FW Dis F 5

FAQs on Freshwater Diseases 5

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

African spotted leaf fish; "lock-jaw" 11/12/13
Hi I have had my fish for about three weeks now and it seems like he overextended his top lip and can not retract it back. He wasn't eating when it happened so I'm not sure how it happened. I also have another African spotted leaf fish that I have had him for 4 months and he is doing excellent. If you can help me with how I can fix his mouth or what I can do that would be great.
<Mmm, such "stuck open mouths" on these fish and others are most often due to physical traumas (overextensions, or getting "something" stuck in them)... perhaps more allowed by nutritional deficiency over time. You can try, make that could try rearticulating the jaw mechanism with a dull wood toothpick, or a Q-tip with the cotton removed; but there is a risk of further injury. A few folks that have written to us over the years have had success doing this op. w/ their goldfish... You might find relief in reading their accounts, searched on WWM. Bob Fenner>
Re: African spotted leaf fish 11/12/13
Thank you so much this is very helpful. I tried looking on the website for it but I didn't know what kind of keywords to put in. I will check again.
Thank you again
<Ah good; and I've asked Neale to respond independently. BobF>

Plea for help/advice concerning Black Phantom Tetras with kinked spines (RMF, any ideas?) <Agree w/ your sugg. of poss. causes... B> 10/23/13
Hello and thank you for reading my email.
<Pleasure.>
My name is Rachel and I have a 45 gallon planted freshwater aquarium. I treat the water with Prime and nothing else.
<Good.>
My ammonia and nitrIte levels read 0 and nitrAte reads between 10 and 20 before each 25% weekly water change/partial gravel siphoning. The pH is 6.8
and the temp is maintained at 78F.
<All sounds fine.>
The GH and KH are both around 120 due to the source water being very hard.
<But likely not a problem with most community fish. Avoid the really fussy species like Cardinals and you shouldn't have a problem.>
The tank has been running about 6 months without obvious issue until about 1 month ago. All current inhabitants have been there for at least 5 months.
I've written earlier regarding the deaths of my 7 Corydoras paleatus and now I just please specifically need advice about my remaining Hyphessobrycon megalopterus, now 5 female and 3 male.
<Hyphessobrycon megalopterus is not a fussy species, and can do well in even fairly hard water, 2-20 degrees dH, pH 6-8.>
Roughly a week ago I noticed one female Black Phantom Tetra being harassed by a male and the next day I noticed the beginnings of "z" shaped kinks in her caudal spine area that appeared to get worse over the next few days.
<I see. Now, sometimes farmed fish come with bent spines already because of genetics, and there's nothing you can do about that. Often the fish are fine, but wouldn't make good breeding stock for obvious reasons! But as pets, there's nothing wrong with keeping them, and some might say they add character to the tank! On the other hand, if the fish had normal spines when you bought them, but months later their spines started going crooked, that's less likely to be genes. The reasons for spine damage or deformity are multiple, with possibilities including poor diet/lack of vitamins; exposure to certain toxins; physical damage (typically when big or active fish are kept in too-small tanks); and certain infections including Mycobacteria. Telling which of these is the cause is difficult, so the best approach is to consider them all, and act accordingly.>
She was still feeding, swimming normally, schooling and whatnot. A male, not the dominant male, then came down with the same symptom of a kinked spine. I euthanized both after spending hours reading about TB, Neon Tetra Disease and False Neon Tetra Disease., I now wish I had just quarantined them.
<Possibly, but if you suspect Mycobacteria infections, then cure isn't likely, and you may as well minimise the risk of further infection of your healthy fish.>
A few days ago another male developed a kink in his spine but was otherwise acting normally, he's now in my 10 gallon quarantine, and today I came home to a previously seemingly asymptomatic female dead on the filter. The kinks in my isolated male and the two previous fish are/were only obvious when the fish is/was viewed from above. At first I thought that the kinked areas of the fish were also paler but it really just seems to look different because the body is now bent and not smooth like the others. The only other tank inhabitants are 9 ghost shrimp and a handful of freshwater snails that came in with the live plants. I'm perplexed about what I'm facing with these fish.
<So am I. Normally, when a bunch of different fish become sick and die, you suspect the aquarium is wrong, and check things like water quality, water chemistry, circulation, etc. But if only one species becomes sick, then you have the added possibility of a species-specific pathogen or problem. That said, if Black Phantoms are more sensitive to environmental (aquarium) problems than the other fish, then the fact it's only them getting sick isn't a surprise. Confused? I am! That's the problem here. My gut feeling is that you're dealing with a combination of low-quality livestock and an opportunistic Mycobacterial infection, so I'd tend to do nothing more than optimising living conditions (see above re: diet, water circulation, etc.) and seeing what happens. There are some species (Neons, Guppies, Dwarf Gouramis and Ram Cichlids) that are so unreliable nowadays I simply don't recommend them. While Black Phantoms are usually considered good fish, quality may be less good than in the past, so if they all die off, then just don't buy them again (or at least, not from the same retailer).>
Some source of stress must be bringing this on but the water parameters haven't changed. I know it must seem blatantly obvious to some but I've just become confused because, honestly, the only symptom I see are the kinked spines and I've read info about so many diseases, none of which fit their symptoms exactly. I've successfully kept Harlequin Rasboras, Peppered
Corydoras, Otocinclus and Lemon Tetras in the same tank for years back when I had tanks in my early 20's.
<Black Phantoms are comparable to Lemon Tetras and Otocinclus in terms of demands and if anything a little less fussy re: water chemistry and quality; so if you could keep those species, then Black Phantoms should be fine.>
I'd hate to think that I'm not seeing something else that's out of the ordinary with these Black Phantoms. I do feed mostly TertraMin Tropical Crisps (it had the highest protein content from what was currently available),
<Not necessarily a plus. I do recommend a mix of foods. A good quality flake is a fine staple, but try adding some micro pellets (the Hikari ones are great) or if you can't get those, try smashing up larger cichlids pellets, especially quality brands like Hikari Cichlid Gold (a very economical approach this!). Raid the kitchen periodically, for things like cooked peas, seafood, even hard boiled egg yolks. The more variety, the less risk of vitamin deficiency.>
small meals twice a day, occasional thawed out frozen bloodworms and on rare occasion thawed out brine shrimp.
<Some folks are leery of bloodworms given their source, but brine shrimps should be 100% safe because of they way they're reared.>
I fast them one day a week and have fed peas once when the Corydoras were acting abnormally after a bloodworm feeding and water change. I would really like to get additional fish at some point since this is a larger tank but not if I can't get to the bottom of what's ailing the tetras and if it is TB or Neon Tetra Disease I don't know what I'll do. To be fair, the Black Phantom Tetras and their previous Peppered Corydoras tank mates did come from a big box fish store so that may be my whole problem.
<Quite so. I'd probably avoid buying from any store that didn't specialise in tropical fish or at least exotic pets.>
I'm now willing to drive hours to buy from a reputable live fish store if my tank is salvageable or suitable for whatever type of fish that wouldn't be adversely effected by the current contaminants.
<Local/city aquarium clubs can be extremely good places to start your search, so perhaps a trip in such a direction would help.>
I also promise to stock it with hardwater loving fish this time.
<Hmm... less of an issue than you'd think. Penguin, X-Ray and Emperor Tetras will all do perfectly well in hard water, as will Cherry Barbs, even though all would "prefer" soft/acid water. Relatively few fish are harmed by hard water, even if they won't breed in it. But yes, there are some species to avoid, like Cardinals. But basically, the aim is to get good quality, healthy livestock and ensure optimal water quality rather than to worry about water chemistry too much.>
If I do have to tear down the tank to sanitize, will I be able to reintroduce the Ghost Shrimp after they've lived in the quarantine tank for the time being or would that be a bad idea?

Is there any way to sterilize plants and driftwood?
<Not really, no. Mycobacteria, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and other "problem" bacteria are latent in most/all aquaria, so sterilising an aquarium isn't going to prevent them coming back the moment you add new livestock and plants. Just as with bacteria in our human world, healthy people don't have anything to worry about -- it's when the fish are stressed or damaged that these latent bacteria cause problems. It's no coincidence that these genera of bacteria *also* cause many human health problems where people have been injured, weakened, starved, etc.>
Have I missed articles about such things here? I'll look again. Either way, I'll do what's best, I just hate to get the tank somewhat established only to have to start from scratch again. I truly admire the work out into this site and appreciate the time your team dedicates to helping helpless and seemingly hapless tank enthusiasts like myself. Thank you for your time,
Rachel
<And thanks for the kind words. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Plea for help/advice concerning Black Phantom Tetras with kinked spines (RMF, any ideas?)<<>> 10/27/13
Thank you so much for your advice and support.
<Most welcome.>
There haven't been anymore sudden casualties since I wrote but I did euthanize the one male in quarantine and I'm warily watching a couple of the female Black Phantoms that just seem a little off, slightly discolored, not as rowdy and robust. I'm more and more convinced that I probably have a collection of genetically "weaker" fish that are possibly succumbing to opportunistic bacteria like you suggested, but I have begun varying up the diet a bit more simply because I can and should. I did find Hikari micro pellets (yay!), discarded the bloodworms, added more cooked peas to the rotation and even tried egg yolk from a boiled egg yesterday. Some, maybe most, of it ended up for the shrimp but the several tetras that were brave enough to try it seemed to enjoy it.
<Great. And do remember that some shrimps (especially Cherry Shrimps) will breed like mad in the right tanks, and their offspring can be useful live food for many fish, so in the right sort of aquarium you can have an ecological balance of sorts where uneaten food goes into shrimps and then (via baby shrimps) into those fussy fish that missed the food first time round!>
Maybe the trick to feeding new foods is to get them good and hungry first.
<Quite so.>
I hate that there are so many horror stories about Mycobacterium marinum.
<Yes, but since 99% of the time it's not confirmed merely suspected, it's hard to know which mystery fish deaths are down to Mycobacteria, some other pathogen, poor genes, and most likely of all, poor maintenance. I'd put money on a combination of factors being to blame, even where Mycobacteria are proven -- in other words, had the fish been kept better/differently, the Mycobacteria wouldn't have caused any problems.><<Well-stated>>
It's tricky, the dimensions of my 45 gallon are 36" long (91.5 cm), 24" tall (61cm), and 12" wide (31cm) which means my arm is pretty well submerged when I'm vacuuming the gravel but as a fortunately healthy human I suppose a good hand and arm washing should suffice.
<Ah, yes; and do understand that the "Fish TB" stories are very, very rare, and when they do happen, the bacteria seem to get into open wounds and sores rather than healthy skin. It's not something I worry about, I have to confess. Consult with a doctor if you are worried though; I'm not a doctor (well, not a medical doctor anyway).>
I don't know where I'd find those whole arm gloves, I'll look online. I'm okay with euthanizing the Black Phantom Tetras with obvious symptoms for the greater good of the tank. I'm nervous about adding anything else while they're still around, even if the tetras seem healthy,
<Wise; I would wait 4-6 weeks, at least, after the last fish death before adding anything new.>
but I also don't want my tank to be so under stocked that my cycle stalls since I don't think the shrimp and snails put out enough waste to keep it up. Am I wrong to think it would stall?
<I would not worry about this. Provided you have at least a few fish in the tank, the filter will tick over nicely. But if all the fish die, then you can keep the filter healthy by adding quantities of flake or pellets proportional to a small group of fish every 1-2 days. For sure there's no fish to eat that food, just the shrimps and snails, but the filter bacteria don't care whether the food rots directly, passes through the gut of snail, or is eaten by a fish and excreted as ammonia. It's all waste to the bacteria!>
I have located a reputable, well-established live fish store that's been around for decades and has many followers. Even with all the stress and upset I can't help but get excited about what to get next. I plan on visiting a few times first to get a feel for what they have and what might work. I might return with a couple stocking questions if that's okay.
<Feel free.>
Now, I have a different sort of question about adding iodine to the tank for the shrimp. I've seen the reef fish foods with iodine content and I've seen the Kent Marine Iodine as a water additive. Would either be safe or recommended for a freshwater tank with Ghost Shrimp?
<Safe, yes; necessary, not really. While iodine supplement seems to be essential for the larger freshwater crustaceans like crayfish, it isn't so important for little shrimps. Occasional strips of Sushi Nori and bits of frozen seafood will probably supply more than enough.>
Is the amount of iodine in cooked egg yolk sufficient?
<Could well be.>
I obtained the Ghost Shrimp from a friend that has them breeding nonstop in his tank so they were all adorably tiny and very young when I got them.
Four of them became opaque white within the "tail portion" of the body, I lost two of those but the other two are still around and are indistinguishable from the other except that they are not clear. I know they're not old so I can rule out old age as a reason. I haven't yet been able to locate an answer online as to why this happens but I see many questions about it and recommendations that iodine is vital for successful molting. Any advice would be appreciated. I don't even want to think about parasites or worms but I'll listen if you mention it, haha...ugh.
<For sure try it out, but I have a gazillion Cherry Shrimps breeding away in my kitchen aquarium, and they don't get anything beyond algae and bits of fish food.>
Thank you again and again for your time and advice. I've begun recommending Wet Web Media to anyone that will listen. Your help is much appreciated.
<Glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>

Sudden fish deaths (RMF, any other ideas?)<> 10/19/13
Hi WWM Crew!
I am at a loss at what is happening in my 55G freshwater tank. The problems started six days ago when I did a water change (~10G) and vacuumed up the mulm. The next morning my three female rainbow furcata were dead.
The following day one Sterbai Cory and one mosquito Rasbora died. Next day my elderly Betta died. Yesterday I noticed an outbreak of Ich and started treating with API Super Ich Cure and just now one of my two goldspot gobies died. I used 50% RO water remineralized with Equilibrium and SeaChem acid/alkaline buffers (1:2 ratio) and freshwater trace. For the other 50% I used tap water which I had treated AquaPlus. I've been testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate every day and get the same results: ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate 10ppm. The temperature is 79F and the pH 7.2. I have been using primarily RO water remineralized in the way I described except for this one time when I didn't have enough RO water and mixed it with tap water. None of the fish who died showed any signs of
illness until their sudden death usually overnight. None of the fish who died were 'new' I had them all at least 5-6 months, some nearly a year.
Thanks for your input. Margaret
<My guess would be that something you added to the tank, rather than anything you removed or disturbed, is the cause of your troubles.
Definitely measure water chemistry in the tank, and use that to ensure any new water you add is fairly close to the current water chemistry. If no more fish have died in the last 24 hours, I'd tend to do nothing more than observe the tank and its inhabitants. If the problem was a sudden water chemistry change, then better to let things settle down as they are than to try and readjust conditions back to the "optimal" values for your fish.
After a few days, then yes, you could do a series of small, daily water changes (say, 10%) that slowly change the hardness and pH back to where they should be. I'd also drop the Whitespot medication and go with the much safer salt/heat method (2 g/l salt + 28-30 degrees C). Some Whitespot/Ick cures contain copper and/or formalin and these can be more trouble than they're worth. Hope this helps, Neale.>

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>

Columnaris or Fungus or Other? Please Help! 5/18/13
Dear Wet Web Media Crew-
<Alisha>
1st: I really appreciate your site, and the help you provide to others in need: Thank you!
Thank you! Thank you! And please know that I’m coming to you as a last resort, hoping not to have to put-down a fish.
<Ok>
2nd: The stats: I have a 30 gallon long, freshwater tank, with Fluorite/gravel substrate, bogwood, 3 granite hide-aways, and lots of live plants with dense growth.
<Looks very nice indeed>
I have an Aquaclear 50, 3 airstones, and an Aquaticlife 2x39 watt light (which I have on 9 hours a day). I have 3 German Blue rams, 4 Julii Cory Cats, 2 Platys, 3 Balloon Mollies, 3 Otos, 1 Bushynose Pleco,
1 Far<lo>wella.
<Mmm, well, a comment... the Rams, catfishes really like quite different water conditions (quality) than the livebearers... warmer, softer, lower pH versus cooler, harder, and higher pH. Pleasing everyone by trying to present a "middle-ground" can be done, but no real overlap here>
I feed them a variety of fresh veggies, flake, small ml pellets, algae wafers, and frozen bloodworms
<I'd dump these. Search WWM re these sewer fly larvae>
and brine shrimp twice a day. My current water stats are: PH 8.2,
<Yikes; high for the first group as mentioned>
Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, Ammonia 0, my temp is 78/79. I do 30-40% water changes every 6 days,
<Good>
and I lightly rinse the filter in the discarded water at the same time.
<Very good>
I also dose plant ferts, and Excel. I have been keeping fish for 1.5 years. Whewww…3rd: The issue: The first fish I ever purchased, a yellow Balloon Molly, has sadly been my learner fish, and I’ve learned how to be a good fish keeper, by the things I’ve done wrong to her...nothing horrific, the usual learning curve, no matter how hard I researched beforehand. And I feel a strong since <sense> of duty to do right by her, especially since she’s been with me all along. (And it’s been a challenge, because she’s kinda ornery, the tank bully.) So, on 4/13/13 I removed her from the above mentioned tank into a 10 gallon empty QT tank (with filter and heater), because of her physical appearance. She has been consistently swimming and eating actively, showing no behavioral changes at all. No other fish in the display tank is showing any signs of trouble or stress, still, over a month later. It started with a white discoloration on top of her head, then one of her fins turned orange, then a small black dot appeared in the middle of the white discoloration, this all happened over the course of, maybe, 2 weeks. Truth is, there had always been the white discoloration, which we figured was slight scarring from previous environmental factors, (too small a tank) a year previous.
<Likely so; and very common to have these issues with "modern" mollies>
Anyway, the discoloration grew, and so did my concern, so I removed her from the population into the QT. In addition to adding Epsom, we dosed the tank with Pimafix
<Garbage>
for a week, with no change. Then I dosed Kanaplex for 6 days, with no change except the addition of orange edges to the white discoloration, and a gray/darkening outline on her back, around her dorsal fin. On 5/11/13 the Methylene Blue and Furan 2 I ordered online arrived and I started this treatment. I am giving her 2 baths a day, AM and PM, in a quart container with the Methylene Blue and Epsom for 30 min, and dosing the QT tank with Furan 2. I followed the boxes instructions for the Furan, with 1 packet on day 1 and 2, rest on day 3 with a water change, and 1 packed on day 4 and 5, and today completed this cycle. There is no improvement. All the while she is swimming fine, eating fine, but of course now she is very skittish of me approaching the tank and hides behind the HOB filter. I was thinking it must be Columnaris (which I thought acted much quicker) or something fungal, but I can’t tell which.
<Mmm, can very likely be "cured" by simple addition of marine/saltwater synthetic aquarium salt/s. Really; this is more of a marine fish than fresh>
I don’t see any telling hair-like growths out of the white discoloration. It actually looks hard, not soft and fuzzy, like a humans severely dry/cracked knuckles. But then there’s the black spot in the middle, which sits up higher than the discoloration, like a wart, or a tiny snail sitting on her face. I am including a picture I took of her, taken from above at feeding time, and also one of the display tank to show that I am serious about this hobby, and not cutting any corners.
<Very nice images>
In conclusion: I was hoping you could offer a suggestion of what the problem is: Columnaris, fungal, or other?
<Principally "other"; environmental>
Please offer a treatment strategy, should I be doing something that I’m not?
<The sea salt>
Or how long should I continue what I am doing?

