FW Env Dis F

FAQs on Freshwater Environmental Diseases

FAQs on Freshwater Disease: Freshwater Disease 1, Freshwater Disease 2, Freshwater Disease 3, FW Disease 4, FW Disease 5, FW Disease 6,
FAQs on Freshwater Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Nutritional,
Social, Trauma, Genetic, Pathogenic (plus see Infectious and Parasitic categories below), Treatments

& Aquarium Maintenance, Freshwater Medications, Freshwater Infectious Disease, Freshwater Fish Parasites, Ich/White Spot Disease, Nutritional Disease, African Cichlid Disease 1, Cichlid Disease,

As with all ornamental aquatics, THE biggest source of trouble, mortality are ENVIRONMENTAL
issues.

Community (FW) tank issues... Mystery losses /RMF 3/3/17
Hi,
I wonder if you can help me. I have something going on in my community tank. It is a 240 litre tank. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 40
<Mmm; I'd use this measure as a general indication of your overall water quality. Would endeavour to keep it less than 20 ppm. There are a few approaches to this; all gone over on WWM; but regular partial water changes; gravel vacuuming, careful feeding... perhaps some use of live plants, should keep it in range>
and Ph 7.6. A third of the water is changed weekly.
<Good>
For a couple of weeks I have had a few of my hardier fish, Rosy Tetra, Harlequins and Honey Gourami die. I first noticed their poop was odd. It was white and fluffy. Then I noticed my gourami were starting to look very stocky and then bloated and die. Their colour towards the back of their body is losing colour and going pale.
<Something/s amiss here environmentally. Have you added a rock, wood recently? Had spraying done in the garden? Perhaps a toxin from someone's hands...>
They have recently been treated with both ESHa 2000 and ESHa Hexamita.
Then a few of the fish had Whitespot so treated with ESHa Exit and have seen no signs of Whitespot since the three day course was up. I have medication for internal bacteria due on Saturday and Furan 2, Tetracycline, Kanaplex and PraziPro on order from America (not sure when they will arrive). In the last 3-4 weeks I have lost 2 dwarf gourami, 2 Harlequins, 1 Honey gourami, 1 red honey gourami, 1 black Phantom Tetra, 3 Rosy Tetra and a Cory Catfish. Four weeks ago I had a bad batch of frozen food that killed off 2 of my Bettas and made some others sick but they died within a couple of days so I don't think the food would be the culprit in my community. I was wondering whether it was an internal bacteria causing the issues or whether a parasite. I don't want to medicate wrongly so any advice would be
greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Sammie
<Nothing stated jumps out as trouble Sammie. Am given to suggest a massive water change out and use of chemical filtrant (like Chemipure and/or Polyfilter) in your filter flow path. The last may change color in the presence of too much of some chemicals; granting us clues. I don't suspect a pathogen (biol. agent) here; as the mix of species lost doesn't fit such a pattern. Bob Fenner, who will ask Neale to respond independently>
Re: Community (FW) tank issues... Mystery losses 3/3/17
For some reason I cannot get the nitrates to go any lower even with frequent water changes
<Strange... should go down like half w/ half the water changed. Am wondering if your test gear is off?>
and I cannot physically fit in any more plants.
<Ooooh, a plug here for my fave: Watersprite, Ceratopteris... you can just float a bit...>
I had a problem last year where I had used liquid carbon and my nitrates went off the charts and it took two weeks of daily 60-80% water changes to get a reading under 160 ppm. It has been at 40 for months now. I have approximately 20 various tanks at the moment and this is the only tank with this problem.
<Ahh! I would definitely MOVE your remaining livestock elsewhere then; tear this tank down, bleach all and re-set up>
I don't share nets, jugs or siphons. I make a point of my hands being clean and rinsed before putting them in the tank.
<You are wise here>
I have never seen poop that looks like cotton wool before. I am completely stumped at what is happening.
<Mmm; do you have access to a microscope (w/ USB hook up) of a few hundred power? I'd like to see some shots of this poo. Bob Fenner>
Re: Community (FW) tank issues... Mystery losses 3/3/17
I have ordered new substrate and a USB microscope to be delivered tomorrow.
<Yay! I've got one w/in arm's reach right here>
If I gut and bleach the tank what do I do about my filter?
<I'd nuke/bleach it too>
Do I keep it or use half the media from another tank or run a fish in cycle? Also I have hundreds of pounds of plants in my tank. Can they be dipped in potassium permanganate so that they don't go to waste?
<Oh! IF wanting to save them (I would); I'd drain the tank down, refill and just let run w/o fish livestock for a month or longer... Try some test fish after this. Bob Fenner>
Re: Community (FW) tank issues... Mystery losses 3/3/17
Can I just check I have everything clear?
<Certainly>
I have an empty 200 litre tank. I can set it up for the fish. I run a spare basket of filter media (in case of emergencies) in my Betta sorority.
<Ah, outstanding>
If I use that on my new filter then the fish from the existing community will have some good bacteria. Is that right?
<Yes>
My 240 litre I will break down and bleach. I will dip the plants in potassium permanganate replant them in the 240 litre in new substrate.
<DO take great care w/ the use of KMnO3; a dangerous oxidizer... Do you have access to Alum? MUCH safer and about as effective>
Can I clean out the filter, add new media and run that in the tank or do I need a whole new filter?
<The filter can be re-used after bleaching, rinsing...>
I will run that tank empty for 4 weeks. Add tester fish. If all is ok move the fish back to the larger tank.
<Yes>
Hopefully then I will have happy, healthy fish. Would you medicate the fish?
<No; I would not. Medication/s at this juncture would just further weaken the fishes>
Many thanks
Sammie
<As many welcomes. Bob Fenner>
Mysterious FW losses; Neale 3/4/17
Hi,
I wonder if you can help me. I have something going on in my community tank. It is a 240 litre tank. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 40 and Ph 7.6.
A third of the water is changed weekly. For a couple of weeks I have had a few of my hardier fish, Rosy Tetra, Harlequins and Honey Gourami die. I first noticed their poop was odd. It was white and fluffy. Then I noticed
my gourami were starting to look very stocky and then bloated and die.
Their colour towards the back of their body is losing colour and going pale. They have recently been treated with both ESHa 2000 and ESHa Hexamita. Then a few of the fish had Whitespot so treated with ESHa Exit and have seen no signs of Whitespot since the three day course was up. I have medication for internal bacteria due on Saturday and Furan 2,
Tetracycline, Kanaplex and PraziPro on order from America (not sure when they will arrive). In the last 3-4 weeks I have lost 2 dwarf gourami, 2 Harlequins, 1 Honey gourami, 1 red honey gourami, 1 black Phantom Tetra, 3 Rosy Tetra and a Cory Catfish. Four weeks ago I had a bad batch of frozen food that killed off 2 of my Bettas and made some others sick but they died within a couple of days so I don't think the food would be the culprit in my community. I was wondering whether it was an internal bacteria causing the issues or whether a parasite. I don't want to medicate wrongly so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Sammie
<<I would agree with BobF has already said about this. But this was me, from the perspective of someone in the UK for whom antibiotics are not an option, I would do the following: Remove the fish to a bucket, put a towel over it to keep them warm, and then set about deep-cleaning the tank. I'd thoroughly rinse the gravel (in case there's something buried in there causing severe pollution, whether a dead animal or something metallic/toxic) and I'd chuck out anything un-cleanable and inexpensive (such as cheap but usually non-aquatic plants prone to dying/decaying after a few weeks or months). I'd look at the rocks to double check there's no seams of metal visible, and again, remove anything I wasn't 100% sure isn't aquarium-safe (for example coconut shells that have started to go rotten or ornaments of dubious origin, such as seashells). Although I'd handle the biological media reasonably carefully, I'd otherwise deep clean the other
types of media, chucking out any carbon that was in the tank. I'd then rebuild the tank using as close to completely new water as possible, properly dechlorinated (using, I'd suggest, new water conditioner if your existing bottle was more than a year old). I'd acclimatise the fish back to the new tank as if they were fresh from the shop, letting them adapt to the
water chemistry in stages rather than simply dropping them straight back in. I'd not medicate unless anything was positively identified, though I do find eSHa 2000 to be a good general purpose antibacterial that works in many cases where the exact cause cannot be identified. I wouldn't add any new fish until at least a month had passed from the last fatality.
Sometimes "time is the best healer" and letting the tank settle down does the trick. Eventually the disease-causing organism either wipes out everything in the tank, or simply kills off only those species unable to resist it, and either way, you're left with species and specimens somehow able to fight off the infection. As mentioned, wait a while before adding anything new, and personally, I'd avoid buying any species partly or completely wiped out, sticking with those species demonstrably able to tolerate whatever you were dealing with before. Cheers, Neale.>>
re: Mysterious FW losses; Neale 3/4/17
Thank you for your input Neale,
I have just received new soil substrate so will throw away the sand. I don't have non aquatic plants. I learnt the hard way after keep buying plants that died what was aquatic and non aquatic.
<I would not use soil in tanks without plants. You will likely get algae problems galore! Soil substrates contain various nutrients that stimulate plant growth, but stimulate algal growth too! If you have fast-growing plants (Hygrophila for example) these will out-compete the algae given bright light, so this isn't an issue. But if you have no plants, or only
slow growing species (Crypts, Java Fern, Anubias, etc.) then the algae can and probably will take over. Been there, done that! In tanks without plants, you need to minimise substrate so far as practical. Even deep gravel or sand beds can accumulate wastes, slowing "digesting" them into nutrients algae can use. Thin substrates are much easier to keep clean, so water changes will remove any nutrients before the algae has a chance to get started.>
I do have a very large piece of Mopani wood in the tank. Do you think that it may possibly have absorbed toxins that are leeching back into the water?
I will throw away all the wood just incase.
<It is certainly possible for wood to absorb chemicals, though soaking for a few weeks should remove them. An old trick is to place in the cistern of the loo. With each flush, the cistern refills with new water, removing tannins and chemicals from the wood. Doing this for a few months was standard practise when people collected their own wood and cured it at home. Commercial collectors normally do this for bogwood, so we hobbyists don't bother any more. But if you suspect the wood, giving it another soak for a few weeks will do no harm.>
I only have a cave, Mopani wood and many plants in the tank, no ornaments, seashells, rocks or coconut caves etc.
I do have maracyn 2 antibiotics and I have other antibiotics that I am waiting to be delivered. I didn't want to use antibiotics if the fish cannot cope with them but if you hank they might help then I do have them available. I did try ESHa 2000 and although it is excellent it did not help.
<Understood. It isn't an antibiotic, so isn't as good as things like Maracyn once fish become really sick. But it's a very good first choice for EU aquarists when fish start looking off-colour with the start of Finrot or whatever.>
The water conditioner is new. Never lasts more than a couple of months before it is run out.
I will definitely take your advice on acclimatising the fish. I won't restock until I know the tank is healthy again.
With regards to the filter I don't use carbon, I have new sponges and filter wool I can use but should I keep the bio rings or use a spare basket of bio balls that I keep in the filter of my Betta sorority?

Thank you.
<Welcome. Neale.>

re: 3/5/17
Hi Bob,
<Sam>
The microscope turned up and the fish decided to be modest and be discreet about their toilet habits. This is the best I could manage to get. Hope it helps.
Sammie
<What magnification is this? Am wondering if some of the white twisty blobs are Nematodes?
Bob Fenner>

re: Less than Mysterious losses 3/6/17
Was just about to re-message you when I saw your message. I was just about to start my tank change over when I noticed two black phantom tetras pooping what looks to be worms. Red and threadlike. I have read up Camallanus worms and this looks very similar to this. Could this be the source of the deaths?
<Yes; could be>
I have tried to read how to treat and get rid of them and the information is very confusing.
As for the Nitrates I have tested my tap water and this is 40ppm Nitrates,
<... VERY disconcerting. I would NOT personally drink this water. I take it you have some sort of water conditioning system for your potable uses. IF not I would (and do) use a reverse osmosis device for such. ALSO I would take care to reduce this NO3 in your system and NOT change more than a quarter volume out at any given time w/ this source water>
0.25 ammonia
<?! You need to treat your new water before it is used. I would have you read through SeaChem's site re: http://seachem.com/conditioners.php
and 0 nitrite. I removed a very large piece of Mopani wood from my tank
<Good; saw that you had mentioned its presence to Neale. Likely a source of trouble here>
as I have had it for months and with it still leeching tannins in the water I thought it might be possible it is also leeching something nasty. Two hours after the water change I tested the water and the reading was identical to the tap water reading. Retested the water 12 hours later and the nitrates are registering at approximately 30ppm
<Ah good. Bob Fenner>

Fish getting sick 6/15/16
Hi. I am new to fish keeping. About 6 weeks ago I bought a 240 litre tank.
<An excellent sized tank.>
The water was tested at my local aquatic shop and he said we were ready to add fish (2 weeks ago). Firstly we bought 3 platies (2 female, 1 male), 6 white cloud minnows, 6 golden minnows and 6 harlequins.
<A nice range of fish, though there are some issues here. The Minnows are subtropicals that don't thrive at high temperatures, doing better around 22C/72F. Platies will do well in water that cool, but the Harlequins less so. The quality of farmed Platies is not high though, and I tend to avoid the more inbred forms (like Coral Platies) in favour of more pick-and-mix coloured ones such as Variatus Platies or even things like Limia nigrofasciata that are similar in size and behaviour but generally much less inbred. Harlequins are, by rights, soft water fish (unlike hard water Platies) but farmed ones are usually reasonably adaptable. Still, they're a species I'd approach with caution if my water was very hard and alkaline.>
The male platy died of fin rot and then one by one over the space of 3-4 days 5 of the harlequins died. I could not see any signs of disease. They lost their colour, struggled to swim and died.
<When a bunch of different species die within a few days, the environment is more often to blame than anything else. This could be nitrite or ammonia in a new tank, but could also be an airborne toxin (such as paint fumes) or overuse of medications and/or other potions.>
The shop tested the water again and it was fine.
<Do need some numbers here. My first bit of advice is buy yourself a nitrite (with an "i", not nitrate with an "a") test kit. That's your best kit for checking water quality. Anything above zero is bad, and indicates too much food or not enough (mature) biological filtration. Basically, if you get nitrite above zero, don't feed the fish, and do a 25-50% water change depending on the seriousness of the situation. Continue doing both these things for each day thereafter until nitrite hits zero consistently, i.e., two or three tests in a row at least an hour or two apart.>
They replaced 6 of the harlequins and we added 1 male Betta and 3 females.
<Bettas generally aren't good choices for community tanks. Their long fins make them very vulnerable to nipping and they're totally unable to swim into water currents, so feeding and gulping air become harder.>
A few days ago 6 Rosy tetra and 6 white finned rosy tetras were added.
<Both are presumably Hyphessobrycon rosaceus; a peaceful species, though Hyphessobrycon can sometimes be nippy if they're bored, so keep an eye on them.>
The fish all seemed fine apart from one of the platies being aggressive to the Bettas.
<See above.>
We added 2 electric blue rams to the tank.
<These really are hopeless fish! Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, adapted to very warm, very soft water. Yours are inbred and likely juiced up with antibiotics on the fish farm as well. Do extremely badly on the whole, and rarely last more than a few months after purchase. There are some good dwarf cichlids out there, Kribs for example, or Bolivian Rams, but standard issue Rams are best avoided.>
The next day we noticed they had a couple of white spots. We went straight out and bought a new tank. We were told if we used some of the biologicals from the existing tank and put them in the filter of the new tank we could use it straight away to quarantine the rams and treat them for white spot.
<Not the best approach. A good quality Whitespot medication will work much better. I'd recommend eSHa EXIT as widely sold in the UK for about £5 a bottle, but that bottle lasts for years because you use very small amounts. Seems to be tolerated well by most fish, and assuming you don't have carbon in the filter, it's very reliable. Note that carbon is pretty useless at the best of times, but sucks up medication, making it positively hazardous when treating fish. In the UK it's quite common for all-in-one aquarium kits to include a packet of carbon or a black carbon sponge, either of which should be removed.>
One has died the other is still with us at the moment. There are no visible signs of illness in the big tank yet one of the minnows and another harlequin died last night and the 2 platies are being more aggressive. The shop tested the water and said it was still ok (I am going to purchase my own test kit).
<Yes!>
My question is what do you think might cause the fish to die if the water seems good.
<Water probably isn't good.>
Could they be being bullied, sick or too many fish added too fast?
<The latter. In all honesty, return such fish as you can (Bettas and Rams for a start) and allow the tank to settle. Do not, Do Not, DO NOT add new fish until at least 4 weeks after the last fish death or disease outbreak. Dead fish imply there's a problem; wait until the problem fixes itself before you think about increasing the load on the aquarium filter.>
I do know that I will not add any fish to the tank without quarantining them first again. None of the fish in the 240 litre tank appear to have white spots but should I be using the treatment on that tank as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sammie
<Hope this helps, Neale.>
re: Fish getting sick 6/17/16
Sorry another quick update. Just noticed white spot on another fish in the main tank. I am hoping it doesn't wipe out all my fish. After the two dying of it I am hoping the other fish are stronger.
<I would medicate as per Whitespot immediately. eSHa EXIT is my medication of choice here, though salt/heat can work very well too. Do see:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/SaltUseFWArtNeale.htm
Be sure to use aquarium salt or even cooking sea salt, rather than marine aquarium salt.>
One quick question though I have two little musk turtles in another tank with 2 sucking loaches and the 2 platys were moved their yesterday because they kept nipping the other fishes tails.
<Correct; turtles and fish don't mix.>
If they come down with white spot as well will the treatment be harmful to the turtles or will I have to rehouse them for the duration of the treatment.
<Salt/heat will do the turtles no harm. I have no idea about eSHa EXIT. If needs be, rehoming the turtles in something as simple as a large plastic food container can work. As per Red-Ear Sliders, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/RESCareBarton.htm
Nothing terribly expensive required, especially during the summer.>
Thanks again.
<Welcome. Neale.>
re: Fish getting sick 6/17/16
Thank you for your advice. I ordered a kit to test the water. I can only buy test strips locally. Should be with me on Friday. I had the water tested again at the shop and was told it was good but they didn't give me the actual details of the results.
<Indeed. Those testing strips have a bit of a mixed reputation among serious aquarists, but honestly, I think they're "good enough" for getting to grips with the big picture. I use them, anyway!>
This afternoon I have noticed a big chunk of Red (my male Bettas) fin is missing. It doesn't look the same as when the platy had fin rot. It is a clean cut. It looks too large to have been bitten off.
<Sucked into filter, struggled, tore away a chunk to escape. Or maybe attacked by one of the other fish. Or whatever. The reality is that Bettas aren't community tank fish.>
He is also rubbing against the sides of the aquarium as if he is itchy.
<May well be; fish react to ammonia and nitrite as an irritant, and to them it feels like an itch, hence the scratching. Similarly, early stages of Whitespot and Velvet can manifest as scratching.>
Is it likely that he has fin rot or is it possible since the tank was exposed to the electric blue ram that has white spot, that the tank has that even though the ram was only in there a few hours?
<Surely, yes. Whitespot parasites can complete their life cycle in a day or two, depending on water temperature. So add a fish with parasites ready to burst (and those cysts may be invisible to us, inside the gill cavities)
and you can have the next batch of infected fish that same day.>
Red responds to my voice really well so I did get a really close up look at him and I cannot see anything visible on him or any of the fish. I did read velvet makes fish itchy. I did shine a torch on him and cannot see anything on him. There are no parasites that are visible to the naked eye on him either. I know I sound paranoid but I really love this little guy and he
has been so peaceful and friendly.
<I would probably get a floating breeding trap and keep him in there for his own good. These fish really don't thrive "let loose" alongside other fish. Imagine letting a Pug run wild with the wolves. That's the deal here.
Bettas are so far bred away from their wild ancestors they can't really cope with reality any more!>
I forgot to mention that the ram was put in the quarantine tank and medication for white spot is already being used. Should I finish the course of treatment I am using on her or change to the medication you recommended?
<Always finish medication, unless of course the fish is dead.>
She is still with us but not sure she is going to make it through another
night.
<Good luck! Neale.>
re: Fish getting sick 6/17/16
Just a quick update. The ram passed away this morning.
<Too bad. But as I say, avoid this species. Rams are like crack cocaine for inexperienced fishkeepers! Much better dwarf cichlids out there. Kribs, for a start.>
I put Red in a large breeding box last night in case another fish was nipping his fins (not ideal I know)
<Possibly, but what I would do.>
and I cannot see any more damage to him today.
Sammie
<Good luck, Neale.>
Re: Fish getting sick... Toxic env. 6/18/16
I did the test on my water today. pH 7.4, Ammonia 1 ppm,
<Lethal.>
Nitrite 2 ppm
<Lethal.>
and Nitrate 80 ppm.
<Very high, probably lethal to cichlids such as Rams.>
I have the white spot medication in the tank so I assume a partial water change would just dilute the medication. It is three more days until I can put a second dose of the medication in the tank. Should I do a water change then or leave it until the full 7 days of treatment is up?
<Your ammonia and nitrite levels are extremely high. You need to do 50% water changes each day, and add the medication *afterwards*. Repeat each day as necessary, adding medicine or not as instructed by the manufacturer.
Once ammonia is zero and nitrite is below 0.5 mg/l, you can scale back to water changes every couple days if you must. Do not feed the fish at all while ammonia or nitrite are not zero.>
Thank you again for your advice.
<Welcome. Do look up "new tank syndrome". That's what you've got. Textbook case. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Fish getting sick 6/24/16
Hi, We have been using the treatment for white spot for 6 days now and yesterday the fish appear to have more spots than previously. Is this because the treatment is not working or that the parasite was too small to see earlier?
<Hmm... let's clarify. Whitespot medication works only on the free-living stages. So the white "spots" (= cysts) have to mature and then burst. Only then will the next stage of the life cycle be in the water where the medication can poison them. In other words, you see the spots, add the medicine, the spots get bigger, but then suddenly the fish is cured because the second half of the Whitespot life cycle can't happen. Fish aren't re-infected, and all is well. However, the only caution here is that Whitespot medication can be absorbed by things like carbon in the filter, or might not be dosed/used correctly. In this case the Whitespot just gets worse and worse until the fish dies.>
I have tested the water daily and carried out 50% water changes daily too.
<Do water changes before adding each daily measure of medicine, so the medicine has ~24 hours at least to work. Ideally, you wouldn't change the water at all during the period you're adding medicine. But that's not an option if you have non-zero ammonia or nitrite.>
pH is now 8, Ammonia 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 0.5 ppm, Nitrate colour is between the 20 and 40 colour so I would say approximately 30 ppm. I tested my tap water and the pH is 8 and Ammonia 0.25 ppm. Water conditioner, biological
enhancer and white spot treatment are added every water change. The fish still haven't been fed. Is it safe to carry on not feeding them. We have not lost any more fish. Thanks Sammie
<Fish can go some weeks without food, and will nibble on algae if they're really hungry. Focus on filtration and Whitespot. Then food. Cheers, Neale.>

For Neale Monks. FW... fish hlth.... hazy tank... 2/4/16
Hello Neale,
<Byron,>
I am following up on the issue we discussed in late November-December concerning the fish in my 90g tank that were flashing, simultaneous with hazy water. I followed your suggestion of one week with salt and elevated temperature, and as I reported thereafter, that seemed to help. You advised that some flashing might be observed until such time as the gills
were back to normal, so I have been monitoring this over the past few weeks.
The problem still seems to be present. It is three-fold: the water turns cloudy, such as a bacterial bloom; some of the fish remain in the filter stream; some begin flashing.
The barbs are the worst for flashing, but the loaches have begun again.
The barbs remain in the filter stream, as do the Lemon Tetra, but the Congo Tetra seem unaffected. And the water is hazy. All of this happens simultaneously, so there must be a connection.
You will remember that I have previously treated for gill flukes (Prazi-Pro) and ich/velvet (latest was the salt/heat), and used antibiotics over a period of weeks back in September-October to deal with assumed bacterial gill issues. Major water changes seem to help some, but only for a day. I also tore this tank down completely back in October, replacing all wood, filter media and substrate (thinking something might be present in one or more of these). Nothing has worked.
Should I do another salt treatment? Or something else? I am still puzzled as to how the cloudy water fits into this, if it is a parasite; how could a parasite cause cloudy water?
<Not that I'm aware of. Cloudy water means two, maybe three things. The first is silt. Usually happens when a new substrate is used, often sand. A filter aid (flocculant) alongside filter wool fixes this. The second thing is a diatom bloom. Commoner in marine tanks than freshwater to be honest.
But can happen in freshwater. Associated with strong light, lack of higher plant growth, and usually (but not always) unstable water conditions including water quality of course but also chemistry aspects too. Normally fades away but can often come back weeks later. A UV-filter fixes this quite nicely and quickly, but reviewing the causes and acting accordingly can work too. Finally, there are bacterial blooms. Very much associated with unstable water chemistry and varying water quality this is classically a symptom of new tanks. Difficult to tell apart from diatom blooms but often the situations are different. Again, UV can help, but oftentimes bacterial blooms die back when the filter matures or the tank settles down. Because blooms of either type are triggered by environmental factors that can also stress fish, such as fluctuating pH levels, blooms can be
associated with "flashing" behaviour and other signs of stress without actually causing the fish direct harm. Make sense? So I'd be trying to pin down what might not be stable or optimal in the tank, whether pH, hardness, CO2, O2, temperature, light intensity... potentially even periodic exposure to things like direct sunlight, copper in the tap water. The fact the fish
concentrate in the filter flow may suggest they're less than happy -- wild fish in the wrong situation will often try and migrate away, which is essentially what they thing they're doing swimming into the filter flow.>
I await your advice, with appreciation.
Byron.
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: For Neale Monks (Bob, know anything about antibiotics to treat marine bacterial blooms?) 2/5/16
<<Mmm; generally not a good idea... better to seek out the reason for the bloom and fix (e.g. too much or improper food, inadequate filtration, circulation...) RMF>>
Thanks Neale, very much.
<Welcome.>
I’ll recap what we worked on previously to address some of the possibles you mention.
<Cool.>
Silt. This issue was occurring with the previous fine gravel substrate, which had been in this tank for over four years when I changed it last October. This flashing/cloudy water issue has been around in this one tank for well over a year now, so I wouldn’t put this down to the newer sand. I don’t like liquid clarifiers but as a last resort a while back I did try Seachem’s Clarity which made things worse for days until I did a water change (the fish didn’t seem too happy with this stuff), but a few weeks later API’s Accu-Clear did clear it overnight. Not sure if this means anything. This cloudiness appears overnight, with perfectly clear water one day, and next morning hazy.
<Which sounds a lot like some sort of bloom. Which... hard to say. Do you have access to a decent light microscope? Diatoms are pretty obvious. Bacteria, less so.>
The temperature is extremely stable in this tank; it has an Eheim Pro II with the heating element, and the temp has never varied more than a decimal place or two (it is set on 24.5 C and it varies from 25.4 up to 25.5).
<Good.>
As for pH, on your advice I have buffered it with aragonite, and it has consistently tested 6.4-6.6 since last November. I no longer test every day since doing so for four weeks showed no fluctuation, and periodic tests since and prior to water changes have been the same. And I have two API test kits so the same result with both. GH is near zero, in all my tanks, and always has been for 15+ years here so I would not assume this an issue in only one tank, suddenly.
<I'm a bit freaked by the idea of zero general hardness whilst using aragonite (presumably to raise carbonate hardness). Your pH is also a lot lower than I'd recommended for casual fishkeeping. Of course, it's ideal for soft water fish, but do bear in mind biological filtration is sub-optimal below 7, and said to be close to nonexistent below 6.>
Copper we eliminated by my using the API Tap Water Conditioner, although I do add some in the Flourish Comprehensive Supplement, but my other 6 tanks are all getting the same dose per volume and with the same tap water and water changes. Last autumn I had stopped all plant additives on advice of someone wondering if there was some sort of chemical interaction, for 2 months, with no impact on the problem.
<How did the plants do?>
The tank is planted, and the plants are doing well, including the floating Ceratopteris cornuta that grows like a weed. I thin it every week during the water change (which is 60-70% of the tank now, normally 50%). Good surface movement from the filter should avoid any oxygen/CO2 issues (?). I sent you a photo last December, and you saw no issue. Another oddity. When I rebuilt this tank, I moved the fish into the 70g which had been running for several years with sand and plants. I had moved out the fish into other tanks (part of a plan to rebuild this and another tank) and as it was then empty of fish, I used it for these. Within a couple days, it too clouded up. Which suggested to me that the fish were “carrying” the problem, though again that makes little sense. ??
I don’t know what has not been investigated to date, but I must be missing something.
Byron.
<You could simply tackle the symptom with a UV steriliser. These work a treat, used correctly. Some people have dosed marine tanks with antibiotics to treat bacterial blooms, so that might be an option as well. Don't know the details myself... Bob? Diatoms tend to settle down as other plants take over, but they can/do flare where something isn't right -- whether directly sunlight, nitrate, phosphate, pH, etc. Hard to pin down given what you've said, but the reality is that bacterial and algal blooms *aren't* normal in stable aquaria. Outside of newly set-up tanks, bacterial blooms simply don't happen in well-run tanks, only ones with serious (usually dead fish-level) problems. Diatoms usually bloom where there's some combination of excess light and excess nitrate, so again, usually not a problem in a healthy tank. One last cause is chemical interactions, typically those following the use of pH buffers, where some type of insoluble chemical (like a precipitate) has been produced, and that floats around the tank because it's too small to settle out. Now, the fact you're using a carbonate hardness buffer but have very acidic conditions surely indicates there's A LOT of chemical reaction going on between acids and bases, so I'd be tempted to phase out the aragonite in favour of a commercial Discus Buffer pitched at the same pH, 6.5, as you've got now. It might well be that the aragonite approach, for some reason, isn't working here, and the Discus Buffer approach will work better. For a start, I'm not sure I'd have recommended using aragonite to maintain a pH below 7; if I did, that was remiss of me. Carbonate hardness is useful in tanks above pH 7, and below pH 7, it's more logical to maintain a low carbonate hardness (say, 1-2 degrees KH) but using a commercial buffer to steady the pH between water changes. Make sense? Cheers, Neale.>
Re: For Neale Monks (Bob, know anything about antibiotics to treat marine bacterial blooms?) 2/5/16
Thanks again Neale. I am about to head out the door, so this will not be detailed but just wanted to respond to a couple things quickly. Will digest this fully tomorrow.
<Cool.>
You did not suggest aragonite. You were wondering if the pH fluctuated. I had said that it has been running around 6.2 to 6.6 in this tank for months, and you said that may or may not be reliable, so I used the aragonite (which I have done some time back, also with dolomite which was better) and it has remained consistent at 6.4 to 6.6, which I am taking to mean the pH is steady and thus not fluctuating causing the problem.
<Indeed; this sort of pH is definitely "within the range" you'd expect in an aquarium. Aragonite, being CaCO3, will primarily affect carbonate hardness.>
I was using Seachem’s Equilibrium for a couple years, to add more hard mineral for the plants, and the GH then was around 6 to 7 dGH. The fish didn’t seem to have any issues. I only stopped this on the advice of another person, re the possible interaction of additives. The flashing and cloudiness was an issue then, for several months, and has not changed since I stopped the Equilibrium last September.
<Understood.>
On the plant response to fewer or no additives, there was a noticeable decline, but not as much as I would have expected. I tested this out in the other tanks too, and have since eliminated the Equilibrium in all tanks, and reduced the liquid fertilizers or re-jigged them. I have no plant issues that bother me. I just want to get whatever is in this tank resolved. I just cannot figure out why it is only this tank, or more exactly, only this group of fish, that are having this issue. I have several smaller tanks with a pH around 5, or lower perhaps, can’t measure below 5, and zero GH/KH, and the fish are thriving, spawning all over the place. I’m raising pygmy Corys and Farlowella vittata, and fry of several species from pencils to tetras to Corys appear regularly, those that survive egg predation anyway, or get trapped in the canister filter and are rescued.
<All sounds great!>
More later, must dash. B.
<Cheers, Neale.>
For Neale Monks (and Bob Fenner) 2/6/15
Neale (and Bob, since you were brought into this discussion by Neale):
[Neale]: You could simply tackle the symptom with a UV steriliser. These work a treat, used correctly. Some people have dosed marine tanks with antibiotics to treat bacterial blooms, so that might be an option as well. Don't know the details myself... Bob?

