dying fish-help!

Question
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Followup To
Question -

Hi Chris,
Thx for your previous advice!  As I did everything you said, things were going better until today.  This morning the red flame gourami is 1/2 dead with alot of missing fins(did see other eating at him) and grey bloated gills/face area.  Now I've noticed the angelfish is on top very still just opening and closing his mouth.  I could even touch him w/out him moving.  I did buy a testing kit and everything is perfect.  The only number increased is Nitrate at 10 which is still low.  Do you determine the water changes by these numbers or does it need to be done regardless?  Any thoughts on the sick fish when all numbers are good?  Thanks again!  Christine


In need of advice:  My son & I are working on a  new 55 gallon freshwater tank about 2 months old now after  graduating up from a 10 gal(still on) and a 30 gal which fish were outgrowing(sharks were getting huge)!  It has a 75 gal biowheel filter, gravel and sand for the eel.  Anyway, we've been adding fish gradually and about 5 days ago a new albino shark died w/in a day.  Then the catfish was dead without notice or symptoms.  The next day both of my sons beloved sharks were bloated, gasping, floating, spinning upside down and had red streaks with a fungus all over their body.  Now, we have started treatment with meds but I am afraid of losing the entire tank as this disease seems so extremely agressive.  Some of the remaining fish are looking weak with fin rot and bloated, some look ok so I want to do all I can to save them.  We've tried an ICK/velvet remedy first-which now I read probably killed the catfish.  Then changed about 20% water and put in copper safe and salt yesterday.  Today as some of the fish still look unchanged I tried "Anti-Bacteria" for systemic infections.  After putting it in I found your site thankfully!  I hope you can give me some recommendations so we don't lose them all.  Also, the coppersafe says to use this stuff prophylactically on a monthly basis with water changes and that its ok to use concurently with other meds.  Is this true and do you agree?  Also, should the carbon come out?  Please give me all and any advice you can.  Thanks so much!  Christine
Answer -
Hi Christine;

Make a 50% water change today and do a 25% change tomorrow. You can do these 25% partial changes every day if they are still acting sick. The tank is probably still in the break-in period and it was just too much for them. 'New Tank Syndrome' toxins have been burning their skin, fins, eyes and gills. The bloating is probably from organ failure due to toxin poisoning. I really don't think they need medicine. There are two things that would help them get through this though. A product called Melafix and some aquarium salt is all you need. Follow the instructions on the labels.

Don't touch anything in the filter. The beneficial bacteria colonies that are trying to grow in there can't fully develop if anything is changed or removed during break-in. If they get plugged, rinse the filter material in a container of tank water. This will help preserve most of the bacteria colonies that cling to the filter pads but it gets rid of the crud. Filter pads should only be replaced if they are so old they are literally falling apart. I know the manufacturers are going to tell you differently, but remember what they are in business to do...sell you more stuff. Your filter pads will last a very long time. My filters get rinsed occassionally and replaced every few months if they are too limp to stay in and some have been used for years in my filters.

The reason this all happened is there are far too many fish in there as starters to get them through it safely. For a new tank you have to start very slow and only have a total of one inch of fish for every TEN GALLONS at first. The break-in takes 6 to 8 weeks so the starter fish would be alone for that entire time. Once the break in is over you can add one or two fish every week. This way the bacteria balance can compensate for each addition before you put in more new ones.

Avoid the urge to tear the tank down and start over. This break-in process has to complete and your fish will go through it all over again if it's cleaned out. The toxins are consumed by the bacteria and it just takes time for them to grow enough to do that.

Here is a link to my article on new tanks for more info;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Let me know how it's going......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Answer
Hi Christine;

I think the gourami is still suffering the after-effects of the break-in period. If he is bloated it is probably organ damage from the toxins. The angel may be experiencing the same. Even though it's all gone now, their bodies were just too damaged.

Those ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are just great so once the fish-loss crisis is over you could start restocking one or two fish a week. Go slowly so the beneficial bacteria can compensate. Just do a 25% water change every week from now on anyway. Even if levels look good they still need to be done. There are other water chemistry elements that can't be measured with standard water tests. Some trace compounds your fish need will be replaced and organic wastes you can't measure will be removed.

I hope this will all be over for you and your fish very soon......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins