Guest pearlywhirly31 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Ammonia- .25 (used to be 0 when the little fantail was in it) Nitrite- 1.0 Nitrate- 10 Ph (tank)- 7.4 Water temperature- 70˚ Brand of test kit- API (drops) Tank size- 30 gal. Running time- 3 weeks Filter size and name- #1 Whisper for 30 gal. #2 Penguin Bio-Wheel 150 (has 2 cartridges in it) Water changes- change every 2-3 days, about 25%-30% maybe a little bit more Fish amount and size- Two 5 in. comets Water conditioners and additives- Aquasafe water dechlorinator and aquarium salt Medications- no medications yet New fish- just moved them to the 30 gal. yesterday from a 5 gal. tank Food- TetraFin goldfish flakes (i've tried to feed them other things but they wouldn't eat them, I think they were stressed out from being in such a small tank) Unusual findings- white comet: back anal fin is just starting to deteriorate, red streaks in anal fin and middle bottom fin, bottom fins starting to clamp orange comet: dorsal fin is split slightly, all fins already clamping slightly, some red streaks in fins, white fluffy spots on tail, some scales seem to be missing or lacking color Unusual behavior- staying at bottom, not eating, inactive, staying close together I used to have 4 small fantails in this tank 3 died of tail rot, 1 lived does this have anything to do with the comets getting sick??? I medicated the water when the fantails were sick and changed 50% of the water several times. I have Maracyn-Two right now so would it be okay to medicate them with it??? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Desiree Posted July 25, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 25, 2008 I'm not an expert by any means. But as things stand, you're water quality needs some work before you do any medicating. From what I've read, medications & poor water quality can be toxic for fish. Since your tank is still cycling, I think the very first thing you need to do is increase your water changes to a minimum of 50% daily to get the water as close to perfect as possible. With both Ammonia and Nitrites present, your fish are probably a bit stressed, to say the least; which is only irritating the fin rot they've got going on. Good luck and please keep us posted! I'm confident that someone who knows more about medications/ diseases will be around soon to give you more specefics. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted July 25, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 25, 2008 Desiree is absolutely right! Although the first instinct is to medicate (mine was too! Don't worry, it's not just you) when I first came on here I was told that medication in water that is not perfect (0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, less than 40 Nitrate) can be very bad for your fish. I am cycling a tank right now with fish and I am having to do daily 80% changes to keep the water reasonable for the fish. Have you read this link about cycling your tank? If not it might be very helpful! : ) http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html How much aquarium salt have you added? The aquarium salt is a good thing, it can help ease the stress of having the nitrites, but you do want to get your water as close to perfect as you can. If you were to do a really large water change now, treated with dechlorinator and matched for temperature, that would bring your levels closer. Then you could do what Desiree said and do a minimum of 50% changes each day. More might be needed. Just test the water daily and change out what is needed based on those tests. If there are still problems once your water is straightened out, there are plenty of moderators and members that can help you out with meds. (Not me though! haha!) I had very little to add. Desiree knows her stuff, I just wanted to double stress that meds were not the way to go just yet! Good luck getting your fish back to good health! : ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pearlywhirly31 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 My 2 commons have sorta blobish white spots only on their gills and fins. What is this and how can I treat it???I'll provide pictures tomorrow. k thx. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted July 29, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hi pearly!!!! How are you? I am not experienced enough to offer much disease treatment etc. yet, but before anyone can help you out, we need a little bit more information from you. There is a box of questions at the top of the page. If you could copy & paste the questions and answer them it will really speed things up in getting help for your fish.. I am hoping you have a water testing kit (drops preferably because they are much more reliable). If not you can take a water sample to a local pet store and ask them to check your water for you (most will do it for free) and ask them for EXACT numbers... Knowing these numbers and the answers to the other questions are very important before the moderators & members can help you with treatment. Thanks! : ) Good luck getting everything back on track with your fish! I hope they get better : ) **sorry D Golem! Double post!!**** 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pixiefish Posted July 29, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hello - I'm merging your two topics as they relate to the same problem. That way we can keep all the relevant info together. This all sounds to me like a water quality issue. Just a few questions for you. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? (read the link below my signature, if not) Ammonia- .25 Nitrite- 1.0 Nitrate- 10 Ph (tank)- 7.4 These readings will stress the fish and cause them problems - try to change enough water to keep the ammonia and nitrite from getting past 0.25ppm. Your readings must dictate the amount. ie If your nitrite is 1ppm, a 50% change can only cut it by 50% = 0.50ppm, which is still too high. So, you would need to change more like 75 - 80% to get the water on track. Ammonia and nitrite will have fish bottom sitting and developing tatty fins. Any burns from ammonia also allow fungii and bacteria to congregate on the damaged tissue. I used to have 4 small fantails in this tank 3 died of tail rot, 1 lived does this have anything to do with the comets getting sick??? I medicated the water when the fantails were sick and changed 50% of the water several times It could have. Finrot is a bacterial problem very commonly due to unhygenic tank conditions. Water changes in a cycled tank should be done on a weekly basis to keep everything in good order; harmful crud on the bottom is removed with the gravel vacuum and any escalating organic load and nitrates are also reduced. Did you do this with the fantails, or something less frequent? Did you make a 100% water change before adding the new fish or just add them to the existing water? Before rushing to add medication, which will be potentially toxic in a cycling tank, I would instead focus on very regular changes and cleaning up the tank environment. Have you for instance, taken apart the filters and cleaned the pipes and impeller shaft so that they are free from gunk? Rinsed the filter media/sponges in old tank water? (Never under a tap as the chlorine will kill the good bio-bugs) Thoroughly vacuumed the gravel so it is free from crud build-up? These are important steps in reducing a build up of bad bacteria in the system. You could also add 1 teaspoon of salt for every gallon of tank water to help sanitize conditions and help during the nitrite phase. Predissolve the salt in tank water before adding it and remember to add back exactly what you remove any time you change water. ie. if you make a 15 gal change add back 15tps salt. Sorry this is so long, but try to read it carefully and post back with the answers to the questions I've asked. Hopefully your fish will be looking better soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pearlywhirly31 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 k. thank you guys!!!! i was doing only 50% water changes every other day so now i'll start doing larger ones until my tank is cycled. also, should i be thoroughly cleaning my filter??? because i haven't cleaned any of them at all. i was thinking of switching the charcoal in one of the cartridges for something better for the bacteria to grow on but i haven't rinsed out the floss stuff. my other filters a bio-wheel so i don't think i'm supposed to clean that... or am i??? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pearlywhirly31 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 oh also, before adding the commons i did a 100% water change but i didn't rinse any of the decorations or gravel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Erinaceus Posted July 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 30, 2008 also, should i be thoroughly cleaning my filter??? because i haven't cleaned any of them at all. i was thinking of switching the charcoal in one of the cartridges for something better for the bacteria to grow on but i haven't rinsed out the floss stuff. my other filters a bio-wheel so i don't think i'm supposed to clean that... or am i??? The charcoal is only useful to remove medication from your water (as I understand it), and should therefore only be present in the filter for that purpose and at that time. It's advisable to clean out your filter every so often (to remove the accumulated muck), but I doubt that it would be a good idea to do that when you're still cycling (except if it takes a really long time to cycle and you think your filter might clog up), as it might interfere with the growth of the beneficial bacteria. I don't own a bio-wheel, but I've heard it said that you're not supposed to clean that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pixiefish Posted July 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hi there. Just to clarify a couple of things....... This tank is not cycling from scratch - it is an existing tank to which you have added more fish, am I right? Therefore what is happening now is that the filter is undergoing a cycle 'bump' while it grows to meet the new and increased demand. With tanks that have been running for a while it is important to clean acculated gunk from gravel, filter pipes, the impeller shaft and filter media - this must be done in old tank water to avoid killing off good bugs. Never scrub the bio-wheel, however. As your previous fish had been sick and died I thought it necessary to clean up any areas which could be harbouring harmful gunk from your system. You say you didn't clean the gravel before adding the new fish - my question is: Did you/do you regularly use a gravel vacuum when changing water, or do you just remove water? Gravel will accumulate the most disgusting amount of crud unless you vacuum weekly, so this can be an area where all sorts of nasties can breed. Hope this has cleared up any misunderstanding. Remember that water changes should be based on you readings - test your water every day to decide how much needs changing. If you only have 0.25ppm nitrite or ammoina then you will not need a massive change but if it is up to 1ppm, you will. OK? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Ranchugirl Posted August 10, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2008 PearlyWhirly, how are your fish now? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pearlywhirly31 Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 Wow. I haven't looked at this question in a long, long, loooong time. Anyways, my fish are all better and are doing perfectly fine. I'm actually trying to give them away so that I can get some new goldies since I don't have the room to get a bigger tank. Now I'm having problems with my betta, Ricardo (isn't that such a weird name? ), who seems to have fin rot but it's probably from his water being much too cold and being in a tiny bowl. I played some musical chairs with my tanks and now he's in a much roomier 5-gal with a heater. Thanks to everyone for your advice despite how long it's been since you've posted it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member claire_uk Posted December 26, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted December 26, 2008 Im glad that your fish are doing bette, but I am wondering why you would want to get rid of your fish and get more? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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