I could buy a UV unit,....
<UV use is covered completely on WWM. Are you able to use the search tool or indices? B>

Sterbai Corydoras ((Corydoras sterbai) illness /RMF 9/2/15
<Four megs of uncropped pix files...>
Crap the email wasn't supposed to be sent yet, sorry!
Hello, I am writing to you today because one of my Corydoras Sterbai is ill. It looks like the front part of his face is missing or has been eaten off but the day before or possibly 2 days ago it looked like that area was a little white.
<Just two days?!>
I had another Corydoras Sterbai pass away from what I think is the same thing about a month ago. This Corydoras Sterbai does seem a little more sluggish then the others, of which there are 4 left, but he is still eating and swimming around.
As for tank mates it started as a cherry shrimp colony with common red and
blue Ramshorn snails,
<These won't hurt fishes>
I would estimate somewhere in the realm of 40 shrimp of various ages at this point and same with snails. I did recently get 2 electric blue rams about 2 weeks ago. So I don't think it was anything I introduced with the Electric blue rams.
<Perhaps just the Rams themselves.... are biting this Cory>
The tank is 20 gallons has been running for around 3 months now if not longer. I have 2 sponge filters and an AC 30 filter, all that have been running for the entire time the tank has been running. I have a large colony of Java moss as well as some small Marimo moss balls with several large stems of Giant Hygrophila. I don't use any fertilizers on the plants as they seem to be doing fine on their own.
For food I feed frozen mysis shrimp for the Corydoras Sterbai and the Electric Blue Rams, as well as Nutrafin Max sinking pellets with krill and shrimp meal. I am very careful with over feeding and try to make sure even the pellets are gone inside of an hour.
The water parameters as of 1 hour ago is GH 60 , KH 60 , PH 7.5 , Nitrites 0 , Nitrates 60,
<NO3 too high by three times. See/READ on WWM re>
I did a water change today, 16 litres exactly were removed and added, the new parameters are as follows,
New test shows GH 60, KH 60, PH 7.5, a tad lower but still showing up as around 7.5 , Nitrites 0, Nitrates 40.
<Still too high>
I do a water change every week
<Good>
at the same amount and since I put the Rams in the tank I started doing a Monday, Thursday water change schedule
because I have read that they are sensitive to higher Nitrate levels then other fish. I think this is all the information that I can think of to include that would make a difference. I wish I had a better camera for pictures but this was the best that I could get of him.
<I see.... Well; pathogenic disease doesn't operate so quickly as to cause the pitting evident; otherwise I might speculate that you have a Hexamita issue.... I'd be separating the Rams from the Cats here. Bob Fenner>

Sterbai Corydoras ((Corydoras sterbai) illness /Neale 9/2/15
Hello, I am writing to you today because one of my Corydoras Sterbai is ill. It looks like the front part of his face is missing or has been eaten off but the day before or possibly 2 days ago it looked like that area was a little white. I had another Corydoras Sterbai pass away from what I think is the same thing about a month ago. This Corydoras Sterbai does seem a
little more sluggish then the others, of which there are 4 left, but he is still eating and swimming around.
<Looks as if there's been some sort of infection of the sensory pores around the face. What's often called Hole In The Head disease (HITH). If a fish suffers trauma, like from a fight, there's usually some bleeding and dead tissue, and the way the damage is done it's pretty obvious the fish has been whacked or bitten. HITH tends to look different. It starts off
with the pores getting ever so slightly bigger, so they become more visible than before. Because the pores are arranged in neat rows, the widening pores make distinct trails that arc around the face. Sometimes they 'weep' off-white material. Over time they get bigger, fuse together, and you're left with a much larger ulcer. So, if this is trauma, the wound would have come out of nowhere. But if we're looking at HITH or some other infection of the sensory pores, then it'll have taken weeks to get to this point.>
As for tank mates it started as a cherry shrimp colony with common red and blue Ramshorn snails, I would estimate somewhere in the realm of 40 shrimp of various ages at this point and same with snails. I did recently get 2 electric blue rams about 2 weeks ago. So I don't think it was anything I introduced with the Electric blue rams.
<Do not trust Ram Cichlids with Corydoras. Rams are confirmed molesters of these catfish, from nipping through to biting off their eyes. A lot depends on the size of the tank, but a 20 gallon tank sounds (to me anyway) too
small for both species to get along.>
The tank is 20 gallons has been running for around 3 months now if not longer. I have 2 sponge filters and an AC 30 filter, all that have been running for the entire time the tank has been running. I have a large colony of Java moss as well as some small Marimo moss balls with several large stems of Giant Hygrophila. I don't use any fertilizers on the plants as they seem to be doing fine on their own.
For food I feed frozen mysis shrimp for the Corydoras Sterbai and the Electric Blue Rams, as well as Nutrafin Max sinking pellets with krill and shrimp meal. I am very careful with over feeding and try to make sure even the pellets are gone inside of an hour.
The water parameters as of 1 hour ago is GH 60 , KH 60 , PH 7.5 , Nitrites 0 , Nitrates 60,
I did a water change today, 16 litres exactly were removed and added, the new parameters are as follows,
New test shows GH 60, KH 60, PH 7.5, a tad lower but still showing up as around 7.5 , Nitrites 0, Nitrates 40.
I do a water change every week at the same amount and since I put the Rams in the tank I started doing a Monday, Thursday water change schedule because I have read that they are sensitive to higher Nitrate levels then other fish. I think this is all the information that I can think of to include that would make a difference. I wish I had a better camera for
pictures but this was the best that I could get of him.
<Trauma best treated as per Finrot. HITH best treated with Metronidazole.
Perhaps use Metronidazole alongside an antibiotic just in case. Regardless, don't forget to remove carbon during treatment. Cheers, Neale.>

Community fish disease problems; iatrogenic 1/13/15
Hi,
<Jeff>
I have a well planted 65 gal community tank. Over the 4 years or so it has been running it has had various diseases come and go, so even the healthy looking fish in there probably carry residual parasite or disease loads.
With the plants and driftwood in there it is almost impossible to net fish out.
Over time I have used various medications in the tank to treat diseases with varying but not lasting improvement (KanaPlex, metrnizadol, ParaGuard, PolyGuard, Prazi-pro). It is currently houses cherry barbs, hengle's Rasboras, Nerite snails (all in there for 3+ years), a platy, amano shrimp, a Siamese algae eater, bandit Cory cats, honey gourami, kulli loaches, Bolivian rams.
It its early days I had cherry barbs and Otto cats spawning after most of water changes. The tank seems to have acquired some sort of disease that none of the above mentioned medications has been able to clear out.
<... likely just something environmental>
Prazi-pro over several doses seemed to help a bit, but only for a short time.
<Trouble w/ continuous medicating...>
New fish seem to do well for awhile, then get sick and waste away quickly. Bottom feeders and south American dwarf cichlids have died quicker than most.
<A good clue>
Fish that make it a few weeks tend to last awhile. I suspect that it is because these individuals are able to resist whatever
disease is in there to remain alive but are still carriers. Symptoms include flashing, rubbing on plants, wood etc., swimming head down, some almost completely vertical.
Ammonia and nitrite are 0, nitrate is 10 to 15 with a API test kit.
<Get better kits>
Suspecting nematodes
<Nah; are more host specific>
despite Prazi-pro recently being added I took out a male cherry barb that was on his way to dying with PopEye on both sides
<Environment>
and did a crude necropsy with poor hands, improper tools and no microscope.
There were no obvious parasites but I did find a number of small amber circular objects inside that I would have thought looked like eggs if it had been a female fish.
I am considering trying Levamisole but would prefer to have some confirmation on if it is likely to work before I go ahead. Would those amber "eggs" possibly be nematode eggs?
<Nope; Nematode eggs are definitive. Just see Wiki>
What would you recommend for a course of treatment?
<A tear down and re-set up... adding more aeration, filtration... Changing part of the water, gravel vacuuming weekly>
I would like to treat for internal and external diseases?
<Not of use>
What could cause the symptoms I have listed but not be eliminated by Prazi-pro, ParaGuard and the other medications I have listed?
Thanks, Jeff
<Time to quit the western hypochondria Jeff. Read on! Bob Fenner>
Community fish disease problems (RMF, any other ideas?) /Neale's go 1/14/15
Hi,
<Hello Jeffrey,>
I have a well planted 65 gal community tank. Over the 4 years or so it has been running it has had various diseases come and go, so even the healthy looking fish in there probably carry residual parasite or disease loads.
With the plants and driftwood in there it is almost impossible to net fish out.
Over time I have used various medications in the tank to treat diseases with varying but not lasting improvement (KanaPlex, metrnizadol, ParaGuard, PolyGuard, Prazi-pro). It is currently houses cherry barbs, hengle's Rasboras, Nerite snails (all in there for 3+ years), a platy, amano shrimp, a Siamese algae eater, bandit Cory cats, honey gourami, kulli loaches, Bolivian rams.
<Nice mix.>
It its early days I had cherry barbs and Otto cats spawning after most of water changes. The tank seems to have acquired some sort of disease that none of the above mentioned medications has been able to clear out.
Prazi-pro over several doses seemed to help a bit, but only for a short time. New fish seem to do well for awhile, then get sick and waste away quickly. Bottom feeders and south American dwarf cichlids have died quicker than most. Fish that make it a few weeks tend to last awhile. I suspect that it is because these individuals are able to resist whatever disease is in there to remain alive but are still carriers. Symptoms include flashing, rubbing on plants, wood etc., swimming head down, some almost completely vertical.
Ammonia and nitrite are 0, nitrate is 10 to 15 with a API test kit.
Suspecting nematodes despite Prazi-pro recently being added I took out a male cherry barb that was on his way to dying with PopEye on both sides and did a crude necropsy with poor hands, improper tools and no microscope.
There were no obvious parasites but I did find a number of small amber circular objects inside that I would have thought looked like eggs if it had been a female fish.
<Quite so.>
I am considering trying Levamisole but would prefer to have some confirmation on if it is likely to work before I go ahead. Would those amber "eggs" possibly be nematode eggs?
<Unlikely, but impossible to say on that description alone. Fish eggs will probably be larger than any common worm eggs, but there may be exceptions.>
What would you recommend for a course of treatment?
<Doing the Prazi-Pro thing might be worthwhile but it's not the best anti-helminth and in any case I'm not sold on the idea that this is a worm problem. Wasting is more often related to bacterial infections, such as Mycobacteriosis. These are, in turn, usually linked to environmental conditions. Review not just ammonia and nitrate, but stocking density, water change frequency, and water circulation (which is related to oxygenation). Fish tanks often have a "carrying capacity" and fish "die
back" to that level. Why? I think oxygen stress is often the key limiting factor. Many filters don't move water at the bottom of the tank very well, and it's the fish at the bottom, like catfish and cichlids, that suffer the most. Over time they become vulnerable to bacterial infections latent in all tanks. Other signs include blue-green algae (which loves still pockets of water) and benthic snails (such as Melanoides) spending time on the glass during the day rather than in the sediment. Review, and act accordingly.>
I would like to treat for internal and external diseases? What could cause the symptoms I have listed but not be eliminated by Prazi-pro, ParaGuard and the other medications I have listed?
Thanks, Jeff
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Re: Community fish disease problems (RMF, any other ideas?) 1/15/15
Hi Bob and Neale,
Thanks for replying. I have recently switched out all of the original EcoComplete gravel and replaced it with Fluorite black sand. (I did not realize how sharp it was until digging out some with my hand. I can see how that could hurt Cory barbels)
<Indeed. It's a glass production byproduct, I believe. Excellent for plants and midwater fish, but not my first choice for burrowing/digging fish.>
The reason I took it out though was mainly on the theory that it trapped too much organic material in its rough surface and my bottom feeders were finding pockets of rotting food etc while nosing around in it (cories and kuhli loaches added before never lasted long). I am hoping the sand will stay cleaner so I can keep cories etc. I have 5 metae (bandit) cories in there now that seem ok after losing a few when I first put them in. They seem to like the sand anyway.
<Quite so: they love it.>
I have always done water changes at least once or twice a week and have an AquaClear 50 and 70 running on the tank. I put in a Koralia Circulation pump, but the thinned out plants don't have any major dead spots yet. So the tank Is generally pretty clean. If it is mycobacteriosis or something similar what could I use to treat that?
<Nothing at all. Incurable. The good news though is that healthy fish resist it. Mycobacteria infections seem very much the result of stress, varying from improper pH for very choosy soft water fish through to overstocking, poor diet, and all the usual hazards we see in community tanks.>
Tearing down the tank disinfecting everything and restarting it isn't really feasible.
<And pointless. Mycobacteria are probably present in all tanks, much like Finrot bacteria.>
Why do you suggest that the API test kits are not good enough? What brand do you suggest? The API nitrate test does show me a an obvious difference between before and after water changes.
<I'm going to assume this is Bob's comment not mine. Generally I find "dip strip" test kits are very cheap and probably adequate for freshwater tanks though not especially accurate. Traditional liquid test kits are probably more accurate but also more fiddly and expensive because you need to buy more than one package. I'd sooner people bought rough-and-ready test kits they used that bought accurate ones they never bothered using!>
I just put in 6 Bolivian rams and 3 kuhli loaches less than 2 weeks ago and despite looking healthy when they went in have lost 5 of the rams.
They did not seem to be fighting and often swam around together in a group.
The dead ones had clamped fins and one or two were shimmying near the bottom for a day or two near the bottom before dying. I treated the tank with Prazi-pro after losing the first ram but still lost 3 more.
<Dwarf Cichlids are prone to Hexamita and HLLE/HITH type infections, and I'd consider these before anything else if you can rule out the obvious.>
The two remaining rams looked healthy, active with good colour but are difficult to get to eat even frozen bloodworms or daphnia. One had some stringy white feces yesterday but looked otherwise ok this morning but was dead by this evening with no obvious signs why. I did a quick necropsy but found nothing obvious, just a bit skinny. There was a black thread sized
thing in the intestinal area but without a microscope I could not tell if it was an organism or just a hair or something else.
<Indeed. Unless you're a microbiologist, or have a decent fish health book to hand, examining dead fish is fairly pointless.>
The cherry barbs all look terrible, hanging from 45 to 90 degrees head down. Except if I try to net one. Then they swim around like crazy.
<Which does sound like environmental stress. This "head down" thing is a classic reaction of Barbs to non-zero ammonia and nitrite levels. Possibly also rapid pH changes too. Quick test: do a 50% water change, keeping pH and hardness steady. If the fish perk up, then something was in the water, and dollars-to-donuts we're looking at a filtration and/or pH stability
problem.>
Now they have some ich showing but I think that is more a result of the stress of what is really killing fish because I have never had ich in that tank and none of dead fish had any sign of ick.
Thanks,
Jeff
<Most welcome. Neale.>
Re: Community fish disease problems (RMF, any other ideas?) 1/15/15
I use the API Master test kit, test tubes and liquid drops, not test strips, so hopefully it is accurate enough.
Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5 to 15
<Sounds fine.>
Last water change was about 40% and didn't fix the barbs. Possible that too many big water changes close together changed conditions too rapidly for fish even though the conditions were technically made better.
<Possibly, but provided pH and hardness and temperature are pretty close, you can change 100% of the water and the fish should be fine! Think about a fish in a river -- it is constantly experiencing small changes in the water around it. That's the "perfect" situation for your fish. In the aquarium that isn't practical, so we do periodic water changes, but the only reason
to make them small is to minimise exposure to rapid changes in pH, hardness or temperature. But if you could keep such changes minimally small, you can change as much as you want. Years ago TFH did an experiment replacing 90%
of the water in an Oscar aquarium on a daily basis. They overstocked the tank substantially. You know what? The fish thrived. This is precisely what Discus keepers and breeders do anyway. It's just casual hobbyists don't check the pH, hardness or temperature of new water, so we recommend smallish changes, 25% a week, so any fluctuations are kept small.>
Could be Hexamita as far as the rams at least, no appetite, stringy feces, lethargic.
<Absolutely.>
Do you have a preferred med for this? The ram isn't eating, so medicated food won't work.
<Only one medication works. Read here:
www.wetwebmedia.com/metranidazole.htm
Pretty much everything else available to aquarists is worthless against Hexamita, though prevention does seem to be simpler: appropriate vitamins in the diet and low-nitrate water.>
I used to be an aquatic biologist and have dissected lots of fish, even took parasitology in university, but I don't have the tools or microscope to do it correctly here.
<Understood. Some excellent aquarium-oriented books out there; do believe Ed Noga's is considered the "bible" nowadays.>
Thanks,
Jeff
<Cheers Neale.>
Re: Community fish disease problems (RMF, any other ideas? 1/16/15
I've read the study about the overstocked Oscar tank. It shows that clean water is key. I wish I still had the well water I grew up on. My friends dad had two 35 gal tanks that were way overstocked but everything in those tanks grew huge. He must have done frequent water changes because those tanks did not have much on them for filters.
<Indeed.>
This tank is frustrating. It should not have pollution problems. Under stocked, over filtered, frequent water changes.
<I don't often give up with tanks... but sometimes there's mileage in stripping down tanks and starting over, quite possibly with entirely new fish. Or at least, giving up on a species that insists on dying! Very occasionally tanks have deep-seated problems, like chemically tainted gravel (e.g., that had metals in it) but sometimes the simple process of rebuilding a tank gives you a chance to re-assess the whole thing -- substrate, plants, water chemistry, etc. -- and from there build a better
system. Make sense?>
So how do you treat a non-eating fish with Metronidazole? Do you have to use a higher concentration as a dip?
<Almost certainly worthless. The medicine needs to get inside the fish to kill the parasites in the gut.>
I noticed that when I necropsied a cherry barb from a tank being treated with ParaGuard it had dark blue deposits inside. So theoretically it might work, but if Hexamita is in a fish (ram) does that mean every fish in the tank has to be treated?
<Likely so. A common assumption is that Hexamita is latent in all cichlids (at least, farmed ones) but only becomes a problem when the fish's immune system is stressed.>
You say make sure appropriate vitamins are in the diet. Do you mean just use good quality food (I use New Life Spectrum)? Or do you mean supplement vitamins? If supplements are required how would you recommend doing that/any specific product?
<Essentially use a good quality flake, and don't let it go stale. For most freshwater fish there's no need to use supplements (the case can be made they're useful for predators that only get offered a limited range of foods). But vitamin quality of flake goes down soon after opening, and after a month or two, the flake could well be seriously lacking in vitamins, perhaps even starting to go rancid. Cheers, Neale.>

