sick fish please help!!

[lebroc]

Hi, I had a platy fish that died a week ago, no visible sign of illness, but spent the last few hours at the bottom of the tank, looking like she was struggling to breathe, or swim. and sort of Shimmying....i asked advice all over the place, and was told it was most likely gill flukes? the next day another one of my platys had a white patch on her tail, so it looked likely to me (being a novice) that it could be flukes of some kind. I bought sterazin after getting advice from swell. co.uk and started to treat the tank (at just over half the normal dose as we have one baby) The white patch on the platy seems to be going now, and all the other fish except one seems ok, including one fry of a few weeks old..We have a pearl danio who has been hiding away on his own, and seems to be struggling to swim, he has been like this now for two days, I have been treating with the sterazin at recommended days for 6 days now.
I do not have a master kit, but my ammonia levels are on 0 and I am presuming as the fry is fine, and seems to be growing like a weed, that it is not the water that is causing the problem, I added a bit of prime just in case...does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? The danio seems to be headed the same way as the poor platy that died, and I am desperately worried the others could follow suit unless I can find the cause??
We have a 200L tank with 17 small fish, 7 platys 4 danios 2 guppies 3 endlers and a minnow. It has external filter which seems to be working great, 2 airstones, and temp is set to 25 degrees.
Please give me a clue someone before wqe lose all the fish!

 

[koltsixx]

I'm not trying to get down on you and I know you've probably heard it many times before but the very basics of fishkeeping require a person to know the water parameters of their tank. Most issues with fish stem from water quality whether it be directly the source of the issue or the underlying reason that caused the issue. And to be honest without knowing what your water parameters are it's going to be hard to tell with any certainty what the problem is in order to help you.

You also don't tell us what kind or size external filter you have. Is it a HOB or a canister? What size tank is it rated for? How do you know your ammonia level is at 0? Also Prime is a water conditioner. If Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite are being caused by insufficient filtration, over feeding or any constant issue the Prime will be ineffective in dealing with it. Also different fish react differently to water quality issues. And remember in nature acting sick gets you eaten. So a fish can be pretty sick before it shows any sign that it is.

As far as it being Gill Flukes know they are a parasite and if it is a parasite it should have come from a recent introduction either plant or fish. Have there been any recent introductions? Also a white patch without a better description would seem to indicate IMO either Ich or Fungus. Gill Flukes as far as I know don't usually cause white patches. Did the white patch look like sand? Or was it like cotton? My guess based on what you said so far would be fungus caused by water quality. The poor water quality would also be what's causing the gasping, trouble breathing. Again most won't be able to help you as well as we could if we knew the water parameters.

 

[lebroc]

Hi, thanks for the reply. It is a canister filter. It came with the tank so I would guess it is sufficient.
I have a test kit for ammonia, just not a master kit as yet. The ammonia has been on 0 for weeks now, and I am doing a regular 25% water change, maybe once a week and vacuuming the gravel.
It is definitely not Ich, it was more like a cotton patch, or could possibly have been some kind of worm, the fish is always on the move so it was difficult to tell. I had read online that body flukes look like cottony patches on the body?
the white patch has all but gone now, and the pearl danio is much better today, she has been feeding well today and swimming around normally, so i will have to see what she is like when i get home from work.
We introduced the endlers a week or so ago, so my thought it that is was them that bought this into the tank.
My daughter father bought her the fish tank about three months ago, and so far it has cost me well over £300 to buy bits for it, I will get a master kit, I just cant afford to do it right now. I had no idea about fish, and never wanted any, and had no idea how expensive it was to keep them healthy....her dad satisfies her every whim unfortunately, with no thought for the aftermath...
Just hoping the sterazin has maybe started to work now, and that the poor little fish will recover.

 

[koltsixx]

Lol, That's the way it is every daughter is her Father's Princess, he can deny her nothing. And yeah fish keeping can be a pretty expensive hobby for sure.

