PLZ help my dying fish....

[Bleeding]

I have been having some serious issues with my fish over the last few weeks. Actually, it has probably been longer than that. I am losing, on average, about a fish per week.

I keep platys, guppies, 2 rubber lipped catfish, and 1 beta in a 20 gallon tank. The tank uses a standard HOB filter. I came home today to another dead fish. I tested the water using an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit, and a sechem ammonia test kit (for the ammonia only). Here are the results:

Ph = 6.0 - It was probably lower than this, but 6.0 is the lowest outcome the test will give.

Nitrite = 0 ppm

Nitrate = 160 ppm! It was actually probably higher than this, as the indicator looked slightly darker than the highest possible outcome from the test.

Free Ammonia = 0 ppm
Total Ammonia = 6 ppm - This was the highest reading after the 30 min. mark.

I decided to test the tap water as well. The results were as follows:

Ph = 8.4

Nitrite = 0 ppm

Nitrate = 10-15 ppm

Free Ammonia = .1 ppm
Total Ammonia = .15 ppm


I feed once daily with a rotation of tropical flakes, tubifex worms, blood worms, brine shrimp (all freeze dried).

I do water changes (gravel vac) every few weeks. I have been nervous about changing the water too much, for one because of the drastic Ph level in the tap, and the serious drop of Ph in the tank. I use the AmQuel ammonia remover for that purpose and as the conditioner when i change water. I was also advised to use Wardley's bullseye 7.0 to balance the Ph (recommended by LFS).

Many of you can probably see some serious issues here with the test results. I moved a few months back across the state, and where I lived previously had nice tap water (it was from a well source), and only experienced these problems after I moved and introduced the new water. Right away I had a large die-off, and I believe the drastic changes in Ph caused a bacterial die off and put the tank into a cycle again.

I am really at a loss of what to do here. Before I moved, I had too many fry to know what to do with, and today was the first time in weeks or months that I have seen any fry in the tank, and I only located 2 (one from each of the 2 species).

At this point, I welcome any and all suggestions....feel free to msg me also.

Thanks in advance for all your help. You guys always seem to come through!

 

[Chonk]

Maybe your tank isnt fully cycled because you have ammonia in your tank. The ammonia reading should be 0 and since yours is 6 thats really high...

 

[skillzdatkillz]

has the tank been setup for awhile or is it a new tank? You shouldnt have an ammonia reading if you tank is fully cycled.

Ammonia in your tap water is bad, you shoudnt have any coming out of your tap either because ammonia is very toxic.

 

[Bleeding]

Ya the tank was set up for about six months before I moved, and I guess it has been about another few months since then.

 

[MrRngr94]

What kind of filter are you using? Does it provide biofiltration at all? If not I'd look into getting something like an Emperor 280.

 

[Tongue33]

How far did you move ?

 

[CHOMPERS]

So the task at hand is to save your fish. This you need to do with water changes. Do small water changes but lots of them. Start with ten percent at the most, but try to make the time to do two per day for a week. After that you should be able to cut back to one per day for a week.

The two main problems are of course the ammonia and the pH. The high tap water pH will bring it up slowly. Test it often to make sure it is coming up.

Something else you can do is to put two buckets and a measuring cup by the tank. Fill one with tap water (age it for a day) and leave the other empty. Every time you walk past the tank, scoop out some water and put it into the empty bucket. Then take some of the aged water and re-fill the tank. This will slowly bring the pH up without shocking the fish.

 

[Bleeding]

What kind of filter are you using? Does it provide biofiltration at all? If not I'd look into getting something like an Emperor 280.

I just have a hang on back filter, which uses the bio pad and then a regular filter pad which you change frequently. I am trying to get these issues worked out so I can move these fish to my 55 gallon and use an Eheim 2026. I really dont want to increase the tank size until these water conditions are worked out.

 

[fishcatch22]

could be OTS. you are doing frequent water changes, right?

 

[Bleeding]

could be OTS. you are doing frequent water changes, right?

I havent been doing as many water changes because of the bad conditions from the tap. What is OTS?

Also, are the products I am using (Bullseye 7.0 for ph and the AmQuel ammonia remover) safe for the conditions I have?

I dont think this should be as complicated as it is becoming.