pH? infection?

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have a 55 gallon aquarium and am a novice at fish tanks.  I have had the tank for about 9 months now and am facing disaster.  For the first 6 months, the fish thrived and grew.  I have Silver Dollars, Angelfish, Neon and Painted Tetras, Plecos, Dominos, Cherry Barbs and my favorite one was Captain the Golden Gourami.  It all started with Captain.  He grew from 1" to 4.5" in the first 6 or 7 months.  Then, his tail and fins began deteriorating and he began to get open sores all over his body.  I first checked the pH, and it was extremely low (5.2).  I steadily worked to increase it with chemicals (slowly of course), but it doesn't seem to change.  Captain died last week which broke my heart.  Now, both of my Angelfish seem to be coming down with the same problems.  I have also lost about 1/2 of my fish and only have about 12 left.  Any ideas?
Answer -
Hi Carrie,

First of all, I sincerely apologize for not getting back to you sooner.  My interenet has been down and I have not been able to answer questions for nearly a week now!  I hope it's not too late.

pH was a good thing to check for.  However, it's not the only thing you need to be watching out for in your tank.  First, make sure you get your pH fixed.  Angelfish prefer a pH of 6.5, but will tolerate the 7.0 pH the rest of your fish need.  Other things you need to check are nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and hardness.  Your nitrates, nitrites and ammonia all need to be at or close to zero, and your water should be medium soft to best suit your fish.  If you don't have test kits for these, I'd suggest taking in a sample of your tank's water to your local fish store, almost all of them will do free water tests.

If you have high nitrates/nitrites/ammonia, there are a couple things you can do.  The first is, obviously, a water change -- up to about 30% (around 15 gallons).  If you can find a water store that sells R.O. water (Reverse Osmosis), add that to your tank instead of regular bottled or tap.  It does not need to be conditioned or cycled, R.O. is the best water you can get for aquariums.  This will drastically take down your levels and make medications for the fish work better.  It will also take down your water's hardness if that's a problem.  (pH adjusts MUCH easier and faster in soft water.)

To treat the fish you have left in your tank, you're going to need to buy a bottle of MelaFix.  This is a wonderful medication, and the main ingredient is tea tree oil, not some manufactured chemical.  I have had great success treating ulcers (open sores) and fin damage with this, and the fish have all repaired themselves and regrown their fins in no time.  You'll add one teaspoon for every ten gallons (so, 5 1/2 teaspoons) once a day for seven days (AFTER your water change!).  That should really help out your fish; as I said, I've had a lot of success with it.

Other than that, the only thing I can suggest is to raise the temperature in the tank to about 80 degrees and add some aquarium salt to speed up the healing process.  I hope I've helped you, and again, I apologize for my lack of timing.  Please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, good luck with your fish!

-Lindsay

Okay, I've gone to the pet store and bought test strips, Melafix and a better water conditioner.  Obviously, I am a terrible fish owner because every test is on the worst end of the spectrum.  I don't understand how this happened and I feel terrible about it.  I currently only have the capacity to treat 3 gallons at a time.  Would it be okay to do a 3 gallon water change 3-4 daily for a week?  Would that help at all?  Or should I remove 30% of the water and just add 3 gallons back at a time? I really appreciate you volunteering your time and expertise to help me.  I'm sure my fish appreciate it as well!

Carrie

Answer
Carrie,

I'm not sure I understand why you only have the capacity to treat 3 gallons at a time.  Is that a three gallon container you have or something?  I'm a little confused, sorry!  Let me see if I can try to clarify things and hopefully that will answer your questions.

You're going to want to take out about 15 gallons, all at once.  If you only have a 3 gallon container, keep emptying out the 3 gallons until you have removed 15 gallons.  Just do it all at once, get it over with.  Small water changes like 3 gallons in a 55 gal. tank aren't going to do anything, really.

As soon as the new (preferably R.O.) water is in the tank, go ahead and add the MelaFix.  Treat the whole tank all at once, 5 1/2 teaspoons, once a day for seven days.

I hope this helps, if I'm still not answering your question please write back!  And again, I'm sorry for the delay in response, I'm slipping!

-Lindsay