Can I ask did you cycle the tank before adding fish? How did you go about the initial set up of the tank? And have you been doing water changes from the beginning? I'm sorry to throw so many questions at you, it's just it's totally possible your tank hasn't cycled correctly. You can have 0 Ammonia but if you did something wrong the cycle might not have completed leading to high Nitrites which is also bad for fish. I understand it's not something you can afford now but you should try to get a test kit as soon as possible. They also have Test Strips which are cheaper but I believe they're not as accurate. Or you can ask you local pet store to test your water, I know some places will do that for free.

Again from what you described I'm leaning toward Fungus. Fungus appears as white tufts and is usually caused by an injury or stress combined with poor water quality. A frayed fin that would normally heal on it's own for instance in poor water quality could develop Fungus. The same goes on the body. A scratch from darting around maybe grazing an ornament, etc could also get Fungus.

I'm sorry you got pushed into it but maybe you'll wind up enjoying fish keeping. Once you start getting things down it has a lot to recommend it as it is both rewarding and relaxing IMHO. And like any other pet it may help teach your daughter responsibility and respect for life that others may not be privy to because they never had pets. Anyway Good Luck and if you need advice feel free to post. Many members here are knowledgeable and willing to help.

 

[lebroc]

my daughter started off with a 17L tank, along with about 6 or 7 fish which someone bought her as a birthday present (unexpectedly!!). when her dad bought her the bigger tank I moved the fish straight in to it, in the hope the ammonia would be easier to manage. The ammonia never really went above 0.5 even when we added more fish, and has been on 0 for a few weeks now. I have done weekly water changes ever since.
I had no idea on how to set the filter up, and just plugged it in as it set up to
start with. i have since researched that a bit, and moved things around a bit, and bought some purigen, which seemed to help a lot.
I am enjoying the fish to be honest, but i find it very stressful, being responsible for them, when i have not much of an idea about possible illness etc. We have a dog and a cat, which are sooo much easier, and at least they can "tell me" when they are feeling a bit off!!
The danio is still swimming around happily at the moment, I wondered if it could be that i had added the sterizin yesterday that made him feel a bit off?
My partner thought I was nuts when the little platy died, I sobbed my heart out!!

 

[lebroc]

Ok, this might sound bizarre, but I have just checked the tank, and two of the danios, that were previously silver, now appear to have turned gold overnight...and my gold platy (which has some black markings normally) seems to have a larger than normal patch of black on his head...they are seem happy and healthy today though...could this been the sterazin dyeing them an odd colour, or could it be that they are feeling healthier and their colour are showing more, or maybe that the water is slightly bluer or greener from the sterazin and this is making their coloour more obvious

 

[lebroc]

The danio was hiding under the airstone this morning, I thought he was dead...I lifted it to move him, and he shot off, I fed them a bit just to see if he would come for food and he did, so maybe he is just staying away from the other fish? Do you think this is possible?

 

[lebroc]

I bought a master kit, by the way if anyone needs them they are half price at the moment on swell.co.uk. The water is measuring 0 on ammonia, 0 on nitrate and nitrite, and 8.2 on PH. Is this ok? I thought the nitrate should be higher than that and the PH a bit lower, Could this be causing me problems?
The fish all look really well at the moment, so the sterazin must have cured whatever was wrong, last dose today, do I do a water change after the last dose? and if so, how long do I leave the meds in the tank before I do it?
Thank you very much.

 

[tlindsey]

I bought a master kit, by the way if anyone needs them they are half price at the moment on swell.co.uk. The water is measuring 0 on ammonia, 0 on nitrate and nitrite, and 8.2 on PH. Is this ok? I thought the nitrate should be higher than that and the PH a bit lower, Could this be causing me problems?
The fish all look really well at the moment, so the sterazin must have cured whatever was wrong, last dose today, do I do a water change after the last dose? and if so, how long do I leave the meds in the tank before I do it?
Thank you very much.

A completely cycled aquarium will show nitrates so that is a concern. Personally I suggest retesting for nitrates, shake the bottles really well for a minute prior to test.

 

[lebroc]

A completely cycled aquarium will show nitrates so that is a concern. Personally I suggest retesting for nitrates, shake the bottles really well for a minute prior to test.

Ok, I will do that now, thank you.