# my fish are dropping like flies...help!!



## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

I have a 29 gal freshwater tank. Right now all i have left are
2 young electric blue jack dempseys (one is about an inch, the other maybe 2)
1 angel fish
4 otos
1 african dwarf frog

In the past 3 days I have lost
2 otos
2 bloodfin tetras
2 zebra danios

2 days ago, everything seemed fine and then i wake up an my 2 bloodfins were dead along with an oto. I took them out and did a water change because my ammonia and nitrates were a bit high.
yesterday another oto died and so i did a big cleaning throughout all the gravel and replacing about 60% of the water.
My ammonia levels are minimal, and i have no nitrites according to my test today, but my 2 zebra danios died today too.

Along with all of that, my angel and ebjd's (who are normally very healthy and dont really get affected much if my levels fluctuate that much) all look sluggish and their eyes look wierd. They are not popping out, but it looks like there is a cloudy white bubble coming from the pupil. Also, the skin on my frog is peeling a bit. It looks like everything with my water is fine, but i'm still losing fish. What can I do now???

Thanks,
Mike


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How long has this tank been running? When you say minimal levels of ammonia, what are those levels? Also, what are you testing with? Strips? Liquid test?


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

the tank has been running with fish in it for about 5-6 months now and by minimal i mean between 0-.25ppm i am using the liquid api freshwater master test kit. Also, I really hate to admit this, but my levels have been much higher before and they fish have been fine while i lowered them, so i do not think it is that that is affecting them.


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Have you tested your tap water? Do you treat your tap for chlorine and chloramines?

Have you ever seen the Jack Dempsey's attack any of your fish?


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

i treat my tap with stress coat to get rid of the chlorine, but i have been using the same tap for months so it shouldnt be that. one Dempsey is a little aggressive, but he only chases the other one around sometimes. never done any damage though. He is also sick which worries me the most because he has been the healthiest, but now he has been hiding in the rocks all day


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

FishyRuins said:


> the tank has been running with fish in it for about 5-6 months now and by minimal i mean between 0-.25ppm i am using the liquid api freshwater master test kit. Also, I really hate to admit this, but my levels have been much higher before and they fish have been fine while i lowered them, so i do not think it is that that is affecting them.


What happened recently that drove your levels high? How long were they like that?


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

not really sure. possibly a build up of waste. I do vacuum the gravel multiple times weekly, except i have a pile of rocks that i only clean under them once in a while. When i vacuumed that, i sucked what looked like black powder from the bottom of the gravel. I'm not sure what that is, probably just broken down waste that had built up. I also have a bunch of plants in the tank that have been there for a while if that makes any difference


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

i just found another oto dead on the bottom. I have checked out the bodies of the dead fish and nothing looks wrong with them. The only visible symptoms are the eyes in the larger fish and sluggish activity by all.


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

i picked up some melafix and put one dosage in and my fish are now absolutely fine. I wish i had known about this before because now i only have my 2ebjd and angelfish. I think the frog is under a rock and i do not want to bother it while it recovers, but i didnt find it dead anywhere


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Right now, we are still a bit unsure of the problem and believe it is water quality. Just keep doing partial water changes to see if it helps. 20% WC every 3 days. *


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

the melafix fixed them up within a couple of hours and now they are fine and happy again. i guess it was some kind of bacterial infection. i just wish i had tried that days ago because now the only survivors are my 2 ebjd's, angelfish, and frog. Thanks for all of your advice though!


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## FishyRuins (Jul 7, 2010)

update...there seemed to be a relapse in my tank today. although i was treating with melafix, everything seemed normal this morning, but when i got home from work today, my from was dead and the rest of the fish were covered in a white growth and looked like they were about to die. Unfortunately my 2 electric blue jack dempseys died soon after. my angelfish (only fish i have left) is still alive and has gotten a lot better since i put more melafix in. this disease or fungus or whatever it is is extremely fast and aggressive. It isn't ick, but i have no idea what it is. it is concentrated around the fins, gills, and eyes of the fish and goes away rather quickly with melafix. i have no idea what it is though. it also makes the fish look as though it had been attacked because there are open wounds caused by it too. If anyone knows what this could be please let me know and help me with the proper treatment. i dont want my last fish to die too...


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## theguppyman (Jan 10, 2010)

I've never seen something like this only thing I hope the no one else get something like this and keep up wih th WC like the Nurse platy saide


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