Fish sick??? Help?

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J

Jamesy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 13, 2012
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A few days ago I got my 70g tank, A few days later when I got my fish I put in a bottle of stress coat and 2 bottles of Quick start (Instant bacterial). When I first got my 8 red phantom tetras I noticed one was very white/gray, It sadly died this afternoon. I now notice that my German ram has lost all of it's colors (Must be due to stress) and so has some of the tetras. I also noticed how all of the fish (Excluding the clown loaches and the pleco) are staying up in the top half of the tank, They weren't doing this a few hours ago? I also noticed that one of my clown loaches is laying sideways on the gravel breathing heavily. I don't trust my testing kit since it's nearly 2 years old and people say if it's 2 years old, It's gone out of date, I'll get a test down in my LFS tomorrow. Anyone have ANY idea of what this could be?

If this is due to the quick start, Then I'll never trust that again...

Please help.
 
I say you should never just assume all the bacteria needed will come from a bottle. You have to give it about a week, throw in some substrate and or other decorations from other tanks, and even, if you keep live plants, move some runners over to the new tank too. Then you can also put some filter media from other tanks to get all the good bacteria in there. Then all this bacteria is going to need food, add some like NLS or carnivore wafers and just let them sit. Do that about every 2-3 days, or whenever the food disintegrates. Then give the bacteria a week or two to colonize while checking ammonia and it's either nitrate or nitrite. Once the levels are all 0 then it's safe for fish. But DO NOT TEST for the first 3-4 days. But I have no clue how to save your fish. But I am pretty sure the cause is most likely the tank not being completely cycled. The fish also my be hanging at the top because they aren't getting enough air so it would be best to add a air stone. Hope this helps!


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One of my clown loaches, 2 red phantoms and a german ram died today. They have stopped swimming near the top, Everything seems to be back to normal besides the deaths. Does ANYONE even have a slight clue about what killed them before I get my water tested?
 
I got the water tested.

PH: 6.6
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 2.0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

Jesus, I'll NEVER trust that quick start rubbish again...

I won't be adding more fish until the cycle is finished.

I found out the reason the fish were swimming to the top was that the part of the filter that pushes the water out was in the the water not giving enough oxygen whereas it should have been above the water.

Sigh...
 
I forgot which but I think it is nitrite that is supposed to be 0.


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Yes, nitrite should be zero. Loaches, in particular, require mature, cycled tanks. They do not do well in new setups. You will need to do heavy water changes, likely daily, with dechlorinated/detoxed water (you can use Prime for that).

If you know anyone with an established system already in place, ask if they'll let you steal some of their filter media, as it is already seeded with all the nitrifying bacteria you need.

Sorry to hear about your troubles and best of luck!

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Actually you shouldn't do HUGE water changes, as that slows the cycling process because it removes so much ammonia from the water, taking away the bacteria's food. So maybe like 25% w/c every 2 days.


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