Tank crash and a very ill datnoid help

hte destroyer

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Jul 12, 2018
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I have a 60 gal that has been setup for over a year that has an ornate bichir, endli bichir, gold severum and a ntt datnoid (all are young and I have a 210 gallon tank that just needs a few things before I can start setting it up) and it seems it started a crash with really bad timing. It all started Wednesday with the datnoid not wanting to eat but still active this continued until friday night which was when i noticed the datnoid wasn't as active and had white spots on it I assumed it was either a fungal infection or ich, then Saturday I did my normal 30% to 40% water change while doing so I hit a small gas pocket in the sand which I didn't think much of until I was starting to refill the tank, I noticed the datnoid was sitting on the bottom on his back still alive just sitting there, after the tank was refilled it would stay on it's back or side for an hour to an hour and a half then started swimming normally while every once in a while laying down again for a while which has continued since then. Today I tested the water to see if maybe it might be a tank crash and the ammonia and nitrates were through the roof but nitrites were zero. I have ordered some salt and medications for the fish and plan to do water changes daily or every other day. I would appreciate any advice i can get.
 

twentyleagues

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Flint town!
I'm not saying it is but that appears like substrate stuck to your dat. Is that the same color of sand you use?
What are you using for a filter? Did you just clean it?
Agree with tlindsey tlindsey . Clean water asap to start with.
 

duanes

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If your only doing a 30-40& water change per week, I would say that's not enough for those fish in a 60 gallon tank.
Did the pocket after bubbling up small a bit like rotten eggs? If so Hydrogen sulfide buildup from detritus in the substrate, means
you are not doing enough vacuuming.
Although medication may be needed in this instance, unless maintenance procedures are improved, it may occur regularly.
Although you can get away with a more lax routine with Bichers, fish like Dats and severum need a much more stringent routine.
With low water quality severums regularly develop hole in the head disease, or worse.
Until you get the ammonia down you should be doing daily water changes, and making sure there aren't more H2SO4 pockets.
 
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hte destroyer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2018
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If your only doing a 30-40& water change per week, I would say that's not enough for those fish in a 60 gallon tank.
Did the pocket after bubbling up small a bit like rotten eggs? If so Hydrogen sulfide buildup from detritus in the substrate, means
you are not doing enough vacuuming.
Although medication may be needed in this instance, unless maintenance procedures are improved, it may occur regularly.
Although you can get away with a more lax routine with Bichers, fish like Dats and severum need a much more stringent routine.
With low water quality severums regularly develop hole in the head disease, or worse.
Until you get the ammonia down you should be doing daily water changes, and making sure there aren't more H2SO4 pockets.
No I didn't notice any smell from the bubble that was part of why i didn't think anything of it at first. Sadly the datnoid didn't make it through the night but all of the other fish are acting fine and have been the entire time which seems strange. So would doing two 30% to 40% water changes a week be enough
 

hte destroyer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2018
19
7
8
I'm not saying it is but that appears like substrate stuck to your dat. Is that the same color of sand you use?
What are you using for a filter? Did you just clean it?
Agree with tlindsey tlindsey . Clean water asap to start with.
I had just done a water change when the datnoid the had taken a bad turn. It originally had two marineland penguin 350 filters but one had went out on me so I replaced it that day as well. The sand is a dark brown and I've seen the sand stick to the bichirs and dat before but you can clearly tell it was the sand
 

Chicxulub

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I crash at the K-Pg
I had just done a water change when the datnoid the had taken a bad turn. It originally had two marineland penguin 350 filters but one had went out on me so I replaced it that day as well. The sand is a dark brown and I've seen the sand stick to the bichirs and dat before but you can clearly tell it was the sand
Sounds like you may have removed too much bb, and caused the tank to cycle again. Keep up on the water changes and minimize feeding, as said previously.
 
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