Fish going white and dying

[lori698]

Hi all
Very new to keeping fish and could use all the advice I can get.

I had a problem with my fish turning white, swimming strangely and dying. The problem see to settle and I was left with a pleco and 2 mollies. I left the tank for a month and a half without any new fish and all 3 seemed to be doing well.

At the weekend I bought some harlequin rasbora as the guy in my local fish store stayed they were hardy fish and easy to look after, and would go well with the other fish. They've started dying off like my previous fish already its only Tuesday.

I do regular water changes, and gravel cleaning.
I bought a master test kit -results are as follows
ph7.6
high ph 7.8
annomia 0.25ppm
nitrite oppm
nitrate 20ppm.

According to the test the ideal should be

ph level 7.0
high ph lvel 6 -7.5
annomia 0.25ppm
nitrite 0
nitrate 40ppm

I know my ph levels are a bit high but should I get some ph lower or is it a bacterial infection. I am confused because the other fish thrived for a month and half without any issue, so I don't know if its the water.

I was looking up diseases but i don't think its ich, there are no white spots. I don't think its columnaris because there are no white fur so to speak just a bleaching of colour.

My tank is a 54 liter tank (14.2 gallons). its got an aquael filter, heater (constantly around 26 degrees).
One feed a day.

Please help anybody.
I really want to take good care of my fish.
Thanks in advance


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[jasonfishaddict]

By regular water changes, how much water and how often? What kind if fish did you have before and how many? What kind of pleco? Do you have a stock list of fish you plan to keep?


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[OrionGirl]

First, on nitrogen. Ammonia should be 0. Always. If it's detectable, it's bad for the fish. Nitrites should always be 0. Nitrates can vary, but keeping them as low as you can is best.

2nd, it is not the pH. pH shows water chemistry. It has nothing to do with bacteria, or any type of disease.

3rd, identifying the type of pleco you have is critical--some get far too big for your tank.

Finally...Since all of your fish are coming from the same place, it's possible they're not good stock. How do you introduce the fish to your tank? How many did you add? How often are you testing?

 

[henningc]

It sounds like a slime pathogen. What type of fish died the first time? To follow up on above, are you getting them at the same store? Have you added salt? The type of pleco is important as your tank is small and most if not all will out grow it. Are the fish shimmying? I'll look later to see if I can give advice. You are in the right place for good advice.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Welcome Lori.

Congrats on doing weekly water changes and water parameter testing!! So many new members know nothing of either.

Do you use Prime as your dechlor? For some people, that can give a false 0.25ppm ammonia reading.

The rasboras could have come from a sale tank with really high nitrates, were stressed and unable to acclimate to a nice clean, new home.

 

[Star_Rider]

please give your maint schedule.

also new fish should be QT to reduce the risk of pathogens.

it's not uncommon for new fish to die mysteriously, you do not know the conditions they were in prior to you getting them and often the stores do not QT fish before unleashing them on the public,(they are , after all trying to make a profit and QT may influence their bottom line.)

I would not mess with pH unless you are ready to spend a lot of time with it.

I do as I have wild fish that come from very low pH and I had to alter the pH to keep them safe.
btw, pH is actually very important , as in my case...pH can affect bacteria(less suitable for bacteria in low pH) and toxicity of NH3(in low pH environment NH3 is less toxic as it is converted to NH4) the reverse will happen in higher pH and ammonia is more readily available in the more toxic form NH3.
that said.. for most fish keepers.. pH is not as much as a factor as fish can acclimate to different levels of pH (tho the pH may not be the best for the species) so we generally do not recommend messing with pH.

as mentioned . the most desirable reading on water are:
NH3 - 0
NO2-0
NO3- 20-40
again. it is possible to have a 'false' positive as most kits measure total ammonia(NH3+NH4) when using the 'ammonia' test so you may actually be seeing the NH4 reading
but after 24 hrs in a well established tank that reading should also drop to 0