re: New rainbow fish won't eat (RMF any ideas?)<<>>... dis., ongoing       10/25/19
<<W/o sampling, can only guess at the probable cause here. I would proceed as you've outlined. RMF>>
Hi Neale, thanks for your reply
The Rummynose looks much better and normal now. The guppy split persists. The dot is still on the Kutubu so I added more ParaGaurd and removed Polyfilter. If that doesn't work what else should I add?
<I'm against medicating unless you have a diagnosis. Often watching the fish carefully, optimising living conditions, and removing sources of stress, will allow the fish to heal itself naturally. Or at least, worsen
slowly enough than you can start to see obvious symptoms, and then medicate, more precisely, in time.>
Im slowly raising temp up to be 32 degrees so to kill any possible ich is that a good idea?
<For short term, won't do any harm -- most tropicals can handle 28-30 C for a while. 32 is overkill, I think, but follow your instincts, and be sure to observe the fish, providing extra aeration at high temperatures. The other option is to "black out" the tank for a few days, which alongside small amounts of salt (2g/l) and heat, will exterminate Velvet as well as Ick. The tank needs to be pitch black, so a heavy blanket is the order of the day! Do this for a few days, and surprisingly enough, your fish and
plants will be just fine -- but the Velvet parasite will not.>
The guppy split is still there also and so is foam so the Polyfilter didn't help. Must be protein as you said and needs cleaning.
<Let's hope! Cheers, Neale.>
re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/25/19
Hi Neale, Terrible news. So I was looking at my tank and couldn't find my favorite guppy. Then I finally find him and he's laying on reads breathing heavy. I panic and do 35% water change and gravel vacuum thinking it was from the ParaGaurd or 27C.
Then when I look at him closer I see a long reddish worm hanging out of his butt by about 6mm. Seems he has Callamanus. He is looking real bad I actually thought he was dead because he got stuck to intake at one point.
Is the heavy breathing from Callamanus or something else?
<Could easily be stress at this point. Camallanus worms are quite common in farmed livebearers.>
So I medicated whole tank with 13 tablets of Avitrol+ (Levamisole). And blacked the tank out and covered it with towels. Other fish seem fine but some a bit bloated/fatter than what they should (some guppies) so they probably have worms. Intending on feeding pea later tonight and tomorrow to help pass worms
<Epsom Salt can help too, but the Levamisole is really the main treatment here. Sometimes multiple courses are needed, as some worms are more resistant than others.>
I tested water and it was: 6.6ph, about 0.25 ammonia (always has trace ammonia unless tanks are cleaned way excessively), 0 nitrite, 0.5 nitrate, 0.25 phosphate.
<This pH is really too low for Guppies, which prefer hard, alkaline conditions.>
I added seachem Alk to bump ph/kh a bit.
Am I doing the right thing?
<See above; I'd be thinking about water chemistry as much as anything else.
Whatever else, livebearers won't live long in soft, acidic conditions, and the wrong water chemistry will make them more prone to diseases of all sorts. Cheers, Neale.>
re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/25/19
Hi Neale, more terrible news. The guppy died and there seems to be non-moving worms in its net.
<Sorry to hear this, and yikes!>
I took a picture and did a mild dissection of the fish. I think some worms left before the fish died and some after. Thats worms isnt it? Is his gills bleeding or is that an after death thing?
<Hard to say. Dead fish will have bright cardinal red gills immediately after death, but these turn red-brown very quickly. Now, Velvet in particular will damage gills quite badly, but really, spotting this without a microscope will not be easy. Cheers, Neale.>

re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/25/19
Hi Neale, Thanks for your reply.
<You're welcome.>
I moved all the snails out of the tank and into a QT mini container.
<Prudent.>
My friend is going to keep or mind them for me. Also intending on giving a Siamese algae eater away to lessen bioload.
<Wise, and might be interesting to see if things improve for the fish without him. Sometimes SAEs are misidentified, and the aquarist ends up with slightly more aggressive species (like the Flying Fox) or the
sometimes very nasty Chinese Algae Eater.>
The Rummynose seem to take the medication a bit harder than the rest .Is there any way to more safely worm the fish more routinely?
<Not really, and used correctly they shouldn't cause harm -- indeed, they're widely used on 'sensitive' species like Discus as a matter of course. That said, if a certain fish isn't well to begin with, predicting
the effect of a given drug is hard.>
I think the guppy may of gotten the worm from possibly left over eggs from those sick rainbows. Since he was fine for ages.
<Possibly.>
What Ph and KH should guppies have?
<Farmed Guppies need hard, alkaline conditions: 10-25 degrees dH, pH7.5-8.5.>
Kinda thinking of adding a small amount of crushed coral because the ph just drops and drops so fast.
<Yes, but once algae and bacteria cover the coral, the benefit will be reduced. So you need to plan a way to keep the crushed coral clean, e.g., by rinsing under a hot tap every couple weeks. Furthermore, if your water is very soft, or at least lacks any kind of pH buffering capacity, then using an appropriate aquarium buffer may be necessary. All fish tanks acidify between water changes, unless something prevents that.>
Its like Id have to be adding seachem Alk almost daily to maintain it
<Used correctly, and in sufficient quantity, these should really only be used with each water change. Something is amiss here if the pH is dropping dramatically across a few days. Let me have you do some reading: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwsoftness.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

re: New rainbow fish won't eat; dis, H20 qual., no rdg.      10/26/19
Hi again Neale, Thanks for your reply,
<Welcome.>
I think it is because I have a lot of wood. I noticed that even with less plants it was acidic but I expect that the nitrifying process of all the fish and mass of snails was also making it acidic.
<Yes, wood will lower the pH because it releases tannins and other organic acids. In hard water the impact is trivial, but in very soft water without any sort of chemical buffering, yes, the pH will drop.>
Is aragonite better than crushed coral?
<Much the same.>
I was having trouble keeping it above 6.6 just dosing alone.
<Sounds like your water is way too soft. Is this drinking water? From a domestic water softener perhaps?>
My friend has the snails and a Siamese algae eater now. The ph drops by about 0.5 after about 2 weeks it seems.
Wow that's soo high seems aragonite is way to go?
<Do read the article linked earlier today; do also read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwh2oquality.htm
Without buffering capacity (whether a salt mix, or commercial pH buffer) very soft water will change in pH rapidly. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat
Hi again Neale, I was wondering if this is suitable? Or if it should be larger pieces? I was thinking of putting maybe 1/2 cup of it in the HOB filter.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F182227892624
My tank has a HOB filter it came with usually empty though, plus a Nautilus 800 plus a small 300L/hr pump
<Do see, read the previous articles and correspondence. The addition of coral sand and other such substrates to your filter will provide buffering, but the effect can be unpredictable. Questions like how much to use, and how often to clean, are completely unanswerable, and end up being a 'suck
it and see' type situation where the aquarist has to establish what works best in their situation. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/26/19
Hi again Neale, Thanks for your reply.
I'm getting new guppies of high quality tomorrow as I already had it planned for a few weeks before this disaster. Am I better off putting the 7 new fish (3 yellow-red mosaic and 3 blue grass + 1 Dumbo ear female) in the same tank for the rest of the worm treatment or in a 70L uncycled newly set up tank?
<Never put new fish, especially not expensive ones, in an un-cycled tank.
There are situations where you might have to cycle a tank with a few hardy fish, such as Danios, but this can stress the fish if you don't know what you're doing. On the other hand, de-worming new livestock is actually a good idea, and many aquarists do this as a matter of course.>
Also the fish being treated with Levamisole (2nd day) seem to have reddish gills and be breathing more heavily. Is this normal or do they have some other disease?
<Levamisole shouldn't have any effect on the gills. But hard to say for sure. It is regarded as a safe and reliable medication for most fish though, so I wouldn't be overly concerned. Of course, if fish are breathing heavily, check water quality and chemistry, and supplement oxygen levels with an airstone or increased filtration. Remember, if the pH is very low, hard water fish such as Guppies will be stressed, and heavy breathing is a standard symptom of that. Low pH levels generally aren't a good idea for
most community tanks because biological filtration works better above pH 7, and hardly at all below pH 6, so unless you're keeping blackwater species that need soft, acid conditions to survive, it's best to aim for middling conditions, around 10 degrees dH, pH 7-7.5 being ideal for a mix of soft and hard water community species (i.e., Corydoras, Angels, Danios, Guppies, Rainbowfish, etc.)>
I'm thinking of adding a few teaspoons per day to raise ph to 7.6. And a bit of crushed coral in-between. Is that a good idea? Is that high enough for my strains?
<See previous messages re: water chemistry. Have gone into this already.
Would just be repeating myself, I fear! Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/26/19
Hi again Neale,
<Good morning, Sarah.>
I just found out the fancy guppy breeders guppy tank has ph 7.6 and they add salt.