Or confirm the worst, and tell us to put her down. I've only put down one fish previously, and of course I would rather not have to if there is hope. But I don’t want to continue her isolation and pain if I it’s not the right thing to do. Thank you so much, in advance, for your advice and help!-Alisha
<I do so wish that other folks were as conscientious, concerned and caring as you. Again, what you're experiencing is quite common; the rule rather than the exception. Mollienesia are not freshwater fish species by and large... and almost always have issues when kept in freshwater. This one (and others) need to be kept in a different system... one that is brackish. See WWM, the Net... reputable sources like Fishbase.org re. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

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>

Panda Cory and Neon tetra internal bleeding 10/1/12
Hello,
<Margaret>
Two months ago I upgraded my tank to a 12G Fluval edge (from a 6G) and modified it to run a Fluval 206 canister filter (media include the sponges, BioMax, Zeocarb and an API biochem Zorb) and a 5W ViaAqua UV Sterilizer. I also added a 10W Coralife bulb into the hood (hopefully to help combat the brown diatoms that build up in the elbow of the spray bar outlet and in patches on the glass). I used to have a Nerite snail who did a wonder job cleaning the glass but after an outbreak of snails I've had to move him to another tank so he wouldn't get eaten when I introduced the assassin snails to help with the outbreak (but that is another story). I've left a 5mm gap between the glass at the surface and the water so the Corys can grab some air. The substrate is Seachem Fluorite black sand. The plants include Althernantha reineckii (which I have to keep trimming constantly as it grows like a weed), Amazon sword, Vallisneria spiralis, Aponogeton natans, 2 giant Marimo and 15 very small (1.5cm diameter) Marimo. I follow Seachem's fertilization routine (5 days a week with alternating iron, macro nutrients, micronutrients, potassium) and have root tabs for the Amazon sword (which was turning yellow without it). There is a piece of driftwood that the shrimp and Corys like to hide under. The water temperature is 77 (which after reading the forums I realize is too warm and I should turn it down a couple degrees). I have a pressurized CO2 system (only on during the day), but watching the drop checker the colour (green) indicates that the levels are still be safe for the fish (at or just under 30 ppm). At night the airstone turns on. The lights are on for 11 hours. I do a 20-30% water change per week and try to remove any obvious detritus from the sand or pieces of exoskeleton from the molting shrimp.
I have 1 ghost shrimp (the others have died at a rate of 1 per month), two Amano shrimp and three blue jelly shrimp (juveniles) - I originally added 4 but one died shortly after. There are also two assassin snails to keep the snail population under control. I used to have 6 neon tetras (all at least 2cm long) they've been with me since February (originally in the old tank) and 4 Panda Corys. Now I only have 5 tetras in the main tank, one of them started to progressively over the course of a month swell up, looked bloated at first, still schooled and ate until last week when even the eyes looked like "frog eyes" and it was starting to show signs of dropsy so I moved it over to the 6G hospital tank and treating with Furan 2. It is still alive, seems to be swimming around but refuses to eat, and the swelling has only decreased a little bit :( It looks like it may have internal bleeding as there is a faint red-purple patch on its left side.
Today I discovered one of the Panda Cory definitely has internal bleeding.
It has a bright red patch on its right side which is even more visible when you look at its belly. This happened overnight, yesterday it looked and acted fine. It did not come out to eat today with the rest today and seems to just be laying around on its stomach, not moving much. I'm not sure, but this may be the same Cory that had buoyancy problems a couple days ago where it couldn't keep its tail down on the gravel and would flip over on its back if it wasn't swimming. It recovered from that overnight and the following day seemed to be fine. I feed the fish once a day - micro pellets for the neons, a small sinking wafer and a 1/4 of a Spirulina wafer for the pandas (the largest panda loves the Spirulina), although the Amano and blue shrimp also steal parts of the wafers. I also provide on some days shrimp pellets. The water parameters are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10-20 (though closer to 10), pH 7.2, Fe 0, chelated Fe 0.25, phosphate 0, KH 50, GH 160, Ca 60, Copper 0. When I test the tap water it has high copper but after adding AquaPlus to remove the chlorine the copper also comes back as 0 from the test kit. I am at a loss to understand what is happening to my fish - the neon and panda Cory both showing similar signs (though the Cory is not bloated by any means - if anything looks a bit too skinny). I'm really concerned about the Cory, should I remove it and put it in the hospital tank with the neon? or set up its own hospital tank?
From what I've read about these signs with neons, recovery seems unlikely :( I have a Vortex diatom filter in the closet, never used since the instructions seems awfully complicated. If there is a parasite or other in the water would attempting to run this filter help? Sorry for the rambling tank description but I thought more info on the set-up would be better than missing a critical detail. Thank you for your time, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Margaret.
<Sounds like a nice setup. Are you putting new livestock through a quarantine period before introducing them? Often you can prevent infecting an entire tank by catching illnesses in quarantine.
Now, as for the problem at hand, you have a situation that needs to be brought under control. I would lean toward bacterial infection as a first guess at the cause based on your description. (Unless there is stringy and segmented feces being excreted--something you did not mention. that would indicate internal parasites.) At this stage, I would move all the fishes showing the same symptoms into one quarantine tank and be prepared to move all the fishes not showing symptoms into a second quarantine tank. Treat the fishes showing symptoms with an antibiotic. If that doesn't work, see if you can upload a photo or two. There are several other possibilities.
Once you understand what is happening, that's when you can think about treating the fishes that don't show any symptoms.
In parallel, I'd put in totally new filter media and run that UV sterilizer.
Regarding the bloated fish, while pristine water conditions can sometimes recover a fish with dropsy symptoms, it's rare. Also, be aware that dropsy is not a disease in and of itself, but a symptom of something else. In this case, probably still related to whatever else is going on. - Rick>

Our fish are dying! Help! 8/21/12
Good evening! We searched your website and were unable to find an appropriate article so we're hoping you can help us with our email. We have a 15 gal tank, fresh water that's established and been running for about 6 months now. We do a 25% water change every other week and do frequent water tests (always in range). But in the last week we've lost 3 fish (2 female Mickey's and a Zebra Danio) and 1 medium sized ghost shrimp. The 2 male Mickey's have become reclusive in the last week too.
<Mmm, something... toxic going on in the tank here... from inside or out... e.g. an ornament, mean tankmate... the tank being sprayed w/ an ammoniated cleaner, being placed too near a kitty litter box... >
We currently have 3 Zebra Danios, 3 guppies (we can't remember what kind), 1 ghost shrimp, 1 catfish, 1 male Sunburst wag, and the 2 male Mickey's.
Everyone was happy and social until last week. We noticed that the female Mickey's suddenly became anti-social and were hiding on the bottom for a few days before they died. The Zebra Danio appeared fine; until we found it dead tonight. Two of the guppies have "torn" tail fins also. We've used CopperSafe twice
<Toxic... should have killed the shrimp outright>
in the last 2 months and use the aquarium salt
<Not a good idea either>
and water conditioner @ water changes and change the filter every 30 days.
We also have a slight abundance of small snails. We had an algae eater
<?! What type? The common Chinese Algae Eater is a killer... See WWM re>
that grew really fast so we moved him into another tank about 2 weeks ago.
We're at a loss. We hate seeing our fish die. With the exception of the catfish, shrimp and the algae eater...we brought home all the fish at the same time. We've had the others for several months now too. Any suggestions?????
<To keep doing the water changes, skip the salt and copper, read re the CAE (and remove if this is Gyrinocheilus). Bob Fenner>

Multiple freshwater health issues 4/6/12
Dear Crew,
first of all, I would like to thank you for this invaluable source of knowledge you are contributing to the readers and your patience answering the same old questions again and again! Secondly, I apologize in advance for my English, I´m not a native speaker though.

I did research on WWM for many hours over the last weeks, but although I´m sure that I´m not the only one having similar tank problems, I didn´t find FAQs exactly matching my situation and as I´m quite new to the hobby, I´m fairly worried.
Last June, I planned to start my first tropical tank (54l set complete with lid, heater and filter), read a book, put gravel and plants in, bought a test kit, waited for 6 weeks until it had finally cycled (fishless). The first inhabitants were two ADFs and a few weeks later I started adding 6 more ADFs by and by as well as 10 cherry shrimps. I kept measuring and did about 25-30% water changes once a week. Except for the high pH, my readings were fine (0 nitrites, 0-5 mg nitrates/l, KH 10Â°dH, GH 12Â°dH, pH close to 8, temp. 24Â°C). All went well for several weeks, and although I never was too much into fish (might sound strange, but amphibians are my main interest), I fell for a trio of Betta splendens when I went to a LFS in November (pink and blue male veiltail plus two wild type females), and after doing some reading (that´s when I got to know WWM by the way), I decided that they should do fine with the frogs given a slightly raised temperature (25-26C). I introduced the fishes and soon I had to realize that one of the females was in fact a short finned male. Fortunately, I was able to return him to the LSF.
<Good>
In short, the male kept chasing the remaining female all the time.
<Ah yes>
Not surprising, I know; but as my tank was densely planted, I thought it was possible to keep more than one Betta (I was frantically encouraged by the LFS staff of course).
<Mmm, not unless there is a good deal of room>
Besides the ones preaching to keep Bettas alone, there are still many resources arguing for a trio, including my book. The main problem here was my male constantly hurting his own ridiculously long fins; the female could easily escape him, but was stressed of course. First the male´s fins were healing pretty fast, but the more often he got hurt, the longer it took. I didn´t think much of it though, just tried to keep their water clean.
In December, I was able to set up a 160l tank. I planned on having a nicely planted tank, a few small fishes and some more frogs along with the ones from my 54l. The Bettas should stay in the smaller tank on their own with a divider to prevent further damage and stress (the male was annoyed at getting body checked by the frogs anyway).
So I spend a lot of money for smooth sand, plants, roots and a CO2-unit to promote plant growth as well as getting the pH to a stable 7.1. I used an Eheim Aquaball filter with some old filter media, no charcoal. It´s rated for 130l, the water is only about 30 cm deep. Then I tested the water, waited until the tank had cycled Since the nitrite peak is over, the readings of this tank are:
No2: 0,
NO3: <5 mg/l
KH: 10°dH
GH: 12° dH
pH: 7.1
Temp.: 24-25°C.
Feeding: Glassworms, Tubifex, enchytrae, blackworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, Mysis, earthworms (live or wet frozen). The frogs are fed with tweezers to avoid the fishes from stealing their food.
<Good technique>
The fishes get different kinds of flake food once or twice a week instead of the frozen food. I supplement the food with vitamins once a week.
Cucumber, Spirulina flakes and Pleco tabs for the Otocinclus.
I fast them one or two days per week depending on their appearance.
<Also a good practice>
First of all I got a group of six lively, medium sized Corydoras panda (not for eating leftovers, they´re just too cute). One week later, I introduced my frogs- that´s when the real trouble began. I noticed that one of the last ones I bought had a rather big lump between its hind legs. I did some reading and found out that Hymenochirus can get tumors, and as there were no signs of inflammation and the animal´s behavior was normal, I decided to let him alone monitoring this growth.
The next animals I added to the tank were three Otocinclus sp. (not for eating those few green algae growing in my tank, I just happen to like catfishes ;-) Actually I was planning to enlarge the group as they are schooling fishes, but now I have to get things under control first) and 11 Danio margaritatus- that´s when things got worse. I did the big mistake not to quarantine the new fish, and soon the Corydoras as well as the Danios started to scrub occasionally. I couldn´t see any outer signs for fungus, parasites etc. first (i.e. no changes in coloration, no fluffy growths, nada), but after a few days, I spotted something like a worm hanging near the pectoral fin of a Danio, approx. 8mm long and thin. The area were the parasite was attached to the fish was slightly red. First I thought it was an anchor worm, so I went to the LFS and talked to the staff. They sold me something against Gyrodactylus, Dactylogyrus, Cestoda, Lernaea and fish lice, which I used according to what is said on the bottle. It was impossible to catch the sick Danio, but looking on that wormlike thing, I wasn´t sure whether it was an anchor worm or not, because that thing was twitching and coiling up just like a real worm (I couldn´t find something similar online- did you ever hear of that?).
<Yes>
Nonetheless, I started to treat the tank with the medicine mentioned above and the next day, the worm was gone and no fish showed signs of a bacterial infection. Just before I did the second medication recommended for egg laying parasites, I witnessed the same parasite near the caudal fin of a Danio, but it also disappeared quickly.
In the meanwhile, the fins of my Betta in the other tank didn´t seem to heal and instead there was a slight milky edge, so I treated him for Finrot using JBL Furanol 2.
After a few calm days, I noticed that two other frogs had developed bumps and I really got concerned. I separated them from the others and put them in a very small tank (about 3 l).
I assured they were warm enough and changed the water every day with aged temperated water (my tap water isn't chlorinated, so I don´t use water conditioner). I couldn´t find much information on the internet, but to rule out it was some kind of bacterial infection, I treated them with Furanol 2- no effect. They were still eating, but the stress of the daily water changes seemed to take its toll on them and they got very shy. After about 10 days, the first one was bloated and stopped eating. In my despair, I called my vet hoping I could at least save the other two. Unfortunately, there isn´t an amphibian expert near me, but she also treats Koi and reptiles, so I gave it a try. She was just as clueless as I was, nothing was found in a skin scrape under the microscope and she gave me Baytril against bacterial infections/ bloating hoping for the best. As dosing is quite difficult in those small animals, I was told to add it to the water instead of oral application. To put it short: Two days later the second frog was bloated, they still weren´t eating and I decided to euthanize them.
The Betta also didn´t cheer me up, his fins were still ragged and milky, but not getting shorter either (I have to mention that the water still tested 0 nitrite, I changed about 20% of their water weekly an vacuumed the gravel every two weeks). So I continued keeping his water clean, hoping the slow healing was just a sign of old age.
Otherwise he was fine, eating, swimming as usual, although I thought the hind part of his body were the caudal fin begins (I don´t know the right term, I´m sorry) was a bit thinner than when I first got him.
In order to reduce any possible stress factors on the remaining frogs, I moved the fishes to a cycled 54l hospital tank I finally got- just to see that two of the Corys had first signs of Finrot (again, I vacuum the sand twice a month, so I thought I was providing them a healthy environment). I immediately started another Furanol 2 treatment. Shortly after, one of the Danios had a big sore near his caudal fin- it occurred over night, so I´m not sure if this was also related to bacterial infections or if he got accidentally clamped when I moved the decor in the evening. As I didn´t want to risk any spreading of whatever my problem here is and as the fish couldn´t use its caudal fin properly, I euthanized it as well.
I monitored the fishes in the hospital tank for three weeks without further abnormalities. I gave the Danios to someone else (of course I informed him about the problems I had and that I don´t want to risk spreading diseases) who wanted to keep them in their own tank. I hoped reducing livestock would make the tank more stable.
A few days before I went on holidays for two weeks, another frog got sick. He had a red swelling inside his throat. Again, I separated this one from the others and tried to treat him with another antibacterial, but he also bloated and died while I was away (a friend of mine was looking after my tanks). When I got back, the frogs had spawned, but the next one had two bumps on his skin. This time I decided to do nothing but watch. He is in that condition since three weeks now. No behavioral changes, he´s just his curious, greedy little self.
The Corydoras didn´t seem to be happy on the (rounded) gravel in the hospital tank, so I put them back to the frogs. One Corydoras has a rather severe case of Finrot with affected barbels as well (the barbels didn´t melt, but they have turned gray). He is still active though and the others look ok. I´m treating the tank with eSHa 2000 since three days, but it doesn´t seem to help much. This morning, I found one of my Otocinclus with a red, swollen belly
Unfortunately the male Betta
died in a filter accident, so I cannot tell if he would have recovered.
To put this long story to an end, I´m rather confused what´s going on in my tanks and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Am I stressing them too much?
<Perhaps... but the root cause/s? Do other aquarists using the same mains water have similar issues? This reads like something viral was introduced, spread... but across so much disparate life?>
None of the antibacterial medicaments seems to help- again, I´m not using charcoal. Is the tank under filtered (very little flow at the bottom which I read yesterday is bad for the Corys)?
<Can be... I would use carbon in your systems, filter/flow path>
Did I catch something nasty (like Mycobacteria which are known to cause granuloma in Xenopus)?
<Could be... such bacteria are almost always present in our systems... Become pathogenic, hyper-infective in challenging circumstances...>
Thank you so much for reading this long
text! Happy Easter to everyone, Julia
<Am going to place your query in Neale Monk's in-folder... He's out till Monday; but would like his input here. Bob Fenner>

