major deaths in tank :( only 2 left...

[rastascoob]

Have a friend with a 90 gal. freshwater tank she got for free from a friend. She then proceeded to drain the tank, clean all the equipment (no soap I belive) and placed her fish back in. Needless to say, she has lost all of her fish but a pacu and a pleco. Now her pacu does not look good. It has cloudy eye, and is scratching up against a rock.

Ammonia and Nitrates are really HIGH. She went out and got stabalizer to re-boost her biofilter, prime to condition water and add straight to tank to help lower Ammonia and nit., mardel ick treatment and fin rot/cloudy eye treatment. She also added some purigen to help make levels safe.

Anything else she can do/or shouldn't be doing. Would LOVE some help, thanx nicole

 

[smmfish]

I personally would not be using all those medications. Water Changes are the best way to get the water in check. By taking the tank all the way down and cleaning everything, you are going through a cycle, that is why your water params are off so much. Do large water changes everyday and see if that helps.

 

[shookONES]

If she washed filter media and such with tap water, then she probably killed off all the beneficial bacteria living on it. Adding all those medications probably killed off what was able to survive.

 

[HiGhTiMeZ]

what a bad way to learn a lesson...
1. changing 100% of water is a NONO in fishkeeping.
2. cleaning tank with tap water is a NONO too...

well, i feel sorry for the fish but it aint their fault.
shudve done research before doing this. its probably
ph spike, ammonia spike or chlorine spike that killed them.
o well, its either u learn by mistake or research.

nothing much he can do i guess but to pray for the pacu.
the pleco will be ok.

 

[sly2kusa]

It might be a bit late now, but she did the right thing by cleaning the equipment prior to filling back up and going (because you want to start fresh anyway). The problem is that she lost all of the beneficial bacteria in the process. It's basically a new tank again, and is going to have to go through it's cycle all over again.

I too have a 90g tank, and it took just a little over 2 months for mine to fully cycle (just finally got zero readings on all the majors - Ammonia and Nitrites). The Ammonia spike caused mad death in my tank, but I was setting it up with feeders - so not to sound cruel, but I knew in advance that it was going to happen.

She needs to leave the water alone, and do nothing. DO NOT start adding medications at this point! She needs the bacteria to build back up. I would suggest getting the Pacu and Plec out of there, and just do the cycle with about 2 dozen feeder goldfish. I don't know what kind of filter she is using, but I have 2 Emperor 400's on mine, and they have done great, but even with all of that on my 90g it still took 2 months.

I hate to say it but patience is the key, and leaving the water alone is even more key. Don't do any water changes until after 2 months (or whenever all the levels/parameters have leveled off). Then do about 10g to 15g changes every week. Medication right now is going to do nothing but cause further problems, and possibly lengthen the process of the cycle.


P.S. the others are right as well though - if she cleaned the equipment with tap water (not filtered in any way) and did not put come kind of water conditioner in there when she filled it up - Chlorine no doubt was the killer.

 

[beex215]

i bet the two living fish now would/will make it .
pacu would have died only to chlorine in the water if not treated and the pleco is just another tuff fish.

 

[GoldfishCrazy11]

I'd recommend that your friend gets some gravel from a cycled tank and adds it to her tank to try and help it out (sometimes fish stores will let you have a couple of cups of their gravel.)

Also, the pacu needs to go either way. He'll grow to be as long as that tank, if he hasn't been stunted already.

 

[Kuda]

number one dont just start throwing chemicals into the tank

 

[Mr.Geoff]

number one dont just start throwing chemicals into the tank

yep. best number one rule too. and 100% changes are bad.

check for if she uses a glass thermometer, we had on crack and the merc killed everything but a few

 

[sly2kusa]

yep. best number one rule too. and 100% changes are bad.

check for if she uses a glass thermometer, we had on crack and the merc killed everything but a few

Damn that's a good point. I have a floating glass thermometer and I will be taking that out now.