowshks.htm

About the white spots -- this is probably ich. Have you read the ich article on this site? http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
I think the best treatment for ich is the heat treatment indicated in the article. I'm not sure about using the salt with the shark. The meds that you're using only treat the ich parasite during the free-swimming stage of the life cycle. You may start to see the spots on the fish disappearing, but the parasite falls to the gravel and begins another cycle. The heat treatment will speed up their life cycle and also kill them. Keep the temperature at 87 degrees for two weeks after you see the last spot. Raise the temperature slowly to avoid stress -- one degree every 12 hours. Also, discontinue the meds with the heat treatment -- the combination of meds and raised heat may be too stressful. The angelfish's fins will grow back when the ich is gone and they are no longer stressed.

The shark may be constipated. Do you feed any vegetable foods? Peas are good for bloat. I like to use frozen peas. Boil them in the microwave for a few minutes, peel and discard the skin, and feed the pea to the fish. Hopefully it will help clear any blockage.

Hope this helps! (by the way, that's a clever location! )

 

[mattrox]

The Angelfish fins look nibbled. Can you see any aggression in the tank? I am un-familiar with these: Peacock Eel, Black Ghost Knife.
The only other thing I could think of is ammonia burn/fin rot.

 

[steeldude]

The ammonia level is between 0 and 0.25, I use a test kit with the vials and drops. The Shark's bloat seems to have gone down a bit overnight. I did not do a fishless cycle, but I let the ammonia levels climb in the beginning with the first few fish I got. I did have higher nitrate/nitrite levels for a few days and they have come down drastically, that is when I added ther rest of the fish. Everything seems fine with the water quality. I do not use anything on the water when I do a water change because the guy at the LFS said the that the water in Bergen County NJ, was ok the use raw. I will however buy some de-chlor anyway and use it on all of my future water changes. I do not want to raise my temp, as I am afraid of what will happen to my other fish in the community.
The shark is a tri-color shark, I know that they get rather large and I will put him up for adoption when he begins to get too large. I will try to feed them some frozen peas over the next day or so.
I am also going to look for a 50 gal within the next week or so, once I get one I'll due a true fishless cycle and transfer the fish when complete. I'll also buy a nano-cube or similar to use as a hospital tank for future problems and quarentine purposes.