Whats on my fish?

Question
Hi. We recently got a tank for our 2 year old daughter. I believe it's about 30 gallons---it doesn't say on the box but it's a decent size---probably about a foot and a half long and about 9 inches across. Anyway. We bought about 8 fish to go in it. One larger one, about the size of a medium size goldfish, and it was a pale orange/white color. The others were smaller, orange with black streaks mixed in and some of those translucent ones that are tiny with the blue streaks and rainbow colors through their bodies. Oh, and one algea eater.

Ok, so we set up the tank and let it sit there for 24 hours as told to us to do so the water coule get room temp. We have a filter that came with the tank and something that puts oxygen in the water. We bought fish food that is flakes. We also have one water plant in there and a few "decorations".

Ok, so the fish were doing great. We've have the tank for about 2-3 weeks now. I noticed the larger fish started to act funny and was getting what looked like white little bubbles all over it. I noticed this happening a little bit on the other fish too. Well, the larger fish stayed that way for a few days and then died. Then, one of the little orange ones died and then two of the tiny translucent ones. What is going on here? There is also green stuff growing in specks on the things we have in the tank. At first, I thought it was just maybe the food coloring from the fish food and was no big deal.

Help me please before ALL of my fish die! What do I need to do here?!!!  

Answer
Hi Charity;

It sounds like they have a parasite called "Ich" (or 'ick'). You will have to get a remedy at the local fish store for it. If your fish are tropical you need a heater in there if you don't have one already. Ick will attack the fish when they are under stress or the temperature fluctuates. A thermostatically controlled aquarium heater will take care of that and keep it stable.

The tank is also going through the break-in period. Toxins from their waste have built up to the point that they are no longer tolerable. It will cause them to be more prone to ick too. You need to make a water change right away. Make another 25% water change tomorrow too. It will relieve the stress on the fish and hopefully help the rest survive this difficult process. Make sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water and use a water conditioner. It's okay to do the water changes while you are treating for the ick. Just put the daily dose in the water right after the change.

Partial water changes will help the fish without stopping the break-in period. Your first instinct may be to drain the whole tank, but don't do that. The beneficial bacteria colonies eat the waste toxins so they need something to eat while they try to mature. Draining just causes the whole process to start over and is very stressful to the fish.

Here is my article on new tanks that explains the process and how to handle it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help


More links to help you;

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cyclechange.php
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_waterchange.php
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin.html
http://www.firsttankguide.net/
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/a/newtankmistakes.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~Tropic_Cove/aquariums/basics.html
http://www.firsttankguide.net/capacity.php

The green stuff is just algae and is perfectly natural. Just wipe it off with an algae sponge right before your weekly regular 25% water change. It's part of normal weekly maintenance. Vacuum the gravel every 2 to 4 weeks too with one of the water changes.

Let me know if you need more help.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins