# Stressed, need to vent.....



## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

.....and maybe someone could give me some advice that I may not have already tried.
We had a little issue with nitrates so we did 2 water changes in one week. Got the nitrates down where they were suppose to be. 20-40ppm. The last few days two of our plays have been very sluggish, laying on the bottom, and one wont eat and hides in the cave. We were in the process of moving our fish tank onto a new stand so we drained a lot of the water out so we could move it. We put half of the old water back in, and put half new water in(figured wed do another water change since it was that time anyway) Well The fish were acting very sluggish, almost all of them and the water is very cloudy. Never been this cloudy before. I tested the water last nigh and nitrates are high! 
and all of a sudden one of my platys has a white, what looks like a gauge protruding sore on his back almost on his tail. He doesnt seem bothered by it yet, but there are no aggression issues int he tank. I only have 4 platys, neons,two headlight tail light tetras, a catfish, 2 otos, and a 2 month old Platy baby.. its a 36 gallon bowfront. 

I figured if there was any real issues with the tank, the Otos or catfish would be affected because they are the most delicate. But they've been more active then the fish. 

Any thoughts? I checked ammonia on friday and it was 0-.25, I couldnt tell. Bt after a 50% water change it should be 0 now. Ph was 6.8

Sorry this is long.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

the move to the tank stand and that 50% water change was on Sunday. How could the nitrates be that high in a day?


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Oh yea and we think it seems like all of a sudden our live plants are dying .... getting brown and falling off. Just not sure whats going on!


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## freeasabird (Mar 21, 2012)

Are you testing with strips or drops? I thought I recalled reading something in my API test kit instructions which said the strips don't measure all nitrates, so a measurement from a strip will be below where the number actually is. So your fish could be undergoing nitrate poisoning.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

I have the API Test kit. Ive never used strips. Its just strange all of a sudden they act like this, and the nitrates spike AFTER a 50 percent water change.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

The spike may have been due to moving the tank. Was the substrate stirred up much when you moved it? What kind of substrate are you using? Some contain ferts, that may be leeching into the water.
Unless the new water you are putting into the tank contains measurable levels of ammonia, no2 or no3, fish will always react positively to fresh treated water.
(Well, IMO with tropical fwf.)

Test your water (tap, or where ever you get your water) for NO3. If it has no NO3 (nitrate) do another WC if your tanks NO3 is too high. When adding water back in do not stir up substrate.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Substrate may have been stirred up a little I dont know. But the tank didnt really move that far, just off of an end table and onto a new fish tank stand right behind it. I mean I imagine the water was bounced around alot (what little bit we had to leave in there) but not sure about anything else. We have gravel, not sure of the brand or what type or anything. Our fish usually do respond well to water changes. Two of the fish were already sluggish and one wasnt eating before the change. And actually yesterday she popped out of the cave to eat. 
We've never had a fish hide like this..even when pregnant. Still that nitrate spike floors me, but I wanna check levels again when I get home today


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## Corywm (Jan 18, 2011)

I would test your tap water and make sure there are not nitrAtes in it. Assuming there are none, do some gravel vacs and keep changing water until your nitrates are down again.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Nitrates as of yesterday were better. 20-40 I couldnt tell. But we did another water change because as soon as we got home from work we saw we lost one of our tetras. For awhile he hasnt seemed right, his spine maybe curved, and was having a hard time staying straight. He would always eat though. But we walked in the door and saw him floating to the top :-( Hes one of our original fish we bought over a year ago. hes been through alot. The rest of the fish still seem slow and clamped and not active and we just cannot figure out why.
Our plants are all of a sudden all turning brown and dying off which is strange. 
If all the water test results are good, what on earth could be the problem? When I tested the water yesterday, Ph 6.6, Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20-40


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## claygriffith01 (Apr 24, 2012)

Maybe there is something in your water that is killing off the bacteria. While bacteria are small, they are still living organisms and a mass die off might result in a huge ammonia/nitrate spike.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

what could that be though? Any ideas? We do water changes same way we do the rest of the tanks for well over a year unless something is in the water now?


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

do you regulalry hover the gravel? i reckon if not then the stiring up of all the poo etc might of added more Nitrates? also where did you put the fish when you moved the tank? you said you took almost all the water out? maybe they got really stressed and have not recovered yet? did you condition all the new water?


