Fish Help??

[MiniLopHop]

THERE ARE GLOW IN THE DARK MICE!?!?!?!?!?!?! I GOTTZ TO HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MiniLopHop]

Darn, not approved by the FDA yet so not for sale

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

MiniLopHop wrote:

THERE ARE GLOW IN THE DARK MICE!?!?!?!?!?!?! I GOTTZ TO HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

haha Glowmice=awesome I'll get one once I can. lol jkActually I don't know. just found thatfunny.:biggrin2:

As for fish, my tank is about 73 degrees. At night our house temp goes to like 67 for several hours and then the heat kicks on again and all early morning-day is in the 70's. It takes all night to get down to 67 though and the heat turns on by 5:30 or 6:00. Could this still eb somehow affectingthem?My other fish have been fine but maybe mollies are more sensitive?

 

[Watermelons]

6 degrees ferenheight or whatever its spelt isnt a huge difference. Do you not use a heater? Might be a good idea to pick one up.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

no I don't currently have one~that's what i was thinking. How much do they usuall run in cost?

 

[Watermelons]

a heater can run anywhere from $15-$100 depending on the brand, type, and size. You get what you pay for when it comes to heaters.
Stay away from Aqueon heaters... they just dont work and have so many issues.
Fluval is a good brand, i just picked up a 50w one for $18 as it was on sale 50% off.
Top Finn is ugly, its the petsmart house brand. Elite isn't too exciting nothing special there.

You need 5watts per gallon of water. Dont get one thats pre-set. make sure its large enough for your tank and that it has a temperature control knob.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

ok, I'll look next time I'm in there. They said to wait a bit and see what happens with my one last fish before i add more. They couldn't find anything in the water, but since they did keep dying why add more just to lose them. So we'll see. If nothing happens with this guy how long should i wait? He's really a social little fish, and I feel bad leaving him alone too long. (Not to mention I'd just like to get some more)

 

[MagPie]

Glo-fish? Do you mean those fish they inject with dye?

 

[lilylop]

Bunnylova4eva wrote:

So as you may know I got some mollies several weeks ago. Saturday one died after a couple days of being lethergic, not eating etc. When we went back in petco they tested the water and the Nitrates were up. I changed 2 gallons of the water (of the 10 gallon tank) but now ( as of today)my other two are both acting weird, the one being especially lethargic, hiding, not eating.

Anyone know what could be causing this?

Thanks a bunch!

Ok I have had a quick read of your thread and by the looks of it the tank wasn't cycled correctly. It can take up to 6 weeks for it to cycle properly. If you google nitrogen cycle you will see how it is all done. Some people use ammonia some people use a raw prawn to kick start it.

I seriously don't think that is the only problem that you have :expressionlessI think your fish may have hexitima HEX for short or some other sort of illness. With all of them hiding and then dying like that or it could be worms of some sort. They are both easy to catch illnesses but also both curable if caught in time.

To be honest ( I'm not trying to be rude here) I would put the little fishy to sleep he is only suffereing and I highly doubt that he will get any better. If you need some help with how to do it humanly PM me I am more than willing to help.

Once he is gone either by you hand or the choice of god. I would strip down the tank and start again. Making sure you don't add any fish for a minimum of 6 weeks and buy yourself a test kit. So that way you know exactly when it is cycled and if you have any problemsthe results they are not "just fine" cos that is what the guy at the shop said.

I am the Co-Admin of a forum. Here is the link;

www.fish-finatics.com

Feel free to join up we are a bunch of friendly bunch of people

 

[Sweetie]

Do you have fish medicine? You need to get:

Cure-ick
Anti-fungus
Anti-bacteria

These are real good to have on hand in case your fish get sick, you can dose the tank accordingly.

I have clown loaches in my 55 gallon tank and I have to half dose the tank with these medicines, whichever one I use for whatever the fish have, because it can kill them if I full dose the tank. The medicine is APPLUS+

I also have three gold fish and two plecostamuses in the 55 gallon tank and they all get along.

In the 10 gallon I just have my doubletail betta and black skirt fish.

I also have a 1-2.5 gallon fish tank which is holding my halfmoon betta.

I would like to add that some fish cannot be separated from their tankmates because they can die from loneliness. Clown loaches are a perfect example of this.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Thanks for the replies.

As of yesterday I've noticed my one remaining molly just hiding and all today just hovering at the top of the tank. Maybe I need to do another water change? The manager of our pet store said whenever he sees something funky in teh way they're acting he does a water change (minimal percentage). I changed some of the water about 2-3 weeks back at most. I highly doubt it needs to be done again already, but I guess its time to test the water again. The fish isn't eating either. This is exactly what all the others did before *they* died. =P I'm stumped.





Note: edited due to a typo

 

[lilylop]

You need to do WEEKLY water changes!! That may be the problem there. Sorry don't mean to be rude but you haven't listened to a thing I have said

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

lilylop wrote:

You need to do WEEKLY water changes!! That may be the problem there. Sorry don't mean to be rude but you haven't listened to a thing I have said

I did hear what you said, I'm just a little hesitant about the putting him to sleep part. :confused2: I know that may be the kinder thing to do, but I'm not sure if I need to at this point.

