Fish Keep Dying

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I've been trying to get a freshwater tank going for almost 6 months and my fish keep dying. I have a 10 gallon tank.  We started with goldfish, thinking they were the easiest. I have checked the water chemistry and all looks safe (pH, Nitrite/Nitrate, Chlorine, Hardness, Alkalinity). The fish seem to do OK for a couple of weeks, then they begin to stay toward the bottom of the tank and get very lethargic. Their gills look red, then they die. We only have 2 fish in the tank at a time because we're trying to get through the cycling. I have an ammonia sensor in the tank and it is showing safe as well.  We use water from a Culligan system as our well water has too high a pH.  We recently added a heater to the tank and a thermometer and have kept the tank at 78 degrees F. We currently have two barbs in there and one is just about dead and the other isn't looking so good either.  Please help as I really want to have a fish tank, but don't want to keep killing these fish.

ANSWER: Hello Stephanie:  How often do you do water changes???? Besides staying at the bottom and the red gills... are they breathing hard??? are their fins clamped to their body??? Are they eating???  please let me know... dave

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QUESTION: Hi Dave:  We do water changes once per week and change about 2 gallons out of the 12 gallons in the tank. The do look like they're breathing hard and they are not eating. I'm not sure what you mean about 'clamped fins' but they don't look like they are held tight to their bodies.  The one that loooks really bad has red streaks going along his belly on the midline.  He now spends most of his time on his side at the bottom of the tank and doesn't swim at all.

ANSWER: I would medicate them with flukes tablets and do a 50% water change. They may have something toxic in the tank with them... They probably have flukes either gill flukes or just regular flukes... I would also offer them brine shrimp and see if they will eat that.   Keep me posted... dave

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QUESTION: OK Dave, I'll try that.  What are FLUKES?

Answer
Good Morning Stephanie:  Flukes are parasites that range in size as well as method of infestation.  I suspect that your fish have gill flukes which are tiny little parasites that live on the gills of fish. Like all parasites flukes extract blood, etc from the fish in order to survive.  The gills of fish are exposed and as such provide a very easy access point for parasites to reach blood vessels.  The results is the fish usually are on the surface or bottom , not eating, and breathing heavily.  A fluke infestation is treatable if the damage caused by the parasite is not significantly severe. Keep me posted and I would like to see you do a 30% water change before medication is added... dave