FAQs on Freshwater Environmental Disease 7 Related Articles: Environmental Disease, FW Disease Troubleshooting, Freshwater Diseases, Choose Your Weapon: Freshwater Fish Disease Treatment Options by Neale Monks, Related FAQs: Environmental Disease 1, Environmental Disease 2, Environmental Disease 3, Environmental Disease 4, Environmental Disease 5, Environmental Disease 6, Environmental Disease 8, & Cycling Trouble-Fixing, & Toxic Situations, Popeye/Exophthalmia, Nutritional Disease, Aquarium Maintenance, Establishing Nutrient Cycling, African Cichlid Disease 1, Cichlid Disease,

Community tank stocking (filtration; health) – 2/21/09
ok please help..i have a 60 gallon tank which has 2 small spiny eels. 4 medium angels. 2 large adult angels.2 adult silver dollars.. 1 yo-yo loach. 2 striata loach..1 small talking catfish..and 1 Pleco aprox 14 inches..i have 1 Fluval underwater filter pump and a separate air box pump putting air in..water temp is 78.about 1 week ago i noticed 1 of my large angels had a black spot on its head..i rang the fish shop and explained and they said it was normal as adult angels get lumps when they are trying to breed so i left it thinking it was fine (mistake)..after about 4 days i noticed that the angel with the black spot now had a lot of white lumps all over it...it wasn't white spot I've seen that b4 this looked very diff..i rang the fish shop again ..explained again..and again they said this was normal for angels...so i left it...after about a week and a half..nearly every angel in my tank had started to get the same white lumps..i then
realized this was not good..so i took some pictures with my phone and went into another fish shop and showed the guy..he told me it looked like Finrot and fungus and that this was the treatment i should use (anti fungus and Finrot) i took the stuff home and began treatment..followed instructions to the letter...it has been aprox 3 days since adding the treatment..it said in the instructions i should increase the air as the treatment kills the oxygen so i did..after about 2 hours of increased air my hole tank has gone very murky milky colour...i left it another day thinking this was fine...earlier today all my fish was swimming around fine..i was awoke by my wife from this evening approx. 5 hrs earlier they all looked gd apart from the lumps which seemed to be getting worse on the angels..and .....i had 4 dead medium angels on bottom 1 adult dead 2 striata dead...i was in shock and very upset I've had these fishes over a year..i could see that the other fish all looked as if they was dying also.i looked across the room at my 4 ft tnk which currently has breadng kribensis in it and medium sized babies..aprox 20 ish cribs all diff sizes from 3 previous breads. 2 small Plecs. 2 small red claw crabs..what else cud i do..i moved the 2 silver dollars in. the talking catfish. the 2 eels. the yo-yo loach and the last remaining large angel..all the fish seem to have come back to live except the angel it is laying on side gasping for air ..i have put it in a breeding net in the tank to keep the other fish of it..i think the cribs think it is a running buffet (...i don't understand what has happened to my tank..i do water changes every 3 or 4 weeks..always use haloex dechlorinator aprox 15 drops to a bucket of water..my fish have never been ill it all seems to have gone horribly wrong in 2 short weeks..could i have been diagnosed with wrong fish illness and the meds of killed them i am not happy..i have got to take my prize 14 inch Plec and give it to fish shop toms just so it gets out of the tank as there is no room in my 4ft and is still in the tank all the fish got the white big lumps in..none of the fish i have transferred have any signs of the white lumps which the 5 angels that dies had. also the 2 striata that was dead had no marks or lumps on.. maybe help diagnose what it was..and advice on the tank..i think empty maybe once Pleco has gone and clean gravel and glass and start fresh...pffff..i love fishkeeping so much this has knocked me for 6...in advance thank you for taking the time to read this and for ure advice
<Hello Roxanne. For the love of God, please use some capital letters, proper spellings and basic punctuation next time! This was horrible to read! Bob usually just bounces back e-mails like this one, but I'm in a good mood, so I read through it. Next time I won't be so lenient! We do ask specifically for properly written e-mails on the "front door" of the FAQ section. Anyway, no, it isn't normal for Angelfish to get lumps when breeding. I'm not sure what "black spots" might be as these aren't obviously any one disease. But the two commonest problems with Angels are
Finrot and Whitespot. Finrot looks like patches of white or bloody tissue on the body, and often the fins start eroding as well, with distinctive red patches along the edges. This is either caused by poor water quality or, less often, physical damage, e.g., but fin-nipping or aggression. Whitespot looks like a sugar has been sprinkled on the fish. Both are relatively easy to cure if diagnosed early. Some treatments are definitely better than others. Things like salt and Melafix/Pimafix are of marginal (zero) value. So the first question I have is what medication are you using? The second question is about water quality. Assuming this is Finrot (as I think it is) it's extremely likely that water quality isn't as good as you think. Grab a pH test kit and a nitrite test kit and test your water. The pH value should be somewhere between 6-8 for Angelfish, but it should be stable from week to week. They don't like changes. The nitrite level should be zero. Not "trace" and not "in the safe zone" but exactly and precisely zero. If you find your test kits exhibit problems in either of these particulars, then that's your immediate problem and you'll need to act accordingly. While your tank is fairly large, 60 US gallons isn't an enormous amount of space, and I'm concerned you're tank is (significantly) overstocked and/or under-filtered. Aquaria with biggish fish like yours should have a filter
rated at 6 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour. So a 60 gallon tank will need a filter rated at 6 x 60 = 360 gallons per hour. If your filter isn't rated at that amount, then that's a major problem and you'll need to fix this, perhaps by adding another filter. I'll make the point here that the "estimated tank size" given by filter manufacturers are wildly optimistic, in the same way that cereal boxes say they contain 25 servings and motor cars supposedly do 35 miles per gallon. Hence we should be using turnover as the measurement, not what the manufacturer suggests.
