What the heck is going on?!!

[samvandersteen]

Ok, so my swordtip died this morning after sitting on the bottom of the tank for 2 days and not eating this morning. It had no outward signs of any of the aquarium diseases I looked up.

My Siamese fighter has a couple of white spots on its face but it's behaviour is normal - what does that mean and could that be related to the the fish that died?

If I put my nose right above the water of the tank I can pick up a bit of a weird/bad smell. But the tank is only 2 weeks old and I cleaned the filter out last week (exactly by the book) and going to do water replacement and stone cleaning tomorrow....

Please could someone shed some light cos I really do love this fish tank and all my babies in it!

 

[Ruadh]

Your tank is only 2 weeks old?
Did you cycle it before you put fish in there?
What are your parameters?
Those white spots shouldn't be there, it may be ich.

 

[DragonFish71]

If your tank is only 2 weeks old, there's a few things that can be going on.

1) As Ruadh asked, did you let it fully cycle?

2) What are your parameters?

If it's 2 weeks old, I can guess not. The smell is it cycling. Do water changes, I'd say at this point 50%, lightly skim over the gravel with your gravel cleaner but don't clean the gravel. You want the bacteria to build.

3) What size tank?

4) How many fish?

5) What type of filter and exactly how did you "clean it by the book?"

6) Do you have a heater?

As stated, the white spots can be ich. One infected fish can infect the whole tank. When fish are stressed by a move (from lfs to home etc or by not good water conditions) this happens. I'd hate to suggest treating while the tank is cycling, which I think it is because cures can kill off the good bacteria the tank needs.

 

[mfdrookie516]

yeah, definately sounds like your tank is cycling, also, when you clean your filter, make sure that you keep your cartridges wet or the bacteria that are in them will die... i posted on your sick fish thread to start an ich treatment, though i didnt realize the tank wasnt cycled... dont do it then, gotta agree with dragon on that one... raise the temp of the water, keep up the water changes, maybe add in some bacteria supplement, and keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrites...

 

[samvandersteen]

I really have no idea what cycling is - however I did put the "anti chlorine" in the water and let it sit for 3 days before putting the fish in.

The tank is 20 gallons. I have 6 neon tetras, 4 zebras, 1 swordtip, 2 mollies, and the siamese fighter. Is that too many, just right, or could I get a couple more small ones?

I do have a heater - it's sitting on 26C (about 78F). What would raising the heat do and what should I raise it to?

Should I take my siamese fighter out until the spots clear up and if I do what should I add to his water to help?

I'm going to clean 10% of the gravel tomorrow and change about 25% of the water. Do you think that's enough for now?

As for the filter, I just rinsed the sponge part in some treated water - that's basically what the instructions on the box said.

Thanks so much for all the advise - I was seriously freaking out today!

 

[DragonFish71]

Cycling is the state your tank goes through to develop the good bacteria it needs to break down waste. There will be a build up of harmful ammonia during this time. It is normal but you need to be watchful during this stage. I know there's posts on this site about it. You can also goggle "aquarium cycles". It takes a few weeks for this to happen.

Don't clean the gravel. Just skim over the top of the gravel with a gravel cleaner while you're doing the water changes. I'd do more than 25% until everything balances. If you clean the gravel you run the risk of upsetting the beneficial bacteria.

For a new tank you do have too many fish IMO. Right now is a critical point in setting up a tank.

Here's my suggestion. Do the gravel skim like I stated above and do a 50% water change. Treat the new water with the anti-chlorine. In a few days do another, then a few days later do another. Because you have a quite a few fish during a cycle, you want to keep from losing them. The danios are pretty tough, same with the mollies, if you keep on top of the water changes until you're through the cycle they should pull through. The betta and neons are not as tough but again, keeping on top of the cycle so the ammonia doesn't build up and kill them, they could pull through too.

We had 2 tanks go through a second cycle because of my use of a water conditioner that had a bacterial supplement. (BAD idea!!!) I did water changes every other day until it regulated itself out. In one tank we lost 4 bettas, in the other we lost various fish. Once I figured out the additive was the problem was when I started the every other day water changes. Both tanks are doing well now and are fully stocked. My point of this is that doing regular water changes will help your fish pull through as long as the ammonia hasn't already done it's damage to them. Once your tank regulates itself, weekly or bi-weekly water changes and gravel vaccuming will keep everything healthy.

Raising the heat would work if you're going to do the ick treatment by heat. I don't know much about that way of curing it. The current temp you have is good for any tropical tank though.

Since your tank is cycling, (I'm sure that is what's going on) don't clean the filter often if at all. The good bacteria needs to grow on it as well. If it gets nasty then rinse it in the treated water. Most don't clean the sponges or change filter pads until the cycle is done.

As for the white spots. It can very well be ick or it can be from the ammonia level. If fish are in high ammonia too long they start "shedding" their slime coat and at first it can look spotty. If you can get us a picture that would help alot.

I know there are threads on this site on cycling your tank and ick curing without using chemicals. They might be under the unhealthy/sick fish portion or this one. I don't remember.

Good luck

 

[MrRipfrog]

Something to consider as well (especially since you have a stocked brand new tank) is some kind of Nitrifying Bacteria. I stared my tank again a month ago and had really good success cycling the tank in about 36 hours with a product called Superbac.

I have not tried the other brands of Nitrifying Bacteria but I hear most people have no success with them. Some key things to remember when purchasing a product like this is "shelf life". Make sure you look at the date on the product. Also make sure you get the correct product for your type of tank. There are both a "Freshwater" and "Saltwater" version of the product.

Don't add too much de-chlorinator either. Just use the amount specified on the bottle.

If interested, you can see the progress of my tank from when I started it by reading here;

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/starting-tank-again-advice-please-pics-119907.html

 

[samvandersteen]

Thanks so much for the extensive information - I feel so much better and by the looks of things, my fish do too

I did a water change today and my fish seem to be a lot happier - more energetic, etc. So hopefully things go well from here.

Thanks again!

 

[Ruadh]

You need desperatly to do a LOT of reading.
Do a search for fresh water aquarium cycling and start there.

 

[Satrix]

Hey samvandersteen, do you happen to have a kit for testing your water? I would recommend, since you're already going to need to do some reading, to also look up perhaps API.

I spent about $35 on a kit to test my 29 gallon as it was "cycling." It's very helpful to have, in case something spikes (like ammonia) and then you know for sure that you need to do a water change. You could probably purchase it from the same place you found your fish. If you can't afford the whole kit, you might focus on the Ammonia test for starters. I find I can't live without that test in the beginning stages.