This is the 4th time in 3 years every fish in the tank has gotten ill. It always ends with them dying. I set out to but test kits and Here are my readings Ammonia- .6-.14ppm, PH.- 7.0, Nitrate- .25ppm, Nitrite- .0-.5ppm. From what I heard this is okay but my cichlids are all sick and are on he grave and I can't figure out what to do. We have used fungal medicine thinking it was something in the water but nothing works and the fish are getting worse. The water is cloudy as well. Any ideas on what is the issue? Im pretty bummed knowing my fish might not make it through the night.
Any ideas on what is wrong with my water
- Thread starter Cichlidshady
- Start date
How large is the aquarium in question and how many fish did you have in there before this happened again? Imo sounds like a bioload problem, and not enough wc's. I personally would not use meds unless I absolutely had too, cloudy water dos not mean fungus.
Your ammonia and Nitrite should be at zero... I think you have some of your numbers messed up though, id recheck them.
what test kit are you using? I assume you mean 25 nitrate if not .25 is extremely low for a tank 3 yrs old. The cloudy water with ammonia/nitrite and low nitrate could be a sign of a cycle. I would assume the ammonia/nitrite are most likely the cause of your fish getting sick. I would use prime every other day in the meantime to detoxify the ammonia/nitrite and keep up with water changes until you get your water right. If your tank is cycling adding a bacteria addictive also wont hurt.
As far as your fish being sick, its hard to give any advise with out more detail or pictures on whats wrong with your fish. However using prime will protect your fish in the short team if it is ammonia/nitrite causing symptoms.
what test kit are you using? I assume you mean 25 nitrate if not .25 is extremely low for a tank 3 yrs old. The cloudy water with ammonia/nitrite and low nitrate could be a sign of a cycle. I would assume the ammonia/nitrite are most likely the cause of your fish getting sick. I would use prime every other day in the meantime to detoxify the ammonia/nitrite and keep up with water changes until you get your water right. If your tank is cycling adding a bacteria addictive also wont hurt.As far as your fish being sick, its hard to give any advise with out more detail or pictures on whats wrong with your fish. However using prime will protect your fish in the short team if it is ammonia/nitrite causing symptoms.
Your water readings are confusing to me.
"Ammonia- .6-.14ppm, PH.- 7.0, Nitrate- .25ppm, Nitrite- .0-.5ppm."
1) Ammonia: .6 does not go to .14. Did you mean .06 - .14, did you mean .6 - 1.4, or did you mean .14 - .6?
2) Nitrate: I'm not sure how you have a nitrate reading of .25. That sounds like a virtually new tank. Did you mean 25 ppm?
3) regardless, ammonia and nitrate should be zero in a cycled tank. No one should tell you that .6ppm ammonia or .5ppm nitrite is okay.
If you have had 3 mass die-offs in 3 years, (and working on a fourth), water itself is probably not the problem, unless your water treatment plant is of poor quality or you are using well water. Seems more likely other issues. Can you describe the causes of the other die-offs?
No matter what caused the others, perhaps posting some pictures of the current tank and it's inhabitants so we can see the conditions will help.
"Ammonia- .6-.14ppm, PH.- 7.0, Nitrate- .25ppm, Nitrite- .0-.5ppm."
1) Ammonia: .6 does not go to .14. Did you mean .06 - .14, did you mean .6 - 1.4, or did you mean .14 - .6?
2) Nitrate: I'm not sure how you have a nitrate reading of .25. That sounds like a virtually new tank. Did you mean 25 ppm?
3) regardless, ammonia and nitrate should be zero in a cycled tank. No one should tell you that .6ppm ammonia or .5ppm nitrite is okay.
If you have had 3 mass die-offs in 3 years, (and working on a fourth), water itself is probably not the problem, unless your water treatment plant is of poor quality or you are using well water. Seems more likely other issues. Can you describe the causes of the other die-offs?
No matter what caused the others, perhaps posting some pictures of the current tank and it's inhabitants so we can see the conditions will help.
