FISH EXPERTS HELP!! MY FISH ARE DYING 1 BY 1!!!!!!!?

March 11th, 2010
  • ok my tank is in trouble so i'm going to give you all the details and hope you can help me i have a 30 (uk) gallon tank heated to 27c filtered with bog wood and real live plants, plastic bridges and caves for hiding in, as my fish are ill i have been using melafix everyday (told to use it for 7 days) for the last 3 days all of them have fin rot (i think) and the rainbow is covered in a gooey thick gel stuff and have loads of bits on them that look like little air bubbles, i have 1 angel 2 molly's 1 rainbow fish 1 balloon ram and a plec, they are fed a varied diet of live/flake/frozen and algae wafers, i treat the water every week and do a 20% water change every week and treat the tap water before adding it to the tank i only ever wash the decor in the old water, i just tested my water and it came out...
    G.H-180
    K.H-240
    P.H-8.0
    NO2-0
    NO3-40
    i no these are not right so what can i do to get it back to normal?

    sorry no2 is nitrite and no3 is nitrate
    my fish are dropping like flies! yesterday i had my guppy (sparkle my favourtie made me cry) my balloon ram, my rainbow fish and this morning my angel has died! please can any help me or tell me what i am doing wrong or how to save the last of them, i adore my fish and don't want to loose anymore of them!

    i don't no if i'm just trying to shift the blame but i bought my fish from 2 different stores the 1st lot were fine til i started adding fish from the other store, could this be causing it?


  • "and have loads of bits on them that look like little air bubbles,"

    Possible you have Ich or Whitespot. It's a small parasite that that attaches to the skins and gills of your fish and can eventually kill them.

    It can come in un-noticed with new fish and infect the entire tank.

    Melafix will not cure it, I suggest you do a large water change to get the water quality as good as possible then treat your fish with a proper white spot medication. It's also important to follow the instructions exactly, you need to use the meds for the full time span, dont stop when the spots vanish, or your fish will be infected again.

    Good Luck

    Ian


  • There are three possibilities:

    Whitespot (Ick)- This is caused by a ciliate protozoan called Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. I would try raising the temperature slightly if the fish will tolerate it and add a strong whitespot treatment like eSHA labs Exit. Typical symptoms are a covering of sugar-grain sized spots.

    Velvet (Oodinium)- This is often confused with whitespot, but the spots are much smaller and create a 'clouded' effect on the fish.

    Excess mucous- Fish can produce excess mucous when there is something in the water that is irritating them, such as ammonia. The best course of action is to carry out several largish water changes and add a broad general tonic such as eSHA 2000.

    The treatments listed above are available from most good aquatic stores. Remember that the trick with any disease is to treat it early.


  • Firstly did u do the nitrogen cycle before you added the fish in, the nitrate and ammonia should have been in 0 before you added the fish.

    You have to start all over again search for nitrogen cycle in google and do the steps it tells you to do. Fishless or Fish cycles are ok


  • "covered in a gooey thick gel stuff and have loads of bits on them that look like little air bubbles"

    this sounds like an infection that spreads from fish to fish called "ick" [short for some longer latin name].....A water treatment sold at Pet/fish stores can fix it, but I think once a fish has it, it's done for.

    Did you add a new fish in the past month or so? It might have been a carrier.


  • You have a few things going on here. First off Your nitrites are a 0 but you didn't say what your ammonia is at?

    Your nitrates are fine 40 really isn't harmful.

    As for the white bubbles, sounds like ich, not a fungus or columnaris.

    I would suggest getting ich meds (liquid preferabaly) and treat the tank immediately for ich. Do not raise the temps or add salt unless the directions tell you to do so. Remember to remove the carbon filter. Siince each ich med is different, you want to treat as per the instructions. It can take 14 days for ich to totally be killed off. Don't expect to see results in a day or two either.

    Also, you have bog wood in your tank and yet your PH is still at an 8?? Is there something else in your tank that is causing this to remain high?

    Also, what are you treating the water with each week? The only thing you should be putting in your tank water is the dechlor / water conditioner when you do your weekly water changes. Nothing else.

    Adding fish won't change the hardness of your water. Something either in your water source has changed. You need to test your source water as well.

    Treat with ich. Remain on the weekly 25% water change. Test your tap water, check your filter to be sure it is working properly, check your plants. Be sure there is no die off from them.

    Also wanted to add, ich is a parasite (not a fungus or bacterial infection) found in the water source. Fish are not "carriers". Ich only attacks stressed and immune dificient fish.


  • If you have fin rot, then the fins will be tattered and torn looking, and is bacterial in nature. The "gooey thick gel stuff" is probably excess mucus and is usually caused by unicellular parasites; most commonly "Cyclochaeta domerguei". You mentioned that they have what looks like air bubbles all over them. Does it look solid like it has been sprinkled with salt? Are the spots white in color? If so then you have Ich as well. One answerer mentioned "rust or velvet disease". It doesn't sound right to me, because in this disease the spots are very fine and it looks like the fish has been dusted with powder, and the color of the dusting is pale yellow.

    The only thing that Melafix is going to treat is bacterial infection. You clearly seem to be facing at least one and perhaps 2 parasitic infections. I suggest that you treat your tank with Maracide, Clout or Formalin. Be sure to remove the carbon from your filter, and to follow the full course of treatment.

    Best of luck, I hope that you are able to save at least some of your fish.







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