Weekly? I've never heard that. I suppose I can do another water change then today. Maybe that will help. Everyone else tells me to do monthly. Too much confusing stuff.

 

[Watermelons]

lilylop wrote:

You need to do WEEKLY water changes!! That may be the problem there. Sorry don't mean to be rude but you haven't listened to a thing I have said

Now that seemed a little rude.

She is doing what she can with the fish. There are a few things with what you posted that are incorrect especially the no fish for 6 weeks. No tank will cycle properly until at least 1 fish is added which needs to happen in the first few days of the tanks life. "Forum Admin" or not.

But yes Mia, you do need to do weekly water changes.

And Emily - GloFish are NOT injected with dye, they physically have the genetics that make then fluoresce.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I agree with the weekly, particularly when you are cycling. Have you read up on the amonia/nitrogen cycling in a new tank? It makes things so much more clear when you understand what is going on chemically. That is also why I suggested getting your own test kit, then you can test every day if you want at first to see what is going on. You will first see your amonia spike (it is critical to change water if you see it getting too high). Then the amonia will go down and the nitrate (or is it nitrite? I get them confused) will go up. Again, keep an eye on how high the levels get and change water as needed. Then the nitrate will go down and nitrite will go up (or the other way around). This is the final product of metabolic waste breakdown and can ONLY be removed via water changes.

There are a few things that can help make the cycle go more quickly. Add stress zyme by API, or other liquid bacteria. It helps populate your tank with the good bacteria. Even in an established tank I add it with water changes to prevent sludge build up in the rocks.

Live plants. They will use up the nitrogen compounds. They basically feed off of fish poo. It helps keep the levels at 0, which is what you want in a fully cycled tank. You still need to do partial water changes for the final nitrogen product though because the plants can't use that.

Only add one fish at a time. I know it seems painfully slow, but it is the only way to avoid huge spikes. I would add a fish, watch the cycle go through the changes, then add perhaps two more fish. You need to test at least every other, if not every day when you are cycling. That is the only way you know when you need water changes. In the first couple months you will be changing lots of water. The smaller the tank the more water changes you will always have. That's why I prefer my larger tank and gave away my 10 gallon, it's actually less matenance.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Ok thank you so much-I'm sure this is the problem. I just set out 1 1/2 gallons of water to change into it. Is that enough to change for a 10 gallon? (with decor it holds only maybe 8-9) gallons.

Also, I'll add bacteria starter-I'd added some innitially but not any since and not the full dose to begin with.

Thanks-I'll let you know what happens! I'm so thankful someone can help me figure out what's going on!

 

[MiniLopHop]

Do you not use a dechlorinator? The one I use has additional benefits besides getting rid of chlorine, it also helps the condition of the fish's slime layer. A lot of communities are starting to use other water treatment other than chlorine as well. Our tap water registers ammonia levels because of the chemical, but after I use the dechlor it is back to 0 ppm ammonia.

This is what I use as a dechlor:
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=43

This is for the stress zyme
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=44

This is the test kit
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=67

plant food
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=55

I use Melafix when adding new fish to prevent issues. It is also great at treating a lot of the common malidies without needing to use antibiotics, if you catch it fast.
http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=56

I use the flourish excel as a carbon source for the plants, be careful to dose per instructions so you don't make your fish suffocate.
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/FlourishExcel.html

General aquarium conditioning salt.

That rounds up all the chemicals I use for my tank. I just keep them in the aquarium specific bucket with my dedicated scrub pad, water siphon, and net.

You should be able to get all of this at your local shop other than possibly the flourish excel. They even have a start up pack of small bottles of the stress coat and stress zyme if you are worried about costs.

One last link:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/index.web

This is where I get the flourish excel and live plants. I can drive to them, but they also ship. I'm not sure where you are, but they are in Lancaster, PA. It is such a wonderful store! They even have an in store Flemish Giant named Princess Anna, she's obviously not for sale.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Yes, I use a Top Fin Water Conditioner. Its supposed to treat the tap water- is this the right thing? That's what I've always used with our fish tanks (I used to have several going and now am limited down).

Thanks for the links-I'll go check them out!
How much water is good to change for this week?

 

[lilylop]

Watermelons wrote:

lilylop wrote:

You need to do WEEKLY water changes!! That may be the problem there. Sorry don't mean to be rude but you haven't listened to a thing I have said

Now that seemed a little rude.

She is doing what she can with the fish.  There are a few things with what you posted that are incorrect especially the no fish for 6 weeks.  No tank will cycle properly until at least 1 fish is added which needs to happen in the first few days of the tanks life.  "Forum Admin" or not.

But yes Mia, you do need to do weekly water changes.

And Emily - GloFish are NOT injected with dye, they physically have the genetics that make then fluoresce.

Sorry if I came off rude but I am trying to be direct to ensure that no more fish have to go through pain again.

You might want to look up fishless cycling it can be done. :big wink:


MiniLopHop is on the right track they are all great products! oh and yes weekly water changes normally you want to to about 25% per week but that depends on how heavy you have your tank stocked. I should also say that I have been keeping fish for 15 years so I do have a little bit of experience.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Top Fin is ok. I like the API brand better because it does more than just remove the chlorine.

The water changes depend on what your numbers are. Can you do a test and post the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels?