9 replies to this topic

[DaChung]

hey ppl..

just wondering if anyone would know what is wrong with my tank?

Its a 3' x 14" x 18" tank set up for mbunas etc. The tank is about 4 - 5 weeks old now. Fish introduced about 3 weeks ago. I had 3 electric blues and 3 electric yellows (2 baby ones).

In the last week or so, the two babies have died, and now i've lost 2 of the electric blues.

I noticed them gasping and out of their usual hiding spots. Thought this was odd so I took a sample of water into Morley Aquariums and they tested it there. They told me that the water wasn't too bad, but to do a 50% water change.

I did this but a couple of the fish still gasp! The second electric blue died 2 days after this water change. The yellow doesn't look to be gasping though.

What do you think is wrong with my tank?

cheers for any advice

[mrgreen]

although i am no expert , (like people at morley aquariums) there wood be a couple of parameters that i wood check , gasping fish is a fish in need of oxygen!!! ,
* is ur temp too high??? (ie over 26)
* is the a build up of nitrate/nitrite????
* does ur filtration system break the surface area of the water? (gas exchange)
* did u cycle the tank ??? ( did u start with a couple of gold fish so u could start the colinisation of nitrifing bacteria)
* do u have a lot of wood in ur tank ?? ( leach out of contaimenants)
* did u thouroughly clean all decor in your tank?
* are all the components used in ur tank suitable for use in a aquaria???

these are the simple questions that must be addressed wen setting up a cichlid tank , and note that whilst the tank is being cycled that u will get a steady rise in NH3 and NO3 untill the peak and then subside , only once the later has occured will ur fish be able to inhabit there new tank......

hope this helps and the best of luck
steve green

[DaChung]

hey mrgreen,

at first, i thought that they might just be lacking oxygen, so i hooked up the venturi to my pump (have an AquaOne internal). The bubbles break the surface of the water so i'm sure there is a gas exchange.. plus there are bubbles in the water that u can see...

my water temp is generally around 25 - 26degrees..

The tank is still cycling. This is what I bought the original fish for. I haven't added any new fish since them

the only decor i have in my tank is limestone, and i hosed them down real good before i put them in the tank.

Might take another sample into Morley to get them to test it again and see what they say after this water change i did...

thanks

[mtchye]

Hi,

Steves pretty much covered most of it. If the fish are gasping at the surface I would suspect not enough aeration or surface water movement causing low oxygen levels.

In your case though as you introduced the fish pretty quickly after it was started up it could be ammonia/ nitrite poisoning. Did morley test for both? Sometimes at a certain stage in the filtration cycle you get no ammonia but high levels of nitrite.

Get the water tested for those two, and if you have those i would stop feeding, do a 50% water change, and get a bottle of Seachem Prime and dose as per instructions for nitrite poisoning on the bottle.

This should save your remaining fish, if it is nitrite poisoning...

HTH
Vincent

Visit the:
Perth Cichlid Society Forums

[CommodoreKev]

I would also look for any mites/bacterial infections around the gills. Maybe the water is ok, but the fish have a problem? (Not saying you have bad fish from a bad breeder; but even the best breeders can occasionally get problems) Where you sourced the fish from may be ok, but just with the extra stress of cycling the tank may be enough to bring problems out. Even if you have second hand tanks, gravel, filter etc it may be from here. If you loose another fish tanke the fish to your LFS and see if they will look at it.

[DaChung]

yeh.. thats a pretty good idea....

i too was thinking that it might be a fish prob, cos my electric yellow doesn't seem to be gasping...

*sigh* if only fish could talk and tell us whats goin on hahah

[mrseby]

Seems like it might be a bug and nothing to do with water Paramaters!!

Some of the things to consider !!!!
Lack Of Oxygen
What is it ?
Fish require oxygen in the water to respirate.
If it is lacking, they will have difficulty breathing and may subsequently die.

Symptoms:
Gasping at the water surface and/or fast breathing.

Treatment:
Ensure water is well aerated by means of a airstone to agitate the water surface.
Also perform a partial water change with aged water.

Tap Water Poisoning
What is it ?
Tap water contains various chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine that make it safe for us to drink but are substances that are highly toxic to fish.
Introduction of water which has not been properly treated will result in fish being poisoned. Fish death can occur swiftly.

Symptoms:
Fish may be seen gasping and fast breathing at the surface.
It may also lose its color and stay motionless and lethargic at the bottom of the tank.

Treatment:
If you have already added the water, add the necessary water conditioners to make the water safe for fish use. Chemical additives like antichlorine, antichloramine and additives that remove trace metal elements in water.
As a general rule, always ensure water is conditioned first before introduction into the tank to prevent unnecessary fish death.
Co2 Poisoning

What is it ?
Having excessive amounts of Co2 in the water causes difficulty in breathing for the fish.
In excessive amounts, they will have difficulty breathing and may subsequently die.

Symptoms:
Gasping at the water surface and/or fast breathing.

Treatment:
Ensure water is well aerated by means of a airstone to agitate the water surface.
Also perform a partial water change with aged water.
If Co2 injection is required , check the amount being released into the tank and regulate accordingly.
As with any other living thing, when fish are sick they look and behave differently. Recognizing these changes early can mean the difference between life and death, not only for the affected fish, but for all the fish in your aquarium. In such a small and closed ecosystem as your aquarium, once a disease, fungus or parasite affects one fish, it can quickly spread through the water to all the others.

Acidosis

What is it ?
This is not a disease in itself but rather an ailment as a result of a low pH.
Various fish have different pH requirements but when a fish that cannot tolerate acidic softer water is placed in water of pH 6 or below, Acidosis occurs.
The skin will become increasingly irritated and may burn slightly.
The fish will produce more mucus ( fish slime on the body ) to protect itself.

Symptoms:
Excessive mucus production, patchy peeling white flakes on the body, listlessness, heavy breathing.
May also lay close to the gravel layer still or gasping at the water surface.

Treatment:
Requires immediate treatment else fish death occurs quickly.
Immediately seek to correct the pH level.
Test using a pH testing kit to see what level it is at and increase it accordingly with either pH up buffering salts or off the shelf buffers.
Signs of Illness

Fortunately, the signs of illness are pretty much the same for all species of fish. They include:
• Clamped fins, fins held close to the body
• Frayed fins
• Bloating
• Enlargement of the eyes
• Erratic swimming and shimmying
• Drifting close to the bottom or gasping for air at surface
• Scraping themselves on plants or filters
• Loss of appetite
• White spots on fins or body
• Parasites on body
• Cottonlike patches on fins or body
• Fish that are normally active remaining still
Frayed Fins

This may be a matter of a fish being nipped at by an aggressive tank mate. Damaged fins, however, can lead to fin rot, which means an infection by bacteria or fungus. It's best to quarantine a fish until its fins heal. If cotton-like patches appear on the fins or white spots, the fish should be treated with an antifungal for the former and an antibacterial for the latter. Check with your veterinarian or fish store for treatment possibilities.


These are the most common diseases that will affect your fish. While fish stores sell a number of antibiotics and antifungal treatments the best defense against these diseases is to maintain the water quality of your tank, do frequent water changes, make sure the new fish you buy are healthy, keep new fish or plants in quarantine for a week or two before putting them into the community tank, and knowing how your fish behave in order to recognize possible problems when they first appear. At the first sign of a problem, quarantine the fish, but don’t be too

eager to begin treatment with antibiotics or anti-fungals since these can do as much harm as good if used too frequently.


Without actually seeing the fish or the actual conditions and doing the proper test its very hard but I hope that the above can help

Cheers Seby

[hlokk]

This needs to be stuck at the top of the forums for other people with sickness issues, well done!


[back to topic] I lost about 8 fish that were in my tank from the start (used matured media) and now i think it was due to the cycling process. Hopefully you wont get any more fish deaths. It can be discouraging, but hang in there and hopefully everything will stabilise and be fine (paul from morley aquariums should be able to help you if it is some kind of disease or something)

[DaChung]

thanks for all your help people.

i am trying something at the moment.. i have turned the bubbles coming from the venturi up... hopefully this will encourage gas exchange at the water surface. Will leave it like that for a while and see if there is any change.

Will report back with any progress.

[DaChung]

well.. its been two days since i've turned up the bubbles on my internal filter, and the fish have stopped gasping.

what a kick in the nuts that is!

could have saved some simple deaths

oh well... atleast i know from now on.

i had the bubbles on before, but not fully up... do you guys/gals have heaps of bubbles in your tank?