So, please, review the following: medication, water quality, stocking, and filter rating. Between these, I think that's your problem. Cheers, Neale.>

Hello... Rambling... overcrowded Goldfish and Pleco... another sys. w/ Peru Angels... another anomalous env. cond.  12/30/08
Hello, my name is Tash. I have had freshwater fish for a couple of years. I have two fish tanks with tropical fish and one with fancy gold fish. I have had a problem with my gold fish for a while. It’s a 45 g tank with 7 gold fish (two of them are about a foot) and two Plecos over a foot long. So I know the tank is way overcrowded, I’m just waiting for a chance to put them in something bigger like a pond. Now I have two 110g filters running, but before, since I got the big gold fish, they had bloody stripes all over their fins. I tried to treat them with a few different antibiotics because I was told it was a bacterial infection.
<Mmm, not directly... is/was environmental... bacteria were secondary. Need better "water quality">
None of the medicine helped so I gave up. It has been a few months now and they’re doing ok. The spots are still there, but it didn’t get worse. In my other 45 g tank with 12 eight-month-old “Peru” angelfish, I noticed about a month ago, a little bit of redness at the base of their fins. I called the breeder and he told me to raise the temp. to 88 degrees for 5 days, and do a lot of water changes.
<Good advice>
The redness did get smaller, but so far it did not go away. Any way, my main problem is my 55 g community tank. Two weeks ago I noticed that one of my male angels (I have two breeding pairs in the tank) had the same kind of redness. About a week ago the male and another female were in bad condition with red stripes all over their fins breathing fast and didn’t eat much (or at all) since then. Other two angels are marble so I couldn’t see if they had red spots too. I, recently, put new fish in that tank without quarantining them. I knew I made a huge mistake so I decided to medicate the whole tank. I used Furan 2 (which was recommended by a friend of mine that owns a fish store). We figured that it was Hemorrhagic Septicemia. After four days of treatment they did not get better. Now they all have white slime all over their body and look very sick. I have moved them into a 10 g tank. I think that the rest of the fish are ok and that it’s only the angels. Now I’m using Triple Sulfa and Maracyn Plus. I tested the 55 g tank and the PH 7.8, nitrite 0.3, ammonia 1.2, but with water changes and filters running it should get back to normal. I just don’t know what I’m dealing with and I don’t know how to fix it. Please help. Thank you
<Help with what? I would continue to do water changes, monitor your water quality... I strongly suspect you have high accumulated DOCs... likely evidenced by nitrate accumulation... Fix your water quality... and that's about it here. Bob Fenner>

Sick goldfish... "feeder" blocks, sys./Env. dis.    12/02/08
I have two orange head Orandas in a 15 gallon tank. All was fine until a few days ago. I put a long term feeder in while away on the holidays and when I returned I noticed a white film on the fins of both of them. The water is clear, the tank is clean and yet they have this film and are lethargic. The only thing new was that feeder.
Very Truly Yours,
Amy
<Amy, "feeder blocks" should NEVER be used. End of story. They're rubbish, in fact worse than rubbish. All they do is make the aquarium dirty. Fish can go a couple weeks without food, even longer if there are some aquarium plants for them to eat. Moreover, your tank is too small. What the feeder block has done is tipped the balance, and likely what you're seeing is a reaction to poor water quality. Goldfish should be kept in tanks upwards of 30 gallons, and provided with decent filtration. The clarity of the water is neither here nor there, and can't be used to judge whether the tank is "clean" or not. Broadly speaking, the stuff in the water that kills fish is invisible. Lots of fish are perfectly happy in water that looks like milky coffee, but you can have crystal clear water with ammonia in it, and that ammonia will quickly stress and kill your fish. Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/goldfish101art.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Fish at the bottom of the tank (Communities; overstocking!) and mis-... env. dis., iatrogenic   12/02/08
I have a 20 gallon tank, and we have 1 big eyes goldfish, 1 sucker, 2 angel fish, 1 red tail shark and,1 fancy goldfish, and 2 other's that i have no ideal what they are. My question is that they are sitting on the bottom of the tank. I have checked everything. What can I do about that. I hope that you can help me, Thank you
<Your tank is WAY overstocked. Four Goldfish would need a tank at least 40 gallons in size. A pair of Angelfish could easily dominate a 20 gallon tank, bullying everything else once spawning. A "sucker" could be anything, but I'm assuming either a Pterygoplichthys catfish (maximum size: 45 cm/18 inches) or Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (35 cm/14 inches). In either case, has no business in anything smaller than a 55 gallon system. Red-tail sharks are notoriously aggressive and territorial, and given their size (15 cm/6 inches) deserve a tank 40 gallons or more in size. The water quality is likely incredibly poor, and there's almost certainly not enough oxygen in the tank. Your fish are showing signs of stress; soon enough they will get sick, and then die. Time to sort through your livestock, and re-house them as required. There's no way you can humanely or responsibly keep them altogether in the tank you have. Cheers, Neale.>

Baby BiOrb tank - my fish have died, advice for future please. – 09/07/08
Hello there,
<Good morning,>
I am in desperate need of some advice.