Multiple freshwater health issues /Neale 4/6/12
Dear Crew,
first of all, I would like to thank you for this invaluable source of knowledge you are contributing to the readers and your patience answering the same old questions again and again!
<Most welcome.>
Secondly, I apologize in advance for my English, I´m not a native speaker though. I did research on WWM for many hours over the last weeks, but although I´m sure that I´m not the only one having similar tank problems, I didn´t find FAQs exactly matching my situation and as I´m quite new to the hobby, I´m fairly worried.
<Fire away, and forgive any duplication here with Bob's message.>
Last June, I planned to start my first tropical tank (54 l set complete with lid, heater and filter),
<A relatively small aquarium, around 13 US gallons, so needs to be stocked very carefully.>
read a book, put gravel and plants in, bought a test kit, waited for 6 weeks until it had finally cycled (fishless). The first inhabitants were two ADFs and a few weeks later I started adding 6 more ADFs by and by as well as 10 cherry shrimps.
<So far, so good. These are very compatible animals.>
I kept measuring and did about 25-30% water changes once a week. Except for the high pH, my readings were fine (0 nitrites, 0-5 mg nitrates/l, KH 10Â°dH, GH 12Â°dH, pH close to 8, temp. 24Â°C).
<All sounds fine. Do not worry about the pH; your hardness levels are fine, and the frogs/shrimps won't care about the pH value.>
All went well for several weeks, and although I never was too much into fish (might sound strange, but amphibians are my main interest), I fell for a trio of Betta splendens when I went to a LFS in November (pink and blue male veiltail plus two wild type females), and after doing some reading (that´s when I got to know WWM by the way), I decided that they should do fine with the frogs given a slightly raised temperature (25-26C).
<Can do okay, but Bettas do sometimes eat shrimps, so there's a degree of risk.>
I introduced the fishes and soon I had to realize that one of the females was in fact a short finned male.
<Oh dear!>
Fortunately, I was able to return him to the LFS. In short, the male kept chasing the remaining female all the time. Not surprising, I know; but as my tank was densely planted, I thought it was possible to keep more than one Betta (I was frantically encouraged by the LFS staff of course).
<It can work. Around about 1985 I had a tropical community tank about 20 gallons in size that contained two female Bettas and one male Betta. It worked fine. But often they don't get along, and it's a good idea to try this out only as an experiment. Be prepared to move the male or the females out to another aquarium if needs be!>
Besides the ones preaching to keep Bettas alone, there are still many resources arguing for a trio, including my book.
<Yes. I do wonder if things were easier 20, 30, 40 years ago. Have male Bettas become more aggressive? Or the females less able at living with males? Because fish farms almost NEVER keep the sexes together, the evolutionary pressure to ensure "good behaviour" isn't there. So over time, it's possible they're becoming less and less compatible.>
The main problem here was my male constantly hurting his own ridiculously long fins; the female could easily escape him, but was stressed of course. First the male´s fins were healing pretty fast, but the more often he got hurt, the longer it took.
<Yes.>
I didn´t think much of it though, just tried to keep their water clean. In December, I was able to set up a 160 l tank.
<About 42 US gallons -- should be enough space for all three Bettas, especially if there are lots of floating plants.>
I planned on having a nicely planted tank, a few small fishes and some more frogs along with the ones from my 54 l. The Bettas should stay in the smaller tank on their own with a divider to prevent further damage and stress (the male was annoyed at getting body-checked by the frogs anyway). So I spend a lot of money for smooth sand, plants, roots and a CO2-unit to promote plant growth as well as getting the pH to a stable 7.1.
<Ah now, do be VERY careful using CO2 to control pH. To be honest, unless you ABSOLUTELY must have the tastes plant growth, I wouldn't bother. I'd sooner have slower-growing but otherwise happy plants in STABLE water chemistry. This would be easier to maintain, and pose fewer risks to your fish.>
I used an Eheim Aquaball filter with some old filter media, no charcoal. It´s rated for 130 l, the water is only about 30 cm deep.
<The Aquaball filters are excellent but I find they clog up quite quickly (specifically, that blue sponge at the top).>
Then I tested the water, waited until the tank had cycled Since the nitrite peak is over, the readings of this tank are: No2: 0, NO3: <5 mg/l KH: 10Â°dH GH: 12Â° dH pH: 7.1 Temp.: 24-25Â°C.
<Sounds perfect.>
Feeding: Glassworms, Tubifex, enchytrae, blackworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, Mysis, earthworms (live or wet frozen). The frogs are fed with tweezers to avoid the fishes from stealing their food.
<Again, sounds good. Some aquarists are warning against using bloodworms and Tubifex, even the frozen ones, so you might want to be careful with these. Brine shrimp are 100% safe though because of the environments they come from, so they're a great addition to a diet otherwise based around flake foods. They provide useful roughage that prevents bloating.>
The fishes get different kinds of flake food once or twice a week instead of the frozen food. I supplement the food with vitamins once a week. Cucumber, Spirulina flakes and Pleco tabs for the Otocinclus.
<Excellent. Do watch the Otocinclus. They need LOTS of oxygen, and in my opinion, aren't idea companions for Bettas.>
I fast them one or two days per week depending on their appearance. First of all I got a group of six lively, medium sized Corydoras panda (not for eating leftovers, they´re just too cute).
<Nice fish, but don't keep them too warm! Apart from the Bettas, everyone here prefers coolish conditions around 22-24 C/72-75 F.>
One week later, I introduced my frogs- that´s when the real trouble began. I noticed that one of the last ones I bought had a rather big lump between its hind legs. I did some reading and found out that Hymenochirus can get tumors, and as there were no signs of inflammation and the animal´s behavior was normal, I decided to let him alone monitoring this growth. The next animals I added to the tank were three Otocinclus sp. (not for eating those few green algae growing in my tank, I just happen to like catfishes ;-) Actually I was planning to enlarge the group as they are schooling fishes, but now I have to get things under control first) and 11 Danio margaritatus- that´s when things got worse.
<Ah now, these really do dislike very warm water, so be careful.>
I did the big mistake not to quarantine the new fish, and soon the Corydoras as well as the Danios started to scrub occasionally.
<Would assume Whitespot and/or Velvet. Treat using salt/heat for 2 weeks. Shouldn't stress anyone keeping them at, say, 28 C/82 F for 2 weeks, even though these fish prefer cooler water in the long term.>
I couldn´t see any outer signs for fungus, parasites etc. first (i.e. no changes in coloration, no fluffy growths, nada), but after a few days, I spotted something like a white worm hanging near the pectoral fin of a Danio, approx. 8mm long and thin. The area were the parasite was attached to the fish was slightly red.
<Whitespot and Velvet can, do cause secondary infections through the wounds they make. Such infections will be pink or red. Dead skin and tissue can appear white. Did this fish not have the "parasite" when you bought it? It would be unusual for a "louse" or "worm" to suddenly appear overnight. Not impossible, but unlikely. In any event, treatable, ideally with a dip of some sort, as anything that kills this sort of parasite would kill your shrimps.>
First I thought it was an anchor worm, so I went to the LFS and talked to the staff. They sold me something against Gyrodactylus, Dactylogyrus, Cestoda, Lernaea and fish lice, which I used according to what is said on the bottle. It was impossible to catch the sick Danio, but looking on that wormlike thing, I wasn´t sure whether it was an anchor worm or not, because that thing was twitching and coiling up just like a real worm (I couldn´t find something similar online- did you ever hear of that?).
<Nope. Anchor worms don't move about much, but Nematodes or Leeches might. If this was me, I'd risk a 50% or 100% seawater dip (i.e., 15-30 grammes/litre salt/water solution) for a minute or two. With luck, the parasite might detach. Dip the fish for as long as you can, though be prepared to remove the fish if it shows signs of severe distress, like rolling over (it will be pretty unhappy when you dip it, but for 1-2 minutes even a Danio should be fine). Failing that, dip into a commercial worm/crustacean treatment.>
Nonetheless, I started to treat the tank with the medicine mentioned above and the next day, the worm was gone and no fish showed signs of a bacterial infection.
<Ah, excellent. Most of these external parasites find it hard to complete their life cycle in aquaria. In ponds, they have no problems, but in aquaria, they lack the intermediate hosts (often snails or birds). So you could take a chance and do nothing for now, and simply watch for trouble. Anchor worm is an exception though, and can persist in aquaria.>
Just before I did the second medication recommended for egg laying parasites, I witnessed the same parasite near the caudal fin of a Danio, but it also disappeared quickly.
<Oh dear.>
In the meanwhile, the fins of my Betta in the other tank didn´t seem to heal and instead there was a slight milky edge, so I treated him for Finrot using JBL Furanol 2. After a few calm days, I noticed that two other frogs had developed bumps and I really got concerned. I separated them from the others and put them in a very small tank (about 3 l). I assured they were warm enough and changed the water every day with aged temperated water (my tap water isn´t chlorinated, so I don´t use water conditioner). I couldn´t find much information on the internet, but to rule out it was some kind of bacterial infection, I treated them with Furanol 2- no effect.
<Ah, now, the problem with "just in case" treatments is that not all bacteria can be killed by any one single medication. Plus, random medicating can cause bigger problems -- e.g., killing off filter bacteria.>
They were still eating, but the stress of the daily water changes seemed to take its toll on them and they got very shy. After about 10 days, the first one was bloated and stopped eating. In my despair, I called my vet hoping I could at least save the other two. Unfortunately, there isn´t an amphibian expert near me, but she also treats Koi and reptiles, so I gave it a try. She was just as clueless as I was, nothing was found in a skin scrape under the microscope and she gave me Baytril against bacterial infections/ bloating hoping for the best.
<Baytril is actually a pretty standard medication for frogs.>
As dosing is quite difficult in those small animals, I was told to add it to the water instead of oral application.
<Perhaps, but not in the main tank. I'd isolate the frogs into their own tank so you can use the medication more economically and ensure the right concentration.>
To put it short: Two days later the second frog was bloated, they still weren´t eating and I decided to euthanize them.

The Betta also didn´t cheer me up, his fins were still ragged and milky, but not getting shorter either (I have to mention that the water still tested 0 nitrite, I changed about 20% of their water weekly an vacuumed the gravel every two weeks). So I continued keeping his water clean, hoping the slow healing was just a sign of old age. Otherwise he was fine, eating, swimming as usual, although I thought the hind part of his body were the caudal fin begins (I don´t know the right term, I´m sorry) was a bit thinner than when I first got him. In order to reduce any possible stress factors on the remaining frogs, I moved the fishes to a cycled 54 l hospital tank I finally got- just to see that two of the Corys had first signs of Finrot (again, I vacuum the sand twice a month, so I thought I was providing them a healthy environment).
<Oh dear. Now, one thing I'd do is stop moving fish about. All you're doing is stressing the fish and possible infecting each aquarium with the other aquarium's pathogens.>
I immediately started another Furanol 2 treatment. Shortly after, one of the Danios had a big sore near his caudal fin- it occurred over night, so I´m not sure if this was also related to bacterial infections or if he got accidentally clamped when I moved the decor in the evening. As I didn´t want to risk any spreading of whatever my problem here is and as the fish couldn´t use its caudal fin properly, I euthanized it as well. I monitored the fishes in the hospital tank for three weeks without further abnormalities. I gave the Danios to someone else (of course I informed him about the problems I had and that I don´t want to risk spreading diseases) who wanted to keep them in their own tank. I hoped reducing livestock would make the tank more stable.
<Will certainly help.>
A few days before I went on holidays for two weeks, another frog got sick. He had a red swelling inside his throat. Again, I separated this one from the others and tried to treat him with another antibacterial, but he also bloated and died while I was away (a friend of mine was looking after my tanks).
<Do worry that the use of medications might be part of this. ALL medicines are poisons, so you have to be careful when using them.>
When I got back, the frogs had spawned, but the next one had two bumps on his skin. This time I decided to do nothing but watch.
<Wise.>
He is in that condition since three weeks now. No behavioral changes, he´s just his curious, greedy little self.
<Great.>
The Corydoras didn´t seem to be happy on the (rounded) gravel in the hospital tank, so I put them back to the frogs. One Corydoras has a rather severe case of Finrot with affected barbels as well (the barbels didn´t melt, but they have turned gray). He is still active though and the others look ok. I´m treating the tank with eSHa 2000 since three days, but it doesn´t seem to help much.
<This is a good medicine for Finrot and Finrot, but not much else. Do remember to remove carbon, and do ensure the aquarium is as clean as possible (if you can remove rocks, bogwood, etc as these reduce circulation of the medicine, allowing "bad" bacteria to survive in the tank). More importantly, optimise conditions for the fish: adjust temperature and ensure pH is as steady as possible.>
This morning, I found one of my Otocinclus with a red, swollen belly Unfortunately the male Betta died in a filter accident, so I cannot tell if he would have recovered. To put this long story to an end, I´m rather confused what´s going on in my tanks and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Am I stressing them too much? None of the antibacterial medicaments seems to help- again, I´m not using charcoal.
<Most of these medicines are excellent, but they can't work if the aquarium is somehow unstable. My gut feeling here is that the CO2 is messing around with the pH -- do understand that pH will rise during the day (when CO2 is used up) and fall at night (when plants stop using up CO2) -- and variations in pH can cause severe stress to your fish. I'd MUCH SOONER have a high but steady pH, even 8.0, than a pH that bounces between 6.5 and 7.5 across a 24-hour cycle.>
Is the tank under filtered (very little flow at the bottom which I read yesterday is bad for the Corys)?
<The Aquaball is a small filter for small tanks. Even the big Eheim Aquaball 180 model is, in my opinion, adequate for tanks up to about 100 litres in size. It has a maximum turnover of 650 litres/hour, so for a 100 litre aquarium that's a turnover rate of only 6.5 times. By my reckoning, that's quite a "weak" filter (albeit a very well designed and durable one). In any event, flow rate drops dramatically once the blue sponge gets clogged, so I'd recommend having a second filter of some sort in this aquarium to provide additional water turnover. If you think the water at the bottom of the tank isn't moving around much, a second filter will help. Even an airstone could make all the difference. Yes, Corydoras are VERY sensitive to poor water movement, and reddish patches on their belly and missing whiskers are clues that the substrate isn't as clean as it should be.>
Did I catch something nasty (like Mycobacteria which are known to cause granuloma in Xenopus)?
<Unlikely. Mycobacteria probably exist in ALL aquaria, but whether they become a problem DEPENDS on how healthy the aquarium is.>
Thank you so much for reading this long text! Happy Easter to everyone, Julia
<My gut feelings here: Add a second filter (or at least an airstone) to move the water at the bottom more, and switch off the CO2 for a few weeks and see what happens. I think the problems here are caused by the environment. Fix that, and things should improve. Do hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Multiple freshwater health issues, Neale, your input please 4/7/12
Dear Mr. Fenner,
thank you so much for your quick response!
The tap water in my city is said to be very good for use in aquaria. I have another tank with Chinese firebelly newts and they're doing perfectly fine- I never heard of someone having troubles with the tap water here. Do you think I should still use water conditioner?

Neale already sent me an answer too and he thinks my problems are environmental (I too often rehoused the fish, unstable pH due to the CO2 etc.). My vet said that the bumps on my frogs reminded her of Koi pox, so she also thought of a possible viral disease. I think adding a second filter with carbon wouldn't hurt. I will try not to further disturb my system and wait.
Again, thank you for your time,
Julia
<Welcome. Again, I don't know the primary reasons for the health issues... but wish I did. Cheers, BobF>
Re: Multiple freshwater health issues (RMF, thoughts?)<<>> 4/8/12
Dear Mr. Monks,
wow, that was fast, thank you!
<Glad to help.>
When I talked to retailers, I was often warned of keeping that species at pH 8- but I do understand that frequent fluctuations will harm them more.
<Indeed so. Fish don't "feel" pH. A lot of aquarists (and retailers) focus on pH because it's easy to understand. It's a simple number. But it isn't terribly informative. If you stop by a site like Fishbase that collects scientific information about fish, you'll see that something like a Corydoras catfish will be reported coming from streams and rivers with pH values between 6 and 8. That's a big range! But in any one locality the catfish will be exposed to a much smaller range of pH values. In other words, the species can tolerate a wide range, but a particular specimen will do better given a fixed pH value within that range. Does that make sense? Once adapted to a given pH, whether 6 or 8, the catfish will be perfectly happy there, just so long as the pH value doesn't suddenly bounce to another value.>
Do you recommend to completely stop the CO2 after reducing it over a few days?
<Either should be fine, but ideally, across a couple days.>
As soon as animals are concerned, the plants are secondary to me- I already have many plants that will do without CO2.
<A wise approach.>
As for the Bettas: I left them in the small tank with a divider because I know that they like warmer temperatures than the others. I can imagine that the breeding practices altered their aggressive behavior. Plus, in Asia they are bred for fighting anyway, so "good behavior" shouldn't be a desired character trait here.
<Ah yes, but the fish we keep as pets have been bred for their fins -- not fighting ability -- for a hundred years if not longer. Remember, German Shepherds and Chihuahuas are both the same species, the dog, but bred in different ways, and with different temperaments. Just because a fighting Betta and a "pretty" aquarium Betta are both Betta splendens doesn't mean they have all that much in common.>
My female seems to be much more happy since she is kept alone, so I won't try to keep several Bettas in the same tank again.
<Wise.>
I don´t feed bloodworms because they are suspected to promote dropsy in ADFs by many owners, but you´re right about the Tubifex. On the package it´s said that they are farm raised, but I could easily drop them from their diet.
<For sure.>
The Otocinclus did fine until this morning, I never noticed any labored breathing etc.- but I´m really concerned about the swollen one, he looks worse than in the morning. I hope he´ll make it.
<Wouldn't bank on it. They're not a species I recommend at all. At a guess, I think fewer than 50% make it 6 months in captivity.>
You´re right that my random treatment might have caused more harm than good. I just didn´t know what to do, resources about frog diseases are quite scarce and I panicked when I realized that more animals were affected. It´s absolutely possible that the medicine/ stress during the treatment actually killed them.
<Perhaps.>
The eSHa 2000 is the first medicine I use in the main tank (for the Finrot), and until now the nitrites are still at 0, but I will monitor that. I did separate the animals that were treated with Furanol 2 and Baytril, respectively. Do you think I should continue the treatment for the Corydoras on the photo or should I just give the system time to settle down?
<Finish the treatment you're on, then don't add anything new for a week or two.>
I know I have stressed my fish by frequently moving them, but although I spent much time on reading, this obviously didn´t prevent me from freaking out. I don´t have much experience after all, but I´ve learned my lesson and won´t keep disturbing them that much anymore. Yes, the Aquaball needs a frequent cleaning; I have to rinse the sponges about every two weeks when the flow is reduced (I just rinse them in old water from the aquarium, so the beneficial bacteria don´t die off). I could add a second small Eheim filter until I can afford something better- do you think that will do for now?
<Likely so.>
Bob recommended me to use carbon to remove possible pollutants.
<Wise, but don't expect miracles. Carbon is good for some organic compounds, but most medicines will break down in a few days anyway, and inorganic compounds like copper salts won't be removed by carbon at all.>
I think I could try this as soon as I stop medicating. Also, he suspects some viral involvement weakening the animals.
<Possible. Hard to say. But because you've had such a random collection of problems, my gut feeling is the fish are stressed by their environment.><<Could well be. RMF>>
Either way, I think improving their world by stabilizing the environment is the only thing I can do to help them.
I thank you so much for your help!
Julia
<Glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>

Mrs. misinformed... reactionary rambling re leaping before looking FW mistakes 1/8/12
Hello, I'm having issues with my main tank and because I'm new to certain types of fish I've gotten myself into a bit of trouble. I have 2 tanks... one is a 20 gallon and housed <houses?> just tetra and guppies. They lived a long time and had <'nt?> trouble until just recently. I also have a 40 gallon tall. I don't know all the technical names but I have the filtration system that filters through your gravel. in this tank I have 2 peacocks which I was told are OB Peacocks. After reading countless questions on your site I figure these are the fish you said are a hybrid and don't naturally occur. Since I'm not sure of the name perhaps a description will help?
One... which is definitely the male has grown leaps and bounds in a short time period is orange and blue. He's a beauty... also he has black spots through his orange fins.. maybe dark blue spots now that I think of it. The female hasn't hardly grown a bit. She's pale peach with a small bit or orange coloring. Her tail and fins are still softly shaped with no long points or anything yet. I know this is the female because she's carried 3 sets of fry. Which leads me to problem number one. She has spit her eggs or eaten them the first two times.
<Happens...>
This last time I put her in the tank upstairs in a breeding net with a live plant *per owner of the fish stores instructions*
<Mmm, really should be "stripped"... at time of development, release... not continued to be kept or moved with the mouthbrooding female>
this tank upstairs now has two angels that I moved in with the guppies to protect them from the horrible beatings they were taking in the big tanks by the peacocks.
<?! Incompatible>
So I moved her into her breeding net with 2 neon tetra 2 guppies and 2 different types of angels... oh and a small Plecos. She didn't much care for her small quarters and spit her eggs. I removed her and let her stay in that tank to eat and get her strength back before returning her to the hostile tank. I asked the fish store if I should tumble the eggs and was told not to tumble cichlid eggs and since they were dark peach and already cone shaped they were getting tails and would hatch by themselves.. that I should just lift the container they were in so the water didn't become stagnant several times a day. Not sure what happened as it happened while no one was around but the eggs were gone the next day as were my 2 beautiful blue guppies and one neon tetra was dead... never found the guppies. Can they die eating the eggs?
<Not likely, no. But pollution from their decomposition...>
I assumed that was all that happened but I knew too the peacock was probably capable of eating them. I moved her back to her tank *40 gallon tall* and the rest of the fish in the 20 are fine.. leaving 2 angels one tetra and the Plecos. Will my angels eat the neon?
<In time, yes>
Should I restock it with the tetra and guppies to keep the last lone neon safe?
<What other type of "Tetra" are you talking about. Neons are Tetras...>
Moving on to the more serious trouble of tank 2... the 40 gallon tall. I have a few fake plants and one live.. well what's left of it. The peacocks ate all live plants
<There are varieties that Aulonocaras can be kept with...>
I've put in. In this tank I currently have a Plecos that's approx. 8 inches in length.
<Needs more room.>
I have a tin foil that's about 10 inches
<It too>
in length and the 2 peacocks.
It used to be barbs and the tinfoil... some mollies and guppies... and an angel. Little did I know as the tinfoil grew it would eat everything that it could fit into its mouth. Gone were the guppies and mollies so fast I hadn't time to set up a new tank! Left with the barbs and angels life in the tank settled. As the tin foil grew so did its appetite and the barbs became large dinner entrees. I asked the fish store what to put in there that could hold its own... a few iridescent sharks
<Get huge>
came and went *will never buy those again they swim so crazy and knock themselves out I almost threw them away about 6 times before they actually really died* btw I had my water checked thousands of times while this was going on and all was great. Back to the topic. I was advised to purchase OB peacocks. So I bought a male and a female brought them home and again life in the tank was alright.... until the male grew. As he grew so did his attitude. The angel got beat up so bad she was laying in the rocks *or he.. I haven't a clue*. I put it up in the mild mannered tank with the tiny fish and the other angel who got beat up. Its since healed and thrived. So left with the Plecos.. the female peacock and the tinfoil I figured everything would be ok. Wrong.... the male peacock has attacked and practically descaled my tinfoil who trumps him in size easily 3 times over. The Plecos rarely has full sets of fins and recently has had a missing piece of flesh on its head.
<... being killed by being kept in too small a world...>
The tin foil besides being descaled has some meaty bites that all heal but are happening more frequently. I've already decided the next time the female is carrying I will make a tank divider and keep her settled and calm in her own tank... yet away from danger.. but I am worried about the balance of the remaining fish. I'd like to calm them all down before she carries and I cut they're tank size down to even less. I can't imagine what the peacock will do to the tin foil and Plecos then! Can you please offer advice to fix this tank situation?
<Yes... reading. Borrow, buy some standard works on FW aquarium keeping, learn to keep good notes and read on the Net re what you're doing, keeping here. The mistakes you list are all iatrogenic, borne of your lack of knowledge. If/when you have a more specific question, feel free to write us again. Bob Fenner>

Sick fish or still recovering? Both 9/5.5/11
Greetings from Texas, WWM Crew!
<Salutations from Lautoka, Fiji Lisa!>
I can't tell you how valuable your website has been for me these past few weeks. I only wish I'd discovered it earlier so I could be more PROACTIVE rather than REACTIVE :-(.
<Yay!>
Here are my aquarium stats:
65 gallon tank = newly cycled (5 and a half weeks old today)
ammonia = zero
nitrates = 10 ppm
nitrites = zero (FINALLY!!)
hard water = 300 ppm (that's how it comes out of the tap)
<San Diego's is more than twice this... liquid rock!>
chlorine = zero
alkalinity = 100 ppm
pH = 7.2 most of the time
temp = 81*- 82*
decorations = mostly plastic/resin, except for one piece (5" x 3" x 3") that I think is driftwood. Gravel substrate with smooth river rocks added in.
I'm new to this aquarium business and, I'm sad to say, got off to a rough start due to my lack of research prior to establishing my tank. We started off with 12 fish (which I now know was way too much), but now we're down to 3. The spiked nitrite part of our cycle seemed to last FOREVER (2+ weeks at 8.0-10.0!), but as of this morning they're down to zero. We've also dealt with a round of Ick, ulcers and no doubt countless other unidentified issues related to fish stress and way-out-of-whack water quality.
<And the stress of cycling exposure>
After all was said and done, we're left with one tiger barb, one kissing Gourami and one rainbow shark.
The rainbow shark seems to be doing fine, although now he's a great deal more aggressive than he used to be. I don't know if it's because he's no longer sharing his tree trunk with any other fish, but he won't let either of the other fish near his hidey hole.
<Actually... see WWM... these minnows ARE quite aggressive>
I'm debating about taking him back to my LFS because of it. He's turning into quite the bully!
The Gourami took a beating and, to be perfectly honest, I'm amazed that she survived the ordeal. She was covered with Ick and, I'm not sure, but I think should also had a bout of Velvet. She looked like she'd been dunked in powdered cheese! She also had eye cloud and some fin rot (I just woke up one morning to discover that most of her fins were missing!). On the advice of a relatively knowledgeable aquarist at my LFS, I did an 8-day round of Melafix with the carbon filters removed. I've also done 25% water changes every other day for several weeks and raised the temp of my tank to 81*-82*. She's finally eating again and most of the "powdered cheese" is gone, but she just floats at the surface of the tank letting the current from the filter take her where ever. Her nubby little fins seem relatively useless against the water and she's having to use her body to swim anywhere since her fins are nearly gone. I'm wondering if she's still sick or if this is just a part her recovery process?
<Still infested>
Will her fins grow back?
<Possibly; if not rotted too far back>
The tiger barb is causing me the most worry. She's lost all of her friends, so I don't know if her behavior is related to loneliness and stress or what. She pretty much just sits in the corner of the tank facing the wall.
<Likely interacting w/ its own reflection>
Every once in a while she'll dart madly around the tank, gulping and "gasping" and twitching. By far the most alarming thing she does happens during feeding time. I only feed the fish a small pinch of flakes that I've rubbed between my fingers to make them as small as possible - I do this once a day in the evenings. She'll start eating the food as it drops (she doesn't really feed at the surface the way the Gourami does). Then, a few minutes into the feeding, she'll flip upside-down and go still.
<Do look into other food (types). Dried foods are problematical as a standard diet with these fishes>
As she starts floating down her dorsal fin will flare and she'll "snap out of it" and right herself, only to do it all over again a few seconds later. Her behavior reminds of someone who's falling asleep at the wheel, shaking their head to make themselves alert again. She'll literally shake her head and start swimming frantically as if to remind herself that she's supposed to be moving. This goes on for an hour or more, then she seems to recover and the upside-down thing stops and she goes back to just darting, gulping, gasping and twitching. It's bizarre! I've also noticed that her fins seem affected by some sort of fin rot. They're still there, but they're not stiff. The ends and edges look too willowy (I hope that makes sense). I've looked at images of tiger barbs on your site and their fins are stiff. Hers look almost ruffled at the edges.
I guess what I'm really wondering is: are my fish STILL sick?
<Yes>
Or are they still suffering the effects of a rough nitrite cycle and a bout with fungal infections?
<This in addition>
Is there anything else I need to do to improve their quality of life or is this the way it's going to be?
<Patience; just time going by at this junction>
And finally, is my water quality safe enough to add more fish now?
<Don't do this! Wait a few weeks at least for the system to fully cycle, your present fishes to recover>
Or is there likely to still be fungus, parasites, etc. in my water that would attack any new additions?
I'd really appreciate any guidance you can give me specifically.
I've already learned SO MUCH from your website - there are lots of things that I know now I shouldn't do (like add fish more than a few at a time) and things that I should do (like add the occasional cooked/blanched veggies - which I've done. Who knew my rainbow shark loved peas so much??). I really want to succeed at being a fish pet lover! I'm eagerly looking for any advice you can give me to set me on my way. Thanks so much!
Have a Great Day!!
Lisa Mitchell
<And you. Bob Fenner>

Kissing Gourami stopped kissing; Fancy Guppy Bloated; Flame tetra Popeye and pimple; Where to go from here? 8/5/11
Your informative excellences~
<Never been called that before!>
Im afraid I may have caused a snail/copepods die off with tetracycline
<Unlikely.>
(or killed my cycle with TC)
<Shouldn't do, if used correctly, but always a risk with antibiotics.>
that caused an ammonia spike and foul water or stressed my fish out with too many water changes or maybe because I switched from Stress Coat to Start Right for a couple water changes or did this happen because my filter overflowed all over the floor into the middle of the night and left the filter exposed and killed my cycle,
<Yes, drying out the sponges will kill the bacteria. But if the sponges are damp, the bacteria should survive.>
is it because my water is hard and my PH is high?
<Unlikely.>
So much has happened I just want to move everyone into my new 55 Gallon but now Im afraid it will be too stressful on them or Ill just transfer whatever is wrong with my 20 Gallon to my new tank. Please help..I will welcome all insight..even though I have been scouring your sight for the "answer" in the hopes that I would not have to make my ordeal public and suffer the public flogging....I know I have made mistakes, I now know Tetras thrive in softer water opposed to Guppies, Mollies, and Platies.
<Yes, and it's quite difficult to keep both together without problems. There *are* tetras that can live in hard water, but none appreciate the salty water Mollies do best in, so on the whole, if you want Mollies, set up a hard water tank for them and other hard water fish.>
I know my tank is overstocked with the fry and juveniles which is why I received the 55 Gallon, but am now hesitant to move everyone or anyone.

Ill start at the beginning of my nightmare. Female bi-color(Gray and Black) guppy birthed a batch of fry on June 26 th , 2011. She developed a "gouge" on her back ( I imagine from being so pregnant and not being able to maneuver herself very stealthily and being harassed by the male Molly and Male Fancy Guppy) prior to birthing,
<Perhaps.>
but it healed with water changes and a little extra Stress Coat. I think this may have been the entry point for the bacteria that ultimately caused her demise. On July 11 th (Monday) she began acting lethargic, hanging at the top and with a slight bend in her body, like her tail was too heavy, almost like every movement was a chore. Her appetite had not diminished, but since I've raised this fish I knew there was something wrong.
<Guppies are not hardy, at least not the fancy Guppies most folks keep. It's as well to remember that, and treat them carefully. Indeed, they're often best kept ion a Guppy-only tank, or else with a few very peaceful tankmates.>
Observing her from beneath and from the side I noticed that the scales near her anal vent seemed raised, almost as if there was a bulge or they were "ruffled" like feathers. I realized too late she was beginning to bloat. She began to show signs of hemorrhagic septicemia(lethargic, red streaking along lateral line and in fins) as well as my Kissing Gourami, Albino Corydoras, and Black Skirt/Hi-Fin Tetra (ripped, bloody tail and visible red lateral line).
<Now, if a bunch of fish show "red" on their fins and body, Finrot is much more likely the problem, and Finrot almost always follows water quality problems. So there's a two-step fix here: undo the water quality problem, and then treat for Finrot. Treating without fixing the water quality won't work, and when treating, you need to remove carbon, if used, because that'll remove the medication.>
It was harder to see the red streaks on Bi-Color because of her black coloring. Bi-Colors scales began to raise on her back and tail and began to be obvious when viewing from above. She was still eating but had taken to resting on the bottom and breathing heavy(panting). DROPSY!! I put her in a breeder net and in a panic added Pimafix and Melafix until I could get better medications. I know it isn't advised, but she looked so miserable.

I did a 50% water change and she seemed happier and the Albino and Gourami's streaking went away. I began treatment with Maracyn TC and as I also noticed that one of my Flame Tetras had developed a dark spot on his breast. I even administered a few Epsom salt baths to Ms Bi-Color to try to help with the bloat(there is very conflicting information on your site as to doses, whether it be for a dip or a bath or to add to the tank). The fuse blew on the outlet that the power strip for the filter and lights and heater are plugged in, but as soon as I noticed(only a few hours at the most) I grabbed an extension cord and got them plugged into a working outlet. The electrician came out on Thursday. She was dead on Friday. I did a 25% water change and put new carbon in the filter to try to get things back to normal and less stress the healthy fish. On Tuesday(July 19 th ) before I turned the lights on I observed the Flame Tetra swimming at an angle and in circles as if he was trying to right himself and then the Fancy Male two-dot began hiding and losing color near where his tail meets his body and the bottom 1/4 of his tail and breathing heavy. I did a 25% water change. On July 21 st (Thursday) the Male Fancy was still hiding in back but was still eating and would come out and swim around from time to time. On July 22 nd (Friday) he was still acting lethargic so I did another 25% water change. He was still acting strange so on Sunday I did a 50% water change but he was dead on Monday night. On July 28th(Thursday) one of the Molly/Guppy juveniles appeared to have Popeye and a damaged gill on the same side..almost as if his skin was peeling. I did a 25% water change and moved my Female Fancy Guppy to my boyfriends tank to give her a rest from harassment. On July 29 th (Friday) I found a Molly/Guppy juvenile dead for no apparent reason and a different Flame Tetra had a mild case of Popeye in one eye but worse in the other and Female Guppy had suffered quite the tail nip by my boyfriends Serpae Tetras so I put her back in my tank and did a 25% water change and added Epsom Salt for the Popeye. The next time I looked at the tank Female Fancy Guppy was head down in the gravel resting on a plant...I thought it may have been because of the loss of the section of her tail fin because she was otherwise fine and when she saw me resumed swimming normally. The next day(30th, Saturday), the Tetras eyes were much improved as were the Guppy/Molly, but he had taken to sitting on the gravel and had developed a white ring around his eye and his bottom lip was quivering and moving up and down continuously with white "spots" on them(Columnaris?).
<Yes, certainly possible.>
seemed to have trouble grazing or closing his mouth and wasn't eating. It seemed to be painful to him. Which I felt warranted a 25% water change while replacing the Epsom salt I removed and cleaned my filter. On July 31 st (Sunday) I noticed the other Flame Tetra was having trouble swimming again before lights on and appeared to have developed lumps on either side of his head in the same location on both sides. Where his "ears" would be behind the gills but up on the lateral line. I did a 25% water change replacing the Epsom Salt I removed with water change and the Molly/Guppy came out and ate with everyone else..seemed promising. On Monday(August 1 st ) I awoke to my tank being 30% empty because the filter overflowed onto the floor and the Guppy/Molly with the Popeye was dead. I removed the deceased fish and it was early morning so I refilled the tank with conditioned water and removed the carbon form the filter so it would fit back in canister and went back to sleep. When I awoke I realized that my Kissing Gourami had stopped kissing and was just laying in one corner and the Giant Danio had stopped swimming..he just hovered in mid-tank and stared and the Black Kuhlii Loaches(2) were out during the day. Since my filter had already done the unscheduled water change and I hadn't added anymore Epsom Salt(Is it harmful to Kuhlii Loaches?) I thought I would wait to see how everyone was doing in the morning. I was trying so hard to avoid medications. I was so hoping good water conditions and water changes would heal all. On August 2 nd (Tuesday), My Chinese Algae Eater was dead!! Plus the one of the Flame Tetras bumps had become almost pimple like as if something was protruding out of it. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was bone, but could have been fungus. I removed the corpse of the SAE, whom I have had forever and never shown any signs of illness, and did a 50% water change. Kissy still wasn't kissing and Hi-Fin Tetra had lost color that night. My water became cloudy and a white cloudy film had started to develop on the inside of the glass. I didn't know if it was a bacterial bloom or if it was algae beginning to form since Kissy and the SAE weren't doing their job anymore. On August 3 rd (Wednesday) nothing had changed except another Molly/Guppy juvenile had developed the "damaged" eye(all black with a white ring around it and swollen) and gill and I felt with all the illnesses and unexplained deaths and cloudy water and Female Fancy Guppy looking bloated and having trouble staying level, with rapidly raising scales, and the possible Columnaris on the juvenile and sore on the Tetra and Popeye on the other Flame Tetra, that I had a bacterial problem. At my wits end, and panicked, I did a 50% water change and added the first dose of Mardel Maracyn 2(Minocycline) and Jungle's Parasite Clear Tablets(Metronidazole, Praziquantel, Diflubenzuron, Acriflavine). Within an hour Kissy had begun kissing again!! Female Guppy ate a some medicated food(small bits of table shrimp(unthawed) in dissolved Parasite Clear tablets and water) but was still very bloated and having trouble keeping herself level and the Flame Tetras pimple had become an open sore that white was visible in. Later on Wednesday night, I did an Ammonia test which tested high(Danger 6.0) so I did a 50% water change being careful to replace the same amount of medications that I had removed and have ceased feeding. Again, Kissy began kissing again but Female Fancy Guppy just seemed to get more bloated. Her scales were now more visibly raised. On Thursday(August 4 th ) I awoke to find her stuck to the intake of my filter...assuming she had passed away, I used the net to pull her out but she waddled away and resumed her position at the top of the tank. I administered the second dose of Maracyn 2 a few hours later and the Molly/Guppy juvenile with the "eye injury" seems to be doing better. The white on his bottom lip seems to have "shrunk". No one else is showing any negative signs. Later that night Female Fancy excreted a thick, solid, white, puss like "log" from her anus and it seems to be coming out of her birth canal as well. Her nipped tail heals more everyday, however. Her scales are raising more every time I look it seems, so I gave her a Epsom Salt bath, but I don't think my fish have time for me to guess anymore..time to swallow my pride and ask for help from the experts. While in the Epsom bath some of the white substance/feces came loose and I was able to tweeze it out, and it was quite solid but not alive. She still has some trailing from her, it is very thick. Could it be puss from internal bacterial infection or dead rotting fry in her uterus? Her poop looked normal yesterday and then connected to a white string, but before it all came loose from her it was attached to an orange jelly-like substance(like underdeveloped fry or eggs). Kissy is more active but still not kissing like normal(perhaps bacterial infection of her mouth?) and the Tetras bump/pimple/sore has lost the white stuff(which seemed to be drawn out) and is somewhat of a pit. The bump on the other side of his head is still just a bump(blood filled perhaps). Today, August 5 th (Friday) everyone seems more active. Even the Female Fancy Guppy. She seems oblivious to her now even more raised scales(she is now developing a Mohawk and bubbles are resting in the spaces in between her scales and her skin the spaces have become so pronounced). She is still having trouble staying level, but isn't just hanging at the top. Seems to be easier for her to maneuver her bloated body, she isn't just floating around aimlessly. I gave her an Epsom Salt bath(1tsp/Gallon of tank water for 30 minutes) this morning and added the next dose of Maracyn 2 to the tank. Her tail continues to heal. Even the injured Guppy/Molly juvenile seems less "sore". The white stuff in his mouth isn't as swollen. His lip is still quivering. The Flame Tetras sore seems to be shrinking and healing. It is simply pink now and both bumps are subsiding. I had thought about Lateral Line Erosion being a possibility, but are Tetras afflicted by that?
<Not really, no.>
Is it possible that the physical damage to the Molly/Guppy juveniles eyes are happening from the siphon tube I use to change water? At least one of them always ends up in the bucket...I have since banded a guard on the end so it won't happen anymore. Are they just prone to illness/weaker because of the inter-breeding of the species?
<So long as the fish isn't physically damaged, being slurped up a siphon doesn't seem to do any harm. Done this many times myself!>
Can I use human Metronidazole?
<In theory, yes.>
I have 500mg tablets I could crush. Is it absolutely horrible that I used two medications at the same time. I'm not sure which is helping the most or at all or if the rejuvenation is in direct correlation to the water changes.