Eye Infection Killing My Fish... summat else 7/18/14
I have a 75 gallon tank that's been running for 4 months. I perform weekly water changes religiously, so have never had a problem with water parameters. My parameters last week were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, about 10 ppm nitrate, and a PH of about 6.8.
I HAD 6 Congo tetras, two small geo tapajos, a Sajica, a Firemouth, an angel and two baby Severums (about 3 inches). The Congos have seemed unaffected throughout. Of the cichlids, only one Severum and the angel survived. I lost 5 of 13 fish.
<... from? What cause?>
My problems started last month, just before I left for my honeymoon. I noticed a couple of my fish (Geo Tapajos) had white "fuzz" over their eye, it looked like white strands. The fish were scratching too. So I figured it was a fungal infection. Since I was only going to have helpers feed my fish during my two week absence - I only added copper and salt, praying for the best.
The Geos died the next day, I was told. When I came back - a few other fish had the eye fuzz, but one of the Severums had experienced what looked like severe hole in the head. Small white bumps that cratered, and filled with white goo - leaving holes. I first treated with API fungus cure, but saw no improvement. I then treated with API quick cure, since it includes metro and Prazi for the HITH. No improvement overall. My 5" Firemouth developed the eye fuzz, and died in two days. The Sajica didn't show the eye fuzz, but died. The Severum with HITH died. My angel got eye fuzz but seemed to recover during the upcoming treatment.
I performed a massive water change (40%) and started treating with maracyn plus. I did 20% water changes every other day. After a week, the survivors (Congos, Severum, angel) all seemed fine. I did water changes, and added just Pimafix for another week. So I performed a water change, didn't put in
carbon - and started to restock (stupidly). I bought 3 baby clown loaches, and two small Firemouths.
Within 2 days, almost everyone except the Congos, has shown some eye growth or fluff looking thing. I'm freaked out. Reading on another site that eye infections could be from a gram negative bacteria, I've started to use Kanamycin. After 2 days, the most severely infected (almost the entire cornea was white) had gotten better, so I got optimistic - but the Severum that never showed symptoms has one white fluffed eye. So whatever it is, has spread, though no one seems on death's door.
Currently - the only visible symptom is this eye thing. It starts as a wispy white growth that becomes strands that then disappear on the cornea.
I'll try to get pictures, but Googling "angelfish growth on eye" reveals pictures from cichlid-forum.com that look exactly like what I'm dealing with. Here's the link:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=176467
There were only a couple posts on that thread, and no resolution. I've read that the first signs of TB on angelfish are yellow or dark nodules on the cornea - could this be an acute form of fish TB?
<Highly doubtful. Something in the system... environmental... is poisoning these fishes... Not pathogenic; the eye "fungus" is merely a secondary effect>
Re: Eye Infection Killing My Fish... Unlucky bamboo/Dracaena 7/18/14
Thank you Bob. I've been reading your posts for a long time, the carrots next to your posts make me imagine a quiet, thoughtful tone. ☺
<Ahh>
After 3 days of Kanamycin treatment, my tank looks better. Hopefully I'm not just getting my hopes up like a week ago when I thought I solved this.
<... something else here as prev. stated... These plants; particularly the "lucky bamboo" (Dracaena sanderiana)... not lucky for it or your fishes (which appear poisoned in your pix). The plant is NOT aquatic; and does release toxins... I WOULD PULL it ASAPractical (grow it outside the tank)>
Some of the fish with the worst infections now show just a white spot the size of a pinhead. I'm attaching a picture of the Firemouth who now just looks to have a decent case of cloud eye. I should have taken pictures at the worst of the infection, because a solid lump protruded from the eyes as far as the eyes protrude from the body.
<Again... env.>
I'm also attaching a picture of my setup, in case something wrong sticks out.
<Oh yes; the non-aquatic plants>
Is there a gram negative bacteria that could do this, besides TB? Would you still recommend filtering my water plus water changes? When should I stop Kanamycin treatment, and add carbon?
<NOW. Yes; make that YES!>
Thanks again.
Octavio Martin
<Please look up the name; take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqy9jBDGsk0
Bob Fenner>

Re: Eye Infection Killing My Fish 7/19/14
Thanks Bob. I just watched two YouTube videos about aquarium bamboo. I will yank out the plants ASAP, though I'm not convinced the bamboo itself could have caused these problems.
<Too likely a contributing cause.>
It sounds like the worst thing that could happen is it collects the nitrates it filters in the roots. The rest of the plants are fake, since I had Geos - and the only plants they wouldn't eat, were the bamboo.
<Ah yes; telling>
Should I stop Kanamycin treatment tonight and add carbon Immediately ?
<I'd stop, add the GAC now>
I'd hate to see the problem blossom again without Kanamycin.
Do you consider a serious infection still a possibility considering the hole in the head symptoms, and the extensive eye problems?
<... can only guess; but almost all "bacterial" and true fungal issues have a "poor env." component/start. B>
Thanks,
Octavio Martin
re: Eye Infection Killing My Fish 7/19/14
I got home to find the Firemouth who looked to be doing better, dead. I pulled him out at the same time as the bamboo. I did a water change and added a ton of carbon. I'll let you know how things progress after a few days. The only remaining Firemouth looks near death.
Would you take any special precautions treating this tank? Like Tuberculosis?

Re: Eye Infection Killing My Fish; TB scare 7/22/14
Thank you. Just wanted to be sure. I only added slightly more water conditioner than usual after a water change and new carbon.
<Good>
Ever since I read that TB in angels shows up as a grainy cornea first, I have been terrified that I might expose my family to a serious illness. You've been very reassuring.
<What we do>
I lost the other Firemouth today. As of now, several fish have small white spots on their eyes, not too bad. The surviving Severum has a couple missing scales and a nipped tail that hasn't healed. I'll keep an eye on everyone for a week and see how they progress.
Thanks again,
Octavio Martin
<Please do give us follow up reports. BobF>
re: Eye Infection Killing My Fish 7/22/14
Thank you. I wasn't planning on replying with a status update until Friday, but it looks like my tank has taken another turn for the worse. I'd done 2 20% water changes since Friday and added a lot of carbon to one of my filters. Only water conditioner added.
This morning, the eye gunk on most of the fish has grown, and my Severum with the scale damage looks drunk. I'm depressed and about to give up. I'll try to get pictures after work.
<Don't give up>
In searching other forums for the answer, illness probably driven by environment poisoning, I came across a strain of tb that kills swiftly. The comments from this website:
http://bettasource.com/more-betta/disease-id-treatment/mycobacteria/
"Currently we are seeing the species M. Triplex in many fish. These fish have lesions that resemble columnaris and are usually located around the head."
<... how to state this more plaintively: I am very well-aware of Mycobacteria/l involvements in fishes. The genus is omnipresent; usually not virulent...>
That struck a cord with me because of the first baby Severum that had severe HITH within a month of my buying him. Foolishly, I only quarantined for 2 days and that will be my fatal mistake. That progression of HITH is unheard of, from friend feedback. He had several sores with white gunk that went away during treatment, leaving deep scars. Also a totally round hole in a fin that I noticed towards the end.
Do you agree that it's at least possible that this is what I could be dealing with? I'm seriously considering euthanizing this tank and sanitizing to protect my family and pets.

Whatever the result, I appreciate your time taken to help me.
Octavio Martin
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Dying fish; FW, myst. 3/11/14
We find your website extremely helpful answering our questions about our fish so far.
<Ah good>
We have a planted 150 gallon freshwater tropical tank. It has 2 Eheim canister filters and a Fluval canister as well.
There were a lot of fish in there and we recently introduced about 12 new Corys.
We put them in ParaGuard for an hour as is our routine. We have had success with this in protecting our existing fish this way until now.
We lost one Cory the next morning and then others started dying off as well. We have lost 6 Angels and 1 large clown loach (3 inches long) and more Corys and a white skirt, German Ram and a Kribensis, Golden Dojo Loach.
<Frightening... may be just coincidentally related to the introduction of the Corydoras>
We took one of the dead angels into our local aquarium store and were told it was more than likely an internal parasite.
<? Not related to the Callichthyids then... no "int. parasite" would have this effect w/in a day>
He has helped us out with all our selections and checks out our fish and has rejected some we wanted because he thought there was something there. Anyways he gave us some PraziPro,
<... for worms>
and SeaChem PolyGuard and SeaChem focus. We did the Prazi right away as some of the fish were not eating
<Am getting more suspicious of something in the water here... what else was done recently here?>
(which means they would usually turn belly up) in a couple of days. It has been 2 days now and we observed clear stringy poop coming from one of the existing angels. Is this the dead parasites or tapeworm?
<Can't tell w/o sampling, looking under a 'scope>
So far it is going well and have lost one more angel and another on its way out. There is a clown loach that seems to be fighting and resting. The loach does go on swimming expeditions with his buddies and then goes back to rest.
We have a school of black neons and Debauwi cats that seem totally unaffected(knock on wood) and Fred (our 12" Pleco).
Is this turning the corner now. We understand that the Prazi should run between 5 to 7 days. Should we redose with this or go with the other SeaChem products as it is ingested if they eat.

Thanks in advance for all your help and keep up the good work.
Hank and Shanon
<... Did the LFS person dissect the one fish, look for lumenal parasites? I would. Bob Fenner>
Dying Fish... Temp. is... 86?!
Sorry some details that I should have mentioned about the 150g planted tank.
Nitrates are at 20- 30,
<Would keep below 20 ppm... See WWM re various means>
Nitrites are 0, Ammonia is at 0.
PH is at 7.4
Temp is at 86.
<... too high... Esp. for Corydoras spp.... I would have in the 75-78 F. at highest range. Yes; even with Clown Loaches present. BobF>
Thanks
Hank and Shanon

instant fish death due to possible environmental conditions 8/2/13
Hello,
I'm writing in a bit of a shock right now, because just a few hours ago I lost two of my Polypteridae fishes. One was Polypterus senegalus albino and the other Polypterus teugelsi, respectively 3 years and a few months old, 5 and 3 inches long.
Fish died within 30 minutes of one another, few hours after a 1/4 water change
<... how was this water treated? Was it stored for any period of time (days) ahead of use?>
in the 30 gallon planted grow out tank. The first fish just rolled over in front of my eyes, while I was trying to understand why its behavior changed suddenly: one second normal, the next moment - chaotic, the third - dead.
The second fish I actually caught still alive, gasping and darting along the top and placed him into 55 gallon established tank, to no avail.
Both showed the same symptoms - quick darting movements to the surface and back and very heavy gasping.
Now both I and the local LFS did water tests and everything looks ordinary!
<What tests were performed?>
The only abnormality was ammonia result - higher than 0 but under .25. But I would not expect Polypterus to succumb to it so quickly. I had a tank near-crash years earlier and, while I was able to save some of the inhabitants, the large 5 year old P. Senegalus was the only fish that did not show any discomfort!
<Poisoning likely>
To add to my confusion, I changed water today in the other 3 tanks as well and see no problems anywhere else.
<CALL your water supplier (number on your bills); and ask if/what they've been pulsing into the supply. Could be (very common) a hyper-dose of sanitizer (chloramine)... That municipalities will overdose if/when they find either the titer is too low distal in their system of distribution and/or that there is bacteria present. Did/does the water have a smell? Are the folks at the water plant using a surfactant, a flocculent...?>
The affected tank had the Eheim 2213 canister filter out for about 4 weeks (but with weekly water changes, thick plant growth and no fish except for 2 little bichirs, I was not worried, foolishly), as well as heater (I don't use AC and so the water temperature right now in mid to upper 80-s, heaters are off in all 4 tanks right now).
<High/er temperature is also a factor here. Less oxygen, higher metabolism... But, as you likely know, Polypterids are facultative aerial respirators: they can/do come to the surface to gulp air to breathe>
Substrate in the aquarium is a few years old, but in the spring, before putting polypteruses in I turned it and added some oyster grit.
Could the substrate somehow deteriorate so much and poison the water without affecting test results?
<Not by itself... again; the prime suspect at this point is your mains/tap water... UNLESS you've added something else that you've not mentioned... DO you treat, and/or store your water as per the S.O.P. on WWM, ahead of water changes? Due to vagaries in tap nowayears I am a huge fan of this practice>
If so, why would it happen immediately after the water change, when substrate was not disturbed?
Also, - why are the Ramshorn and trumpet snails are OK?
<They're not as easily mal-affected by the types of poisoning we're referring to. Their survival is actually a good clue>
But just as well - a 55g planted aquarium is even older and has more driftwood, and garden soil under gravel, - and all fish there are fine.
<The plants, driftwood... help here>
From your significant experience can you shed the light on what can be the problem here? At least some guesses?
<As the above; with questions>
The tank will be torn down tomorrow, but I still would like to have a chance of understanding what could cause such sudden death of usually very hardy fish!
<Something to do w/ the new water; its treatment (or not); the elevated temperature...>
thanks!
Elena E.
<Please do relate your further findings. Bob Fenner>
Re: instant fish death due to possible environmental conditions 8/3/13
Bob, thank you for quick reply!
This gives me a few things to think about.
Now as of answer to your questions:
Water was treated the same way for all 4 tanks (3 regular set ups, and one hospital tank, that currently holds a single female Convict) - with API Tap Water Conditioner.
<Mmm, I'd switch to Prime, Amquel, StressCoat...>
Yesterday, as usual, I poured in the dosage of conditioner (i measure it to amount of water to be added, not to entire tank volume). Then I stirred the aquarium water lightly - right before adding tap water.
<Mmm... again; and to the point. I would NOT do this this (treating new, to-be-added water) way. You're still exposing your livestock to the sanitizer/new water AND the conditioner. Better by far to treat the new water outside the tank, and yet again STORE it for several days (a week or more ideally). This is gone over HERE:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm
For the Cory Cats & Minnows & Weather Loaches tank I pre-mixed the dosage in a gallon jar of tap water and add that to the tank to reduce scale-less fishes' exposure to chemicals.
<Ahh, much better>
Can you recommend a better way?
<Yes; please read through the cited file above... and the linked files in the header of the article if there's time/interest>
Given that I have two 55 gallon tanks, a 30 gallon tank and a hospital 10 gallon, storing water ahead of time is hard!
<Mmm, still; a worthwhile routine... The municipalities nowayears "pulse" in sanitizer at high dosages at times, sometimes flocculants and other chemicals... Most all this can be rendered safe w/ the SOP outlined in the article>
At this moment I cannot find information about water services dozing the tap supply with anything.
I have to call them later to confirm (oh the officials, got to love them!)
<There are good/valid reasons for this/their practices here>
But there is a distinct chlorine (swimming-pool like) smell to tap water.
<... I would; do use RO for all potable uses (reminds me, I've got to get up and fix coffee)>
What did you mean by "store your water as per the S.O.P. " ?
<Standard Operating Procedure. Sorry for the lazy acronym/s>
Tests performed on the water:
by me - Ammonia, Nitrate, PH
by LFS - Ammonia, Nitrate, PH, KH, GH, and high PH.
Results on Ammonia and PH were the same between two batches of tests.
PH slightly high (around 8).
<Very high; and trouble with the presence of unionized ammonia in any concentration>
How sensitive are the young polypteruses to chlorine? To chloramine?
<To Chlorine, very highly sensitive, a bit less to chloramines>
I was under impression that being facultative air breathers they have lower sensitivity than, say, Convict cichlids or Minnows.
<Not so>
I have another 2 large bichirs in the driftwood filled 55g aquarium - they seem fine.
<Smaller specimens are more sensitive than larger... have more gill surface area per unit volume; less "slime" to resist poisoning. Another good clue>
Those two guys are P. senegalus, 10 years old and 10+ inches long and similarly sized 2 year old P. ansorgei.
Their tank also keeps 6 female Convicts, and an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey, and is supplied with a larger canister, to handle the bioload.
Can working filter make so much of a difference for overdosed tap water situation?
<Can help a good deal. The "mulm" contained w/in is useful for complexing, absorbing>
BTW. A night after the fish died (and were removed from the tank immediately!) - the tank water STINKS of rotten fish! I can even smell it in the next room.
<A further clue...>
Will have to use gas mask tearing the set up down :)
Elena E.
<Some activated carbon in the filter/flow path... Perhaps a unit/bag of Chemi-Pure>
Re: instant fish death due to possible environmental conditions 8/3/13
Bob,
sorry, missed it in the first email - I don't dose water with anything except the water conditioner before adding tap. Except for the hospital 10 tank (no issues there) that has Erythromycin to treat the convict cichlid.
Actually, are there any tests that can be performed on the tap water prior to water change?
<Of use... yes; there are total and free Cl-- and Chloramine kits...>
thanks,
Elena E.
<Welcome. BobF>

