Fish eye help?

Question
QUESTION: Hi,,I have just a small 5 gallon hex with a gourami, a bala shark, and 2 little frogs. The tank has a "biowheel". I changed some decor/gravel over the w/e.  This morning I had 1 dead Bala, and 1 Bala with a cottony white growth over 1 eye.  The water I noticed yesterday smelled funky, not like the usual.  Can I treat this fish right in the tank? I am thinking Saprolegnia fungus?? Your thought please....Thank You in advance for your opinion. This is just a tank for my little one to enjoy.

ANSWER: Hi Kelly,

How long have you had this tank?  I'm surprised they aren't all dead!

Bala sharks are schooling fish, should be kept in a shoal of at least 4 or more, and require a minimum of a 70 gallons, even when young.  They grow to be large and without the appropriate tank they die of organ failure.  This is when the tank is too small and the outside stops growing because there is no where to go but the organs continue to do so until they fail.  They are also a semi-aggressive species that should never be kept with frogs (balas will eat them).

Gouramis, depending on whether it's a dwarf or not, require at least a 10 gallon tank if it's a dwarf, if a larger, more aggressive species, it needs 30 or more gallons.

A 5 gallon tank is not large enough to support the bioload of any aquaria except for one betta fish, or a school of ghost shrimp, or a duo of african dwarf frogs and that would be it.  Shame on the pet store for selling you these fish/frogs without making sure you have the appropriate home.

I would not advise you to treat the shark.  Medication will not be effective in a 5 gallon tank when the shark needs 70 gallons.  If it's white and hairy it's fungus, secondary from a bacterial infection and should be treated for both, but only in the appropriate tank where the medication can be effective.  Unfortunately the shark will continue to get sick until it dies from the inadequate environment.  Same for the gourami.  The two frogs could safely live in the habitant all by themselves with no problem.

It probably smells awful from the ammonia and nitrite spike, which is why I am shocked any fish or frogs are still alive.  Ammonia and nitrites burn and suffocate aquaria to death, it's a by product of the waste they are producing and the filter cannot eliminate it because the load is too great with too many fish and frogs in too small a tank and the tank probably wasn't cycled before any aquaria was placed into it, which will surely kill the aquaria.  Most do not make it through the nitrogen cycling process, which all new tanks go through (and can re-start if at anytime the filter or gravel or decos is changed out because this is what hosts and stores the beneficial bacteria that eats up the harmful ammonia and nitrites) and takes 8-12 weeks to complete.  Get a liquid drop test kit.  Your ammonia should always be 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 5-20 ppm.

I would get the bala out of there now and return it to the pet store unless you are planning on buying a much larger tank.  I'm not sure that the pet store will take him sick, they may euthanize him, but at this point, unfortunately I don't think you have much choice.  Even by some miracle if you got him better he can't stay in that tank and will continue to get sick.  I would also re-home the gourami, it's just not the appropriate environment for him and keep the two frogs.  It won't be a nice sight for your little one to awake to see the gourami floating and the shark eating the frogs.

I'm sorry I don't have great news for you.  I would encourage you to keep the frogs and get the tank cycled.  Once I know your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test results I can help you save the frogs.

Good luck : ) April M.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow,,scolding and guilt trip and making me hang my head in shame.  Perhaps it would be better directed at the store who sold my kids the stuff.

Answer
Hi Kelly,

Exactly, that's why I stated in my original answer: "Shame on the pet store for selling you these fish/frogs without making sure you have the appropriate home."

Please don't think I am chastising you.  There was nothing in my answer directed at you, it's all just simply the facts.  Many, many people do this same thing, I answer 8-10 questions a day and I usually cut and paste my whole 'cyling' speel from one answer to another.  Don't take it too personally or feel too badly, you just didn't know.  That being said, it's always better to do some research before embarking on a new undertaking.  I think it's ridiculous that pet stores even sell 'starter fish kits' that show a 5 gallon aquarium with 5 goldfish happily swimming about.  Simply impossible.

When you test the water please let me know the results and I'll gladly help you save the frogs but you should know that you do need to act fast.  An ammonia build up will kill everything in your tank within hours.

Good luck : ) April M.