# Please help me, my fish are stressed out.



## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

I live in a small town where it is going to be impossible to get anything major to help my fish. It is a 29 gallon tank with no live plants at this time. It has 1 pleco (the crap machine), 5 tiger barbs, 2 platys, 1 molly (hitched a ride), 2 rainbow sharks (babies really, maybe 1 1/2 inches each), and a columbian shark, called many things, silver tipped I think fits him best, he is about 2 inches at most. We realize that later they will need a bigger tank. The trouble is, the columbian, and the barbs have ich. We have treated them for 10 days now, doing tons of water changes and half doses to not upset the columbian. 

Today the Nitrates got high, I just did a 50% water change. The readings now are: Nitrate 40, Nitrite .75, hardness is 300, KH is 180 and pH is 7.6, ammonia not quite the .25, but not 0 either. The temperature is 78.

The biggest trouble is, the ich is getting worse, one of the tiger barbs is spending a lot of time in a vertical position, tail up, and quivering. They are all getting faded and looking so upset. I have been treating with the halfdoes of Quick Cure, which is like sticking nothing in there, and am trying Ick Cure now.....but.....nothing is working. What of my readings needs to change, and how? I don't want to lose my fish, and have been even taking vacation time to come home and tend to them. Any help you can offer will be SOOOOO appreciated. On a happy note, they are still up to now, eating well, I hope this is a hopeful sign, but I am scared to get too optimistic. 

THANKS EVERYONE.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

Turn up the temp to 82-84... Do another 25% water change.... up the medication to a full dose, dont worry about the shark, I have treated full dose with them and they are fine.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

also add some form of aeration, the higher temp will not allow a lot of oxygen to be in the water so you must replenish it by getting an aerator or letting your HOB splash.


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

will do another water change tonight if you don't think it is too much to do in one day, i already took out 50% on my lunch hour. We have an bubble stick across the whole back of the tank, and what is HOB? my filter splashes, i raised it up cause i like the sound of the water running back into the tank. i will raise the meds if you really think it isn't going to hurt him, obviously he isn't comfortable now. thank you again. makes me nervous to have the carbon filter out for so long too. sigh, who knew this was going to be such a mess?


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

A LOT OF US DON'T BOTHER WITH A CARBON FILTER UNLESS IT IS TO REMOVE MEDS. iF IT IS KEPT IN THE FILTER TOO LONG( MORE THAN A COUPLE OF WEEKS),IT JUST LEACHES JUNK BACK INTO THE WATER. aLL I KEEP IN MY FILTERS IS FOAM OR A FILTERING PRODUCT JUST TO FILTER OUT THE DEBRIS. iT IS A LOT CHEAPER TO USE FFILTER PADS INSTEAD OF THE PRE MADE THINGS THAT THE aQUA CLEAR OR pENGUIN FILTER PEOPLE PUT OUT. rEALLY ALL YOUR hob FILTER (HANG ON BACK) DOES IS AERATE THE WATER AND PROVIDE FILTERING FOR DEBRIS. tHE BIO FILTER IS IN THE GRAVEL AND ON SURFACES. jUST USE THE CHARCOAL TO REMOVE MEDS.
MOUSE


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

Srtke 1- you are 100% incorrect, carbon does not leach anything back into a tank.

Strike 2- you are also incrorect about bio-media in a filter re bacterial colonies. While the bacteria live on all of the hard surfaces in a tank, they will all have the highest concentrations will occur where the best supply of food (ammonia and nitrties) and oxygen are, and this is in the filter's bio media. That is why bio-wheels are such efficient bio-media.

Strike 3- As for the carts made by Marineland for Emperors and Penguins, they can be rinsed and reused for some time (months and months). The AquaClear sponges work great for both bio and mech filtration and last for many years.

You're out!

Strike 4- Using all caps and shouting misinformation.

Nothing personal, just trying to be sure the correct info is presented.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I think that carbon can releach meds into an aquarium. Thats what I've heard anyway.


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

Okay, notes taken on the filter opinions. I was planning on changing the filter cartridge on the 1st and 15th of every month. Can I get more confirmation on a second water change in one day not causing more stress, and the full dose of ich meds not killing or burning the scaleless fish? Thank you for all of your time.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

If the water is the same temp and treated for aquarium use, then you could theoretically do many waterchages in one day. As stated by Mr. Doyle, your biological filtration is contained in your filter and on the hard surfaces in your tank. I have a penguin biowheel 170 and 125 on my 20 high and a 10 gallon tank. I just rinse them either 3 days before or after a gravel cleaning (not necessarily a waterchange). I've used the same ones for approx 6 months now with no signs of slowing down. I do keep spares in case I rip one.


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

Well, I have done my second water change today, I have got to find a different method for this, i saw a gravel vac with a 25 foot hose that can also be hooked up to the faucet to refill, might have to think about that investment, my back is killing me from lugging buckets of water back and forth. I have turned up the heat a little at a time throughout the afternoon. I really wish if anything, the barbs would stop shaking, they look miserable. I am really not so sure if the columbian shark is going to make it, even his whiskery things are getting covered with ick, he is slowing down so much. If anyone thinks of anything else for tonight, let me know. Sigh.......thanks


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

Well, here is my update before I go to bed. Apparently, I have the touch of death. The columbian shark just isn't going to make it. He is floating on the top now, still breathing, but......there is just no way he will make it to morning. Sigh, I want so much to save these guys from me. I can't seem to do anything right where they are concerned. The thing that amazes me the most, is that the rainbow sharks, seem all but immune to this whole drama. The platys are a bit infected, but nothing really to get excited over like the barbs. Something in the water settings just isn't working out for some of them.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

dont get discouraged (especially if this is your first tank) you might have not cycled the tank, acclimated them right, or picked poor stock... this will be learned through experience... don't worry. It'll come


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

I am the angel of death. The columbian didn't make it, and that is extremely sad for me cause he had the neatest personality. Anyway, I am sure I am nearly as stressed out as the rest of the fish.


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## flynngriff (Jan 19, 2005)

Don't get discouraged, fishouttawater...

Losing most of a tank to ich has happened to probably all of us. It's one of the easiest diseases to get in a tank, and it happens to pretty much everyone, myself included. You care about the health and comfort of the fish, and that puts you a big step above a lot of new aquarium owners. Like Fishfirst said, it'll come.


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## fishouttawater (Mar 4, 2005)

well, thank you, i just feel horrible that innocent lives are being lost cause of it.


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

itll be alright....the same thing happened to me....i didnt study up on fish before i bought them, and i didnt quarantine my new ones or anything so i lost about 8 fish to ich...only one of the ones that had ich survived....but i wasnt able to get the medicine until a day or 2 after they got it, and i wasnt able to get a heater until about 3-4 days later. Fortunately i got mine cured and now my tank is thriving....im sure you will be able to get yours cured too....good luck! :console:


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## svolk (Apr 5, 2005)

I hope your tank is better. One of my tanks just experienced ich (my first experience with it as well), and it was awful. We didn't catch it in time, it started on our red pacus, and we really didn't notice it at all because of their coloration. We lost half of the tank, and I had to euthanize one pacu because the poor guy was doing horribly and the other fish in the tank were attacking him brutally, it made me sick to watch them bite and try to eat his eyes out. But 3 of our fish were able to recover, and they are doing fine now, and that is the biggest encouragement for me after my ich disaster. But now that I know what it looks like, I examine everyone everyday for any abnormalities, and next time I am determined to catch it in time.


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