trouble! Dying Fish!!

[cashplus]

Hi All,
I need some help. I am a newbie.

Problem - Fish dying

vital stats:

-New 25gal tank filled with water on March 7th
-plastic plants and decorations
-Aquaclear 200 filter w/ carbon, peat and foam block.
-24" aqua glo Flourecent light - currently being kept on all day until about 11pm
-Tank Ph 7.6 , my tap water (rural Well water) has a Ph of 8.0
-Gh 60
-KH 60
-Nitrite 0.1
-Nitrate 5
-Ammonia 0.6

Beginning to see some brown algae
water has a haze to it.

Have tried Peat to get Ph down to 7 but no luck. LFS recommended Sodium Biphosphate and that got it down to 7 right away but it rebounded to 7.6. The last trip to LFS produced a water softening pillow which i refuse to use until i understand what is really going on here...

Fish:
Started tank with 2 paradise fish and 6 Neon Tetras that the LFS recommended.....Paradise fish ate the tetras, my wife freaked out and i gave the paradise fish to a neighbor. The whole process took the first two weeks of tank use....(I know... i am hopeless ;~) )
On the 21st i replaced them with 5 Platty's & 2 red swords and now i am down to three Platty's and 2 swords after 1 week. I did a 30% water change on the 25rd.

The tank chemistry didn't cause me to think it was the culprit. However i am a newbie so correct me if i am wrong.

Used both AquaPlus and Cycle as per LFS recommendations when setting up tank.
Feeding 2 times per day and feeding what can be consumed in 2 minutes.

Symptoms:
Prior to the dead fish dying they did alot of hiding and hovering near the surface but they did feed. There did not appear to be any open wounds. Starting to see these symptoms in some of the remaining fish.
The male sword has one eye that you would swear has fallen out. There appears to be a sunken hole where there used to be an eye ball.
Two of the platty's have a couple of tiny white specs on their tail fins and one has what appears to be a nip out of its tail fin.

I must have made every mistake in the book.

:shake:

Any comments / recommendations as to how i can clean this mess up?

cashplus

 

[marks69]

first do about a 30%water change daily till your tank is cycled.second cycle is a waste of money, doesn't do what it says.
the only thing you should add is a declor, but if your on well i don't know if you really need to.
big thing is don't mess with you ph.fish will adjust to a steady ph, but the swings will stress them really badly(i've done that when i started).for the sickness you'll have to wait for someone with more knowledge than me.sorry.
gl
mark

 

[some_guy]

the white spots are probably ich.
im not sure but i think your nitrate is suposed to be about 0.
i would get a pleco if you plan on getting a bigger tank for it.
someone correct me if im wrong. someone may have more advice than that. welcome

 

[adblair]

Originally posted by cashplus

On the 21st i replaced them with 5 Platty's & 2 red swords and now i am down to three Platty's and 2 swords after 1 week. I did a 30% water change on the 25rd.

Feeding 2 times per day and feeding what can be consumed in 2 minutes.

The male sword has one eye that you would swear has fallen out. There appears to be a sunken hole where there used to be an eye ball.
Two of the platty's have a couple of tiny white specs on their tail fins and one has what appears to be a nip out of its tail fin.

Well, I can't help on the ph.... I don't test mine very often (HEY! someone's throwing rocks! )

It sounds like your fish have several issues going on. The white specks on the tail fins might be ich.... the other stuff I'm not sure, but sounds like you got some sickly fish to begin with.

UGH - platties and swordtails.... I can keep otos alive, but not platies and swordtails..

Having said that, you should get a timer for your lights. I made the same mistake of leaving my lights on all the time.... it makes algae grow REALLY fast. Someone here also informed me that fish need their dark "rest period" just like we do. Just like you would be grumpy and more prone to illness if you didn't get enough sleep, your fish need that dark period on a regular basis as well. I have noticed since I got a timer and have it set to have lights on for 10 hours ONLY:
-my fish seem to hide less when it's on
-I haven't lost any fish (other than 2 neons I got at Wmart that died within 24 hours )
-I no longer have an algae problem (but I also added otos, live plants, and snails)

Also, I would cut my feeding to once every other day - I know the fish look at you like they are hungry, but.....

 

[adblair]

Ok... I just had another thought.... Are the readings you posted before a water change or after? Your nitrates are ok... I have more nitrates than that in my tap water. Keep your ammonia and nitrites as close to 0 as possible with daily water changes.

Edit: I just read that ammonia is more toxic with a higher ph, so even though your ammonia is below 1, with your higher ph, it may be the equivalent of a much higher ammonia level. I have no idea why.... I am not very good at chemistry - where's happychem, I bet he knows..... or morgunda, he might know his chemistry too....

Anyway, now that we know THAT... I'd say it is more important than ever to do those daily water changes.

 

[The Inspector]

When you moved in, did you get your well water tested. I also live in a rural area, and we are required to get wells tested here. Sometimes pesticides from local farms will leach into the ground water, so, you could be putting poisons into your tank that the typical aquarium test kits don't check for.
I agree that the white spots could be ich.
Have you noticed any aggression among the fish, that might explain the nicked tail and missing eye.
The water haze is probably a bacterial bloom and should correct itself in a few days.
Hope this was a help!

PS. Test your water (from the tap) for nitrates. Farmers (myself included) usea good deal of ammonium nitrate, it aids in plant leaf growth and keeps the grass good n green. That's why your tank water is so good for your house plants.

 

[RHJ]

I would find another LFS. If you cannot, do not listen to any more advice your current one gives you. You have already found that many employees at aquarium/pet stores have no idea what they are talking about. You can find a wealth of information on different web sites and in forums like these.
I agree that you may have a case of ich. The eye could be physical damage from another fish, could be pop-eye. Do a search for both and see if you can confirm. Or post some pictures if you can. I also agree with marks69, cycle is a waste. Do not mess with PH, just make sure it stays steady.

 

[cashplus]

Thanks folks!

I have had my well water tested recently for both chemical and bacteria and all came back within potable water standards.

Based on what the range for the test kits said would be OK, i didn't think that my tank water was getting ugly yet. But i see how the ph could affect the ammonia. One thing i noticed is that i have not seen the spike in ammonia or nitrite yet that i have been expecting. Could the AquaPlus or cycle be affecting the accuracy of my test kits?

OK, So i will leave the Ph alone and let the water changes slowly bring it back to a Ph of 7.9 - 8.0. What about the hardness?

How do i deal with the ich?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance for anyone willing to put up with my newbie mistakes and answer questions.

cashplus

 

[Harry Tolen]

If your tank was set up on March 7, you are still in the middle of the cycling process. Continue with daily water changes (if you are using well water, don't bother with dechlorinators unless somehow you are chlorinating your own personal well water). You are not using a water softening unit on your well water, are you?

Your best bet to speed the cycle at this point would be to get some gravel or a filter sponge from an established tank and add it to your system. The bacteria from this transfer will help colonize your tank more rapidly.

If you have ich, you will need to buy an ich medicine (such as Quick Cure, which is a malachite green/formalin blend) and use it for about 10 days. Remove all carbon from your filtration system and keep up the daily water changes (re-dosing with the medicine after your daily change).

Hope this helps. Good luck.