<Oh?>
About 5 months ago I bought a baby BiOrb tank.
<Please understand this tank contains just 15 litres (less than 4 US gallons) of water. It is not suitable for fishkeeping, end of story. It's a very expensive, very attractive, bucket. A total con? Well, depends on how you define "throwing your money down a hole" but the image on the front with Goldfish and such is completely misleading. At best, it could house a single Betta, or alternatively a few Cherry Shrimps and funky Nerite snails. But that's it. No other fish of any type whatsoever will be happy or easily maintained in a tank this shape or size. The small volume means that fish wastes can't be diluted effectively, and the tiny surface at the top (because its a sphere, not a box) means very little oxygen diffuses into the water. By any standards, it's useless for fishkeeping.>
We slowly introduced 6 guppies, a loach and 2 platys. When I brought the platys home and put them into the tank to adjust in the bag I noticed there were 9 babies in their which must have been born on the way home. This is the first time I've had fish so I wasn't sure what to do with them. As I had already had a guppy baby survive to 4 months (at that time) and bearing in mind it was after shops closing time I decided to add them all to the tank.
<Long term none of these fish will survive. As they grow, they'll expect more "resources" in terms of oxygen and waste management, so there will come a point where the Baby BiOrb is overloaded, and they'll sicken and die.>
All of the babies survived, 6 of them lived in the filter (which it seemed they could swim in and out of) and three were happy hiding in the rocks at the bottom of the tank. The guppies also had babies and two of these survived by living in the filter.
<OK.>
Two weeks later I noticed that one of the guppies had a fur on her and was waving her head from side to side, then I noticed another had white spots/. After researching on the internet I discovered this was Ick. I immediately went to my pet shop and was recommended the BiOrb
First Aid filter. I carried out the instructions and hoped for the best. Removing the existing filter managed to kill all the platy babies which were living in it (I was distraught about this).
<Right; the "fur" is Fungus, and typically means poor water quality. No great surprise really. The Whitespot/Ick is a parasite likely brought in with the new. Both diseases need prompt treatment with specific medications.>
Gradually day by day all the fish have died including last night the two guppy babies. I am left with only the loach which doesn't seem to have developed Ick. This has been a very upsetting experience and I was wondering what I should do now. How do I find out whether the
loach has Ick (he doesn't appear to have any spots or fur) and how do I go about introducing new fish and ensure that this experience does not repeat?
<You absolutely cannot add any more fish to this system. Please, re-home the Loach. What species is it? I'm guessing a Clown Loach (orange-and-black creature) or a Weather Loach (mottled brown, eel-like thing with long whiskers). Either way, completely unsuitable for this system, and being both gregarious species need big tanks that allow them to be kept in groups.>
I was also wondering what I should do when the babies are born. We have lots of ceramic media in the bowl for them to hide in but if they are living in the filter how do I get them out and what happens when they get too big to swim out and get trapped?
<Rearing the babies is the least of your problems. But do see here for the basics:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/poeciliids.htm
>
I would appreciate any help and advice.
<Take the fish out of the darn thing, and either put shrimps/snails in it or sacrifice it to the Fish Gods. Either way, it's of no use for what you want. The pet store sold you a "bill of goods" as the Americans say... (in other words, you were taken advantage of as someone who didn't known what they were buying). Have a read of this:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwlivestk.htm
And then get back to us if you're still unsure about what to do next and we'll do our best to help. Do also invest in an aquarium book, or at least borrow one from the library. Beginners often start with very small tanks (by which we mean anything less than 90 litres/20 gallons) and these are notoriously difficult to stock with suitable fish. Maintaining good water quality in small tanks is hard work too. So it pays to be upfront about the problems, and make sure you've done your research. Fishkeeping is a very simple hobby if you do things precisely "by the numbers" in terms of fish requirements and water chemistry; but if you try to make things up as you go along, or worse, rely on the advice of the store clerk, you'll almost certainly end up with dead fish.>
Many thanks,
<Most welcome.>
Lucy
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Baby BiOrb tank - my fish have died, advice for future please. – 09/07/08
Hi Neale,
<Hello Lucy,>
Thanks so much for this advice. The loach is a weather loach
<A lovely fish; needs at least a 25-30 gallon tank though -- gets to 20 cm eventually, and does want some buddies. Does great with Goldfish in an unheated tank indoors. Lots of character.>
and I will see if I can find a bigger tank in which to rehome him. I'll do some research and check out the links you recommend first as you suggest.
<Very good.>
I really appreciate your no-nonsense and speedy reply. I certainly do not want to repeat this experience, it has been heartbreaking.
<I understand. We've all been there. What we try to do here is to show how keeping fish can be rewarding, rather than upsetting.>
Many thanks,
Lucy
<Most welcome. Cheers, Neale.>

Brown blotches on fish  8/19/08 Hello WWM Crew, I'm hoping that you can help me figure out what is going on with my fish. They have developed little brown blotches mostly on their heads and backs. <I see these in your excellent photos> It started two months ago with a single spot that appeared on the back of one Gourami (Trichopsis pumila). I researched fish disease in books and on the net, but I couldn't find anything similar, so I figured the spot was just normal coloration, or possibly a bite mark, or bruise. I waited, but the spot never got better or worse. After a few weeks, a second Gourami developed a few spots on her back also. Then another, and another, and last week, I noticed the neon tetras have the spots too. The fish don't seem bothered; their behavior is normal. The tank is 45 gallons, established 1 year, with a canister filter, gravel, bogwood, plastic plants, and floating anacharis. Residents are 20 Zebra Danios (only 6 adults), 12 male guppies (only 2 full grown), 2 darters (Etheostoma nigrum, 1 inch juveniles), 13 Trichopsis pumila (only 3 adults), and 5 Neon tetras. <What about the African Cichlid?> I know that sounds like a lot of fish, but most of them are less than 1 inch, and the big boss of the tank is a whopping 2 inch female Zebra Danio. I do 10% water changes daily <Wow! Disciplined> and vacuum the gravel monthly. <I'd switch this to 20% or so weekly doing both> Ammonia 0, nitrate 10 ppm, pH 7.6, temperature set at 74F (but has been up to 80F some days this summer). Fish are fed twice a day from a menu of standard flake, Spirulina flake, frozen bloodworms, and live baby brine shrimp. Once or twice a week, I give them a pea, lima bean, or cooked spinach. <I'd skip this last...> The danios, darters, and guppies don't have any spots (yet?). <A good clue> Yesterday, I noticed similar looking spots on my shellies (Neolamprologus multifasciatus) who are in a separate tank. <Oh> I have a pair of shellies with fry in a 20 gallon tank. I just noticed the tiny fry in the female's shell a couple of days ago, and since then, I've been paying closer attention to their tank. The male has a couple small spots on top of his head, and the female has a small spot on her chin. I don't know if this is the same thing that the gouramis and Neons have. <Likely similar "cause"> The Shelly tank has sand substrate, ph 7.6, ammonia 0, nitrate 5-10 ppm, and temperature set at 76F (but also overheats on hot days). Do you know what these spots are? <Only guesses...> The Gourami, which originally developed the first spot, was in a tank with female guppies at the time. I had been keeping my 3 gouramis in their own 10 gallon, until a pair formed and turned on the third. I found her one morning hiding in the corner with her fins badly nipped, so I moved her to the female guppy tank. A few days later, I noticed the spot on her back. Her fins eventually healed, and the spot didn't get worse, so I moved her into the 45 gallon, where she is now. After the pair spawned, I moved them to the 45, and when their babies turned eight weeks old, I moved 10 of then to 45 and traded-in the rest. Now about half of the gouramis in the 45 are affected with brown spots, as are 3 of the 5 Neon tetras. Do you know what is causing these spots? Are they harmful? How should I treat them? <I would try discovering a likely cause of toxicity... the spinach, bogwood... and see if by their exclusion for a month or more, this symptom subsides. This sort of "Melanophore expression" is not uncommon, usually a result of exposure to something in the water... No "treatment" necessary or advised otherwise. Bob Fenner> Thank you very much for your time. Nathan

Re: problem with aquarium system, disease... emphysematosis, induced... no reading   7/8/08
Hi,
The system is run by a 1 hp pool pump.
<... For this many gallons? Why? You want to read/look into a better, non-high-pressurized pump... this one will "drive you into the poor-house"... See WWM re Pump Selection: Here: http://wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i2/External Pumps/External_Pumps.htm
and the linked files at the bottom>
There is a lot of air/water mixing in the strainer chamber so i guess there is pressurized water there.
<... yes... this is along with the improper pump, the cause of the trouble here>
Is there a possibility of having too much oxygen in the water which is causing "the benz"?
<As in Mercedes? Yes>
i notice that when the fish were removed they recovered quickly in a medical tank using MelaFix.
<... you're joking right? Ridiculous>
the water renters the tanks through 1" tubes emptying by the top and there are fine bubbles in the return water into the tank. The bubbles on the fish though are coming through their skin, not attaching to them. The pH is 8.0 (African cichlids) ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0. Thanks!
Don
<... read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/PdBblDisease.htm
and the linked file related at top. BobF>

Re: problem with aquarium system, disease... emphysematosis, induced...
Thanks for all the help! I'm off to shop for a new pump!
Don
<Ah, good! BobF>

FW Cardinals, and something sinister- Stressed Fish Start To Have Problems 06/15/08
Hello WWM crew. First, I have to thank you again for this great resource- your time and expertise help so many people. You helped me a great deal in the past with the curious subcutaneous worms plaguing my Cardinal tetras. Thank you so much.
< Thank you for your kind words.>
Treating the tank with Seachem's Cupramine at ¾ of the recommended FW dose worked well; every single Cardinal pulled through! The only "casualties" were a clutch of eggs that my male M. altispinosus decided to eat despite his mate's valiant efforts at guarding them (they are usually a great breeding pair).
That being said, something sinister seems to have creeped into the tank. About a week ago, I found a Cardinal looking emaciated and lethargic. He had hidden too well in the plants and I had not found him in time to effect any positive change. A few days later, a heat wave struck. When I arrived home, the temperature was close to 90 degrees F! Everyone was either floating oddly or lying on the bottom. Off with the lights, on went the AC, and I floated sealed bags of ice on the surface. Remarkably, everyone recovered fully except for one large female Cardinal, who I found the next morning. Yesterday, another Cardinal started "shedding"- imagine a dog shedding its winter coat, but a fish shedding its scales. He also appears to have popeye! This evening, another Cardinal appears to have the beginnings of popeye. One Cardinal could have been an isolated incident. The second could have been an accident. But four Cardinals within a little over a week? I DON'T like those odds.
Everything sounds environmental, but- Ammonia = 0, Nitrite= 0, Nitrate=0
(aquarium is long established/cycled, I just have a lot of very happy plants), water is soft (RO mixed with tap, cleaned at least weekly), pH is 6.6, temperature is 82 degrees F. Is there something else that I should be testing for? Could there be another connection between these incidents? There has only been two recent change to the tank: one day before the first Cardinal's death, I added a new Fluval canister filter to the existing tank filtration (which remains in place), and I had begun using new ferts for the flora (iron enriched "Plant Gro" by Nutrafin, since I can't find Flourish with iron locally- but I do use Flourish root tabs). Coincidence, correlation or causation?
Tank mates include:
28 Cardinals (not that I can actually count them)
4 M. altispinosus
3 Otocinclus (Very fat and happy)
1 Longfin Bristlenose Plec
1 SAE
Last edition to the tank was the Plec, but I have had him for a long time and transferred him to my main tank because guests always commented on how beautiful he was. Everyone was quarantined for no less than one month prior to their introduction to the tank. Their diet (in case it is relevant at all…) consists of mashed peas, thawed frozen bloodworms, Nori (which I think they play with more than actually eat), Spirulina flakes, Tetra granules and Nutrafin Max flake food (and whatever eggs/fry tank mates manage to steal from the rams and the Otos). I would greatly appreciate any insight into my Cardinals' plight- advice, guidance, suggestions, musings, criticisms or reasons why atmospheric pressure is conducive to the integration of pachyderms into society.
Thank you so much, and enjoy your weekend,
Tianna
< Here is what I think is going on. During the heat wave your fish and biological filtration were stressed. Oxygen levels were low and metabolism was up. Not a good combination. You fish may have somewhat recovered but the stress made them vulnerable to bacterial infections. For a short time period you probably didn't have much biological filtration because the beneficial bacteria died off during the heat wave. If nothing else their numbers may have been affected. As bacteria start to colonize the canister filter they consume oxygen. Some filters get to the point they consume all the dissolved oxygen going into the filter. Make sure that the return tube forces the returned water to the surface so it can be oxygenated. The infections can be treated with Furanace but this will turn the water green, and the plants and bacteria will be affected. I would recommend to isolate any diseases cardinals and treat them in a hospital tank with Furanace type of antibiotic.-Chuck>

HELP-URGENTLY PLEASE... FW... hlth./env.  6/12/08
Hello,
I have a 500L tank which consisted of the following: 6 Oscars, 2 Yabbies, 2 blue Acaras, 1 Texas, 1 Synodontis nigriventris, 2 Severums. Things have been running smoothly for about the last 6 months. About a week and a half ago one of the yabbies died, not to my knowledge as it was hiding in a cave at the back of the tank. The tank then started to get cloudy, I did a water change and then realized the yabbie was dead. He was in pieces, At first I thought it was one of the Oscars who had attacked him a I could see the rest of his body. A day or two later after the water change I found the rest of his body and discovered that the other Yabbie had also died. I got the rest of all the yabbies out of the tank.
<By "Yabbie" I assume we're talking about crayfish here? Oscars eat crayfish in the wild. That's why they evolved those strong jaws -- not to catch fish as many people think, but to crunch the shells of crabs, crayfish and snails. So mixing crayfish and Oscars isn't a brilliant idea.>
A day or two later the tank started to get a little dirty again, I looked and found more bits of Yabbie. I'm getting into detail with this as I'm not sure weather this was the cause of the problem I had now with an increasing number of my fish or it was just the start of the problem (My suspicions are that it was the cause as there have been no change in food, no new fish and no change in my very strict routine in caring for them, but can not be sure.). That night after cleaning the rest of the Yabbie out of the tank I went to feed them and realized that the Texas was gasping at the top of the water and her colour was nearly black and had a pale film over one eye, I removed her straight away and put her in my smaller tank which has a small variety of other fish, as I don't have a hospital tank.
<My instinct here would be to assume the dead crayfish wrecked water quality. Cichlids are very intolerant of nitrite and ammonia, and that's the issue with the Herichthys. No need to move any fish -- just to a 75%+ water change, make sure the filters are in working order and not blocked with grunge, and if possible add some aeration to help the cichlids recover.>
The same night I took one of the Acaras out as he looked a little down sitting on the bottom so just to be sure I put him in with the Texas.
<I'm amazed the Aequidens hasn't been destroyed by the Herichthys yet. Matter of time... While Aequidens rivulatus is robust enough to mix with Central Americans, Aequidens pulcher certainly isn't.>
At this time all the other fish looked fantastic and the water was looking great. Two days went by and the Texas had improved dramatically and the Acara looked fine, so I put the Acara only back in the tank. The next night he was gasping under the log and had a bulging eye which was cloudy.
<Classic cichlid reaction to poor water quality. Do check nitrite and nitrate, this latter being very dangerous in cichlid tanks.>
A the same time I noticed my Synodontis nigriventris had holes of flesh taken out from all over his body which looks more like a flesh eating disease.
<Hmm... not sure about this. Synodontis nigriventris is a small catfish and could potentially be damaged by these robust cichlids, or for that matter by large catfish. As you perhaps don't realise, Synodontis nigriventris is also a gregarious species, and should be kept in groups of 3 or more specimens. Singletons are very shy.>
I took them both out and put them into the smaller tank, a day has gone by and there has been no improvement.
<There won't be. Once the bacteria and/or Hexamita infection gets started, you need to treat with suitable medication. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfishmeds.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/metranidazole.htm
Would recommend doing the antibiotics first, and then the anti-Hexamita medication next. Cichlids won't "get better" by themselves -- they die.>
I have now also noticed that two of the Oscars have which looks like pop eye only in one eye, I was looking at a third one and he looks as though he is starting to form a film on his eye. Otherwise the other fish look fine.
<Treat. Now!>
I am doing a 50% water change tonight as thought it would be the safest option. I'm wondering what you think the best option for me to do next to treat these problems.
Thanks
Teags
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

RE: HELP-URGENTLY PLEASE 6/13/08
Hi,
do you recommend using one of the treatments listed under the "Bacterial Infections (internal)" heading first? for example API erythromycin or an equivalent we could find in our country Australia)
<Outside of the US, antibiotics (as opposed to antibacterial drugs) are usually only sold with a prescription from your vet. So with that in mind, if you need to use Erythromycin, you'll need to call your vet. This doesn't add dramatically to the cost, but it is another hoop to jump through. This said, with cichlids your first line of call will be to use Metronidazole to medicate against Hexamita, the more likely pathogen at work in your system. Again, outside of the US this is a prescription-only drug, though some alternative, over-the-counter medications may be available. In the UK for example, there are things like eSHa Hexamita 'Discus Disease'. Invariably these alternative medications only work if used early on in the disease cycle. Cheers, Neale.>
 

Boesemani Rainbows in trouble. New tank syndrome...  - 3/21/08
Hi guys,
<Andrew>
I've learned much from your website in the past, but so far have not been able to find any sort of real answer to my question.
I have been keeping marines and corals for about three years now, with great success, but recently decided I'd like to go back to my roots and set up a small FW tank. In addition to my 75Gal deepwater reef setup (LPS and soft corals) I've had a 20Gal tank that was home to a nice BTA and clarkii clown, along with a yellow coral goby and Gold headed sleeper goby (who put on heaps of weight after purchase!). Anyway, the idea was to move what stock I could to my main display, and traded the BTA and clarkii back for store credit.
I stripped and cleaned the tank THOROUGHLY and refilled it with new filter media, and substrate, and of course FRESH water. I ran the tank for three days and tested PH only and it was 7.2, with temp of about 78 (which fluctuates cause of the ambient air temp here in Aus) I got myself 6 neon tetras and popped them in, and they seemed to be quite happy despite the fact that they like slightly acidic water usually.
<Mmmm... how was this new FW system cycled?>
The whole idea behind this tank was to raise some juvenile Boesemani Rainbow's and move them to a new home when big enough, so seeing that the tetras were doing fine I bought 8 X 1 - 1 1/2" rainbows. Now I know that this is a rather large load for a new filter, but was able to use a little filter media from another healthy FW system to get it started (this is starting to read like war and peace!).
<Mmm, no... this is far more exciting>
After about three days of happy swimming (and daily 15Gal water changes with dechlorinated tap water) the fish began developing white opaque patches on their bodies, one at first then the others day by day. It did not look like anything I've seen before, almost like slightly cooked flesh! and though I could not try it looked like it might rub of with your finger.
I continued with the daily water changes as per plan to alleviate filter overload, but the fish continue to succumb to this white patch. after about a day, each fish moves to the surface where it breathes rapidly and dies almost hours later. Of course after seeing the first fish with the gasping symptoms, I cranked the Air bubble up to max to help with oxygen saturation in the water, but it had no effect, as I imagine their gills were likely coated in the same "substance". I also tried using Stress coat (with aloe vera) as I thought this might help, though I've never used the product before.
<Is a good product... but not efficacious here... for what you have going on won't work>
Strangely enough the Neon tetras seem to be unaffected, and none have any signs of disease. I have now lost 3 Rainbows in total, and expect to lose another over night. Now I know by now you neck must be sore from all the shaking with contempt, but any help would be much appreciated = )
Andrew
<Is really very likely "just" new-tank syndrome... the Rainbowfishes being more sensitive than the Neons... I would either look for a real bacteria culture product like BioSpira or Dr. Tim's equivalent... or move the Melanotaeniids to a better-established setting. Bob Fenner>

ick in an uncycled tank, Oranda treated with heat and salt. acidity in water. Iatrogenic troubles, reading  03/16/08
FW Daily?
<? all are posted>
Hello. First, thank you for your website, which I have perused many times over the last 2 years while getting interested in keeping fish. I have mainly been interested in the cold water section, as my parents have a pond and I have been helping them with their Shubunkin issues.
My interest in their fish led me to get really interested in aquatic life in general, particularly in goldfish.
<Ahh!>
Now to my current issue which concerns my new fish, and temporary tank.
I am building a 55 gallon tank for them next week when I get paid. Last week on Friday, I bought 2 x >1.5" Orandas and placed in a 20L tank with filter (un-primed, but dosed with Stress-Zyme)
<Mmmm, this won't work... the system needs to be cycled>
and an air-stone, and thermometer. The filter has a heater, so I switched it to minimum (18C), for a stable temp
<Good>
(it can get cold in our house at night). They were acclimatised to the temp for one hour in the bag and then I mixed tank water into the bag three times over the next hour, then released them (with the water which I now regret). I added dissolved rock salt to 0.1ppm, to help them settle down. I kept the tank light off until day 2. Their daily routine is (and has been since): curtains open, 30 minutes before tank light which is on for 8 hours, then tank light off while room light on for an hour, then room light off; and darkness until morning. I didn't feed until following day and gave them cucumber. Next day, a part of a pea, next day a blanched leaf of romaine lettuce and dried blood-worm, next day some dried Nori which I soaked first. I noticed red-cap fish flashing against the airline tube on the 2nd day. The other is an orange Oranda.
From the outset, I checked parameters 3 times a day (pH, ammonia, nitrite, salt level, occasionally checking nitrate). Their water was always conditioned with dechloriminator at water-change time (and upon the first tank-fill). I changed 25% per day. On the 4th day I started to see ammonia, so I did PWC partial water change, and added a drop of ammo-lock.
<This is only a temporary fix...>
I used Stress-Zyme to help prime the filter.
<Won't do this>
The red-cap was flashing still. I was still feeding lightly with greens as above, including blanched spinach.
Back to the 3rd day, I was shocked to see my red-cap covered in white spots. I Googled, diagnosed Ich, and Googled some more. I added more salt up to 0.2ppm.
<Not an effective cure...>
The feeding continued, very lightly, with different greens.
On 4th day, added more salt up to 0.3ppm and increased the temperature slowly. Following days; I kept up with parameter tests, increasing temperature until 29C over two days. The water was going more and more acid, down to between 6.5/7.0 (my tap water comes out at 7.5). I also noticed fluctuation in temperature, so bought a second heater, and installed it too. I set it to 29.5C,
<!>
and bought another thermometer.
The temp in the tank was stable at 30C on the thermometers and the salinity was stable at 0.3ppm.
Both fish seemed fine, no gasping for oxygen, I was watching them day-in, day-out. Plenty of aeration, filter making a waterfall, bubbles breaking the surface well. On the 5th day, the infected fish started losing its spots, and on the 7th they were all gone (so I am timing 70 hours until I turn the heat down gradually, or earlier if necessary, or later if possible). Also, the few black coloured ammonia burns that only the red-cap had, started to go away. Both their appetites are great, they try to eat my fingers when I put them on the surface.
<A good sign>
The water was beginning to smell a bit rich, I thought it must be the heat. Not bad smelling, but rich. Organic and a bit fishy. Some slight foaming around the tank corners.
Last night (day 8), the pH was down to 6 (yellow on test card) with only another 2 days to go before I start to lower the heat over a period of days. So I tried not to panic, and decided to do an immediate PWC. I looked at my change-water, already heated to the correct temperature and matched in salinity, and decided to throw it, and get some fresh. The reason being, I used the hot tap to fill it, and let it cool rather than use the cold tap, just for convenience. I panicked that the carbonates were being depleted with this method,
<You are wise here>
and I didn't want to add more acid water, or rather water which wouldn't buffer. So, I mixed fresh cold and warm water together, aware that I should err on the side of caution with pH, and added the salt as before, and heat, and dechlored it.
Meanwhile, still panicking, I thought I would add the tiniest pinch of bicarb, premixed with a little water. Well, I tested the tank 5 minutes later and the result was a little more green, but still green-yellow 6.5. This could have been a whole .5 raise, and of course I felt terrible that I could have altered it too much, too fast. I kept the lights dimmed in the room the whole time to keep the fish calm. But I think I saw one of them go upside down in the bubble stream (the orange one who didn't get the Ich). The red-cap seemed fine. I regret adding it, because I read afterwards on the net, that goldfish will tolerate a pH down to 6 if it was gradual, but on the other hand, I heard that Orandas were more sensitive than other goldfish. I learned about panicking after I did this.
I kept the lights dimmed, but sat and watched for a while. Only the orange fish was acting abnormally, although I could have been imagining it. It seemed to be dazed, and rather than resting, it was just glass-staring and going to the corner and back, and repeating. The red-cap seemed fine, perusing the gravel looking for things, like he does at night, in dim light. After a while, I put a bit more light on and approached the tank. They were both full of life, and excited to see me. I talked to them a while, then checked the temperature of my change-over water. It was matched, so I did a 25% change, checked the pH again, it was still green-yellow 6.5.
<No worries>
My plan for the next day (now this morning), was to do 4 or 5 small small water changes throughout the day. I want to reduce any DOC (concerned about the smell and acids) and get any poop from the bottom before it goes acid. I will continue with this the following days, and see if the pH rises any. Otherwise, it must be my Dechlor, or ammo-remover, or bio-load turning the water acid. I was leaning toward ammo-lock and bio-load. The fish will have to fast until I've worked it out.
This morning at 8 am, checked the pH and its more orange-yellow!!! I panic again. I don't think under 6 is going to be good for my fish. I added the tiniest pinch of bicarb this time, more diluted in filtered water, and dripped half the mix in the water, then a 25% water change too. I added some activated carbon but there is no room in my filter because I put a lot of filter wool in it, so I placed 3 pieces in the various currents in the tank. It then occurred to me to flush the filter media with temperature-matched salinity-matched dechlored water.
Having done that into a waste bucket, I now know where most of the problem was coming from. There was a green leaf salad and waste in there (the Nori, and possibly bits of cucumber, and green poo), so I flushed it out of the media, and replaced the filter. The foaming on the water has reduced, as has the smell. Just more water changes today are planned and panic over, I'm sure. I also stood by with the net, because my fish were pooing spinach like machines.
Any more pH rises when I change water should be gentle with smaller / more frequent water changes, and any acids in the water are now minimised I hope - wouldn't you say?
<Mmm, no... see below>
The carbonates in the water won't be eaten so quickly too, but I don't want the pH to get too far back to neutral until the ammonia phase is over.
An hour later (now), tested for ammonia and it was up to 0.25.
<... toxic...>
My change-water Isn't heated yet, so added a drop of ammo-lock. Not worried too much as the pH is still 6.5. ; then dosed the filter with Stress-Zyme.
In another hour, will do a 25% change, and test the ammonia and pH. if the pH is still 6.5, I will do another 25% (or less) a bit later ??, and remove the carbon.
Update: have done the above water change, pH 6.5, ammonia between 0 and 0.25 - slightly green coloured.
This is all notes as I've gone along, from about day 5, written up to give to you for help. If you can offer me any advice on how to get through the next days, and help me out with this fear that it's all going to go wrong, I'd really appreciate it. My fish seem perfectly well, I just want them to stay that way.
Thanks very much, David.
<Troubles... initially... This volume is too small for these fish... it wasn't, isn't cycled... Your reliance on chemical treatments won't work to adjust for nitrogenous accumulation... the Salt... I'd be setting up the 55 gallon, using a bacterial prep. to cycle it stat.! And moving these goldfish ASAP. Bob Fenner>

Dying black neon tetras... Iatrogenic mis-stocking issues, FW    2/24/08
Hi, yesterday I went to a Petco and bought 5 Neons tetras, 5 black Neons, 3 cherry barbs, and some weird looking catfish its white and black.
<Need to find the name of this fish...>
I already had a plecostomus about 6 inches an orange finned shark,
<Incompatible>
1 black skirt tetra, and 10 guppies. About 4 days ago I bought a 29 gallon tank, my old one was 10 gallons. the temperature is about 78 and ammonia pH nitrate levels are all fine.
<What does this mean? And... how is this new tank cycled?>
So far since yesterday 2 black Neons have died and 1 is swimming awkwardly and seems to be losing some color. I don't know what is wrong with it also another one of the tetras seems to have a bite mark in it. do you know what is wrong?
<Likely the minnow-shark is bullying the others, perhaps the catfish as well... You've placed too much, and incompatible life too quickly here>
also one of the cherry barbs seems lonely it is laying on the ground in the back corner of my aquarium and only come out to eat, while the other
two barbs are swimming around peacefully and full of energy, it also looks like this barb has the beginning to a shredded tail. Is there anything I can do to have the barb become more energetic? Thanks
<... Need to go back a few steps here... Look up the physical needs, temperaments of the life you have jammed in to this too-new setting. What you list is incompatible... some likes hard/alkaline cooler water, others soft/acidic more tropical... What you have will not work. I suggest looking up, reading re... starting where you were initially instructed: http://wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm
Bob Fenner>

Um.. I'm worried... Oscars... simply fighting, or an electrified situation?  2/18/08
I have 2 albino tiger Oscars. A couple of nights ago my larger one started freaking out and trying to almost jump out of my 55 gallon tank.
<Yikes! Two of these fish need more room than this...>
I would hear a crash and splash and it seemed he was almost unconscious in the water. My other one seems to be following his pattern because I picked him up of the ground this morning. I do have a top but they jumped threw the lid.
<Yes... can happen>
They are both very scared up and have almost knocked them selves out. It keeps happening but there's nothing wrong with my other fish in the tank. Im really worried could you please help me with your advice.,,,Aki
<I do hope so... I am concerned that you may have a situation here of "stray electrical current"... making these fish "jumpy"... DO be careful around the tank till this can be checked, solved... Have someone check with a volt meter... FIND the fault... DO install a GFCI on all aquarium gear that uses electricity... IF this is not the root cause here, I suspect the two Oscars were "just" fighting... need to be separated, ultimately placed in a system of twice this size or larger... Bob Fenner>