I just want to be a good mother to the animals in my care. I had really hoped I could save everyone through better water quality, but I seem to need more help than that. I feel like an absolute failure and am so frustrated.
<Don't be. This is fixable.>
Is it ok to move the healthy fish to the new 55 Gallon or will it be to stressful or will the illnesses just continue in there? Where do I go from here? I will be implementing a fishless cycle, of course, using filter media from an established healthy tank to seed the new filter and the same substrate(after a thorough gravel vac) and plants from the 20 Gallon, unless you advise against it. Im afraid my 20 Gallon will be a hospital tank for awhile before everyone can enjoy the new digs in the 55 G. I had planned to run both filters on the 55 Gallon to help seed new filter but, now the beneficial bacteria in the 20 Gallon filter will be nuked by the medications, I imagine. So, I'll have to do some juggling with filter media from my boyfriends tank because he has two filters running at all times.
<A good approach. Yes, you can transfer live media from one tank to another. But the risk, of course, is you can transfer diseases too, so don't put your media in his filter.>
Tank of Death is a 20 Gallon community tank that I also used as a sorts of snail "holding" tank for my GS Puffer to eat.
<These are brackish water puffers and won't live for long in freshwater.>
As the poor dears won't last five minutes in the Puffer tank. I haven't added any new snails since March 1 st , 2011. It has been up since January 4 th , 2011. I did a fishless cycle with a piece of table shrimp and filter media from existing tank. The last new fish I added was a Mellini Corydoras on April 15 th , 2011. The residents are a bunch of rejects of sorts that became too big for my boyfriends tank or didn't get along with a resident in his tank. It was not a planned community. He is not the researcher I am. There are some live plants and some fake plants. I add Stress Coat to tap water at water changes. I used Start Right for a few in there when I had run out of Stress Coat and had to use my boyfriends Start Right. I was adding 1drop/10 Gallons of Kent Iodide for Calcium for the snails to thrive but have not added it since July 17 th . I came across an FAQ where the poster was advised to remove a decorative shell from the aquarium as it leeched minerals into the water, and I have a few decorative shells that should sufficiently provide Calcium for the snails. I also have a few "caves" constructed out of what I assume to be limestone tiles, broken up and assembled. It's a pebble substrate with an 18" bubble wand and a bubbler tube that use to have an air stone on it but, it crumbled away, for aeration and movement. I am still using the filter that came with the kit(Im sure its inadequate for the bioload, but it will help in the 55 Gallon). I feed TetraMin Tropical Flakes, TetraColor Tropical Flakes, Tetra Baby Shrimp(sun dried), Tetra Bloodworms(freeze dried),and drop in Hikari Algae Wafers for the Corydoras and Gourami..not all at the same time, but just so you get an idea of what goes in my tank. Only enough so that it is all gone almost immediately. I am even careful to watch that what food does sink the Tetras and Corydoras catch it. I do 25%-50% water changes weekly and rinse the filter cartridge in old tank water. New water is always conditioned and as close to temperature of remaining water as possible. I only have Jungle Quick Dip Test strips for Ammonia and "5 tests in 1". I have ordered a liquid test kit online. Should I be using a high range test kit to get more accurate readings?
Today's readings:
Ammonia .25
Nitrate <20
<These two why your fish are dying.>
Nitrite 0
GH 300
KH >300
PH >8.4
<Quite hard. Tetras and Corydoras probably won't be happy here, no matter what, so I'd return these to the pet store. But Mollies, Guppies, and other hard water fish should be fine.>
Tap water reads:
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
<Note this! The ammonia and nitrite are coming from the fish. The tank is overstocked, overfed, and/or under-filtered.>
GH 150
<The higher General Hardness in the aquarium water compared to tap water presumable reflects the Epsom salt usage. Stop with this! Just do a series of 20% water changes for the next five days, each day, until the aquarium GH value is approximately that of your tap water. Epsom salt won't be doing much helpful here.>
KH >300
PH >8.4
I think that is everything...I know you will not be shy about letting me know about my short comings and where I've made mistakes and things that need to change so my 55 Gallon will be the heaven I envision for my li'l buddies. I eagerly await your evaluation and subsequent advice that will follow.
Thank you in advance~
Candy
<Well, Candy, the fixes are these: Remove fish you can't keep (the ones that need soft water). Return aquarium water chemistry to normal by stopping with the Epsom salt and additions of any other types of salt (aquarium salt for example). Remove carbon, if used, so you can use medications reliably. You're dealing with bacteria infections caused by stress, likely Finrot and/or Columnaris, so medicate accordingly. Stop feeding the fish until ammonia and nitrite are ZERO. Check the filter is set up properly, and adequate for the task at hand. Sit back and DON'T add any more fish for AT LEAST six weeks after the last fatality. Buy or borrow a good aquarium book, and read it. Feel free to write us back if you need more help. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Kissing Gourami stopped kissing; Fancy Guppy Bloated; Flame tetra Popeye and pimple; Where to go from here? 8/5/11
Good Evening~
I knew you guys were fast, but that's ridiculous...45 minutes is an amazing response time!! Freaky Fast!!
<Glad to help.>
Thank you so much for the guidance. I just wanted to clarify a few points:
Am I to stop medicating for the five days I perform the water changes (Get the water quality back to optimal and then medicate)?
<You can add each day's portion of medication immediately after each water change. In practise, medicines "fade out" within 24 hours, so provided you wait that long between water changes, the medicine should do its job.>
Or continue medicating and just add the new dose of medication with the new water? What type of medication will be most effective here? Should I finish the Mardel Maracyn 2(Minocycline) course of treatment with the Parasite Clear or is there something better suited for my situation? I am 3 days through the five day course for Maracyn 2. Furan 2, perhaps? Erythromycin?
<Finish the medication you're on, certainly. Now, Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2 treat different sets of bacteria, and sometimes bacteria that aren't killed by one of these medication gets killed by the other. So one strategy is to use the two of them, one after the other, as complementary medications.>
I removed the carbon from my filter cartridge before I began administering the Maracyn 2 on August 3rd. Today I pulled the filter out and rinsed the impeller (I wanted to make sure it wasn't clogged or had hair wrapped around it or any other obstruction that would cause diminished performance. Disgusting!
<A good sign that the filter is overwhelmed by the weight/number of fish in the tank.>
So I hope that helps a little with the Ammonia and Nitrates(lot of white, hair-like, smelly stuff).
<This slime is bacteria. Not disease bacteria, but decay bacteria, like you'd find in sewage pipes.>
I have not fed since Wednesday(August 3rd) and have done 2-50% water changes and a 25% today. So, in theory, any salt ,Epsom or otherwise, should be just about gone. Should I do more water changes/day, beyond the 20% prescribed, if I notice the fish are distressed, well, more than they are now? Like darting or gasping at surface? Or will the 20% be sufficient?
<Yes, if the fish are distressed, you can change up to 50% of the water at once. Alternatively, and perhaps more safely, you could do two, three or four 20% water changes per day, each an hour or two apart.>
Puffer has his own Brackish tank. He is very vibrant, responsive and active. All tanks have heaters on them set at around 76 degrees F..I have removed the Corydoras from the tank as suggested.
<Cool. As it happens, the hardy species, like Corydoras paleatus and Corydoras aeneus, can do well in "liquid rock" hard water. But most are pretty unhappy in such conditions.>
I was making things way more complicated. Thanks for simplifying the solution and not being too harsh!
<You're welcome. And you got me on a good day. Sometimes we do get a little snappy, I admit!>
IYO, could I have saved myself a lot of misery and fishy lives if I had completed the Mardel Maracyn TC(Tetracycline) course of treatment in the first place?
<Impossible to say. I certainly wouldn't worry about this question. The disease is/was caused by environmental stress, specifically water quality, likely aggravated by the very hard water chemistry. Fix this side of the equation, and disease shouldn't be a major problem again.>
Just for future reference. Hope to hear back from you soon so I can move forward with any additional suggestions.
Confident things will improve~
Candy
<Good luck, Neale.>
Re: Kissing Gourami stopped kissing; Fancy Guppy Bloated; Flame tetra Popeye and pimple; Where to go from here? 8/7/11
Hope you are doing well today~
<Not bad, not bad at all.>
Female Fancy Guppy passed away last night(11:27pm CST; RIP Big Mama). Sadly.
<Too bad.>
She was on of my first fish when I started with my 5G well over a year ago now. She lost all ability to level herself and was head down in the gravel. I imagine that with her bloated abdomen it became too much of a struggle to balance it out with her tail. It was truly a troubling site. Her scales were protruding so much that she had to be uncomfortable and the other fish had started picking off her scales. Miserable to watch. I secluded her in a breeder box so she could have some peace, and soon after, she was gone:-(
<Do review euthanasia; 30 drops of clove oil in a litre of aquarium water, stir well, then dunk the fish in for 10-15 minutes. Will die painlessly.>
I have Erythromycin, which is essentially Maracyn(?), so it's good to know that if the Maracyn 2 does not clear everything up I am safe to use the Erythromycin for the Columnaris/Bacterial infection/Fin rot(Ugh..that sounds horrible!). Can I just start administering the Erythromycin (Maracyn) or do I have to get the Minocycline (Maracyn 2) out first?
<Erythromycin isn't as useful as it once was'¦ much bacteria resistance. If you have Minocycline, I'd go with that first.>
If more than one 20% water change/day is necessary should I be concerned about keeping the level of medication constant, by adding more, or should I be more concerned with water quality?
<Don't worry about either. As I tried to explain, if you add the medication at, say, 8 AM, then if you do a water change at 7:55 AM the next day, the medication will have been "used up" anyway, so you can go ahead and add another dose for Day 2 after that water change. Of course, the ideal is to do no water changes while medicating, but if you have non-zero nitrite and ammonia levels, you may not have that option.>
My instinct, and perhaps common sense, is telling me to worry more about water quality since that was the catalyst for this dilemma in the first place, but I also don't want to render the medication pointless. Now that Female Fancy Guppy has passed the medication isn't as urgent of a part of the equation with the other afflicted members are on the mend.
<Indeed. If all the other fish lack symptoms, so you can assume are basically healthy, then no, you don't need to medicate, and yes, you can do water changes and concentrate on fixing water quality issues.>
So did I make another fatal mistake by removing the "sewage" slime from my impeller and motor? Ugh.. Please tell me I did not get rid of MORE essential, good bacteria!!
<No, the good bacteria are in the filter media (sponges, ceramic noodles, etc.). Provided these are rinsed carefully you won't remove the bacteria (squeeze them out in buckets of aquarium water until they're basically clean, and enough bacteria will remain to do the job perfectly).>
Today after the water change my Ammonia is still dangerously high(dark green),
<Not good. Do check your tap water as well, some tap water contains ammonia. If you have ammonia in your tap water, you'll want to use a water conditioner that neutralises it (choose a brand that fixes chlorine, Chloramine, ammonia and copper). Next up, if your tap water has no ammonia but your aquarium does, then the problem is the number of fish and/or the amount of feeding and/or lack of adequate filtration.>
but my Nitrates
<Nitrite or nitrate? They're different.>
are negligible (barely turned the pad color at all). I'll do another 20% after I send this.
<Cool.>
My new 55G is set up and the filters are running. Ammonia is showing up and a tinge of Nitrates. At this point, with my 20G being so toxic I'm tempted to put a fish in for some relief and clean water..but would that be out of the fire and into the frying pan?
<Hmm'¦ I'd be tempted to move all the fish to the 55 gallon, and bolt both filters onto that aquarium if possible. If nothing else, the same number of fish in an aquarium 2.25 times larger will mean you will cut your ammonia levels by more than half. A win!>
I am seeding the filters with filter media from a healthy tank, but understand this can take awhile. I'm also dropping pinches of fish food in to feed the bacteria in the filter media. Any other suggestion to speed cycling? I don't want to use anything from my "sick" tank for fear of spreading the bad bacteria. Anything from my Brackish tank would be useless because it is different bacteria, correct?
<Depends on the salinity; from SG 1.000-1.005, you basically have freshwater filter bacteria, so you could move some media from the brackish tank if necessary. But may not be necessary.>
What is your experience with the bottled bacteria?
<Very variable.>
Dr Tim's One and Only or Hagen's/Nutrafin's Cycle or Bio-Spira? I assume not to rely on these alone, despite what the claims are, but could they be of some help here to speed things up?
<Yes, they can speed things up, and if your medications have hit the bacteria badly, then these might help undo some damage.>
Thank you so much for not getting snappy with me. I've seen some responses from you with ALL CAPS and your blood pressure rising and had prepared myself for such a reply. I've read so many of your articles and answers to FAQ's I almost feel like I'm "speaking" to a celebrity..I'm a bit star-struck to be honest!!
<Don't be.>
Thank you, again, for your time. I bet you are getting sick of me~
Candy
<Always glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Kissing Gourami stopped kissing; Fancy Guppy Bloated; Flame tetra Popeye and pimple; Where to go from here? 8/7/11
Good day to you~
Thank you so much for your time!
<Most welcome.>
I was in the process of getting water icy to euthanize, but she was gone before I was satisfied it was cold enough to do the job quick and painlessly. Wonderful article on euthanasia. I can't find a pharmacy that carries clove oil.
<Hmm'¦ do ask for Eugenol instead, it's "scientific" name. It's widely used for toothache, and may be sold through health food shops as well as drugstores. If all else fails, a quick look at Amazon saw it being sold for the princely sum of $5.00.>
I will finish the Minocycline course.
<Cool.>
I meant Nitrates were negligible..My Nitr"i"tes have been 0 through this entire ordeal...its the Nitrites with the "I" that are deadly, correct?
<Yes.>
Even in a small amount. I think my problem is with ammonia. I tested my tap and it is in the dangerous area... 6.0.
<Yikes! This is most commonly the case in places near agriculture. Run-off from intensive farming pollutes the water table. But note also that Chloramine can register as ammonia, a "false positive" of sorts. As Chloramine it is toxic to the fish in itself, but once you use dechlorinator not designed for Chloramine, you end up with ammonia that poisons the fish like "regular" ammonia. As you can see, there's much value in just ignoring all of this and buying a water conditioner that tackles everything right out of the bottom, i.e., chlorine, Chloramine, ammonia, and copper.>
I regularly use Doc Wellfish Stress Coat and Jungle's Start Right, both say they remove harmful chemicals, but nothing of ammonia or copper..just chlorine and Chloramine..actually Stress Coat just says it removes harmful chemicals and not which ones...I've always used them without incident. I did order Prime when this problem became seriously out of hand, however. I have heard good things. Could you recommend anything?
<In the US, a popular brand for this is Ammo-Lock.>
My Brackish tanks salinity is at 1.010 so it's of little use in helping cycle my freshwater tropical tank, correct?
<Correct. You have more or less saltwater bacteria in there now, which is neat if you ever decide to set up a reef tank...>
I raised the salinity over weeks and weeks to ensure the correct bacteria would be present.
<Cool.>
Have moved some fish to the 55G(Juveniles that were born in the 20G and are strong and active and very healthy), but have left "sick" fish(lethargic, white "mustache", sores, PopEye, etc..) in the 20G and done water changes as needed. I can't bolt the filter from the 20G on the 55G quite yet because I still need the bio filter from that filter on the 20G for the sick fish. I expect a quick recovery without all of the extra waste products from the extra bio-load. Could I maybe cut the bio sponge in half and use half in the 20G and half in the 55G to seed the filters on the 55G? Just trying to get creative and make sure everyone is happy. Any suggestions are welcome.
Persevering~
Candy
<Sounds like you're doing the right things. Go slow, move healthy fish to the bigger tank as soon as practical, use water changes to offset any problems with water quality across the next couple weeks, and everything should work out. Yes, you can cut sponges in half. A good thing to remember is that you can remove up to 50% of the mature media from a working filter without compromising its ability to clean aquarium water. Any new media you put back in that filter will very quickly, within days really, be fully colonised, and you shouldn't see any water quality problems. The live media you removed can seed a new filter or aquarium, and if you transfer enough live media this way, i.e., enough to half-fill the recipient filter on the new tank, you're basically instantly maturing it and can (should!) add some small, hardy fish to keep the filter bacteria well fed with ammonia. Anyway, off on my holiday tomorrow for the next week, but hope to hear good things when I return. Good luck, Neale.>

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.>

Outbreak Please Help! :( (Sick Bala Sharks and others; RMF, anything else?)<<No>> 4/14/2011
Hi, I currently have two tanks. One 55 gallon with two platys 4 silver dollars and 3 Bala sharks (two now),
<This tank is overstocked; at least, it will be once the Silver Dollars and Bala Sharks are anything above, say, 10 cm/4 inches in length. Bala Sharks in particular are sensitive fish that don't do well in small tanks.
Realistically, you need a tank above 100 gallons for these fish.>
I also had an albino rainbow in the same tank but have moved him to a separate 20 gallon due to aggression.
<Not uncommon; while Rainbow Sharks are considerably less aggressive than Red-Tail Black Sharks, they're still territorial, and can be very aggressive towards fish that have a similar shape, including Bala Sharks.>
The other tank is a 30 gallon tall with platys, guppies and tetras in it, it is a bit overcrowded but I am doing weekly partial changes to keep it operational. All water parameters appear to be ok.

The 55 gallon rose suspicion three days ago when my Bala (he passed today) developed a white patch from the center of his body to his tail, his scales seemed to be falling off and there was redness near his tail and top fin.
<Sounds very much like Finrot. With Bala Sharks this can be caused by poor environmental quality generally, but physical damage through jumping into the hood or striking against objects in the tank is a very major risk.>
I started treating with Maracyn one and two day before yesterday and now there is one to two white spots on a couple of the fish appears to be Ick.
Can I treat for Ick while continuing treatment for columnaris or fungus at the same time?
<In theory, yes; but it does depend on the medication being used. As a broad piece of advice, using the Salt/Heat method for Whitespot is the safest approach, and works 100% reliably with Finrot medications. Once you start using Formalin and Copper-based medications, things become less predictable.>
The 30 gallon tank was ok (both have been set up for over a year) until I adopted a neighbors 4 platy's because I felt sorry for their living conditions. Now one of my mother guppies has white spots on her mouth tail and has mucusy feces, she appears to be red under the scales.
<Again, a fairly common reaction to poor environmental conditions. Since Platies require hard water while Bala Sharks need soft water, it's also impossible to discount water chemistry issues. When Platies are kept in soft water they are very prone to systemic bacterial infections of the sort likely causing problems here.>
My tetras seem fine as well as some of the guppies and platy's while others seem to be wasting.
<See above.>
I only noticed this today and have treated with 2 drops of quick cure per gallon of water because the tetras are in there I had it sitting around, I bought more Maracyn one and two today and a new bottle of Ick cure (Maracide) and am unsure what to do from here as I do not want to over medicate.
<Over-medicating my well be an issue, but medicating without determining precisely what the problems are will also lead to frustration.>
If you can help at all I would greatly appreciate it I love my fishies a lot and do not want to lose them. I can send pictures if you wish to see more. I am also going to check parameters again. Please Help
<Do review the needs of ALL your fish species, be objective about how well your tanks match these requirements, and act accordingly. Cheers, Neale.>

Mysterious Deaths (RMF, anything else?)<<Zip>> 3/6/11
Dear Neale
<Patrick,>
I was somehow hoping to report good news - instead, my two neon tetras that had been showing signs of a little mouth fungus were dead this morning having moved them to the hospital tank with some medication.
<Oh dear.>
Worst still, in the large tank I took them from, I just found one of the male guppies lifeless on the bottom, just about alive but his tail (normally a beautiful orange and yellow) is now showing little colour almost as if it has been stripped, with lots of shredding in it as if it was torn.
<Unfortunately, both Neons and Fancy Guppies are low down on the durability scale. Their wild ancestors were actually pretty tough, Guppies notoriously so. But inbreeding and free use of antibiotics at farms means that the quality of what's shipped out to retailers isn't very high. Bottom line, you will see that I consistently advise against buying these two species, along with Dwarf Gouramis and, to a lesser degree, Mollies.>
I have put him into a spare tank with fresh water but I somehow think he will not survive. Oddly. there is a slight rise in my nitrites (to about 0.1ppm) so I performed a good 25% water change.
<The nitrite could simply be because of the dead fish decaying, but keep an open mind.>
The only thing I can think of that I might have done differently is to feed them on a little bit of blanched cucumber yesterday and used a net in the tank which had previously been disinfected to get the tetras out (although I am sure it was absolutely washed over and over along with a de-chlorinator to eliminate all traces of chemicals as I usually do).
Could this be something that you recognise?
<Not really. Mycobacteria is one possibility, and Guppies also have to deal with Tetrahymena, the so-called Guppy Disease. Neons of course have Pleistophora infections as well as Finrot, Columnaris, etc. I will make the point that Neons and Guppies require completely different water chemistry and temperature conditions, so they're unlikely to do well in the same tank. Neons have a minimal lifespan in hard water, while Guppies won't last long in soft water or (in the case of fancy Guppies at least) the coolish temperatures Neons need. When you don't keep fish in the climates they require, they're far more likely to succumb to random infections.>
I've never experienced three sudden incidents like this within 12 hours - something must be going on. Ammonia levels 0ppm. You help/advice is always much appreciated.
<Well, there's not much I can offer here. I'd remove, euthanise sickly fish pronto, and do my best to remove any other fish that show signs of sickness. I'd be waiting for things to pan out under their own steam. Then take stock of what fish have thrived, and what haven't, and gradually restock accordingly. Among tetras, the excellent X-Ray Tetra (Pristella maxillaris) is a reliable, hardy species that thrives in hard water (it even occurs in slightly brackish waters in the wild!) and makes an outstanding choice for aquarists in the Southeast of England where the liquid rock is much too hard for most other South American tetras.>
kindest regards
Patrick
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Mysterious Deaths (RMF, anything else?)
Thank you so much, I shall indeed try restocking with fish more suited to our hard water.
regards, Patrick
<Do read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwhardness.htm
There are many, many options of good community species for hard water aquaria, from cichlids like Julidochromis ornatus through to Ender guppies, Limia, dwarf Rainbowfish, Celebes rainbowfish and more. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Mysterious Deaths (RMF, anything else?)
Funny - I was just reading that article actually. Really interesting and very happy to see glassfish on the list.
Enjoy your weekend
Pat
<Glassfish are indeed neat! Wildwoods in Enfield often gets these very neat Ambassis agrammus as well as Parambassis spp. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Mysterious Deaths (RMF, anything else?) 3/6/11
Thanks Neale - I will take a visit once the tank has had a few days to settle but your suggestions look great - I'd love to get more Platies - they are so lovely - is that wise?
<Platies can be a good choice for community tanks. Like other Central American livebearers, they prefer hard water, and London tap suits them very well. Wildwoods regularly carries other oddball Poeciliids including Limia nigrofasciata -- one of my favourite fishes -- a fish that combines the size of the Platy with the Sailfin of the Molly. Nice colours, too.
Other Poeciliids I've seen there in the last few weeks include Phalloceros caudimaculatus, Limia vittatus, Alfaro cultratus, Phallichthys amates and others. The nice thing about these rarer livebearers is that they *still* have the hardiness that made the livebearer group so popular during the early years of the hobby.>
I'm guessing all will be fine with my current three flame red Colisa lalia (cherry dwarf Gourami) who, although being quite aggressive with each other over territory, appear fine with other fish albeit the odd chase.
<Indeed.>
The guppy did die. It looks like he was attacked and his tail badly nipped poor thing. The other four male guppies are quite lively with each other and often gang up on just one (currently in 100 litre tank). I guess there is nothing I can do apart from distract them with females (I have five, three are heavily pregnant) in another 100 litre tank) - which I'd rather not whilst they are dealing with their pregnancies.
<Agreed.>
thanks
Pat
<Cheers, Neale.>

Fish Flashing 3/2/11
Hello Crew,
I am back again with another question. A few of my fish are flashing in a couple different tanks.
<Some such behavior is "natural", to be expected... sometimes just the difference in water quality in a partial change out can increase this>
I did recently add new fish to them. At first I thought it was ich, so I raised the temp, added salt and treated with rid-ich plus for about a week. I never seen anything on the fish, so I am guessing it wasn't ich. I hate treating the fish with meds, but I didn't want a loss.
At this time the fish are doing well. They are all eating, but a few are still flashing. There is no sign of anything on the fish. My tanks are all 0. ammonia, 0 nitrites and nitrates under 20. Do you have any idea what it could be, I was thinking maybe fluke, but I would like your advice on this before I treat with any other meds.
Thank you Crystal
<Unless you can clearly identify a pathogen, I'd leave off w/ medicating. Bob Fenner>
Re: Fish Flashing 3/4/11
Hi Bob,
Last night one of my heaters died. The temp went down to 78%
<Do you mean degrees F.?>
and the fish that was flashing in that tank (4" Clown loach) has stopped flashing. He is still his normal silly self, but he has not been flashing today. Could of it been the temp too high for him?
<Mmm, not at 78 up to at least the mid 80's, no>
Should I stop replacing the salt now when I do my water changes? Or should I continue using it for the next couple weeks or so?

Thank you for your help, Crystal
<Welcome dear. BobF>

Re: My fish are dying 1/9/11
More details...
Nitrite=0, nitrate=10, Ph=8.0, Alkaline=200, Hardness=25-75. Does this Ph seem too high?
<For some fishes yes... see the Net re the species you keep... their ranges>
Changed out about 15% of the water, replaced with water from outside faucet (not connected to water softener).
<Good>
I thought I was doing better, but then there were some more fishy deaths.
Molly and two more cardinals. Saw more clues, though. Molly developed a deformed spine, twisted into shape of an "S". Cardinals were both covered with white hairy fuzz.
<Environmental... the decomposers are secondary>
I didn't see this on them when they were alive, so it could have formed after their death. The Silver Molly's tail has been rotting off...I assumed it was "fin rot", but today noticed that the fuzz is also covering the end of her body where tail was.
Fish store sold me Tetra Lifeguard All in One treatment. Looks like it cures just about everything.
<...>
I am a little concerned though about treating what may not be there. If it is a fungus, should I use something that is specific to fungus? From what I can tell, it doesn't look bacterial. Of course, I'm not much of an expert. if I were, I would have a lot more live fish right now. :-(
<... Let me try again to be more clear. Your root problem is a poor mix of species of different needs AND poor water quality>
I put in some aquarium salt
<... dismal. Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/SaltUseFWArtNeale.htm
they sold me, and put some stuff in to lower the Ph. Will these things help?
<Not likely; esp. w/o reading, understanding on your part... >
I feel like I'm just shotgunning this
<Oh, you are. Assuredly. >
with to many things without being sure any of it is the right thing to do.
Please help... :-(
<Only you can help yourself. Read where you've been referred to. Learn to/use the indices, search tool on WWM, perhaps better still, invest in an overall general freshwater aquarium book. You NEED an overall understanding of this field... not to listen to any one/all's input and live your aquatic life in a reactionary sense. Understand? BobF>

Af. Cichlid system, uncycled, env. dis., Ich, lack of common courtesy 4/5/10
Hi there. I had just set up a tank with all African cichlids. it is a 29 gallon tank, and I let the water sit for about a week before adding any fish.
<... This won't cycle it... Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
and the linked files above>
I also treated the tap water and had all the levels tested. it has been a good week or so since I set it up and my fish are starting to rub against the rocks and everything in the tank. as of today (4-5-10) they have the salty looking white spots on them.
<Likely Ich... Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm
and the linked files above...>
there are two yellow and black striped fish in there that are eating it off. or at least I think that's what they're doing.. is this possible?
<No>
I just turned the temp up in the water. what else should I do???
<Read, run your grammar and spell-checker, learn proper English. Bob Fenner>

Fish... sp.? Hlth.... 3/1/10
Hello
<Hello.>
I have a 16in white tetra
<I don't know what kind of fish this is! I tried a Google search, thinking this might be the common name for some type of fish, but couldn't find anything. There are some Characins that grow quite large, but I couldn't find any information on a fish called "White Tetra" which grows to this size. Do you know of any other names for this fish?>
and he is very swollen with his scales falling off and bloody. Do you have any recommendations on how to save him? He seems pretty strong still but he does kind of float up to the top of the tank. The tank we have him in is a 90 gal and we are currently treating the tank with Pimafix.
<No matter what type of fish he is, he still requires clean water, and I can't imagine trying to keep a fish this large in a 90 gallon aquarium.
The bioload of such a large fish is just too great. So, first, I'd say test your water, and ensure that Ammonia, Nitrite are zero, and Nitrate is under 20. This sounds like some sort of bacterial infection, almost like dropsy. Please research "dropsy:"
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dropsyfaqs.htm (there's also a photo there). Is this what your fish has? This can sometimes be helped by Epsom Salt, used at 2 tablespoons per gallon, with half of the treatment added one day, and half the next, along with an antibiotic like Maracyn.
However, often when these symptoms show themselves, it's too late. If you do agree with my diagnosis (which I made without much to go on, really, so it may not even be correct), it means that you've kept the fish in unclean conditions for so long that it just can't fight anymore, and has succumbed to illness. So, you'll need to take that and learn from it. You can try to save your fish, but it may be too late. Begin by testing, and seeing where water quality is. Then, do huge water changes until you've gotten those parameters mentioned above to where they need to be. Then, you can try the Epsom Salt/antibiotic combination. Good luck to your fish. Please write back if you have further questions after reading.
--Melinda>

My fish are sick with something I don't know. 2/18/10
<Hello.>
My brother bought four mollies and a mini catfish at a store, but the store's fish are always sick and now I need to treat them. I think they could have Ick and other sicknesses.
<What are their symptoms? Descriptions of symptoms, along with photos, are useful tools in diagnosis. Treating fish without cause can stress them, and if you're treating for one problem, and they have another, then they're not going to get better.>
I heard of putting salt in the water or raising the temp. to 85 degrees or higher, but I'm afraid that it might kill them.
<Salt and elevated temperature are used to treat ich, but I have never raised temperature higher than 84 when treating ich, and wouldn't risk going higher than 85. This treatment does not help many other illnesses, though, so what ever these other illnesses are, they will persist unless diagnosed and treated.>
I also want to treat my black moor, 2 common goldfish, and fantail goldfish just in case.
<Why do you believe these fish are ill, if they are in a different system? Again, what are their symptoms? Just as with humans, one must first diagnose the illness before treating.>
I don't want to kill any of them so if you know what I should do to treat them without killing them please tell me soon. The new ones are in a small tank and the fantail, common goldfish, and the black moor are in a 55 gallon tank. If I do add salt would table salt work.
<If you are treating for ich, then yes, table salt will work. However, when I have treated for ich in the past, I've gone ahead and bought the aquarium salt sold in pet stores, because I figure that if I use all the salt out of my kitchen, I'll still end up buying salt! Please read here on ich and its treatment, prevention: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwich.htm and those linked files above the title of the article. I've found proper use of salt and heat to cure ich 100% of the time, and rather quickly, too. However, these "other illnesses" are what have me worried, because, as I stated earlier, the heat and salt will likely not take care of these. First, let's review water quality. Most often, when fish appear "ill," the problem is not with the fish itself, but with its environment. An example in humans would be a cough due to cold (illness in the human body) and cough due to smoke inhalation (a problem in the environment manifesting itself as a physical symptom). Obviously, fish don't cough (at least, I've never observed this behavior!) but hopefully that's a good enough analogy. Test regularly, and ensure that Ammonia and Nitrite are zero, and Nitrite is under 20 ppm. Even if poor water quality is not the cause of illness (if these fish came from the store with an infection), you still want to ensure water quality is such that the fish's immune system can function normally in order to aid its recovery. If you find any of these levels above what I stated, then there's a good chance water quality is a factor in the fishes' illness, even if indirect. Also, please review what is archived on WWM re: Mollies: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm and those linked files above the title of the article. Mollies actually do best in brackish water, and probably don't mix well with your mini catfish (a Corydoras catfish? If so, a schooling fish, and will be miserable alone), and you'll need to review their needs in order to help improve their quality of life. In addition, you do not specify how "small" this tank is, but please note that Mollies need at least 20 gallons, as well as the brackish water mentioned above, to thrive in home aquaria. Again, I don't think the catfish is a good tankmate for these fish, so please find out what type of fish he is and enter that into the search bar on the WWM homepage so that you can research his needs. Unfortunately, you've really given me very little information on either system or any of these fish! Please take the time to read where I've linked you, and if you'd like to write back, feel free. Please include more information on the fishes' symptoms and these systems. I'd like to help, but you've given me very little to go on. I understand your anxiety, but we need to start with some information to go in the right direction.
--Melinda>
re: my fish (still sick, but not much more information!) 2/20/2010
<Hello.>
I accidentally sent you another message, <??>
but my fantail swims really weird sometimes he acts like he cant stop floating.
<Please read here re: diet and other general care for goldfish:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm and the linked
files above.>
At first I thought it was just to fat but now I'm not sure. I got the moor, the fantail, and the new ones from a store that usually has sick fish because that is the only fish store we have in our town.

I don't see any ich on the fantails, black moor, and goldfish or on the new ones but my dad says the new ones have it so I don't know.
<Please give descriptions of symptoms. Are these fish flashing (rubbing on rocks and decor) or breathing heavily?>
Sometimes you cant see ich, but can you see bacteria sicknesses.
<You can see ich. I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying there's evidence of bacterial infection? What are the symptoms?>
I cant send pictures for a while, sorry.
<Then your careful observation and reporting of same is absolutely imperative here, and you're not giving details.>
I looked lots of things up about ich and that's where I learned about the salt and heat.
<Please review where I referred you on WWM if you'd like to learn more.
Again, I do not recommend raising the temperature as high as you indicated that you planned. But we're not even sure if this is ich, are we? So, again I say, let's start from the beginning: with symptoms, and diagnosis.>
The older ones haven't died so far so I don't know if they have ich because sometimes you can't see it and it can last a long time.
<I'm not sure where you're getting this information. You can see ich.
That is how it is diagnosed. Otherwise, no one would know if the fish had it, and wouldn't know to treat for it.>
I don't know how to check the stuff in the water.
<The "stuff in the water" is of utmost importance, and the fact that you don't know what I'm talking about sort of makes me worry. It could be that you test, and everything is absolutely perfect with water quality. But, the reverse could also be true: that you're failing to address issues with water quality and your fish are ill as a result. The test kits are sold at fish stores, and directions for testing are included in the package.
Please read here on what Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate are, and where they come from: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm>
But I know how to treat ich, kind of, but I don't know how to treat any other sicknesses.

Would I see the ich when it started coming out of the fish that might help me deciding whether they are sick.
<Yes. The spots look like grains of table salt. Did you read where you were referred?>
Should I just wait to see if they die or if I can see something.
<Well, what do you think? I've already asked you to provide information as to external symptoms of illness, and you ignored my request. If you ignore it again, then you're essentially "waiting to see if they die.">
I've just read to many things that scare me about ich and bacteria on fish.
<If you're so scared, then why are you failing to read where I referred you last time, and why do you still not tell me why you think your fish are sick? What do they look like? How do they act?>
The new ones kind of swim slowly which that might not matter but I think there are 2 mollies, a little fish, and the mini catfish.
<Did you read where I referred you re: Mollies? You're still not answering the questions I asked: I distinctly remember asking you what size tank this was, and telling that your catfish is likely not brackish, and therefore cannot exist in the same tank as the Mollies.>
The store called the catfish thing by the wrong name so I don't know what it is.
<.....>
The little fish is always lying on the bottom. I will try to figure out more about the catfish and the other fish. I'm not helping much, maybe when I can send pictures it might help.
<I find this situation completely frustrating. You've offered no more information at all, really, and failed to answer any questions that I asked, read where I referred you, or help yourself in any way. If you choose to continue in this manner, then you are, essentially, "waiting to see if they die." I want to help your fish, but you also have to help them. Please write back if you have questions after reading where I referred you last time and this time.
--Melinda>
e: my fish (still sick, but not much more information!) 2/22/10
<Please refrain from typing your answers within the e-mail. It has turned into a real mess, and though I added extra carats (carrots?) I still think it's going to be really confusing for anyone who reads it. (Bob, what would you like me to do with this if it occurs in the future?) I will attempt to answer your questions here, rather than the traditional way.
<<You've done an excellent job of syncretizing the essentials here Melinda. RMF>>
First of all, when I ask you to read about goldfish, I am hoping that you'll find out what they need in terms of water quality, feeding, etc., and see that either you're doing things right, or that you need to change or augment your methods. Is this the case? The "Floaty, Bloaty Goldfish" article stresses the need for vegetable matter in goldfish diet, and this isn't often provided. Are you feeding according to the article, or does this need to change? Maybe this is where the disconnect is occurring, because when I'm asking you to read, you say you are doing it, but it doesn't seem when you write back that you've gleaned any information from the pages where I linked you. As a result, I assumed you weren't reading, and so I'm sorry if that was a mistake.
As for your catfish, if you don't know what he is, how do you know what to feed him? Corys, a common "mini" catfish, do not eat algae at all.
Otocinclus, another common "mini catfish" eat only a specific type of algae, and often perish very early in home aquaria due to their nutritional needs not being met. Some catfish are sold very, very small, but don't stay that way, and no warning is given that this is the case at time of purchase. I have one. I bought him when he was two inches long. Now, a year and a half later, he is twenty-seven inches long, and still growing.
So, you see why it's important to know what you buy. The catfish's behavior, of whirling around the tank, does worry me. However, again, this behavior is usually a symptom of poor water quality.
I can't stress how important it is that you please do determine water quality. The "ragged fins" on both the catfish and the Molly indicate that there's something wrong with the water. Also, it could indicate something like Finrot, but that's caused by poor water quality. The same goes for your goldfish, who, in general, commonly suffer from problems due to under-filtration and lack of maintenance, which cause water quality to deteriorate. The thing with the possible ich on the Mollies is that if you didn't have incompatible tankmates with them, you could begin adding salt to the tank and eventually have brackish water, which the Mollies would enjoy and would kill the ich at the same time. Due to the fact that these other fish are in there, it creates a problem with that scenario. In any case, Dalmatian Mollies are exactly what they sound like -- black Mollies with white spots, or vice versa -- so the fact that they have spots doesn't mean that they have ich. I'm guessing you mean that these are not those Mollies, and that these spots are new. The smaller spots could be ich, the larger ones could be a fungus. What I'm trying to say is there is a lot going on in that small tank, the size of which you have still not yet divulged. Much of it likely stems from poor water quality, and I wouldn't begin treating for ich without first determining if that's the problem, and without first testing the water.
Your fish store will likely test the water for you at little to no cost.
When they do, press them to give you numbers on each test, and do not allow them to just say "it's fine" or "everything is within safe limits." I think water quality is really where a lot of your problems are stemming from. Ask them to test the goldfish tank, as well. As for whether the two "small fish" and the "mini catfish" will work well in the goldfish tank, without knowing what these are, it's hard to tell. Most of the small fish (I'm thinking Tetras, Rasboras, Guppies, Platies) sold in fish stores need heated water, which your goldfish do not appreciate. So I don't think this is going to work, unless these fish are Danios, but after you find out what they are, do enter their name into the search bar and determine their needs.
--Melinda>
my fish
> <Hello.>
> I accidentally sent you another message, <??>
> but my fantail swims
> really weird sometimes he acts like he cant stop floating.
> <Please read here re: diet and other general care for goldfish:
> http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm and the linked files above.>
<<ok>>
> At first I thought it was just to fat but now I'm not sure. I got the moor,
> the fantail, and the new ones from a
> store that usually has sick fish because that is the only fish store we
> have in our town.
> 
<<ok>>
> I don't see any ich on the fantails, black moor, and goldfish or on the
new
> ones but my dad says
> the new ones have it so I don't know.
> <Please give descriptions of symptoms. Are these fish flashing (rubbing on
> rocks and decor) or breathing heavily?>
<<The new ones are swimming around a lot now and the really little one
,which I think is a baby mini catfish, swims in loops in a clockwise
direction and when he goes up on the loop he sucks on the wall. Then after
some loops he swims around the tank really fast and sucks on the tank
wall, heater, and air pump. When he stops he is breathing hard but after a
bit it slows down. I think he's just looking for algae but I don't know why
he does the loops. Maybe he is a different type of algae eater. One white
goldfish's eye is haft red, orange in the middle, and white on the bottom.
They are not flashing. I don't think they are breathing hard but the new
ones gills move fast. The catfish's tail looks like it has been chewed on,
same with the mostly black molly. I don't think the older ones are sick
because they don't have any problems. >>
> Sometimes you cant see ich, but can you see bacteria
> sicknesses.
> <You can see ich. I'm not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying
> there's evidence of bacterial infection? What are the symptoms?>
> I cant send pictures for a while, sorry.
> <Then your careful observation and reporting of same is absolutely
> imperative here, and you're not giving details.>
<<I'm trying too.>>
> I looked lots of things up about ich and that's where I learned about the
> salt and heat.
> <Please review where I referred you on WWM if you'd like to learn more.
> Again, I do not recommend raising the temperature as high as you
indicated
> that you planned. But we're not even sure if this is ich, are we? So,
> again I say, let's start from the beginning: with symptoms, and
> diagnosis.>
>>Ok, I wasn't going to raise the heat until I am sure they are sick.>>
> The older ones haven't died so far so I don't know if they have ich
because
> sometimes you can't see it and it can last a long time.
> <I'm not sure where you're getting this information. You can see ich.
> That is how it is diagnosed. Otherwise, no one would know if the fish had
> it, and wouldn't know to treat for it.>
<<OK, I just searched ich on the internet and found a bunch of websites
including yours.>>
> I don't know how to check the stuff in the water.
> <The "stuff in the water" is of utmost importance, and the fact that you
> don't know what I'm talking about sort of makes me worry. It could be that
> you test, and everything is absolutely perfect with water quality. But,
> the reverse could also be true: that you're failing to address issues with
> water quality and your fish are ill as a result. The test kits are sold at
> fish stores, and directions for testing are included in the package.
> Please read here on what Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate are, and where they
> come from: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm>
<<Ok, I will find them because I've been wanting to test the water any way.>>
> But I know how to treat ich, kind of, but I don't know how to treat any other sicknesses.
> 
> Would I see the ich when it started coming out of the fish that might help
> me deciding whether they are sick.
> <Yes. The spots look like grains of table salt. Did you read where you
> were referred?>
<<Yes, one molly is mostly white with black spots, but the other one is
mostly black with small white specks that look like salt, but it has bigger
white spots too.>>
> Should I just wait to see if they die or if I can see something.
> <Well, what do you think? I've already asked you to provide information as
> to external symptoms of illness, and you ignored my request. If you ignore
> it again, then you're essentially "waiting to see if they die."> I have been reading everything you wanted.
> I've just read to many things that scare me about ich and bacteria on fish.
> <If you're so scared, then why are you failing to read where I referred you
> last time, and why do you still not tell me why you think your fish are
> sick? What do they look like? How do they act?>
> The new ones kind of swim slowly which that might not matter but I think
> there are 2 mollies, a little fish, and the mini catfish.
> <Did you read where I referred you re: Mollies? You're still not answering
> the questions I asked: I distinctly remember asking you what size tank
> this was, and telling that your catfish is likely not brackish, and
> therefore cannot exist in the same tank as the Mollies.>
<<Yes I read it but I can't do any thing until I get another tank so I can
put the catfish in it. The new ones are in a small tank but the one I want
to put them in is a 55 gallon tank with the goldfish, but first I have to
look up the goldfish, fantail, and the black moor again to see if they like
the same things. I wasn't the one that bought them with out learning what
they need.>>
> The store called the catfish thing by the wrong name so I don't know what it is.
> <.....>
> <<The little fish is always lying on the bottom. I will try to figure out
> more about the catfish and the other fish.>>
I'm not helping much, maybe when
> I can send pictures it might help.
> information at all, really, and failed to answer any questions that I
> asked, read where I referred you, or help yourself in any way. If you
> choose to continue in this manner, then you are, essentially, "waiting to
> see if they die." I want to help your fish, but you also have to help
> them. Please write back if you have questions after reading where I
> referred you last time and this time.>
<>
> --Melinda>

a novice tank of errors...and 3 dropsied fish... Reading 12/28/09
Hi guys,
<And gals Maria>
Maria is here wondering if you can set her on a straight path.
<A good practice to be self/introspective at intervals>
I started a 15 gallon tank about two months ago. The tank itself was new but all of the hardware came from an established tank, including filter media.
The tank is moderately planted. The t fluctuates around 26-29C.
<This is a too-large fluctuation... You do have a heater? I'd set it close to the high mark here>
I do 50% water changes
<Mmm, unless your new water is "very good"... I'd keep these changes to about 1/3 of the tank volume>
with vacuuming and rinsing of the filter pad every week, and do weekly ammonia testing (the liquid kind...been at 0 from the very beginning).
The diet consists of guppy flakes, the .5mm growth pellets from New Life, algae wafers and occasional frozen bloodworms.
The inhabitants included a few guppies, 2 mollies, 3 Platies, 2 neon tetras, a small angelfish,
<... will get too large, likely "mean" here>
a powder blue dwarf Gourami, an unidentified baby algae eater,
<Mmm, do see WWM, the Net with the name "Gyrinocheilus"... and trade this fish in if it is this>
and a small crayfish.
<! Most species are fish eaters>
The fish come from at least 3 different stores.
The guppies never thrived. Most of the original stock died soon after I got them without any obvious warnings...I replaced them.
The Gourami did not do well either.
<... see WWM re Colisa lalia... this fish is often not hardy>
He was skittish from the beginning but soon afterwards became very 'skinny', to the point where his skull bones
were visibly protruding. His sides became sunken in so the body looked kind of 'banded'. And all he did was hanging out in the corner. I was away on vacation last week when I learned from my daughter that the Gourami died.
She did not, however, remove the body from the tank. When I came back a couple of days ago, I found 3 of my fish in a pitiful state. One of the guppies (already died) blew up like a balloon with her scales sticking out all over her body (disturbing to see on a fish), eyes popping out, and red streaks everywhere. The female molly is in a similar state...she is huge, with protruding scales, and she developed a greenish color (white when healthy). Another female guppy is blown up as well and her scales are just starting to stick up. I changed about 70% of their water immediately and vacuumed everywhere but could not find the Gourami's body, so I assumed it got eaten.
The rest of the fish appear healthy.
I added two packs of Maracyn 2 to the tank as well as some salt thinking that it might if not cure the fish then at least control the epidemic.
What else can/should I do?
<... read: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/dropsyfaqs.htm
and the linked files above>
If I keep the obviously sick fish in a concentrated Maracyn 2 bath, would that help at all?
<Mmm, not much... FW fishes don't "drink" their environment, and antibiotics/Erythromycin is not absorbed through their integuments/"skin">
I have read that dropsy has very poor prognosis so perhaps extreme measures would help?..
<... read>
That reminds me. I've read on a Russian aquarium hobby site about a guy who had an Oscar with dropsy so the guy punctured the fish's abdominal cavity (carefully, of course) with a small needle and drained the fluid with a
syringe while treating the fish with antibiotics. The follow up after a month was that the fish was doing ok.

Not that I'm going to do that...
Maria.
<See WWM re each of the species you list... Bob Fenner>
Re: a novice tank of errors...and 3 dropsied fish 12/29/09
Wow, thank you for the quick reply!
<Welcome Maria>
The molly passed away, unfortunately. As curious as I am, I performed an autopsy and saw a lot of greenish liquid inside her belly. The third sick fish - a guppy - is still alive and I think is doing better. Her stomach is pretty big and the scales at the bottom of her stomach are slightly raised but she is otherwise ok and accepts food. So we'll see. Could it be that she's just very pregnant?
<Yes>
The reason why I thought of the Maracyn bath was because the manufacturer claims that it absorbs through the fish's skin. I suppose small amounts do, but I have no idea how to take this claim to be honest. Maybe I could try mixing the antibiotic with food but I don't know what medium works best for that purpose.
<Foods that have some lipid/fat content... Please read here re:
http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/holedispd.htm
Yes, it is a Gyrinocheilus, a golden variety. The guy at the pet store told me that they stay small and that they are sweethearts...Sigh.
<Uh, definitely not. See WWM re... plan to move it... out>
Ah, one more thing please. I know now that guppies and mollies prefer brackish water.
<Mmm, at least hard and alkaline>
The tap water I have here in Toronto is hard and alkaline.
I'm confused as to what type of salt to add - aquarium salt, African cichlid mix, or marine salt mix?
<Marine is best. Please see...>
Thanks again!
Maria
<Welcome! BobF>
Re: a novice tank of errors...and 3 dropsied fish 12/30/09
Ah what the deuce... another female guppy is hanging out near the surface not looking so good. Not really swollen but the scales are slightly rising.
Oh, and she had that thin thread-like, long, whitish string coming out of her anus.
What's going on? Why females only? Is there some kind of sex-linked communicable fish disease?..or are females more susceptible?
<Mmm... could be a "few things"... Perhaps a combo. of Chondrococcus (Columnaris) and Nematodes (Camallanus)... See WWM re>
I dip tested the water. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20, chlorine 0, water hard to very hard, alkaline. The temperature has been stable at 27C for two days.
I quarantined the two sick fishes...they are swimming in the antibiotic bath now. I tried lacing food with a/b but it doesn't seem to be sticking very well to the pellets and dissipates as soon as the pellets hit the water.
So out of frustration I mixed a packet of a/b together with crushed anti-parasitic pellets and algae wafers with some water, ran it through the food processor and mixed it into warm gelatin. Once it's set, I'll try feeding them.
<Sounds very good>
Is there anything else I could do? I hate losing these pretty fishes one after another...
<W/o microscopic work, a good deal of reading/investigating, unfortunately not much. In a field (in this case/circumstance ornamental aquatics) of such huge breadth, possible "depth", there is so much that even though "known", the "learning curve" is so large and steep, that by the time (even w/ clear focus, plenty of time) it is very hard to "come up to speed", relative to the time frames of livestock loss>
Many thanks and sorry for heavy emailing,
Maria
<Not a worry. I do wish you "lived next door", or that the state of these devices (the Net basically) and human affairs was such that I could refer you to human help nearby. BobF>

Texas has tumors 10/29/09
Hi
My Texas cichlid has not been well for about a month. At a guess he is about 8 years old. He started getting sores on his side which I treated with Melafix and they cleared up.
<Likely unconnected... Melafix isn't much of a medication, and at best helps the natural immune system repair damage and fight infection.>
Then a few weeks later he started to getting sores again. I removed him from the tank (950 litre tank) and treated him again with Melafix. It didn't clear up the sores and he started to develop pink lumps (tumors???)
<These look somewhat like Lymphocystis, a not uncommon viral complaint seen among "advanced" (Perciform) fish including cichlids. The precise causes of this disease are not completely understood, but it seems to be triggered by stress, likely environmental stress if occurrences in the wild are anything to go by. So do check the aquarium, paying attention in particular to water chemistry and water quality. Herichthys spp. need hard (10+ degrees dH) water with a basic pH (7.5) and the water should be medium temperature (around 25 C) and clean (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and nitrate less than 20 mg/l). Because cichlids are messy feeders, and because this species is so big, keeping water quality where it should be can be difficult.>
I changed his medication to aquari-cycline and he developed more lumps between his bottom fins. I then tried treating him with para-cide and after 2 weeks he still has sores and tumors which are appearing at the base of his fins, his body is bloated. He is still eating, his energy levels are a little lacking and is gasping.
<Again, I'd tend to be looking at water quality/chemistry issues. Make sure the tank isn't overstocked, and that the filter is adequate to the needs of the fish. For cichlids this size, I'd be going with filter turnover rates 8 times the volume of the tank per hour. Make sure the carbonate hardness is sufficiently high that pH isn't fluctuating between water changes. With a few exceptions, cichlids are hypersensitive to low oxygen levels, and low water turnover and excessively high temperatures can cause an "oxygen crisis" for these fish that tend to stay near the bottom of the tank, where oxygen levels are invariably lowest.>
I am about to start treating him for fluke and tapeworms.
<Obviously, make sure you haven't fed anything like live feeder fish. This isn't a thing in the UK since feeder fish aren't sold here, but in some parts of the world they are still available, and that causes major problems. To produce a fish you can sell for pennies, healthcare will not be a priority. A feeder fish is really just a way of getting parasites into healthy fish. So if you have used feeder fish, then yes, there's quite a good chance your Herichthys has picked up something nasty. Certain fish species used as feeders, notably goldfish and minnows, have high levels of thiaminase and fat, and over the long term, both can cause serious problems. Thiaminase breaks down Vitamin B1, leading to deficiencies, and among other things, this causes the immune system to work less well. Fat causes problems by building up around the internal organs, and again, over time, that's going to lead to all sorts of metabolic abnormalities.>
I really need some advice as I would hate to loose him. In the pics you will see that his lumps are around the base of his fins and the sore on his side
<Indeed. Lymphocystis is essentially untreatable, and comes and goes depending on the health of the fish. Given optimal conditions and a balanced (i.e., varied, vitamin-rich, including plants) diet most fish do recover. Provided the tumours aren't obstructing an orifice, they are not substantially more dangerous than warts. But it does take months for fish to recover. While Lymphocystis won't be causing laboured breathing or sluggishness, the environmental problems that cause Lymphocystis could well be causing other problems as well.>
Thanks
<Cheers, Neale.>