Unknown disease, FW... env.? 4/1/13
In the past of my aquarium history several of my fish have died due to an unknown disease. I have lost a Banjo cat, Spiny peacock eel, glass Headstander and 2 albino tiger barbs.
<All these fish species can be easily lost; even the albino version of the Barbs>
The symptoms are: each fish struggles to stay down, as they float to the top, once they reach the top they float there until they die (however this time can be several days, they still breath attempt to move and eat) .
<? Odd... bacterial? Some overt water quality issue?>
Also in my brackish tank one of my flounders is struggling with the same problem (although it's not nearly as bad).
<Flatfishes of all species in aquariums are historically very poor survivors>
It is not my water for the aquariums as it is treated before I add it.
<? What does this mean?>
However, in both tanks I have cheap bulbs, from the pet store these include water lilies, onions and some frilly plant called apatongea or whatever.
Is there any disease you can link to this?
<Aponogeton likely, and possibly some link... perhaps there is a chemical being produced, maybe something the plants have been exposed to... best assessed by testing (bioassay) w/ the plants one at a time in separate systems>
P.S when I was treating my rainbow fish with Maracyn two, I noticed all my barbs had difficulty staying down, all recovered in a couple days except one, the other died in the past.
<... Interesting... does this indicate bacterial/microbial involvement?>
If there is anything you can link to or suggest it would greatly be appreciated.
P.P.S I got a albino Bristlenose Pleco 3 years ago, he/she is still about 2 1/2inches and has no bristles at all, do they get bigger or did I get stiffed and by a dwarf species?
<Might be stunted from local conditions, a female... smaller and much less bristle-y. Bob Fenner>
Thanks for all your help, Aaron
Re: Unknown disease; asst'd FW fishes 4/2/13
I know nothing about bacterial infections or whatever. What I do know is that the water I use comes from a private well
<... could be fine or have issues. I would NOT be using any water source/potable that I didn't have knowledge of its make up from a certified lab>
and is put under a light that removes bacteria, I've used this for about 13 years with no problems.
<Even well waters can/do change>
Do you know any disease that causes fish to float?
<... several>
The plants are called apongeton
<... still misspelled>
and I got the pack from bulbs, guaranteed to be pest and disease free.

The Maracyn two was used for treating tail rot and some "popping off" scales on my rainbow fish. Should I just throw in the towel for aquariums?
<... up to you>
I have had little luck keeping the few fish I have alive.
If there's anything you could suggest to an aquatic noob, please tell
<To keep reading, maintain an open mind. BobF>

Treating my Aquarium 6/7/11
First off, Thank-you greatly for such a great website.
<Nice of you to say so!>
Now to the issue: I have a 3-4 inch Black Ghost Knife (had him for 4+ months now),
<This species needs excellent quality water with plenty of oxygen, and the water chemistry shouldn't be too hard.>
4 Mollies (all sorts), 4 feeder Guppies,
<Guppies and even more so Mollies need hard, alkaline water. It's rare for Mollies to do reliably well in community tanks because their needs are so demanding. On the whole they're best kept in systems where the addition of a small amount of marine aquarium salt mix is an option (2-3 grammes per litre is good). Guppies will do well in such water, as will other livebearers, most Rainbowfish, and a few other fish species.>
2 baby Angel Fish (black veil-fin & white),
<Let's hope you don't have two males, or you'll likely have a fight on your hands!>
2 Rainbow Shark
<These may fight in a tank this size.>
and an Algae Eater (not a Pleco).

All these fish reside in my 75 Gallon Aquarium (for now) filtered with a wet dry filter (can't exactly remember exactly how many gallons of water is cycled per minute/hour but I know when I had bought the pump it was for a 90 gallon fish aquarium). Today the Mollies, Guppies and Algae eater are going back into the 10 Gallon (and some to the pet store). I just realized this morning my Black Angel Fish has 4 white fuzzy spots on just his fins (Note: Angelfish and Rainbow Sharks are fairly new, 3 weeks at the most), and one of the Rainbow sharks "rubbing" on the gravel. I know what to treat these two fish with, but with the BGK in the tank I don't want to treat the tank as a whole knowing that some medicines will harm him/her. I do realize at the moment the tank is a little crowded with smaller fish, and the BGK is acting fine. Also from what I can see there isn't anything wrong with him, but what should I do about these other fish? How should I treat them, put them in the ten gallon instead to treat or take the BGK out and put him in the ten gallon for about a week, or until things clear up.
*The tank does have an air pump so lots of oxygen, and I know I shouldn't have 2 Rainbow Sharks in the same aquarium so the one that isn't sick goes to my friend with a 35 Gallon*
Please help me any way you can
Thanks, Carmen
<If the white patches are merely damage to the fin, so appear like opaque regions on the clear fin membrane, they may get better by themselves.
Antibiotics can also be used safely, so if you suspect Finrot, then that's the way to go. With Black Ghost Knifefish, and indeed most other "delicate" fish including loaches, puffers, some catfish, etc., you don't need to avoid using medicine completely, but you do need to stay away from Copper and Formalin in particular. Organic dyes (Methylene blue, malachite green, etc.) are also best avoided. Plain vanilla salt is, on the other hand, perfectly safe. Do read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/bgkfaqs.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Fish suddenly sick 3/17/08 Hi Neale, <Allison,> Unfortunately, all my fish died over about a three-day period (after the pH shock I wrote to you about a few weeks ago, see the email below). <Not entirely surprised, but I'm sorry anyway.> I don't feel up to trying to do another community tank, and after all that I don't even think I believe in the pet aquarium business anymore, but I have a beautiful 30-gallon aquarium set up and don't want it to go to waste, so I am thinking of just getting a male Betta. <Ah, don't give up! Figure out what went wrong. My recommendation would be this: go hard water! A hard water aquarium is easy to set up, and chemically VERY stable. Put plenty of calcareous media in the filter to act as a buffer, and maybe mix some coral sand in with the plain gravel or silica sand substrate. Use limestone or Tufa rock for decoration. Skip live plants or at least use plants that like hard water (such as Vallisneria, Egeria, Anubias, and Java fern). What fish? Livebearers are the way to go! Other good hard water fish including wrestling halfbeaks and Australian Rainbowfish. Plenty of scope between these for size, colour and temperament. The big "score" for hard water tanks is they intrinsically buffer themselves, so wild pH changes shouldn't happen. http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwhardness.htm Trust me on this; such a tank will be easy to maintain!> I don't have any bacteria left in the tank. Do you think I can get the singular Betta and the cycle won't be too bad, or should I do a fishless cycle? <Do a thorough clean-out of the tank and filter, start from scratch, and use a Fishless cycle product of your choice. Bio-Spira is popular, but I'm Old School and simply grab some established media from another tank.> I'm only going to have this one fish and there will be a lots of dilution for his pollution, but I've read that the bacteria won't build up until the ammonia spikes. Do I really need to have a big spike or can the bacteria get started even without lots of ammonia? <Bacteria DO NOT need a spike in ammonia. Just a little. 0.5 mg/l or less is ample.> Thanks, Allison <Cheers, Neale.>

Sick fish in distilled water- yikes! -05/07/08 HELP!!! My fish is floating at the top of the tank. It is sideways so I can see it. Some scales are missing and it is hardly breathing. <Sounds to be on the way out, to be honest.> It looks normal apart from that but it is very skinny. <Suggest starvation... have you been feeding it properly?> I've put it in a separate tank with clean, distilled water. <Distilled water will kill your fish. Remove. NOW!> What is wrong with it and what do I do? Please help me save my fish. <No idea. Need you to tell me what the fish is, how big the aquarium is, what the pH and nitrite measurements are. Describe the symptoms. Then we can do something (perhaps). Cheers, Neale.>

Mysterious Deaths 10/24/06 <<Hello, Jamie. Tom with you this morning.>> Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail. I have no clue where to start so I'll just try from the beginning. I'll write in point form. <<This will work>> *My Aunt brought home four small (two inch-ish or less) "gold fish" and a little over a gallon size tank. The fish were not all gold. One had a black spot on it but other than that it was gold. Another was brown on its spine fading to silver towards it's belly. Another was almost all brown and yet another which was all gold. <<Jamie, my first admonition and I promise to be very redundant on this point is that the tank your aunt came home with is 30 times too small for one Goldfish and perhaps 60 times too small for four Goldfish.>> * Within a week or two, 3 of the 4 fish had died. My Aunt suggested that I overfed them which may be true. The water I used came from out tap which is delivered water that does contain chemicals. I added the solution that came with the kit. It is called "Goldfish Bowl Conditioner" which "Instantly Removes Chlorine", "Neutralizes Toxic Ammonia" and "Detoxifies Heavy Metals". I added a measured amount to the tank and put the fish into the tank. The water was within the range of room temp. <<No filtration, no cycling and conditioner added directly to the bowl. Your fish never stood a chance of surviving. Overfeeding, almost certainly, sped the process up via ammonia poisoning. (You'll learn about ammonia contamination when you research aquarium cycling and before you buy another fish, I hope.)>> * After a few days "GOLDY" the gold fish injured her eye, I think, and was going downhill fast. She was not swimming properly so I decided to put her into our pond to let her go naturally. <<Her eye wasn't injured. She was suffering from a condition generally referred to as Popeye which occurs when a fish is suffering from an internal infection/disease.>> * In the next week or two, two more fish died leaving me with one fish. * My aunt then bought me five new fish that are gold and white. They resemble Koi but are just inexpensive gold fish. She also bought an almost two-gallon tank for them to live in. On that same day she purchased two beautiful "goldfish" that have really pretty tails. They are slightly fatter and longer than the other "goldfish". <<Once again, I must insist that these containers are far too small for Goldfish to live in. Goldfish are messy in that they produce a great deal of waste. More so than many other fish. In no time whatsoever, the bowl becomes so polluted that the fish may as well be living in a sewer. Additionally, some varieties of Goldfish Commons and Comets, for instance grow, if properly housed and cared for, to 12 inches in length. Yes, they may be small now but they'll remain small in a tiny bowl until they die many years before they should. These fish needs lots of room.>> * Again, I made the water room temp. and added the conditioner. I have slowed down to feeding them once a day and sometimes once every other day. I feed them regular flake food. <<A step in the right direction regarding feeding though you need to research the diet that Goldfish need to thrive. Flake food is okay but their diets need variety, as well.>> * Recently one of the Koi looking fish died. I had noticed that she wasn't doing well. She would just sit at the bottom or float near the top. I put her in a separate container and kept a close eye on her. She didn't eat and would float at the top on her side most of the time. When I poked her (gently to see if she was responsive) she would swim to the bottom the let herself float to the top again. Eventually she died. <<Sadly predictable>> * I awoke to one of my pretty-tailed fish dead one morning. I have no idea at the cause. My aunt said that it looked like it's stomach was a bit bloated so she researched a little and thought that maybe it was constipation. She told me to feed them peas without the skins on them. I didn't. (For lack of responsibility is my guess. I just didn't feel the need or want to do it. I now wish I had.) <<The fishs life was in your hands and you guess you lacked responsibility? Frankly, Im certain of it, Jamie.>> * Today yet another fish of mine died ( the total now is :-( six) Over the past few days it seemed like he was losing his color but I didn't worry to much about it. I just found him laying at the bottom of the tank. I couldn't see him so I lifted out the artificial rock/bridge thing-y and then he floated to the top. I am not sure if he was trapped underneath the rock but I doubt it. * I have no idea as to what the cause of these number of deaths are. I am hoping you can help me. <<I/we can if you promise not to purchase another single fish until you've done your research. This means researching the proper cycling of an aquarium before you even consider adding a fish to it. It means doing your homework and learning about the size of a tank and the water conditions that your fish require. It means learning about proper filtration and how to maintain the filter properly so you don't wipe out the beneficial bacteria that live there. All of this information, and much, much more, is available right here on our site.>> And one final question. I tried feeding Romaine lettuce to the fish today. The pretty- tailed fish ate some of it but I also notice him sucking it in and then spitting it out. Do you think that the lettuce wasn't chopped finely enough? <<Probably wasn't to its liking, is all.>> Thank you for any help. Jamie in British Columbia <<If there's something, anything, that isn't clear to you while your reading through the material on the site, please, don't hesitate to ask us. And, for what its worth, Goldfish aren't quite the beginner fish that most folks seem to think they are. Easily cared for when you have the right information, though. Tom>>

Mystery Disease - 10/22/2006 Hello. <<Hello, Gabriel. Tom with you.>> I have had a 10 gallon aquarium for several years, but about 6 months ago, I had to restart it because of a mass die-off. It bounced back and is fine now. At around the same time, I started a 20 gallon tank stocked with 2 platys (male + female), a pair of guppies, a pair of zebra Danios, a male dwarf Gourami, and a Corydoras catfish. Now, (about 2 months later) I noticed-first on the male platy, a little bit on the female, and on a goldfish (separate tank but they share tools and water)- the same symptoms. It started as a ring of skin right behind the platy's head that turned white seemed to peel back. The ring filled in with white and began to shrink (good sign?). At about the same time, the same symptoms have appeared on some of my other fish. I don't know if it spread or they all got it simultaneously from some environmental factor. <<Gabriel, while I haven't heard of a problem of this sort manifesting itself exactly in the way you describe, peeling skin on fish is often associated with a pH drop or crash. In a nutshell, the water goes from being more basic to acidic in a very short period of time, sometimes in less than 24 hours.>> This all happened at a horrible time because my female guppy gave birth and I now have 5 little baby guppies who are probably the most susceptible to it. The ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all normal, but in the goldfish tank, the water is slightly cloudy, and in the 20 g tank, the pH is a lot lower than it should be, but at my local pet store, I was told not to use pH altering chemicals and that it would go away on it's own. <<I agree that using pH altering chemicals would be ill-advised but disagree that it will go away on its own. Increase the regularity of your water changes and consider a little scientific experimentation by monitoring a sample of your tap water closely over a period of days. If you note a sudden drop in pH in your sample, you can rest assured that the same will likely happen in your tanks. Some municipalities provide water that is better buffered against drops such as these than others. Likewise, the pH levels provided are not always uniform from one period of time to another. I recall one fellow whose pH levels, from the tap, ranged from 6.8 to 8.0. Yow!>> This is probably coincidental but the female platy is very fat and I couldn't find a gravid spot, but she acts normal and has no dropsy-like symptoms. I have not been able to find anything that sounds like what my fish have, so any help would be greatly appreciated. <<The new consensus regarding pH is to go with what you have from your tap and avoid toying around with it as long as it remains stable. Acclimating fish to pH levels outside of their norm is considered far less detrimental, in the long run, than possibly setting ones self up for unwanted, potentially fatal, crashes. Best of luck, Gabriel. Tom>>

