HELP! Fishes are rotting!

[black_monster]

So last week, I performed a 50% water change.
I usually do water changes the old fashioned way.
I siphon 50% of the water out and fill it up with tons of room temperature aged water that are kept in those 5 gallon containers people use to dispense water in. Yeah, it's pretty hard work so I only perform this water change once every two weeks.
The tank is a 120g tank and I currently have three bifasciatus', one nearly patternless albino clown knife, two red bay snooks, and two flowerhorns.
I actually lost three red bay snooks this summer due to the summer heat and a faulty heater. The average temperature in my aquarium believe it or not was 92 degrees Faren. So when I performed the 50% room temperature water change, I think the drop in temperature was so extreme that it caused all my fish in the tank to have fin/scale rot and bad cloudy eyes. All the fish have like this white film coating on their bodies and fins and my dominant fh lost it's beautiful colors and it's kok. Most of my fish have a loss of appetite too and don't bother to eat.
Yesterday I have started to treat them with Melafix and I replaced the heater with my old heater, and the temperature now is currently 84 degrees.
Is there anything else I could do?
This is the third time this had happened to me.
The first two incidents, I've lost all my fish, and I really wouldn't want to do this all over again.
Oh and is there a easier way of performing water changes?
Thanks.

 

[doc-55]

A) I would step up your water changes to weely at the least....Why, because B) at that high of a temperature depending on your other parameters your nitrate levels could have been through the roof, and most likley your tank was oxygen starved at that temp as well. You are correct that dropping the tank temp possibly some 20 degrees certainly did not do you any good.....I think your best option is to pour on the clean fresh water and stabilize the enviorment, with that kind of stress I would think you could be dealing with organ failure ect....Keep up the water and see what happens.....D

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I agree. I don't think you're doing nearly enough water changes. Get a 55 gal drum or some plastic trash barrels at WalMart to age your water in. There's no reason in this day and age to attempt water changes with 5 gal buckets on a 120 gal tank. That's a lot of needless work.
MelaFix is very irritating. I see no use for that stuff but I know a lot of people use it to feel like they're 'doing' something. Fresh water is your best bet right now.

 

[black_monster]

alright.
only my wonderful flowerhorn seems to be having the most problem, which is, it's constantly staying hidden and will never come out. the colors on it faded and it's head has shrunk a huge deal. The next fish with the biggest problem is my albino clown knife. It has a white, puffy looking eye on its right. Seems like it's gonna go blind, but still eating.
how do you guys add the aged water from a 55g trash tub? my tank is on a stand and is well above the floor so i don't think a siphon will pump water into it. would i have to pour it in?

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I let it sit 24 hrs with a bubbler in it to age it and use a small pump to pump it into the tank (and a large 1200 ghp pump for the big tanks but you won't need one that strong). It's not going to hurt to do a 30-40% water change now again assuming you've got good healthy tap water.
You can get small pond pumps cheapest at Home Depot or Lowe's or you can go to PetsMart and get one. Makes water changes a LOT easier which in turn makes you do more of them.

 

[Bllib]

I am personally not a big fan of 50% water changes but that is another story. On the water changes and high temps you can use ice cubes to help lower the temp before you do a water change so there won't be the big shock and then do weekly 10% water changes on your tank.

 

[black_monster]

okay, so i performed a 25% water change yesterday, and i'm about to do another right now.
my fh started getting active again. but both look like their scales are kind of rigged? and cracked? like on their head area, it looks like they're about to get hith. also, my best looking fh has like, a piece of white string or puss coming out from it's side.
should i just continue to do water changes and leave it alone? or should i remove him and get him on meds?