Flashing 10/12/09
I have a 55 gal freshwater which is into its 4th week with fish. Nitrite levels are extremely low and I have been keeping up with my water changes and testing quality every 2 days. I know the tank is still cycling because it isn't showing any appreciable level of nitrate just yet- I have no live plants. For stock, I have 5 albino Corys and 5 golden bar Platies. I wanted to make sure the tank cycle was stable before introducing more fish. I noticed several of the Platies flashing about two weeks ago. Other than this, they have no signs of disease whatsoever. All fish are swimming, eating, and behaving appropriately, other than the flashing.
<Flashing is a common behaviour when the water isn't "quite right" -- be alert for ammonia and nitrite. Both of these will cause fish to dart about or scratch against rocks. All the fish feel is irritation (burning, perhaps?) on their most sensitive parts, their gills. They can't know the difference between a parasite (which they try to brush away, hence the flashing behaviour) or a chemical "burn".>
Research led me to think gill flukes, since there are no signs of ich.
<Pretty unlikely, to be honest. Never come across flukes in 25+ years of fishkeeping. They're more common among wild caught fish, and particularly common among pond fish kept outdoors, but not really a problem for most farmed tropical community fish.>
I would normally treat with salt, but I read that Corys are sensitive to salt,
<Actually, copper/formalin as used in most Ick medications is *far more* toxic to Corydoras than the low levels of salt needed to treat Ick. Do remember that the whole issue with salt is osmotic stress. Some hobbyists might say things like catfish are "allergic to salt" but that's utter garbage. Indeed, there are various catfish that live in the sea! So salt, in and of itself, isn't toxic to them. If you routinely added too much salt, week in, week out, that certainly will stress Corydoras and indeed any other fish from the soft waters of the Amazon. But across the short term, and in small amounts, it's harmless.>
so I have used Quick Cure for three days as directed on the packaging (one drop per gallon- I only added 50 drops), doing a 25% water change today. I know that treatment might take longer than this.
<Likely won't do anything either way. I somehow don't feel this is a gill fluke problem. The fact your tank is just 4 weeks only strongly implies variable/poor water quality, and I'd expect fish kept in such a tank to "flash" from time to time. I'll also mention here that carbon removes medications from the water. Some inexperienced aquarists use carbon in their filters (usually without understanding why, but rather because the retailer sold the stuff). Always remove carbon when medicating the fish, or precisely nothing will happen.>
I am concerned the Quick Cure may have totally destroyed my bacteria base and the tank will need to cycle all over again.
<Non sequitur. QuickCure doesn't harm filter bacteria if used as instructed.>
I have an established tank with a goldfish in it, and the levels there are great. He's been in the tank for over a year. Perhaps I could add some of his water to jump start the cycle once treatment is complete?
<There are little/no filter bacteria in the water. By all means add a cup or two of the gravel, or even better, some filter media. But water...?
Pointless.>
Also, should I discontinue the Quick Cure or treat for a little longer, doing water changes every third day? I have not seen any flashing behavior today.
<Don't automatically assume "ergo propter hoc".>
Sorry if this question has been asked before. I searched and searched for info on nitrifying bacteria and quick cure, but I couldn't find much definitive info.
Helen
<The correct explanation here is likely the simplest one. Do read, understand cycling and be aware of the likely problems when you cycle with fish. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Flashing 10/13/09
Thanks a lot Neale!
<You are welcome.>
I feel much better about it now-the idea of gill flukes had me in a bit of a panic. I checked the ammonia in the tank and the levels were under recommended parameters.
<Not sure what you mean by "recommended parameters". It's a common misconception that "low levels" are acceptable. They are not. Any ammonia above zero is potentially dangerous. A healthy aquarium has zero levels of ammonia and nitrite. Anything above zero means your tank is overstocked, under-filtered, overfed, or not yet fully cycled.>
I will do as you suggested and add some of the filter media from the established tank, as well as continuing to monitor water quality in the new tank and keep up with water changes.
<Very good.>
I did remove the filter pads, which have activated carbon in them, when I started treating with the Quick Cure. I will discontinue the treatment and just focus on the water from now on. Thanks again for your advice- I very much appreciate it.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Concerned and Confused... mis-mix FW, induced troubles, lots of reading... 7/9/09
I have a 30 gallon tank. It is about 7 months old.
Community Tank with the following fish:
2 Dwarf Gouramis
<Do see WWM re: Colisa lalia; a problematic species in many ways, and not recommended.>
1 Silver Mollie
2 Sailfin Mollies
<Mollies usually do best in warm, hard, slightly brackish water; this makes them incompatible with most community fish.>
1 Pleco
<Will need a tank twice your size within 18 months or so; maximum length is about 40-50 cm, depending on the species.>
3 Cory Cats
<Groups of 5 or more, please.>
1 Red Tailed Black Shark
<Highly aggressive, and will terrorise your fish once mature in a tank this small.>
2 Mystery Snails
<Needs subtropical conditions as well as a cooler dormant period of a few months in damp soil every year; most specimens kept in tropical tanks die within a year.>
3 Neons
3 Glowlights
<Again, schooling fish, so must be kept in groups of 6 or more specimens, and ideally 10+ if you want them to be happy and to look nice.>
1 African Dwarf Frog
<Difficult to feed, and must have wet frozen bloodworms and other wet/live foods periodically; frogs fed dried foods and pellets very prone to constipation.>
2 Angels
<If these are males they will fight, and if they pair off, they could become unholy terrors, so be careful.>
1 Guppy
My Silver Mollie and Sailfin Mollie both gave birth about 3 wks ago. I have the fry in a breeders net (I hate these things!) The fry seem to be happy and healthy, but I find about 2 dead each day. My Silver Mollie died about 1 week ago. From the symptoms she displayed, I believe it was from "Dropsy".
<Mystery deaths of Mollies usually come down to people keeping them in the wrong conditions. Be under no illusions about this: Mollies are not "easy" fish, and they are ONLY hardy when kept in brackish water.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm
>
The week before, my male guppy died, I'm not sure why, he seemed to be doing fine one minute and the next minute he was sitting on the bottom of the tank. My local "Fish Expert" said it looked like aggression to him?!@#
<Sounds a pretty vague analysis to me.>
Anyway, now my Dwarf Gourami was hiding in a plant, acting strange, not eating (normally one of the first grabbing for food), top fin not standing up, and a hairy cloudy white patch on both sides.
<Sounds like a fungal infection; treat accordingly using something reliable (not Melafix, Pimafix or any other tea-tree oil medication). Do be aware of the numerous problems with this species:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/dwfgdis.htm
Best avoided really, and I don't recommend them. I have an article coming out in TFH Magazine shortly all about commonly sold fish that should be avoided, and this is one of the species mentioned. Colisa fasciata and Colisa labiosus are infinitely better fish.>
In the 7 mths that I've had the tank, I haven't had any problems. Is this just a freak thing...is my tank diseased, or what do you think is happening?
<Your choice of fish is a bit random and, frankly, poorly thought out.
Without statistics on water quality, temperature, water chemistry it's also impossible to say whether you were unlucky or have been keeping this fish badly. I can say that sudden deaths of livebearers for example are most common when the water isn't sufficiently warm or hard or brackish, and both Mollies and Guppies will thrive best at about 26-28 C, hardness 15+ degrees dH, pH 7.5-8, and ideally slightly salty conditions, around 3-5 grammes of marine salt mix per litre of water.>
What steps should I take to correct the problem(s)?
<Read, understand, anticipate, pre-empt. Cheers, Neale.>

Dying Fish 4/10/09
Greetings,
<What ho!>
I have been using your website for years now and I really appreciate what you guys do. I have been trying to build a successful tank for four years now, but am still having trouble making it work.
<Oh dear.>
The equipment I am using is:
1 - 48'x22'x18' tank
1 - 350 magnum pro canister filter
2 penguin power heads (300gph) for my under gravel filter
The conditions of the tank are checked weekly and are:
The alkalinity is 120 ppm
The hardness is 200 ppm
The temperature is 78°F
The pH is 7.5 (I would like to lower the pH and hardness of the water and have been doing twenty percent water changes with distilled water twice a month for several years now, but that doesn't seem to make a difference.)

The stock I have in the tank is
One Black ghost knife fish - approx 6.5'
One marble angelfish - approx 3.5' in diameter (this is the body only, not including fins. I am assuming this is how they are normally measured although I believe it is full-grown)
Two Bala sharks - approx 5'
One Pleco - approx 4'
<All of these are fine in basic, moderately hard water.>
Problem:
The first thing I am worried about is the pH and hardness. I have read about RO/DI systems on your website, but it seems like they are doing the same thing distilled water would do, so I don't know if getting one would really help.
<Don't bother; it's not like you're breeding these fish and need particularly soft water.>
I looked but can't figure out any other methods to lower pH and hardness.
<By definition, if you have 50% water at 20 degrees dH hardness, and 50% at 0 degrees dH, you'll end up with water at 10 degrees dH. The pH will drop somewhat, but unless there's something to acidify the water as well, you'll still have a slightly basic pH. What tends to happen though is that as hardness (specifically, carbonate hardness) declines, so the propensity for acidification between water changes increases. This is a bad thing. Adding stable, buffered water at pH 6.5 is fine if the tank stays at 6.5 between water changes; but if the pH drops from 7.2 to 6.5 between water changes all by itself (because of nitrate going up, organic acids, etc) you are likely to stress your fish. Ergo, it's much better to give fish moderately hard but stable pH water.>
In the last three years I have lost 4 gouramis, 3 hatchet fish, a Kuhli loach, a rainbow shark, and two angelfish. The gouramis, rainbow shark, and angelfish all bloated and then died several weeks after they had initially bloated. All of their deaths were spread out over a three year period, the last death being the angel fish which had been in the tank for two and a half years before it got sick.
<Whatever the causes, and I certainly can't determine them from this message, not providing these fish with soft/acid water wasn't the key; on the other hand, exposing the fish to constantly varying pH could be a stress factor.>
All of these fish were introduced into the tank at the same time (three years ago). The hatchet fish were eaten and the Kuhlii loach is just missing in action.
<Probably eaten by the Apteronotus.>
I haven't figured out what I am doing that would cause this and am worried it will continue to affect more fish.
<Would concentrate on choosing a few species of comparable size, and then taking care to optimise water quality and diet, rather than fussing over pH and hardness.>
I feed them twice a day, but not very much so I don't think I am over feeding them. The angel fish that is still alive and active has never really had much color and its eyes have always been red, which was not the case in the pet store when I purchased it.
<Commercially bred Angels are not especially beautiful fish, in my opinion; certainly, the quality varies.>
I also have always really wanted to have discus, but from what I have read that would be a very bad choice while I have the Bala sharks, plus my track record isn't doing too well.
<Symphysodon are certainly not appropriate to this aquarium. They need warmer, stiller water than, for example, Apteronotus. Concentrate on keeping fish that all share the same environmental conditions above all else.>
I am hoping you can tell me what I am doing wrong so that I can add more fish and retain them. If getting rid of the Bala sharks and somehow lowering the pH of the tank would allow me to get discus in the future I would be interested in that, if not would you have any recommendations as to what fish I could add since I have seemed to lose all the compatible tank mates that I have found?
<Depends what you're after. Apteronotus albifrons will outgrow this tank fairly quickly, so your prime issue is finding something bigger for this potentially very large fish (250 litres upwards). It comes from shallow but reasonably fast-flowing water habitats with plenty of oxygen, so fish from similar habitats, such as Whiptail catfish and Brochis catfish would be appropriate, as would some of the larger, but non-nippy, characins, e.g., Silver Dollars or Bleeding Heart tetras. Congo tetras look good with them too, though they're African rather than Neotropical.>
Thank you so much in advance for your advice and your wonderful site,
Chris
<Thanks for your kind words, Neale.>

Deadly Diseases: Lymphocystis, Glugea, and Henneguya. 02/09/09 Hello All! Just writing this bc I had an important question and maybe something you don't deal with often ... Before I start I have a 60 Gallon FW tank that has been running for about a year. My ammonia/nitrites are always 0 and my nitrates always 40ppm or less ... Anyways, about 1 month ago or so (maybe a little longer) I noticed one of my blue rams which I've had almost a year had white pimple looking bumps on the top of his head ... After researching I came to the conclusion that he had Lymphocystis so I left him in the tank. It would spread around his face, reappearing on a different spot on his head as another healed but never got any worse than when I first noticed it (he is still alive btw). Now, my question is this ... What is the chance that this isn't Lymphocystis and is Glugea or Henneguya? (I never took him out of the tank bc everything I've read said these diseases are even more rare than Lympho.) The reason why I ask is bc over the past 3 - 4 days I have lost 4 or 5 fish for unknown reasons ... And they all exhibit the same signs: Loss of color. They were all eating and active except for the color and it got to the point where I could look in the tank in the morning and know which fish were going to be dead by the time I got home from work based on the color. Glugea and Henneguya is the only reason I could think of bc I have not done anything different to my tank in a long time and I religiously keep my tank clean and maintained. So what is your opinion bc I truly believe that my whole tank will be dead in a month or less at this rate. (Which means I convert my tank into a dart frog tank and forget fish forever lol). Thanks for the insight. -Nick- <Nick, I think these are unrelated issues. Lympho is by far the most common viral disease among cichlids; or at least, the most common one aquarists can recognise. It isn't fatal, and as you've noticed, it comes and goes. It's a nuisance, but doesn't seem to harm the fish any, and eventually goes away. If you're losing a bunch of fish -- of different types -- in a short span of time, it's most probable there's an issue with water quality or chemistry. Also consider reviewing diet, temperature, and even the age of the fish. So: What are the fish? What is the water chemistry? Cheers, Neale.>

Freshwater Aquarium Disease 11/20/2008 Hi there, 1 month old 10 G freshwater aquarium, Fluorite substrate, 7 medium- sized plants, holding steady at 80 degrees. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, trace nitrates. Was populated with a single perfectly-healthy and happy male Betta fish. <A single Betta in a 10-gallon tank is an excellent way to keep fish. Well done.> After a lot of research, I decided to add some cardinal tetras, so I bought 8 of them from my local fish store. <Hmm... Cardinals are sensitive, and wouldn't be my choice for addition to a tank a month old... Also, small tetras, even the "peaceful" ones, will nip the fins of Bettas. Unless you absolutely 100% know better, Bettas are best kept alone or with small invertebrates such as cherry shrimps, Nerite snails, etc.> Fish looked perfectly healthy and were had the brightest colors of any cardinal tetras in town. I made the purchase and acclimated them to the water using the trickle method over a nearly 3 hour period (I'm new and wanted to take every precaution). <OK.> Fish looked great, were schooling perfectly and my Betta was chasing them a little when they got in his way, just trying to assert his authority I guess. I noticed that after a few hours one of them didn't school with the others very much, and took to hanging out in a corner. When I saw this behavior I removed him and put him in a separate container. <Moving fish to small containers is usually like switching them to Death Row. It's almost always best to find out what the problem is and fix it. Isolating fish makes sense if you're moving that fish to another proper aquarium for breeding or quarantining reasons, but just putting them into a bucket or jar doesn't, in my experience, ever seem to do much good.> The next morning his swimming had changed dramatically. He just kind of paddled backwards very rhythmically, banging into walls and everything, and was very non-responsive. No symptoms other than this. <Likely just stressed, too cold, bad water quality, etc.> Also, another loner tetra in the main tank which I removed. I was a little freaked out. It reminded me of The Happening. Great movie FYI. <Haven't heard of this movie, I'm afraid.> Also, that morning I noticed my Betta had stopped chasing the tetras. I thought he had just gotten used to them. Both my Betta and the tetra school had very good appetites that morning. As the day passed, my Betta became more and more reclusive, hiding near the bottom under leaves. He would not come out to eat dinner that night. By nighttime, more loner tetras, and both earlier loners died. Some white spots on the fish as well. Went to the fish store and the owner gave me some Nox-ich, which I used per the instructions for tetras. His cardinal tetra tank was crawling with an ich-like something and he had lost many of them. <Ick/Whitespot is indeed very common in pet shops, and almost always when aquarists see it in home aquaria, it is immediately after buying new fish. Multiple ways to treat the disease, the safest of which is the high temperature/salt method.> The next morning, white spots all over the place (I know it sounds like ich, but don't tune me out just yet). My Betta had a literal white mask over his face, and a large (3-4) millimeter round white spot on one of his gills. He was also completely unresponsive, and solely concerned with trying to breathe through his mask at the waters surface. He would also not leave the corner where the heater and filter output were, and still wouldn't eat. The remaining four tetras were schooling normally and were still eating, but they had ich-looking spots all over their bodies. Over the course of the day, all of them died except one, which I discovered the next morning in my filter input. <At least some of the other symptoms may be related to environmental issues. You haven't mentioned temperature, nitrite, ammonia, pH or hardness levels, all of which are relevant here. Almost always, diseases like Finrot and Fungus, both of which can explain white growths on fish, are related to either environmental issues or physical damage.> More observations: after their deaths, tetras became much less colorful, more gray (I assume that's normal). Before he died, my Betta was having problems keeping himself righted in the water, kept falling over to one side or the other. Whether this was a result of a swim bladder problem or lack of oxygen I don't know, but I am pretty sure that his eventual death was caused by oxygen deprivation. Also exhibited an odd behavior where he would stop moving for a few seconds and then half jump out of the water. Seemed he was trying to get his labyrinth organ thing out of the water or something. Also, I think my Betta's white mask was a result of him chasing the tetras and presumably coming into contact with them, with his face. White mask extended from mouth all the way over his eyes at the time of his death. <None of this particularly unusual or indicative of one specific disease.> Went to the fish store a day after my final fish death and every cardinal tetra was dead. Over 200. BUT there were other species of fish in that tank that were still alive! The fish-store owner asked me what my tetra experience had been, and I told him everything I just told you. He said that what I described with my Betta sounded like a fungus of some sort. It was only that day that I remembered having noticed a white fuzziness on some of my plants. <The fuzziness on plants is usually not fungus. Fungus grows on decaying organic matter, for example a dead fish, or dead tissue on healthy fish. Fuzziness on plants is usually algae, but sometimes bacteria. In the latter case especially, it is a clear sign of poor environmental conditions: too much food, too many fish, not enough water changes, and not enough filtration. Bacterial fuzz is typically off-white or grey in colour, and frequently has a silky appearance.> Its very small and in very localized patches, and on only one species, so I didn't think it was any kind of fungus or mold. Also, for the life of me I can't remember whether the first time I noticed it was before or after I put the cardinal tetras in. <Oh.> Now that the tank had no more fish in it, I cranked my oversized heater up to 89 degrees and left it that way for a week, but stopped using Nox-Ich. After this week the white fuzziness has not seemed to have grown or changed at all. <Ick medication obviously only treats Ick.> What is this crazy ich-fungus?? What monster of a disease can kill 200 healthy tetras and the most beautiful Betta in the world, IN FOUR DAYS?? WHAT HATH NATURE WROUGHT?? <If nothing else, a simple lesson: Quarantine new fish before adding them to a community. When a bunch of fish die immediately after being added to a small aquarium, it is overwhelmingly probable that water quality is the issue. The other common problem is that the aquarist exposes the new fish to dramatically different water chemistry. Contrary to myth, fish can't "acclimate" in a couple of hours to changes in water chemistry. It actually takes some days. Of course, we normally impose on this, and only give the fish 30-60 minutes to adjust to the new water chemistry conditions, but that still means that for a few days they're in a delicate, disturbed phase proportional to how different the old and new water chemistry conditions are. Now, I mention this because some people unwittingly keep their fish in water from domestic water softeners, which you should NEVER EVER do.> is this just some horrible ich strain? (fish store owner said it was the worst outbreak of any disease he had seen in all his years of fish-keeping) <There are "super" Ick strains going about. But rarely do they kill fish if treated properly. Certain medications don't work at all on these stronger strains, though some do, for example eSHa EXIT, a product widely available in Europe and the UK at least. In addition, the old school salt/heat method will work too.> finally, how the heck do I sanitize my tank? <You can't. Leave it with no fish for at least two weeks running the salt/heat treatment. The salt will kill any free-living parasites in the water, and the lack of hosts means the mature parasites can't exist at all.> Thanks so much for all the hard work you put in for the aquarist community and our fish friends, you guys ARE AMAZING!!! Ryan <Cheers, Neale.>

Fish shock, FW... hlth. 08/18/2008 I recently added 3 new fish to my tropical tank, two are the exact same specie and the third is another variety of the same species. When I attempted to do my weekly gravel cleaning and water change I was removing decorations from the tank. The new fish swam quickly from the other side of the tank towards the decoration I was removing and slammed into it. Then he floated around the tank for about 20 min.s barely breathing before he fully recovered. I was wondering what I could do to reduce his stress, I wasn't moving fast while removing decorations. Should I get another fish of the same species, I know the pet store has one. I also noticed my female guppy changes colour when my tank light is out, she becomes pale but when the light comes back on she regains her colour. I've tested ammonia and nitrites and there are none. Is this normal for guppies to do, my other female doesn't seem to do this though. <No, it's not normal. You should certainly be doing everything you can to reduce stress on your fish while performing maintenance. There's no reason to remove all the ornaments and plants from a tank when cleaning it, assuming you're maintaining the tank in a sensible way. If you do 25-50% water changes per week (the correct amount/frequency) all you need to do is stir the gravel a bit with your fingers and suck up any detritus with the siphon as the water is taken out. The filter will handle everything else, assuming it's adequate to the tank (I recommend choosing filters that offer four times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour). Tanks only become dirty if they are too small for the fish concerned, massively overstocked, or completely under-maintained in terms of filtration and water changes. Take care that any water added to the tank is identical in chemistry and temperature to any water removed. Guppies do not like dramatic changes in pH, and the use of marine salt mix (rather than "tonic salt") at a low dose of around 3-6 grammes per litre will help here by adding buffering capacity to the water. Generally livebearers appreciate the addition of marine salt mix, but other types of tropical fish do not, so review any tankmates carefully before doing this. Do remember that Guppies need a tank at least 90 litres/20 gallons in size, with a proper filter. Males are aggressive towards one another and pester females, and in smaller tanks this aggression causes serious problems. So consider the size of the tank, as well as the availability of hiding places, particularly floating plants, before adding any more fish. You should always have twice as many females (at least) than males if you want to