Dalmatian Molly - Dorsal Fin is green along the top? More troubles... incompatible fish mix in an uncycled system 8/5/05 Hi WWM, great site. I just have a simple question but have never seen someone else with the same problem, if it is a problem. 1st, tank set up.... I am still cycling, but everything seems to be going as planned, ammonia levels are almost zero, nitrates peaked but have since dropped to almost zero, and my nitrates are naturally high from the tap water. <Shouldn't be... a health hazard... for humans... if "high"> I have some Nitrazorb that I'm going to put in my Fluval 304 once I know the bio filter process is up and running properly. I have 3 platy's and a swordtail, 4 Mollies (2 Dalmatian, one Mexican Sail Fin and a 24k or Sunset) that are all juvenile. <Shouldn't be in a cycling system> I just added 5 table spoons full of aquarium salt yesterday and plan to gradually bring the water up to brackish levels to accommodate my two newest inhabitants, a couple of Colombian or Silver Tip Sharks. <... incompatible... and adding salt will forestall establishment of nitrification> My question is this, I just noticed that the very top of one of my Dalmatian's dorsal fins has taken on a green tint. <Natural, not a problem> The fish otherwise seems happy and healthy, as do all the other fish with the exception of one platy who's been hiding and not eating for about a day now. There are no obvious signs of any disease in the tank that I can find and the water is as clear as can be expected for a tank that is still cycling. I've been cycling for about 4 weeks now so I figure it was ok to add the sharks. Any idea about the green tint on the dorsal fin? I suspect the platy is just adjusting to the salt in the water and should be fine soon but thought I'd share any info that may be pertinent to the situation with the molly. Thanks, Erik in Oceanside, CA <Be careful re feeding, look to getting another system going for your shark/catfish before they grow large enough to consume your livebearers. Bob Fenner>
Re: Dalmatian Molly - Dorsal Fin is green along the top? 8/6/05 Bob, <Erik> Thanks for the response, and that is my intent. I know the sharks will grow quite a bit and fast, I plan to relocate the Platies to a smaller tank soon. So far as having the mollies in a cycling tank, they were recommended by my LFS, something about Platies not generating enough ammonia to kick start the process? <... am not a fan of cycling with fish livestock, but mollies are more tolerant> The final set up I'm going for is 2 or 3 sharks, a puffer, I already have him, a Milk Spotted and some arrow fish and scats. Again, I know they will all outgrow this tank and plan to set up more tanks as I go. I'm watching the puffer and sharks very close for any sigs of stress related to the tank conditions and fin nipping on the other fish. If they show even the slightest signs of stress I'm going to return them to the LFS. They said they'd be happy to hold them for me until the cycle is complete. Again, the LFS recommended the aquarium salt. Apparently aquarium salt reduces the toxicity of nitrites to the fish on a temporary basis? <Mmm, to some degree, yes> The nitrates in my tap water are somewhere between 80 and 160 PPM. <... not safe for your consumption. Please do have your public health officials out... Pronto> That's straight out of the tap with no exposure to fish. I know that's not dangerously high, but it's high enough that I plan to use the Nitrazorb. <Is dangerous... for your fishes and your use> FYI, I did as much reading and research as I could stand before I bought fish. I didn't come across fishless cycling until after I bought the mollies and platies. I plan to use this method on all of my future tanks. The LFS sold me a product called "Stability". It says, and the LFS claims that it rapidly establishes the bio filtration system, reducing cycle time to about a week. Is this bunk? <Most all such products are placebos at best. There are a few that do work. BioSpira is the current best> I'm on day 5 which is the only reason I determined it to be safe to buy the puffer. Again, any sign of stress and I'll either buy a 20 gallon tank and do daily water changes for the puffer and the sharks until the main tank is ready or let the LFS keep them in the mean time. It is my intent to be as conscientious as possible in raising my fish. <Good, and it does sound/read like you're dedicated, have been investigating> The blue platy is eating again BTW. Again, Thanks for your help. I've found your site to be one of the most informative. As a newbie to the hobby, I see and hear a lot of conflicting info. There seem to be a lot of "Experts" out there. You folks are among the most educated I've come across so any advice you have to offer that can save my fish and keep them healthy will be taken very seriously. Sincerely, Erik in Oceanside <Do always question folks "reasoning" behind their beliefs... I wish you well, Bob Fenner, in San Diego>

Urgent help needed with Ick problem! <Actually... much larger, wider issues> 7/20/05 Hey guys, I need some help. I have a 39 gallon tank with two blue whale catfish, two iridescent sharks, one Bala shark and a plucko. <Heee, Pleco> The problem is that the cycle is not completed, the tank is about a month old. <Ooops... what are these fish doing in a non-cycled system?> Last night I realized that one of the iridescent sharks had what I think is Ick. He looks all white and slimy and his eyes are even white. I went to the fish store and I got some stuff called "cycle" that is supposed to accelerate the process. <BioSpira would be better> I also go this medication called "Quick Cure". <Yikes, very toxic...> My questions are, first, the "Quick Cure" for Ick I bought said its wasn't safe for baby whales. Are my blue whale catfish safe then. I didn't use it yet... I'm afraid that the other fish in the tank will; get sick, and I'm afraid to use the medication because of the blue whale catfish. What do I do now? Thanks a whole lot! Stephanie <... you have a few profound problems here. First, the mix of fishes you list are not compatible... Please use WWM search tool (on the homepages, indices) to read re their compatibility, system needs... Second, your system is not cycled... Use WWM... next, you've set about actually poisoning them further with a product that is based on a biocide (formalin)... you can read about this on WWM as well.... I do wish we could start "at the beginning" and help you set up your system, wait... At this point I would ask your LFS to take back and have them treat your fishes... dump, bleach your tank and all the gear in it... let it sit a week with nothing in it, and start with means to cycle it w/o fish life... Read my friend. Bob Fenner>

WHAT IS IN MY TANK??? Hi There! I am writing to you regarding my 58 gallon tank. I recently (September) moved my fish from my 20 gallon to my new 58 gallon freshwater aquarium. I had a large Pleco, large Bala shark, 2medium angel fish, 2 small angel fish, 1 iridescent shark, 2 black skirt tetras, and 2 silver dollars. I originally setup the 58 gallon in may and waited until the levels were matched up to move them. All of the fish adjusted fine except for the Bala shark. He broke through the net and seemed to develop some sort of cut on the bottom of his mouth. It seemed to start to heal and didn't really cause him any problems. Well, as of November we started having major fish deaths. We lost 4 dwarf gouramis, 3 penguin tetras, and 1 angelfish over a three week period. They all seemed to get weird white fungus like growths before they died and no matter what meds I used it didn't work. Just yesterday I lost one of my silver dollars who had a white spot on his eye that ended up turning kind of bloody and the eye was lost. He stopped eating and ended up dying. Now, the bala's mouth has the same type of look to it. Also my angelfish are getting a weird white spots and it looks like the flesh has been "ripped" off of one of them on a few spots. I have checked the levels and the ammonia is very high...no matter what I do I can't get it lower. Also the ph is very low and can't seem to get it raised. I have tried water changes, ph regulators, and ammo locks. Now I am worried about my Pleco too...he has a couple of weird white discolorations on his tummy. I know this is a long story, but I have no idea what to do. I have also tried pima-fix, Mela-fix, and ich/parasite removers. WHAT IS IN MY TANK??? I have no idea what to do and don't want to loose my babies-I have had the Pleco and Bala for several years. I have never had anything like this happen in 15 years of freshwater aquarium keeping. Please help!!! <What's in your tank? Five different chemicals if you count the ammonia. Not good. But start with pH. Check the tank pH against your treated tap's. If they are within 2 or 3 tenths, do a 50% water change right away. Do another in a few hours. Don't add anything except dechlorinator. Repeat this until there is no ammonia or nitrite in the water. If the two pHs are off by more than .3, do smaller water changes more often. Continue until ammonia and nitrite are at zero. Keep watching for spikes and do even more water changes to correct. You lost your beneficial bacteria when you medicated. That's why the ammonia spiked and the need for all the water changes. If will take about 6 weeks to re-establish. Until then your in for a lot of work. The underlying problem is the amount of fish in the tank. The sharks and silver dollars should go away. Six angles and a Pleco are pushing it in a 58 gallon tank. You are in for repeated problems with this many large fish in a 58. I believe that all the water changes alone will allow the fish to heal and recover without medication if you reduce the bio load. If they continue to decline email me back. But for now it's very important to "clean the slate" with water changes. Don>

Spotless Flashing Fish Hi there!! Have read a lot of your advice over that last few months and find it extremely helpful. I do have a problem that I haven't seen discussed per se. There is sooo much info! I have a 20 gallon and a 10 gallon freshwater tanks. In the 20 gal I have Blackskirt tetras (3), black neon tetras (4) 2 Rasbora swordtails, a Pleco and an albino catfish. I have temporarily placed three mollies (2 female, 1 very aggressive male) so the platys in my 10 gallon could have fry. In my ten gallon I have a male and female red wag platy, two fry that are about 6 weeks old and about 10 week -old fry. The problem is that some of the fish are scratching against rocks, plants etc with no visible signs of ick or anything fungal. (Both tanks) I have tested the water weekly and the quality is fine. pH ~7.2, ammonia 0, nitrites <0.3. Both tanks are about the same water quality. Both tanks were new in September. Is there a medicine that I could use to treat them orally? Or should I treat the water Quick Cure into some flakes and letting it dry, then feeding them, but after about a week, they are still scratching. I only feed them this mixture once a day. It is hard to tell whether or not all of them are eating it! Even my 6 wk old fry are scratching!!! I really don't want to lose any of my fish! Thanks in advance for your advice! <Hi, Don here. Nine out of ten times the flashing is a sign of Ick, but anything that irritates the skin can cause them to scratch. I don't see a reading for nitrate or mention of water changes. High nitrates could be a cause. Check the pH of your tap. If it's within 2 or 3 tenths of the tank do a 50% water change. Match temp and use dechlorinator only. If the pH's differ by more than .3 do a smaller change. If you are testing keep nitrates below 20ppm. Watch that .3 nitrite also. Should be zero. The water change will improve that also. If you know your nitrates are low, then I'd say you have Ick. Watch the 20 also. Moving the mollies may have moved the Ick also. To treat for Ick read here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32 Salt is cheap, easier on the fish than most meds, and 100% effective. Understand the life cycle of this parasite and continue to treat for at least two weeks after the last spot drops, or they stop flashing. Good luck>
Spotless Flashing Fish pt 2 Hi! Just me again! Checked the nitrates and they were sky high, 80 in the 20 gallon and about 40 in the 10 gallon so I did partial water changes - about 25 % in the 20 gallon and about 10-15 % in the 10 gallon. I bought a nitrate test kit so I can check it more often now. I added salt to the 10 gallon. The nitrates after the water change were 40 ppm in the 20 gallon and 20 ppm in the 10 gallon. I plan to do another water change in a couple of days. Should I do it sooner (i.e. daily?) until the levels come down? Thanks Susan <If the two pH's are within 2 or 3 tenths do 50% daily until they get down to around 10ppm. If the pH's match, do a huge (80-90%) water change and be done with it. If they differ, go smaller, but more often. After they hit 10ppm come up with a water change schedule that keeps them below 20ppm. This will differ between the two tanks as they have different bio loads>

Dying Algae Eaters Hi, <Don here> I was wondering if you could help, as it seems no one else can. I have a 30 gallon fresh water fish tank, which is hexagonal about 2.5 foot tall, with lighting, filtration system, aeration and heater. The tank has been established for approx. 3 months and is inhabited by 5 tetra neon's, a Gourami, 3 guppies, a sword tail, a red barb, and about 4 other tetras. I have 3 living different plants, one is red. My problem is with algae eaters, I have tried on numerous occasions with differing species but none survive. The Bristlenose catfish lasts for 2 days, <Wow, pretty hardy fish> a golden algae eater lasts for 1 day and a snail lasts for only 1 hour. I have done ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate testing and all seems in order. <What are the actual test result numbers? Ammonia and nitrite must be at zero. Nitrate should be kept below 20ppm. I think this may be a pH problem. To be sure we would need to test your tank and the water the fish was living in. A sharp swing could cause death in this time window. The snail dying within an hour is also a sign that something is very wrong. Do you add salt? If so, how much. Ever treat for Ick? If so, was it a copper based med? Deadly to snails. And very harsh on cats.> The funny thing is that I don't have any other fish problems. There is plenty of green algae available to these fish, some on the walls some on the pebbles. <Will not be enough to support a fish for the long run. Please target feed.> I would be very grateful if you could help me with this dilemma. <Well if pH shock is the culprit, then floating the bag until temps match, then slowly adding tank water over a few hours will help. If the pHs are way off, then a drip system is called for. If you do not use a gravel vac to get waste from the tank, please start. Rotting food and waste could be changing your pH. Good luck.>

Sick Fish Hi, great website you have here, it is so helpful! So I'm hoping you'll be able to help me with my problem. I have a 46 Gal. Freshwater tank, two long aeration sticks connected to an air pump, Aqua Clear 500 filtration with carbon and foam. I'm new at this hobby so I've made and learned from some mistakes already. I had a huge ich outbreak due to buying sick fish from a large chain store, bad choice I will not be buying my fish from there anymore. <The moral here: Quarantine Tank! So many, many problems can be prevented with a simple quarantine method.> So I was treating them for 8 days with Kordon's Ich treatment. (Carbon filter out). I did a small water change, as I try to do them weekly, yesterday. My fish were getting better before my water change, all of them clear of ich. <More info on ich here, please read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm .> 3 Bala sharks, 1 Guppy, 1 Swordtail, 2 Mollies, 1 Silver Dollar, 1 Rainbow, 1 Glass fish. <Yikes! A very incompatible mix, I'm sorry to say; the mollies and glassfish are brackish animals (though mollies will thrive in anything from saltwater to freshwater), and the glassfish are schoolers, really do better in groups; the rainbow is a schooler, as well; the silver dollar will one day be large enough (and aggressive enough!) to eat the guppies, glassfish, and whatever else it decides is food (and it's a schooling fish, as well).... It would definitely benefit you greatly to research your fish prior to purchase, and decide what kind of tank you want (fresh, brackish, large predators, small, colorful fish, etc.), and go from there. 20/20 hindsight, I know. On to the problem at hand.> Well the day before my water change I noticed my Bala's took a nosedive and broke out in ich all over. I thought this odd so I checked my water levels and noticed my nitrite level was quite high. <Many meds will kill your nitrifying bacteria; it's a good idea to do hefty water changes while medicating/re-cycling the tank.> I decided to stop treatment and put my carbon filter back in that night. The next day I made a small water change. <Larger water changes will serve you well in this time of illness; test your water (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH) and do water changes as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite at zero, and nitrate low.> Here is what may be one of my problems. I was having my mother save gallon milk jugs for me so I could use them to store water. The very first jug she saved she cleaned out with soapy water. I know, I know, bad move. I guess my brother, who keeps fish as well, told her this was a no-no. Trying to rectify the situation she used very hot water and cleaned out the jug many times, thinking this would clean out any residue left by the soap. <Although there is the ghost of a chance that there was some residue left, I would not think this was the source of your problem, to be honest. Though, I do strongly recommend purchasing a couple of new, clean buckets for aquarium use; label them as such and never use them for anything else.> Without knowing I used that jug, along with some others. They had been sitting for at least two weeks. Well after my water change yesterday my fish seemed fine, a few of them a little on edge, but I figured this was from my nitrite levels, not knowing about the milk jug. One of my Bala's was completely covered in ich and not moving around and not eating so I was keeping a close eye on him. I got up this morning same situation, everyone ate breakfast except the one Bala, and everyone seemed to be ok considering. Well upon my return home this evening sure enough the one Bala was dead. Since then I have been watching my other fish closely and they are very active. I know I have poisoned them, one way or another, and I can't express how awful I feel about this. <We all make mistakes; as long as you learn and grow from them, that is what matters. But again, I do not believe the milk jug caused this; rather, I suspect the elevated nitrite (and likely ammonia, as well).> Most of my fish have nips in their tails, not caused from one another, and they are in a frenzy darting about the tank. This is behavior from all of them something I've never seen, and so I'm wondering if it was from the milk jug. <All of this as you have described is classic reaction to ammonia and/or nitrite in the water - some big water changes may be in order, please test your water, change as necessary; that should help the issue a lot.> I have a feeling I will wake up in the morning and have no fish. I have turned my aerator pump up all the way, hoping this may be of some help to them. <It should, good move.> Do you think this is soap poisoning? Or a combination of that and my toxic nitrite level? <The toxic nitrite level alone will cause everything you have described, but again, I suspect there is ammonia present, as well.> And if it is soap poisoning how do I clean my tank of this? <Water changes, in either case.> I wish I had a QT tank, but I do not, but am getting one shortly as I see how important it is to have one. <Ahh, good! I'm *very* glad to hear this!> What suggestions can you give for my surviving fish ,if any, tomorrow? <Water changes, water changes, water changes, until there is zero ammonia and zero nitrite. This should help tremendously, if not resolve the problem altogether.> Thanks so much! Stacie Lawrence <You're quite welcome, Stacie! Thank you for being so attentive to your fishes' needs, please enjoy the road ahead, learning more about your fish! -Sabrina>

White patches: ich, velvet, both, neither? Before I start, here's the background: Two 5-6" Oscars, one 5" Pleco, 39 g tank (which I now know is wayyyy too small and am diligently saving toward obtaining a 120 g tank ASAP). Two HOB filters (Penguin 125 w/BioWheel & a Millennium 1000). Biweekly 25-50% water changes depending on the amount of crud. Try to keep Ph no higher than 7.0 and ammonia is at a "safe" level according to the ammonia alert card in the tank (can those be trusted?). I put in 1 Tbls of aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of water I add during water changes. I use tap water treated with aqua safe & try to get it as close to the tank temp as possible. 1 or 2x daily feedings of Oscar pellets, dried brine shrimp &/or occasional live earthworms (rinsed). Please see the attached pics of my Lilo's spots and tell me if this looks more like ich or velvet or just injuries from fighting. <After reviewing the photo it looks like wounds from fighting> It doesn't look fluffy like velvet or pinpointy like ich. Stitch has recently started ramming Lilo's sides and I noted a scale pop off yesterday. Obviously I need to get a much bigger tank ASAP. In the meantime, I put a plastic screen in to separate them, which unfortunately only makes the habitat smaller for each, but at least they aren't tormenting each other at the moment. The pic has a greenish tint because I added 3 tabs of Tank Buddies Fungus Clear (Nitrofurazone, Furazolidone, potassium dichromate) and per the instructions, took out the carbon cartridges from the filters. < You should have removed the BioWheel from the penguin filter too. Medications can kill the bacteria on the wheel sometimes.> How soon before I can put them back in? The box says do another treatment and 25% water change in four days if it hasn't cleared up. Does that mean the cartridges stay out for that long? I don't want to poison them! They are each quite lethargic right now & didn't swim up to greet me at feeding but did each eat a red wiggler this morning. Thanks in advance for your assistance. < Do a partial water change and try using a conditioner with some wound control in it. The Oscars will recover from the wounds since they don't look too serious and Oscars are pretty tough customers to begin with. I would not remedicate if the fungus does not reappear. The fungus likes to live on dead tissue. Watch you ammonia levels since the bacteria may have been harmed by the medication. Add the carbon back after 24 hours to clear things up and get you tank back on track.-Chuck>

