Please help...My fish are slowly going to heaven!!

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
  My name is Kristal, and I have a 75 gallon tank (5 Tanks in all). I will start by telling you about the tank, the Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrates are all at 0 the PH is 7.6. Our water temp ranges from 80.4 to 80.9 (80.9 at the hottest time of day, we live in AZ). We have 2 Canisters 1 Magnum 350, and a Fluval 3. We also just bought a steralizer, which my boyfriend just turned off because we don't know what is going on in the tank. we also have live plants in the tank, we add plant nutrients to the tank which are fish safe. we do not use aquarium salt, we do use the stuff for tap water though to make it okay. We waited a MONTH for the tank to cycle and watched everything VERY Closely. We just started adding fish, and have kept check on the water paremeters. 2 weeks ago we started to add fish. We NOW have 1 Blue Paradise Gourami, 1 Gold Gourmai, 1 Figure Eight Puffer Fish, 4 German Blue Rams, 2 Red Tail Catfish, 2 Petracola catfish, 3 apple snails, and some ghost shrimp. I say now because we had 2 other fish that have gone to fishy heaven. we HAD an opaline Gourami who we think died of stress, when we first put him in there he freaked out. 2 days later he was fine, then the next day he wasn't swimming and was laying on the bottom getting picked on by the other fish. so we put him in our hospital tank were he died a day later. that was last sunday. Then our Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami who has also died, had (not trying to be gross)white stringy poop coming out that wouldn't go away. He was also VERY bloated, we didn't think anything was wrong with him, just thought he ate tooo much. Of course the next day he was dead. He died this pas friday!! NOW, 2 of our blue rams are not doing well at all, they are breathing Really heavily and there gills are sticking out very far. They are also not swimming much at all. and when they do swim it looks like they sway back and forth, go a little ways that sit on the bottom of the tank. I don't know what is going on, all of the fish have been having different symptoms. I really dont want anymore of my fish to die..I am getting attached to them!! Right now my boyfriend is doing a water change on the tank, hoping it will help. Can you please give me any advice on WHAT to do?!? I will do ANYTHING at this point!! Please help as soon as possible, I don't want anymore of my fishys to die!!

Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Kristal:  I would do a 20-30 percent water change.  The rams sounds as though they are having a pH issue... or perhaps you have a toxin in your tank.  Household cleaners will reek havoc on your tank and things like fly spray will kill your entire tank in only a few minutes of the smallest amount of poison settles on the tanks water surface.  Because the water test kits only check for the basic chemicals it is a good idea to do a water change if fish are extending their gills and not thriving.  Rams can be delicate so they may not be adjusting to their new home.  Make sure with warmer water (80) degrees or higher that you have enough oxygen in the tank because warmer water does not hold oxygen like cold water does.  The white stringy poop from the gourami is an indication of internal parasites... and you should treat the other fish for internal parasites if any of them develop those symptoms.  Also feed the fish brine shrimp on a regular basis because they are great for cleaning out their intestines... If the fish do not get better or show signs of improvement by tomorrow then I would treat the tank with a dose of general cure or even triple sulfate. Aquarium salt is really a beneficial additive to your tank. It acts as a preventative to disease, provides minerals that your fish will need, and helps them to breath better during when they are medicated.  Keep me posted... dave

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QUESTION: Well...My boyfriend did a 30 percent water change last night, the rams were looking very bad. They were laying on the bottom of the tank, all color gone, and trying to breath having much difficulty. We took the two dying fish out and put them in our hospital tank since it is smaller and easier for them to breath air and swim to the top. We also added some Aquarium salt. Before I go on, I want to just let you know where I got the fish, I have a feeling it has something to do with what has happened to them. I had gotten 2 of my blue rams from a LFS down the street. They were in a tank that I would say was a 20 gal long, with about who knows 40-50 other fish. Including blue rams and like 5 other types. They were all colorless, which all of the blue rams I have seen are not, there tank was also VERY dirty as were all the other tanks. Not thinking my boyfriend bought 2 from there (the other 2 were from a LFS that actually cares about there fish and feeds them well and keeps there tanks spotless, which these two rams are doing GREAT!!. I immediately bonded to Spike, which I called him because his tail was a mess, all torn up and looked like spike, as was his top fin on his head. He LOVED me, I have never had a fish come to see me when I sit by the side of the tank. He would sit next to me and just look at me!! I loved him very much, He was VERY Thin and would only eat one tiny blood worm, he was malnourished and always breathed VERY HARD, as with the other Ram. I know this may sound mean, and I was crying the entire time we did this, but we had to put Spike in the freezer, he was slowly dying and it was so hard for me to watch. Okay sorry, I had to talk about that I am a little upset. Anyways, the weird thing is NONE of the other fish are showing any symptons, I have been watching them VERY closely now. They are swimming, eating, and the other 2 rams look GREAT, they have all of there color, and are breathing normally. Also, I hate to say but I had purchased our Groumais from Petsmart...Which I WILL NEVER DO AGAIN!!! I think they were sick from when we bought them. None of the other fish have the white stringy poop, or bloated belly. And tomorrow (I work today) I will go by some live brine shrimp, I had no idea it cleans out there intestines!! Do you know if the Aquarium Salt is okay to use with the Puffer?? We have been researching these fish that we put in the tank since we wanted a bigger tank which was 3 months ago, we thought we did everything right. I guess not!! It is just so weird that the other fish we bought from other pet stores are doing fine, and than other are dying. Do you think it could be that they were sick from the time we put them in there? Also id having the Steralizer good for the tank or should we not be using that? I thought it was to help the water quality and keep your fish from getting parasites (I know it doesn't cure them if they already have it, but prevents)?? Do you know if the Aquarium Salt is okay to use with the Puffer??

Thank you,

P.S. sorry for the long letter, I am just upset frustarted and angry!! I have searched and searched and I don't know what to do!!

Answer
Putting a fish down is very hard to do... I like to use a product called finquil which is recommended by PETA for putting fish to sleep.  I am not a fan of large pet store chains but I can not stress that finding a quality dealer in your area is the best.  They usually charge a little more but you get quality and do not usually have to go through everything that you listed above.  ICH which is also known as white spot disease is present in almost all of the tanks ... yours, mine, etc. Many fish carry it in their gills where it lies dormant.  In order for ICH to activate it needs to have a drop in temperature and buying a fish at a fish store, transporting it  home, and then putting it your tank is usually enough for a wearer fish to break out with ICH.  Quality fish stores feed their fish well; happy little fat fish, do not usually get sick so easily.   To cure ICH you must raise the tank temperature and use a good ICH medication such as that made by Jungle... we are not paid for promotions here... in fact we aren't paid at all to answer questions... so If I recommend a product to you it is because I have tried and liked the results.  The Sterilizer is good for your tank it will  help keep all of the free-floating bacteria, parasites, etc under control.  The aquarium salt is good for the puffer... he will love you for some salt.  Keep me posted... dave