<As do most Guppy and Molly breeders. Under such conditions these fish are much less disease-prone.>
My tank ph is about 6.6-6.8. Should I just add them to a newly set up but uncycled 70L tank with a ph 7.6?
<See earlier message.>
Rather than stress them by having them in low ph?
<Sticking Guppies from hard/saline conditions into a tank with soft, acid water will, at best, make them prone to disease. At worst, they'll simply die from shock or acidosis.>
I have seachem prime and am guard to protect from ammonia.
<Neither of which are relevant to water chemistry.>
What's your thoughts?
<I think I've made them clear in previous messages and links to articles.
Hope that they help, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/27/19
Hi again Neale, Thanks for your reply.
Is it safe for my Rummynose and my rainbow fish?
<What, the Rift Valley Salt mix? Rainbowfish will love it. Rummynoses are soft water fish, so less happy about it. But provided you use it in
moderate amounts and aim for no more than 10-12 degrees dH, pH 7.5, you should be fine.>
Where can I buy it from?
<The whole point of the mix is that you can buy Epsom salt and baking soda pretty much anywhere on the High Street, since both are used domestically.
Marine salt mix can be substituted with non-iodised sea salt, or simply left out completely, as the case may be. What does matter is that you check the water chemistry carefully using appropriate test kits. You can of course buy 'cichlid salts' from many aquarium shops, but don't confuse these with 'aquarium salt' or 'livebearer salt' which is just overpriced sea salt (sodium chloride) and does nothing for hardness or pH. Cichlid salts will state that they contain magnesium sulphate, sodium carbonate, and other minerals found in the waters of Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika.
They're more expensive than aquarium salt, but the amounts used in freshwater tanks is trivial, so a small package will last years. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/27/19
Hi again Neale, So I got the new guppies they look great
Though they made me realise the guppies I already have are breathing harder than they should be.
What do you think it is?
<Have stated this already: Poecilia spp. will not be happy in acidic conditions, and simple acidosis can explain heavy breathing and stress.>
Could it be Oodinium or gill flukes or something?
<Unless you have other symptoms, and the water is still acidic, then I would not jump to these conclusions.>
How do I treat it?
<See above; don't.>
Thanks
Would aquarium salt alone treat it?
<Aquarium salt treats Whitespot, and sometimes Velvet, and while salt is helpful to Guppies in soft water, used at the required amounts to create slightly brackish conditions you'd start stressing your tetras and plants.
Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/27/19
Hi again Neale, I think I figured out what the guppies have I think it is Trichodina or some other gill parasite.
Since I have treated for gill flukes and it didn't improve. I watched a YouTube video of a guppy with Trichodina and my guppies I already have breath in the same way.
What should I medicate with? Thanks
<I am skeptical of any such diagnosis while Guppies are being maintained in soft, acidic water conditions. If they're in hard, alkaline conditions, then sure, start reading up on parasites and pathogens. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/27/19
Hi again Neale So I was researching and was thinking I should try Protozin by Waterlife for the gill parasite?
Though it could take 2 weeks to arrive and that seems less than ideal. Also seems like a very hardcore medicine.
I have some meds here already and apparently ParaGaurd kills them though it didn't seem to stop it before? Hmm unsure what to do. I guess Ill use the ParaGaurd and fingers crossed.
Though last time I used that a guppy died but I dont know if related.
Or should I use something purely copper based? Im unsure
<Fix the water chemistry first, and if the fish remain stressed, then go all Dr. Kildare; not before. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat          10/28/19
Thanks Neale for your reply.
The aquarium should have ph 7.2-7.4 now. As it was 7.2 earlier today.
<This is better. Closer to what Guppies want. But can we start testing hardness? To stress this point, it is hardness rather than pH that fish care about the most.>
If the heavy breathing is from just the water how long will it take to fix?
<Could be due to stress, and once water chemistry is better, your Guppies may well behave normally; only time will tell.>
Also it seems like the Siamese algae eater is also breathing more heavy.
Unsure
If I were to treat it what is safest yet effective?
<As have stated repeatedly, while the aquarium is unstable, and you're having to diddle about with water chemistry, I would assume symptoms of stress are simply that, and not randomly medicate the fish. Only medicate when you can positively identify a disease, never "just in case". Be like your own doctor. Does he/she randomly give you drugs?>
Im just waiting on the crushed coral to arrive and thinking of ordering that rift salt mix. Though how do I know how much to add that's safe?
<As have also stated before: while the Rift Valley salt mix, used at 25-50% the recommended dose should be fine for a mixed tropical fish community, you will want to use some sort of water chemistry test kit to confirm. Make up a bucket of hardened water, test, and if it's good, write that recipe down and re-use each water change. If the water chemistry is wrong, then reduce or increase the minerals accordingly, i.e., more/less Epsom salt for general hardness changes, and more/less bicarbonate of soda for carbonate hardness changes. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat          10/28/19
Hi Neale thanks for your reply
<Welcome.>
The guppies aren't breathing as heavy today so I think it may of been from medication or stress
Do you mean kh?
<KH and pH are different things. KH is an abbreviation for carbonate hardness in German, and widely used to indicate the 'degrees of carbonate hardness' in the same way as C is used for Celsius or m for metres. For Guppies, something upwards of 5 degrees KH is the aim. The higher the KH, the more stable the pH will because carbonate hardness provides alkalinity, i.e., the ability the water has to neutralise acids. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic the water is. A pH below 7 is called acid, a pH above 7 is called basic, and a pH of exactly 7 is neutral. While the scale runs from 1 to 14, aquarists are mostly concerned with a range of 6 to 8, with 7 being good for general community tanks, but 7.5 better for communities that have hard water fish such as Livebearers and Rainbowfish. If the carbonate
hardness is at least moderately high, say, 5-10 degrees KH>
Oh so you are saying to make my own mix and not use a premade mix?
<Use whichever suits your budget. Mixing your own is more fiddly but cheap, while a commercial mix will be easier to use but you'll pay a premium for the convenience. They're very similar in usage, and the same warnings about using a simple test kit to check the results will hold true. Dip-strips like these are easy to use, and will test pH, KH and general hardness (GH) all at the same time, so are well worth using if you don't have the time or budget to buy separate test kits:
https://www.jbl.de/en/products/detail/4490/jbl-easytest-6in1
While not especially accurate, they work well enough for community fish tanks.>
My general hardness tester doesn't seem to work it never changes color not even for tap water and its not an "old" tester either
<See above for an alternative approach. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      10/29/19 Hi again Neale thanks for your reply I will try to test gh like that then <Good oh.> Oh I was wondering if my Siamese algae eater looks healthy? He jumped into the female enclosure last night then jumped out <His head looks a bit scuffed, but other than that, yep, looks fine. If he's swimming about and feeding normally, I'd not be too bothered. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/31/19
Hi again Neale
So later today (now)The female guppies are acting a bit odd. Clamping their tail?
<Classic signs of stress in virtually all freshwater fish.>
And kinda swimming slowly?
<Known as 'shimmying'. Again, a classic stress symptom in livebearers especially, usually linked to water chemistry problems.>
The other fish are acting fine only the females are acting weird.
<If by "other fish" you mean other than Guppies, again, I'd refer you to our previous conversations about water chemistry. Livebearers need hard, alkaline water conditions and quickly become stressed in anything else. The degree with which they react varies from fish to fish, some breeds of Mollies being notoriously quick to get stressed. But beyond that, this looks more like stress than a specific disease, so review living conditions and act accordingly.>
Any ideas what it could be? This is a video of them. I turned the light off early incase they are tired.
https://youtu.be/aCTRWVZaOgk
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/31/19
Thanks for your reply Neale,
Why is it only the female guppies that are affected? All the other guppies are fine
Or are they more sensitive?
<As I said before, some fish react more quickly than otherwise. Trapping females in breeding traps increases their stress levels too, and contrary to how they're sold, they are really only safe for trapping the fry, not the adults. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/31/19
Hi Neale, Thanks for your reply
Oh I see. I added some kh up. I will test it today.
My friends male guppy and maybe 1 other is breathing kinda hard and has inflamed gills what could that be? Could it be a gill parasite?
One of his guppies had that before it died, so I think whatever it was this guppy has
<It's impossible to answer this, Sarah. While water chemistry is wrong, laboured breathing is entirely possible, indeed, expected. Guppies will not be happy in soft, acid water; end of story. But as/when water chemistry is improved, if they are still behaving oddly, then certainly start thinking
about other possible explanations. Velvet for example is a common parasite that damages the gills, causing heavy breathing and death of gill tissue.
It's fairly easily treated once caught early on, and has other symptoms to look out for, so shouldn't be too difficult to diagnose. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     10/31/19
Hi again Neale, I think Im about 95% sure some of the fish have gill mites so Im thinking of doing a water change then treating with API general cure
<Never even heard of "gill mites" before, and going online I'm struggling to find anything close to a meaningful summary of what they are. To be 95% sure of anything like this, you'd need to have had some gill tissue removed and observed under a microscope by a trained fish parasitologist or equivalent. There are literally dozens of diseases and syndromes that cause heavy breathing and damage to gill tissue.>
Is that a good idea?
<Not especially. About the only halfway useful page I can find on "gill mites" is on the Tetra website, where they recommend Praziquantel, here:
http://www.tetra-fish.com/learning-center/troubleshooting/fish-illnesses-how-to-spot-them.aspx
General Cure contains Metronidazole, which may or may not be helpful; I just don't know, without actually knowing what the pathogen involved is.>
Will also increase KH a little.
<And as/when you have a carbonate hardness above 5 degrees KH, a general hardness above 10 degrees dH, and a pH between 7 and 8, then you'll have water chemistry appropriate for Guppies -- and not before! I cannot stress this too much. Fish have an immune system like us, and many diseases in
fish ONLY become serious once the fish itself is weakened, for example by exposure to the wrong water chemistry. It's virtually impossible to diagnose a fish from vague symptoms like heavy breathing in much the same way that a cough in humans can mean anything from a sore throat to TB.
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat     11/1/19
Hi again Neale, Thanks for your reply
<Most welcome.>
A few days ago the ph was 7.4 so it should be around that still. I just added more kh up today and yesterday. Ill check kh soon and pH. I ordered the rift lake salt and well as crushed coral.
<Understood.>
Also treated with API general cure.
<Shrug.>
I was thinking since the ph is so close to what is ideal it doesn't make much sense that they seem to be irritated unless they have gill flukes or gill mites.
<Yes, it's possible, but you simply cannot be 95% sure of anything in diagnosing fish diseases from commonplace symptoms like heavy breathing.
There are probabilities, of course. So a fish in a new aquarium with eroding fins almost certainly has Finrot simply because that's easily the most probable outcome.>
I read the symptoms is similar to what they have. At first I thought it was hardness related but as hardness improved the symptoms didn't. I have a theory that a lot of pet store guppies have gill mites or flukes and it is what causes the deaths of some guppies at the store that have it most advanced.
<Gill mites (whatever they are) and Gill flukes (rather more well attested) are possibilities, but pet store Guppies are hopelessly inbred, handled with very little care throughout their lives, primarily because these are fish bred to a price rather than a standard. Antibiotics are used widely in the fish farms (and I dare say by some wholesalers) so that by the time they arrive in your tank, they're starting to lose the benefits of the antibiotics and now exposed to all the different bacteria in their world.
End result is cheap, colourful fish that inexplicably get sick a couple weeks after purchase. Some retailers are so fed up with Guppies they don't really like stocking them, but have to buy them in because people want them. A good number die in the retailer's tank, but he hopes he'll sell enough of them to offset that and turn a profit.>
Their water also tests fine for ammonia so I do think the fish get stressed and come down with gill mites or flukes then the ones with it worst die. It may be in part why my other guppy died.
<Perhaps.>
I feel bad for the females but they came as part of a trio deal and it was too risky putting them in the uncycled tank. The 70L is just started cycling now and Id like it to be planted out and finished cycling before they go in. Im doing a fishless cycle with ammonia. I ordered a bigger net so maybe the females will like that more. But i think they are irritated due to water kh/gh/salt or from gill mites or flukes.
<I'm going to save myself some repetition here and direct you to some reading:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/guppies.htm 
Follow the links at top to the Disease FAQs; you will find these sorts of problems with Guppies are hardly unusual. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/8/19
<Please (simply) search these topics and READ on WWM for complete answers.
READ don't write. BobF>
Hi Neale, Thanks for your reply.
One thing I notice when I gravel vac is every time loads of bubbles come out of the substrate. The substrate isnt even deep I think 3cm but I think it must be not a good shape to allow movement of water.
Is it possible these bubbles released was somehow toxic to the fish?
It happens every time I gravel vac which is once every week or 2.
Im treating with blue planet fungus cure. Do you think that will help?
Yes the nitrate is always virtually 0. I have been dosing quite a lot of nitrate for the plants but even that doesn't seem to be raising it much. I guess the plants do require it a lot.
I dosed enough Ultimate Aquacare nitrate for it to be 5ppm and within a week it was virtually 0.
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/8/19
Thanks for your reply but I tried searching bubbles coming out of substrate and nothing is coming up?
<Ummm; did for me:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/results.html?cx=partner-pub-4522959445250520%3Ap7
g47g81naq&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=bubbles+coming+out+of+substrate&sa=
Search&siteurl=wetwebmedia.com%2F&ref=&ss=>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/8/19
Hi Neale, Thanks for your reply.
One thing I notice when I gravel vac is every time loads of bubbles come out of the substrate. The substrate isnt even deep I think 3cm but I think it must be not a good shape to allow movement of water.
Is it possible these bubbles released was somehow toxic to the fish?
<Yes and no. In a properly set-up aquarium, some decomposition in the substrate will happen, and any gases produced will either be harmless (nitrogen) or in such small amounts they react quickly enough with oxygen in the water column to be rendered harmless (hydrogen sulphide). However, to get either gas requires anaerobic conditions that are not likely in a properly set-up tank with less than a 8-10 cm depth of substrate. Even then, the amounts of gas will be small. If you're seeing a lot of bubbles, and they're quickly produced, this isn't normal. It might be nothing, and some plants will transport oxygen into the soil via their roots, but it might also mean the substrate is wrong somehow. Unless the tank is
well-planted with roots throughout the substrate, it's a good idea to keep substrates shallow (2-3 cm is fine if there are no plants or epiphytes only) or maybe 6-8 cm if you have plants. Either way, stir the areas without roots periodically if you must, but otherwise leave the substrate alone>
It happens every time I gravel vac which is once every week or 2.
Im treating with blue planet fungus cure. Do you think that will help?
<Not with bubbles in the substrate, no.>
Yes the nitrate is always virtually 0. I have been dosing quite a lot of nitrate for the plants but even that doesn't seem to be raising it much. I guess the plants do require it a lot.
<If you're removing literally armfuls of leaves a week, then sure, that's where the nitrate is going. But otherwise I'd be suspicious of the test kit or the way it's being used. It's rather like a car exhaust containing no carbon dioxide at all. You'd be very skeptical, I'm sure! Since nitrate is the end point of biological filtration, it accumulates between water changes, and should measurable go up from whatever nitrate level is in a bucket of new water (i.e., you tap water nitrate reading).>
I dosed enough Ultimate Aquacare nitrate for it to be 5ppm and within a week it was virtually 0.
<Weird. I guess nitrate reduction might be happening, but at an astonishingly unique level for a generic community tank. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/8/19
Hi Neale thanks so much for your reply.
Yes the substrate is only 1-2cm deep at front. The plants have it about 2 inches with aquarium pebbles and Oliver Knott Aquasoil and Palagonite.
<If the aquarium substrate is dubious, one thing I'd suggest is this: remove the substrate. Leave the plants in pots (either the aquarium shop sort, or with. bit of substrate in small clay pots). But otherwise bare glass. Why? This removes a variable. The fish won't mind, and you can scatter a few pebbles over the substrate to block upwelling light.
Double-check the pebbles are aquarium-safe by dripping acid on them (lemon juice or vinegar) and seeing if they fizz. If they do, they're not safe.>
Even the plants have signs of nitrate deficiency despite my desperate dosing schedule lol.
<If there's something amiss with the tank, they may simply be stressed, much like the fish. To recap: most plants dislike strongly acidic water, and few handle very soft water well.>
Some have yellowing.
<See above.>
This is my tank from today with my surviving fish.1 Kutubu, 2 boesemani, 3 Rummynose, 6 guppies, 2-3 Oto.
The 2 females are elsewhere for fungal treatment. Dead: 6 Otos over time (some from prawn I suspect and some may of had disease as bodies were found for some recently), 1 Rummynose, 5 guppies, 1 SAE. Rummynose, guppies and SAE all died within last 1-2 weeks.
My tank today: https://youtu.be/egcBiXd7IEQ
Does anything look drastically wrong from this video?
<Hard to say with a video. If this was me, I would be stripping the tank down, while leaving the filter running and the fish in place (I'd put them in a bucket while doing the stripping down, mind). So it's basically a hospital tank (all glass) with a few hiding places (clay pots for example).
Move the plants to another tank (even a bucket somewhere warm is fine, even better if you can point a light over them). Ensure the water in the tank is as it should be in terms of temperature, pH and hardness. With the substrate removed, you've simplified things. If things seem better now, and the fish show signs of improvement, you can then start thinking about adding the decorations back. I'd suggest plain gravel substrate, and while the plants will be ticked off about being unrooted, if you stick a few fish
nutrient tablets into the substrate after a couple of weeks, they'll grow back. They'll likely die back a bit though, hence no need to add the fertiliser tablets for a couple weeks at least.>
Thanks so much again. I really appreciate it
<Most welcome. Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/2/19
Hi Neale, Terrible news Two of the female guppies just died this morning.
<Sorry to hear this.>
They are super fat and their gills were red and kinda pointing outward. The one on the right only just died.
<I'm on holiday at the moment and don't have my fish health books to hand.
But the photos don't look especially diagnostic of anything. Bloating can indicate a range of problems.>
I don't know if it was from what was already irritating them or if I somehow overdosed with the General cure. Or if they had internal parasites (they were huge).I think the other females look alright though. Unsure. It said 1 pack per 10 gallon so I did 3.5.
<Which for a 35-40 gallon tank should be fine. That said, medicating fish randomly, as we've discussed, can have unpredictable results.>
Not sure what to do, just did a close to 40% water change. I think some males look fat, what is that from?
<Can't really say without seeing the fish. But generally, if the fish are looking stressed, the safest steps are these:
(1) Do a decent water change, 25-50%, ensuring new water has approximately the same temperature and water chemistry as the outgoing water, so as not to stress the fish.
(2) Up the aeration
(3) Check thermometer, and if necessary, adjust the temperature up or down depending on the species being kept. For Guppies, around 25C/77F is ideal.
(4) Double check ammonia and/or nitrite levels to ensure filter is working properly.
Unfortunately, sometimes we just have to accept a given species (or at least batch of fish) just isn't working in the tank we have. If it's an option, returning any remaining fish can work well, allowing time for the aquarium to settle down. Don't add anything new for at least two weeks, and ideally a month. Then, reflect carefully on the water chemistry of the aquarium, and choose a species ideally suited to those conditions.
Livebearers are increasingly disease-ridden and unreliable, and you may prefer to select species, such as X-Ray Tetras, that generally present few health problems. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/2/19
Hi again Neale,
<Sarah,>
I checked the water and it seems like there was an ammonia spike.
<Oh dear.>
Also a rummy nose is missing. I think it may of died and caused that in part.
<Certainly possible, but if one little fish dying causes an ammonia spike, it may mean your aquarium filter is either under-sized or wrongly used. As a reminder, on a community of small fish, your filter should be offering a turnover rate of 6 times the volume of the tank per hour. So for example, a 100-litre aquarium needs a filter rated at 6 x 100 = 600 litres per hour.
As for using a filter, it needs to be stocked with biological media, such as sponges or ceramic noodles, but generally not chemical media like Zeolite or carbon.>
The ammonia: 0.25-0.5.
<This is indeed bad, lethal in the long term.>
Ph:7.6
Kh: 5
Nitrite: 0
Gh 0-25
<Is this 0 to 25 degrees dH, which is so broad as to be meaningless, or 0 to 25 mg/l, which is extremely low?>
My SAE seems pretty stressed and his head still has that white stuff.
Unsure if an infection or a graze.
<Could be either, given the ammonia level.>
Something was reeeeally stressing the fish.
<Yep.>
Unsure if it was the med or maybe adding kh too much. I think it was the medicine tbh.
The females were fin clamping for days. The other females stopped fin clamping now so maybe the medication did help. Of the two that died I saw one die just before. It was breathing somewhat heavily and was like it couldn't swim.
<Hope this helps, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/2/19
For some reason water always has ammonia in trace amounts from the aquarium.
<Does your tap water? If your tap water has no ammonia, but your aquarium always has some, then the tank is overstocked or under-filtered, or at best, has more food put into the tank than necessary.>
The filter has Biohome ultimate and seachem matrix and a few 35ppi sponges.
<By default the Nautilus filter comes with a black sponge that contains carbon. This will remove any medicine put in the aquarium. It is very common for people to find their fish constantly die, despite medication, because they have left the carbon filter in place.>
Its AquaOne nautilus 800.
<800/6 = 133, so at best this filter is suitable for tanks up to 133 litres. Realistically, no filter performs at its peak rate of turnover once filter media is added and starting to get clogged with detritus, so a more
cautious rating might be to suggest an aquarium up 100-120 litres. If your tank is bigger than that, then your filter is too small.>
I read that Levamisole could of killed all the worms in tank and may of in part caused it.
<Seems unlikely, unless there were truly millions of worms all over the aquarium.>
Or maybe I need to clean filter.
<Aquarium filters should be maintained, yes, but always remember not to over-clean the media and so kill the bacteria: safest approach is to rinse media in buckets of aquarium water.>
Unsure.
<Indeed.>
The shark was fine before the medicine so I think it was that.
<Perhaps.>
The females had issues before that though.
<Apparently so.>
How can I make the ammonia 0? It is never 0
<See above. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/2/19
Thanks so much for your reply Neale. I guess all I can do is see what tomorrow brings.
<Que Sera, Sera...>
Maybe try to improve my filter because the fact that ammonia is never 0 bugs me.
<See previous message.>
I had the same issue in my two old tanks as well. My friend also has the same issue. Any idea what's causing it?
<Not without data, no; and realistically, it's hard to diagnose vague, general aquarium problems without actually being in the room looking at them! But as a reminder, the majority of generic aquarium failures come down to water quality and/or water chemistry, so nailing these first is always a good step. Poor quality livestock, maintenance mistakes, and just plain bad luck account for some problems, but they're that bit less likely.>
I definitely won't get more females till their tank is ready and everything has stabilized i.e. no deaths for 2-3 months.
<Wise. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/2/19
Hi again Neale,
I think it was because the GH is so low the test strip wasn't reading it.
<So it's the 0-25 ppm or mg/l reading, then?>
I added some seachem equilibrium.
<May help, but rather than just chunking some in, put some into a bucket of water, then after it's fully dissolved, do a water test on that bucket of water. Find out what you are making. Any aquarist (or website) that throws around "teaspoon per gallon" amounts is giving, at best, incomplete advice.
It's not the amount of these products that matters -- it's the water chemistry produced!>
The female guppies still seem irritated and the new males. 1 female in particular is shimmying. I also saw 1 scratching.
I put in some seachem ParaGaurd half dose so far as well.
<See above.>
Some of the males are very fat so Im not sure what that is.
<Nor I.>
I intend on feeding Fluval veggie flakes soaked in metronidazole and Praziquantel (maybe Sulfaplex) and some garlic. Then tomorrow adding some Epsom salt to the soak. Hope that helps
<These are rather harsh medicines, and while I can see your reasoning, I'm not wild about random medications where water chemistry or quality may be more significant. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: New rainbow fish won't eat       11/2/19
Hi again Neale,
Thanks for your reply. The tank also has a HOB it came with but I use that for chemical filtration.
Tap water has no ammonia.
<So any ammonia detected is being produced by the fish or decay of organic material. This, in turn, by definition means the biological filtration is inadequate. Ensure all filters are optimised for biological filtration.
Remove anything providing chemical filtration of any kind, whether carbon, Zeolite, peat, or whatever. Replace with more biological media.>
My tank is 130 liters.
Is it possible its over feeding or do I need more filter media? Like another whole filter?
<Perhaps, but it may be the filters are not maintained properly, not being used correctly, or the aquarium is overstocked. Lack of oxygen can cause biological media not to perform well, and finally, the filter bacteria work best in hard, alkaline water and work more slowly in soft, acidic conditions. Supposedly they all but stop working below pH 6 and in very, very soft water. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: New rainbow fish won't eat      11/5/19
Hi again Neale,
<Sarah,>
Just a quick update
1 more female died after exhibiting signs of TB. Back arching and hanging around at top. The blue grass male is doing the same and probably on the way out.
<Does seem likely.>
I'm convinced these 2 have fish TB and the others also but a strain that causes bloating.
<It is certainly possible, but Mycobacteria infections can look very similar to a range of other diseases. So while certainly worth considering -- and not uncommon among farmed Guppies -- I don't think you can be sure.>
I think the other fish will be ok. The rift lake salt arrived, do I do a quarter of the Victorian dose?
<Yep. But to remind you, again, make up a bucket of water using the appropriate amount of salt for that bucket, and THEN do a water chemistry test. Make sure the values seem appropriate for the fish being kept. But I agree, by default, one-quarter the dosage for a Rift Valley tank should be sufficient.>
Or do I just do the Victorian dose? Or do I do something else? Is it safe for plants?
<Yes.>
My friends fish have similar symptoms. May be possible my fish got it from bringing a guppy from his here. 2 of his guppies died with bloat and 1 is on way out.
<More likely the fundamental problem was with the batch of fish you/they bought. Cheers, Neale.>