I Didn't Mean to Call You a Bichir! Another lesson in how Not to Punctuate Sorry to bother you but I don't know who else to ask.. I have this Bichir who looks very swollen.. from bellow the head to the mid fin.. it has been swollen for weeks now, I have 3 more Bichirs in the tank that are doing fine.. I have a 55 gal thank.. it seems to be ok except for the swelling.. it seems to have gone bigger too in the last couple of days.. I've had that Bichir for more than a year now, at least 1.5 years.. I attached a picture so you can see what I mean.. thanks for your help. < You need to get some Metronidazole ASAP! This bloat situation can be cured if it is caught early. It usually happens in cichlids mainly Tropheus and some lake Malawian fish. I think it is stress related. Big fish are messy eaters and generate a lot of waste. It is easy to let the wastes build up in the tank and get out of hand unless you do some water changes. If your fish is still alive you need to do a 30% water change now and treat the water for ich. A Formalin-malachite green medication will work. Add a hand full of rock salt too. Look for the Metronidazole at your local store. Check the ingredients for it. It may not be labeled as such. Treat the entire tank with 250 mg per 10 gallons. Use a little extra and use 6 tablets. Remove any carbon from your filters and if you have a Marineland filter with a BioWheel then remove it and place it in a plastic bag with some aquarium water in it. Leave it open and don't let it dry out. Do not treat on the second day and repeat day number one on the third day and every other day until the fish is cured. If the fish dies then watch the others closely in case they don't eat. If they don't it means that they are sick too and need treating. I got this cure a few months ago from another website. The website is called JDTropheus.com. They deal strictly with cichlids in the genus Tropheus and this cure does work. Good Luck.-Chuck>

Fish tank problem Good afternoon. <Hi Lisa, MacL here with you tonight.> I'm hoping you might be able to help me figure out what's going wrong with my tank. I have a 29 gallon freshwater setup at the office. Somehow, when we decided to get the fish tank, I ended up being the person responsible for it <Sounds like fun, fish tanks are great> (except for the stocking -- no matter what I tell the bosses, they seem to think they have absolute control over what fish go in the tank. I have to threaten them to keep fish from magically appearing over the weekend). We have a Whisper Power Filter 30, thermometer set for about 78-ish (with the hot weather we've been having, the actual temp is more around 80-82) and an aeration stone. We have only fake plants with two grotto-like structures for all of the pretty, expensive fish to go hide in. <Sounds lovely> The system has been running for approx. 6 months now. After a rough cycling period (learning the hard way JUST how rough it can get'¦), the ammonia and nitrite levels have remained at 0. We gradually began stocking the tank. Through the process, we've lost some fish due to one reason or another, perhaps at the rate of about one fish a month. I change about 3-4 gallons of water once every week or two. I only recently learned of the wonder of the gravel vacuum, which I've done twice now. <The secret to that is doing part of that tank at a time. For instance doing about half at a time.> The only thing I add is some tap water conditioner and about ½ aquarium salt 1-2 times per month. As of two weeks ago, our tank looked like this: 3 Harlequins 2 Pristellas 6 neon tetras (which survived the cycle) 2 rainbow tetras 1 small Pleco (a real trooper) 2 Cory cats 1 medium angel 1 small angel 1 Betta 1 tiny African frog (he survived the cycling, too) 1 gourami 1 loach of some kind (don't remember which one exactly, but labeled by the LFS as a community one) 1 Dalmatian molly (LFS said he would be fine in normal fresh-water salinity, and so far seems to be doing well enough) <You are adding salt pretty frequently so he's probably happier than the rest of the fish> 1 platy I've tried to maintain the fish inch/gallon rule. <You have to use that rule thinking about the ultimate size of the fish. The angels will eventually outgrow the tank. The gourami will as well unless its one of the dwarf gourami types.> This is a bit difficult considering the bosses and their attempts at weekly fieldtrips. <Why not sit down with the bosses and create a plan.> I realize that we have quite a few fish, but it is a decently-sized tank and most of the fish barely make an inch and I'm told most of them shouldn't get any bigger than they are now. One of the Harlequins has lost an eye. <That could have been the loach or one of the angels> He seems okay though, considering he's now blind on one side. We think it might be the larger angel, as he appears to be the only one even remotely aggressive. About two weeks after the addition of the molly, gourami, and loach, things seemed to start going downhill. The loach promptly went into hiding and we haven't seen anything of him since about day two of adding him. I've tried gently rocking the grotto in which he was last seen, with no sign of him. <If he's a Kuhli loach he's probably buried in the rocks> He is assumed dead. About two weeks after the introduction, the gourami died. When I found him, he was covered in fuzz (he died over the weekend. I don't know if the fuzz was pre- or post-mortem). <More than likely after death.> When I arrived at work yesterday, two of the Neons were missing. <If they were small enough they could have been eaten> No bodies have yet turned up. And then this morning my Pleco died. <With the Pleco, did you by any chance look at his belly? Pleco's can starve without algae to eat. If so they get a sunken in belly> Water quality as of yesterday morning (and it's really stayed pretty steady for the past 4 months or so -- I keep track in a notebook): Using a Mardel test strip kit pH 7.2, Alkalinity 80, Hardness 120, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 40 <Nitrates are way to high> and Ammonia (with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit) is 0. Nobody appears to be ill. The Pleco was ecstatic yesterday to be fed, and quickly became lethargic this morning. He didn't appear to be missing any fins or have any scars/wounds, so I don't think someone beat him up. <If I had to guess without algae which is their natural food he's starved, hard to tell without actually seeing the fish and/or the tank. Pleco's also get irritated by salt added to the water.> Any thoughts as to what might be causing the death? <Most of what you have talked about is pretty normal with the mix of fish you have and the adjustment of a new tank. I'd suggest several things. My first thought is that you are probably over feeding your tank with nitrates that high. Once a day and tiny amounts is important. Now you are probably thinking, overfeeding? and she thinks the Pleco starved? Its pretty simple, Pleco's eat algae and without it they generally starve. Certain fish require certain foods. Is it possible that other people are feeding the tank as well?> Any help you can give is greatly appreciated! <Lots of people overfeed especially new people to the hobby. The fish always look hungry. One way to tell is if when you vacuum you find lots of yucky stuff in the gravel, if so there is too much food going into the tank. solution is simple on the bright side though, just cut back on the food. Don't feed on weekends for sure. They will be fine. Hope this helps, MacL> --Lisa.

Follow Up: Dying Fish in Freshwater System >Thank you very much Marina for the information. >>Quite welcome. Another crewmember, Ananda, was kind enough to send me a link to a discussion on our board, as well, with even more. It is specific to Amquel. >I didn't think it was enough information, but had I provided more at the time, I would have been lying, as I didn't know specifics. >>No worries. >I will attempt to answer the questions you asked me to clarify and give you specific information. I also did some more checking on what I *ADD* to my water when making changes, and I think that is where my problem is. Problem is I have asked several people and out of ignorance (my story, I'm sticking to it), combined some things that I actually only need one of. >>Heh.. don't be sorry for not automatically knowing who's got the good information and who doesn't. Here are the details: The water filter system I use is a tank model (hangs off the back), a TetraTec PF300. Uses 4 filters at a time which are cycled (2 removed and 2 new per month). The type of carbon I am using in the filters is Ammo Carb. Most people I talked to stated that undergravel filters were more trouble than they were worth and so I never put one in. >>That's actually a matter of opinion, you can run a tank with 'em, or without 'em. >I am not sure how they work, but after seeing your FAQ pages, it appears that most people are using both undergravel and hanging filters. Can you confirm if this is best? >>I'm sorry, but I can't. Honestly, my own best tank was run with a canister (Fluval 403) and a hang-on filter. The issue is providing a substrate for nitrifying bacteria (there are two species that oxidize ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate--remember those last two!), not as much how you achieve it. I know of one person with an OUTRAGEOUS planted tank who uses a sump. >I don't want a ton of fish, although I like variety and want more than what I currently have. >>Understood! >My test kit is from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, it is the Master Test Kit. It allows me to test Ammonia, Nitrite, General Hardness, Alkalinity, and pH. >>Odd that it doesn't test the full ammonia oxidation cycle. Hrm. In any event, it's a fairly decent test kit, though not my favorite. >I ran my tests last night and this is what I came up with. pH: 7.1 Ammonia: 0 Nitrites: 0 GH: 30 KH: 6 >Some people recommended that I use two kits to test the hardness, so I went out and bought a Jungle Hardness/Alkalinity Quick Dip strips. >>Strips = BAD (cheap, poor quality). Also, please! STOP worrying and messing about with your hardness. If you're experiencing pH bounce, *then* you have reason to, but otherwise leave it be. Your fish will be much happier for it! >According to this strip, my water is HARD and the alkalinity is LOW, which according to the card is not ideal. Alkalinity shows about 0-1, and the recommended is 120 to 300 for freshwater. (Not sure what that means, can you help me understand?). >>Truthfully, I have a hard time wrapping my own brain around having HARD water with a poor buffering capacity. Must find old books! In any event, hard water simply means that you have a relatively high amount of dissolved minerals in the water. USUALLY they're calcium (lime leach), magnesium, and iron (lots more, too many to list). Alkalinity speaks to the buffering capacity of the water. Basically, alkalinity means that the water either is or isn't resistant to pH change. Low alkalinity means that the water will very easily change pH. This could very easily explain your fish deaths. >I would think that low alkalinity would be best. >>Alkalinity has two different meanings, one is regarding high pH (not necessarily a bad thing, either), the other is in regards to the buffering capacity of the water I spoke of above. >How do I kick the alkalinity up? >>A common method in freshwater is baking soda, but that is temporary. Another common method is to place a bag (or pantyhose) of crushed coral in the tank, usually under the gravel somewhere, or in a filter. This is the method I would use. Do know that your pH will be bumped up, as well. This is NOT a problem for the fish, just let it happen. However, know that your source water will bring the alkalinity back down, and along with it the pH. One method to deal with this is to use a trash can, place either a hang-on or canister filter filled with the coral and let it circulate for a day. Or, you can just fill it with water and a bag/pantyhose full of the crushed coral, and make sure it's circulating well. >I also went and got a NITRATE tester as the LFS people said that NITRITES are only when the tank is new. >>No offense, but these people are doing a piss-poor job of explaining things to you. No WONDER you're becoming so frustrated. If you need, I can link to you a site with a brief synopsis of the nitrification/nitrogen cycle. Though it's written in regards to marine systems, it is just as applicable to fresh. >Since my tank has been established for some time, to test the NITRATES. So, I got a Hagen NO3 Test Kit. According to the test kit, Nitrates are between 50 and 110 mg/L. The card states that this is supposed to be good. Can you confirm? >>No, this is relatively high, but not so high as to explain the fish DEATHS. It can, however, promote disease. Water changes are the best way to get this under control, but do be sure to test your source water, first. Nitrate levels as high as 40ppm are acceptable for potable water in many water districts. Also, when it comes time to replace the kit, try getting the same brand as what you're using for the other tests (Aquarium Pharm.). >That all being said, I may have left something important out. On the outside of the tank (on the light hood and tank cover) there has been a constant buildup of what I think is salt or scaling like the buildup I get on my faucets. I attribute this to the water hardness. Is that correct? >>Absolutely. A vinegar solution will quickly and easily clean this up. >What is the best way to soften the water? I saw something about Water Softener Pillows. Do you recommend those? >>They can work, but are expensive. I personally prefer a combination of peat moss and carbon to remove the tea-colored stain it tends to impart. However, I would strongly suggest you DON'T do this, let it be. >OKAY. here is where the problems MAY be: When I change water, here are the things that I am adding to the water and the quantities. Amquel - 3 tsp Stress Coat - 3 tsp Stress Zyme - 3 tsp Ammo Lock - 3 tsp Dr Wells Salt - 3 tbls Tap Water Conditioner (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) 1 drop per gal of tap H2O, typically 5 drops for 5 gals. >>Oh good lord, my dear, talk about redundancy! Did you know that if your water source is only using chlorine you can eliminate ALL of these products and simply let it sit overnight to allow the chlorine to dissipate? Stop with the salt (this is another reason for the "scale", we call it salt creep, too), stop with the Ammo Lock, the Amquel.. all of it. Here is the link the kind Ananda sent me, too -- http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=12025 >I hope that gives you more ideas about my water and what may be causing the fish to die. I didn't know what kind of fish, I only asked if they were compatible with each other and bought ones that looked good. >>And they couldn't even give you a better combination. Shame on them. >Not knowing much about fish, I have tried different species: platys, mollies, and such, all of which have died. I have resorted to finding fish that I think are hardy and not really looking at types. Which is why I asked for a good mix after the water problem is cleared up. Since I don't know the specifics, I am sending photos. I don't think the "goldfish" are really goldfish, but I chose that name as it is the only one that fits. There are actually two. >>Alright. The orange fish is DEFINITELY a goldfish. >So that you know, I did a 25% water change today and will start with a water change every 2 weeks. Hope that will help. Since I am there (I have to admit that while I looked, I was trying to find other answers first, so did not specifically look this up) can you give me the straight scoop on water changes and gravel cleaning? Again, when I bought the tank, I was told to clean the gravel at the same time I do the water change, once a month. I have been following that rule. Is there a better way? What do YOU recommend? >>Just be sure to vacuum only 1/3 - 1/2 the gravel with each change. This is the best way to ensure you don't disturb your nitrifying bacteria too much. >I saw your reference to "Nessler's reagent" but after doing a Google search on this, see that there are a ton of things that are associated with this. Can you be more specific? Is this the name of the test kit that I should use? Do you have a known source where I can get this? >>No, I'm afraid I don't, and it's something you DON'T want. It's a type of reagent that is easily skewed by the products you're using, so it's in truth something you'd be better off avoiding like the plague. j/k, but still, avoid those test kits that use it. If it's not listed, then contact the manufacturer. >I won't address the messing with pH, as everything that I have done probably has. Maybe nerds (I'm a programmer) should only be allowed to have fish screensavers and leave the real fish to others. :) >>Not at all! I'm progressing even further into nerddom, as I'm a hardcore fish geek (yes, we DO exist), and I've got a bf who's a computer geek and has me with a partitioned drive for "Winblows", Red Hat 9 (a custom kernel install), and a shared partition for both. Wheee!!! However, do know that by addressing the alkalinity (buffering capac.) of the water, the pH very well may be affected. But! Don't worry about it. >Hope you can help with the new information I have provided. I await your post. >>Do read that thread (it's a shorty), and I am SO pleased that you're making such good use of the information we have on this site! I'm having trouble opening up some of the pics, but the first one is DEFINITELY a gold fish, I saw a Cory cat, and a platy, with what appeared to be a couple of gouramis. A decent mix if the goldie were left out. >Thank you again for the great source of information and the wealth of information that is on your site. Iley >>You are MOST welcome, Iley. When you get things under control please feel free to come a-knocking and we'll sort out a good group of stock for you, too. Marina
Follow Up: Dying Fish in Freshwater System >Thank you ALL very much for all your help. >>You're very welcome, Iley. >I checked the links that you provided and they helped a lot, although I am sure that there will be more questions later on. >>Most assuredly. >Just a couple more things, after reading your reply online. I went out and bought some crushed coral and a large trash can to run the water through. I happen to have an old pump that will work great for this. You [Ananda] state that the test kit I have is not the best. It still has a bit to go before I will need to replace it, but when I do, what is your recommendation? At this point, replacing fish is costing me more than I think the test kit will. Might as well get one that the PROs recommend. >>Whoa there! I don't know about Ananda, but even while I've earned something resembling a living with this "stuff", I am hardly a pro.. but thanks anyway. I happen to like SeaChem's kits, but I can't remember right now if they either put one out for freshwater, or if their salt kits "swing both ways", so to speak. I'll suggest you sign up for our forum, though, and put it to the many users who are current in the latest/newest. http://www.wetwebfotos.com/talk >That way, should there ever be trouble, we will know that I am giving you readings that are consistent with what you would expect. Let me see if I comprehend everything that you have told me. I should forget about everything except pushing my changing water through the crushed coral. I should change my water twice monthly and clean 1/3 to 1/2 the gravel monthly. (Something else that they told me wrong at the LFS. They instructed me to clean up all the mess in the gravel. Have to admit it was rough to do and still keep the majority of the water.) >>You CAN do the gravel vac with each water change, but in a new, unstable system I wouldn't. >Is that the down and dirty version of all our messages? I just want to make sure that I am not leaving something out or forgetting an important detail. >>Pretty much. That, and READ everything you can get your hands/eyes on. >The other bad thing about being a programmer...need some method of debugging my daily communications. >>Heh, gotcha. >If I got it all correctly, then my next message will be to see what a good combination of fish will be. So that you know, I lost both guppies. The goldfish and the unknown yellow fish went to my grandson and so he is happy and maybe they will be better off there. They have a goldfish tank. >>Sounds good. Just to let you know, I am currently FIGHTING a problem with Furunculosis with my mother's koi. We ALL have problems, no matter how long we've been at it. >THANK YOU very much for all the help. Your words of encouragement and wisdom will make things much easier on me and my wallet (those chemicals the LFS says I need are expensive). To the whole crew, THANK YOU for your great service. Iley Pullen >>You are MOST welcome, again. It can indeed get expensive. For instance, I can get a 5lb. bucket of sodium thiosulfate (dechlorinator--Google it!) from an online chemical retailer for just a few dollars, and this is in its granular/most pure form. Yet if I go to my local I'll pay that, plus possibly a few dollars more for the same thing in its dilute form (probably going to get the bucket since my koi q/t is 100gals.). Waiting for more (but may steer you towards Sabrina or Ananda, depending), Marina.
Follow Up: Dying Fish in Freshwater System >Thank you ALL very much for all your help. >>You're very welcome, Iley. >I checked the links that you provided and they helped a lot, although I am sure that there will be more questions later on. >>Most assuredly. >Just a couple more things, after reading your reply online. I went out and bought some crushed coral and a large trash can to run the water through. I happen to have an old pump that will work great for this. You [Ananda] state that the test kit I have is not the best. It still has a bit to go before I will need to replace it, but when I do, what is your recommendation? At this point, replacing fish is costing me more than I think the test kit will. Might as well get one that the PROs recommend. >>Whoa there! I don't know about Ananda, but even while I've earned something resembling a living with this "stuff", I am hardly a pro.. but thanks anyway. I happen to like SeaChem's kits, but I can't remember right now if they either put one out for freshwater, or if their salt kits "swing both ways", so to speak. I'll suggest you sign up for our forum, though, and put it to the many users who are current in the latest/newest. http://www.wetwebfotos.com/talk >That way, should there ever be trouble, we will know that I am giving you readings that are consistent with what you would expect. Let me see if I comprehend everything that you have told me. I should forget about everything except pushing my changing water through the crushed coral. I should change my water twice monthly and clean 1/3 to 1/2 the gravel monthly. (Something else that they told me wrong at the LFS. They instructed me to clean up all the mess in the gravel. Have to admit it was rough to do and still keep the majority of the water.) >>You CAN do the gravel vac with each water change, but in a new, unstable system I wouldn't. >Is that the down and dirty version of all our messages? I just want to make sure that I am not leaving something out or forgetting an important detail. >>Pretty much. That, and READ everything you can get your hands/eyes on. >The other bad thing about being a programmer...need some method of debugging my daily communications. >>Heh, gotcha. >If I got it all correctly, then my next message will be to see what a good combination of fish will be. So that you know, I lost both guppies. The goldfish and the unknown yellow fish went to my grandson and so he is happy and maybe they will be better off there. They have a goldfish tank. >>Sounds good. Just to let you know, I am currently FIGHTING a problem with Furunculosis with my mother's koi. We ALL have problems, no matter how long we've been at it. >THANK YOU very much for all the help. Your words of encouragement and wisdom will make things much easier on me and my wallet (those chemicals the LFS says I need are expensive). To the whole crew, THANK YOU for your great service. Iley Pullen >>You are MOST welcome, again. It can indeed get expensive. For instance, I can get a 5lb. bucket of sodium thiosulfate (dechlorinator--Google it!) from an online chemical retailer for just a few dollars, and this is in its granular/most pure form. Yet if I go to my local I'll pay that, plus possibly a few dollars more for the same thing in its dilute form (probably going to get the bucket since my koi q/t is 100gals.). Waiting for more (but may steer you towards Sabrina or Ananda, depending), Marina.
Thanks For Help With Dying Fish >Hello All, >>Hello Iley. >I don't really have a question. The subject line is what I had asked earlier, about 3 weeks ago. >>That helps those of us placing queries. >Since then, I have been following what several people had responded with and my tank is doing well. >>Excellent! >I know that most people writing are asking questions. Me, I just wanted to thank you for helping me get my tank in order. >>You are very welcome. We want folks to succeed, and for their animals to live. >Following [Ananda's, I think] recommendation, I started to run my hard water through crushed coral. >>That was me, but no worries. >I have been running it through for 48 hours before my water changes. I changed the cycle I was using to changing water every two weeks, and change 20% per change. At the end of two cycles, I change half the filters in my hang-off-the-back TetraTec and do a vacuum of 1/2 the sand. Since following this regime, my water has been great, except that I have a low pH. >>Very odd, since you're running the crushed coral. I suggest, if the pH is too low for your fishes' liking, you place a bag of it in the tank, too. >Nitrates = < .5 pH=6.6 Ammonia=0 KH=7 Nitrites=0 Alkalinity=120 (Kit says that is ideal) >>And, while your pH is on the low end, it's certainly nothing the animals can't deal with. >I did lose all my guppies, 1 skirted tetra, and found a family for my goldfish (that I didn't know were goldfish) before all this took effect. >>Sorry to hear it, but now you have a clean slate with which to start. >Right now the tank is doing great and all the fish are active and thriving. >>Perfect! >Just wanted to give you all my heartfelt THANKS for providing such an invaluable service to the fish-keeping community. Iley Pullen >>Again, most welcome, Iley. Your success is our reward. Marina

FW environmental disease >Hi my names Cora I've been doing tanks for years and until recently I've never had any trouble. >>Hello Cora, Marina here. >A lady contacted me because I take in unwanted fish. Due to her moving from Ohio to Maryland she needed a home for her fish (black mollies). She told me to come get tank and all so I did. Needless to say when I got there the water was black! >>Ack! (And uh oh.) >I felt bad for the fish caught them drained the tank and loaded it all up into my car and brought it home. I gave that tank a good cleaning no chemicals used of course and used water from my 55 gallon tank that had just had a partial water change the night before. >>Personal experience: mistake #1. (Groaning, because I learned my mistake with a customer's fish.) >I let the fish float for 15 minutes and then released them. Needless to say a little while later I notice the fish were starting to act really funny. I checked the temperature it was a little high so I lowered it the water then started to get a milky white. >>Free floating bacteria found plenty of nutrients--new tank syndrome. >And the fish were still acting funny and 2 died. I pulled the fish from that tank and floated them in my 55 gallon released them and they did fine. >>I wouldn't have done that, but you saved the rest. My concern is the very real risk to your well-established tank by introducing the new fishes with no quarantine whatsoever, coming out of a foul-looking (but apparently healthy) tank. >I left them in the 55 over night and by morning the other tank had turned clear (no chemicals were used at any point of my set up ) so I put in 2 clown loaches and a few mollies needless to say they started to fly through the tank and act as though they were going to die I immediately put them back into my 55 and now they are fine but the other tank is milky white again. Can you give me any ideas as to what might be going on? I've worked in pet shops and have had tanks for years and never experienced anything to this effect. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Totally Confused, Cora >>Again, this sounds like new tank syndrome, though it usually takes a few hours for the bacteria to get a good foothold. You never mentioned the size of this new tank, and I cannot recommend adding so many fish so quickly unless we're talking about a 75 gallon or larger set up. At this point you MUST remove everything from the tank and fill it with water, then add bleach at a ratio of 1Cup/5 gallons. Let it sit like this a few hours, then drain and allow to dry. I would do this with everything that was associated with that tank as well. If you're very worried about the tank, do this procedure twice, and then when ready to set it up again start with feeder gups first. Beyond that it's difficult to say what to do, I'm assuming you know to match temperature and pH when transferring fishes, and to never introduce water from one system into another. I hope this has helped answer your questions. Best of luck with your new wards, Marina

Dying Fish - Why??? Hello good fish people, <Hello> I have some questions for you. I own a 29-gallon tank operating on a Fluval 304. after letting the initial setup run for 2 days I added 6 single sword plants, 3 zebra Danios, 2 leopard (I think) Plecos an inch long, and one mystery fish. <This is probably too much too soon. You should only have one Pleco and he shouldn't have been added until there was green algae growing unless you are supplementing him with algae wafers.> This mystery fish greatly resembles a pictus catfish, but instead of spots it has a single black stripe running down its whole body. He is approx 2" long. <Check http://www.fishbase.org and see if you can find him) This may seem like a lot of fish to setup, but for 2 weeks they were fine (my first fish died yesterday). <Have you been doing regular water changes? If not, the ammonia and nitrites have probably risen over this time to the point that they killed this fish.> I know my plants helped speed the cycling process by absorbing some ammonia and nitrite (I also added the pet store water the fish came in, knowing it might have some bacteria in it). <The plants may have helped a little but not a whole lot. Adding the water the fish came in was not a good thing to do. This water wouldn't have had any of the beneficial bacteria in it but it most likely did have a lot of ammonia in it.> My substrate is sand (I know it's not great for plants but I like the way it looks) and the plants are fine. They haven't grown at all, but they aren't dying either. <Sand should be fine for them but that's really not a good way to look at it. You should strive to do everything possible to make them flourish, not just keep them alive.> After the 3rd week I added 3 more zebra Danios, a male and female guppy, and a Cory. <Ouch, these should have been added gradually over several weeks once your tank was fully cycled and then only after a proper quarantine period.> Since the tank setup, I have added liquid plant fertilizer twice (once a week) for the plants. I hear the carbon in my filter might lessen the effect; should I remove the carbon when I add the fertilizer, and how long before I can put the carbon back? <Opinions on the length of time vary between a few hours and 24 hours.> I read that Danios are supposed to be peaceful schooling fish... well I have the bullies of the species and it sucks. Since the beginning they constantly chase after one another, and also after my male guppy. The 2 guppies have isolated themselves to the upper corner of my tank because of the pestering Danios. I had 6 Danios, one disappeared (I attribute that to my mystery catfish), and I removed another one which happened to be substantially larger than the rest, and the one that bothered all the others the most. So now I have 4 Danios, but they still bother one another and my guppies. My male guppy had a beautiful tail, which is totally destroyed now. It actually looks like he doesn't even have a tail! Was it the Danios? And what should I do to chill them out? <This isn't uncommon behavior for Danios. They are a very active fish and will often pester other fish in the same tank, especially fish with longer fins like your Guppy or Bettas. There's not a lot that can be done to calm them down. The best place for these fish is in with their own kind.> My main question though is about the fish that died yesterday. It is the 3rd week of tank operation and it was one of my Pleco fish that died. They are the same size, but one was slightly smaller than the other, and it was he who died. He appeared healthy, blackish brown with his dark spots, no sign of ich, or parasites or fungus. why do you think he died?...underfeeding maybe?, since a have a very clean tank (it definitely wasn't overfeeding being that I only feed them once a day for now) I thought the other one was going to die as well because he seemed very inactive, but then I saw him at night and he was quite chipper, scanning the whole tank for food. I feel bad that one of them died as my two Plecos were very pleasant, and didn't bother anyone. Can I do anything to prevent the death of the other one, if in fact he might be in danger? <Plecos are sensitive to water quality so it could have been from ammonia/nitrites but even more likely is that he starved to death if you aren't supplementing with algae wafers. Test your water to make sure the ammonia and nitrites are at zero and begin feeding the remaining Pleco an algae wafer either daily or at least every other day.> In my filter I have 6 compartments for filter material. I have the foam screen first. The bottom 3 compartments hold the carbon, and the upper 3 hold the ceramic rings. Other available media is Zeo carb, wool, peat moss (not interested in this one because it will make my water brownish), and another type peat (I believe granular peat is what it is called). What do you think should be the best combination of media for an optimal setup consisting of: one Betta male, my mystery catfish, 3 Corys, 3 glass catfish not painted as this is unnatural), 2 male guppies, 3 female guppies, my Pleco, one swordtail male, and 2 swordtail females. <First, eliminate the Betta. He won't mix well with these other fish. Then, just carbon and the ceramic rings will be good for filtration.> I will also be adding some java ferns and some driftwood for my Pleco. Thanks for your time, and your help is greatly appreciated. Jean-Pierre Luque <You're welcome! Ronni>

Freshwater, Fish Dying Hello: <<Greetings, John,>> Have some questions for you regarding my tank. I am fairly new at this hobby and like a lot of people have said on your website there IS TOO much info out there for new fish hobbyists. At any rate, I feel you know what you are talking about and you won't confuse the most of us that keeping getting different answers. So here is my story. I bought a 20 gallon tank, with 100watt heater, whisper 20 power filter with the filter bags, air pump with the air bars, came with full hood and light, etc, etc. I did everything right as far as cycling the tank for 24 hours, put 25 pd.s of gravel at bottom with a few fake plants and some big rocks and misc. ornaments. Used Amquel to treat water during that 24 hours and had a pet store check the water and everything was ok, ammonia levels, nitrite, nitrate, etc., before I put fish in. Then bought 5 fish, which was about the max for a 20 gallon new tank I am finding out. 1-was a Dalmatian molly I think, 1-just regular molly I guess, 1-swordtail, and 2-high fin platys and all are under 3inch in length. Everything was fine for the first 5-days, I was using the stress-Zyme and stress-coat, along with adding a little aquarium salt after the a few days. On the six day one of my platies, was not eating or really moving for that matter and stayed at the bottom of the tank by the aeration. He was breathing very rapidly. On the 8th day of the this new tank he was dead at the bottom. (Which of coarse, trying to be a good aquarist, immediately took my water in to the pet store for testing). Found that the ammonia levels were Extremely high. So did what they said and first bought some new filters for the whisper 20 along with some ammo-carb to add with the carbon that came with it and changed the filter as such. At the same time did a 25% water change with the gravel siphon per the store keeper. And used bottled water this time and still treated with the Amquel or however you spell it. Added a little more stress-Zyme and stress coat with the water change The water before the change was really cloudy and still is, but not quite as bad after the water change, but still cloudy so bought some water clear tablets and put them in the next day. The store keeper also informed me that I was probably overfeeding, and I think I was, so I am only feeding 1 time a day right now. Ok now 2-days after the water change the other platy was acting the same way. Yesterday or 3-days after the water change on this tank that has been set up for 12-days now, the other platy died. The weird part is that the other 3 fish are fine and healthy as far as I can see. But the water is still cloudy but not as bad and is slowly getting better. The last part of this story is: the water where I live is really hard and the ph is 7.6- 7.9. In which the store keeper told me not to even worry about ph or hardness since the fish were born and living in the same kind of water when I got them (also why I just bottled water when I did the water change. And lastly I added some plant butts on the 8th day and they are rooting and sprouting ok. Ok NOW MY questions. Sorry for the long story-line. 1-what else can I do about the cloudiness? <<Don't be so generous with all those additives. I mean... you're making quite the soup by constantly adding this and that to a 20g tank, which isn't really a lot of water.>> 2-am I doing anything wrong? <<I think so... first, you put in too many fish in there way too soon. The Nitrogen Cycle, takes many weeks to develop so that waiting 24 hours really wasn't enough. The mollies are tough customers, and are more able to live through the cycling of a new tank. The platies are pretty tough too, but perhaps more sensitive to ammonia.>> 3-when can I add more fish and how many? <> 4-what would be your suggestion on the type of fish? <<Perhaps another platy? Keep in mind these can grow to the size of your forearm so... perhaps plan on a larger tank.>> 5-what else can I do to prevent anymore fish from dying that I am not already doing (note the 3-mollies I mentioned above seem to be ok and that is all that is in the tank now)? <<Well, the mollies are known for being especially tolerant of poor water conditions. If I were you, I'd slow down some, and try to take your time with this new tank. Good things come to those who wait.>> 6-How many fish can this tank finally hold with proper oxygen? <<Three or four - they need room to grow.>> And lastly can I leave the florescent light on for about 12 hours per day or is that bad. <<Shouldn't be a huge problem, but it will promote algae growth.>> And any other advise you can give please. So I thank you very much for your patients, reading and answering this. I know I can trust your advise and thank you once again in advance for your help. <<Yes, please check out this article on WetWebMedia, I think you will find it helpful: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwtips4beginners.htm >> Sincerely ~John <<Cheers, J -- >>

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