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

oh i did hear on here that some times water companys put stuff in the water every now and then to clean the pipes....maybe look for the thread? cant remember the name sorry!


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Oh no...


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm sorry for your loss, and the hardships you will undoubtedly have to endure to set things aright, but let's get into it...

#1. How old is the tank? You could be dealing with a nitrogen cycle or a mini cycle, especially after so many water changes and moving the tank. As stated by others, moving the tank even a little bit will stir up the substrate, and depending on how dirty it is you could either get a nitrate spike or a hydrogen sulfide problem from the anaerobic nitrifying bacteria sequestered in your substrate.

#2. Do you dechlorinate your tap water before adding it to the tank? Some municipal water utilities put chlorine and chloramine in their water to help keep it relatively sterile, and these can really harm your fish and plants. If you haven't already, get some tap water conditioner and start treating your tap water before you put it in the tank.

#3. The cloudiness could either be a bacteria bloom during a mini cycle, or detritus kicked up during the tank move. Either way, it will (or already has) gone away.

#4. Not sure if it's platys or mollies, but one of the two species is QUITE fragile due to inbreeding and such, and it could explain why your platys are being affected. As for the lesion/thingy on one of their tails, if it is white and fuzzy it's most likely a fungus. Treat the tank with some API aquarium salt and some API Pimafix (a topical anti-fungal) and see if it takes care of the fungus. If it's a wound, just treat with salt. Keep in mind your plants will suffer if you medicate, but that's a decision you have to make - sacrifice some of the plants, or sacrifice some of the fish.

Hope this helps, and good luck!


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

zero said:


> do you regulalry hover the gravel? i reckon if not then the stiring up of all the poo etc might of added more Nitrates? also where did you put the fish when you moved the tank? you said you took almost all the water out? maybe they got really stressed and have not recovered yet? did you condition all the new water?


yep we always vacuum the gravel when we do water changes. we left the fish in the tank. We didnt take TOO much of the water out, but it was below half empty. They had plenty of water left in the tank for them. Most of the fish are fine, but the same two are still acting funny even before we moved the tank.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> I'm sorry for your loss, and the hardships you will undoubtedly have to endure to set things aright, but let's get into it...
> 
> #1. How old is the tank? You could be dealing with a nitrogen cycle or a mini cycle, especially after so many water changes and moving the tank. As stated by others, moving the tank even a little bit will stir up the substrate, and depending on how dirty it is you could either get a nitrate spike or a hydrogen sulfide problem from the anaerobic nitrifying bacteria sequestered in your substrate.
> 
> ...


That tank is a little over a year old. 

We dont have declorinator for the water, but stress coat does that to a point, doesnt it? We've never experience problems with the tap water so we never thought to buy extra stuff to put in the water before putting in the tank. Our other tanks (and this one until now) have been fine.

Yeah the cloudiness in the tank went away. 

Yeah they are Platys. We do have salt already, and its a shame that the salt affects the live plants. The tank is all live plants. Will it kill them for sure? The salt I mean. Yes I would rather keep my fish then my plants. I cant tell if the white spot on his take is fuzzy , but it just looks like a white pop-out sore thing. Hes the male in there so there aren't any other males that could have hurt him.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Copachick said:


> 1. The tank is all live plants. Will it kill them for sure? 2. I cant tell if the white spot on his take is fuzzy , but it just looks like a white pop-out sore thing.


1. It probably won't kill them, but they won't be very happy.

2. Seeing as how there's no potential aggression, I think it's fungus. Do the Pimafix and salt treatment, but remember mine is just one opinion.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Yea those treatments may be the last resort. We changed the water every couple days, theres no ammonia, or high nitrates, every other fish is ok except the male with the white spot and the two platys who are not active. 
Isnt it kind of true that if there is something going on in the tank, the Otos and catfish wouldnt make it seeing as they are more delicate?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I would say the platys are more delicate than the otos and catfish


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## hanky (Jan 18, 2012)

Just my opinion but give your water company a call to see if they did something different, it is not uncommon for spring cleaning at water treatment plant. just to rule that out, also test your tap water the same as you would the tank water to see what your putting in there.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have never lost a plant or had one show any ill effect due to use of a medication and I've used 4-5 different meds. I have treated with salt to 2.5x what the aquarium salt container says for up to 6 days and still never lost a plant. As long as you don't have difficult plants (ones with a lot of requirements), you will probably be fine.

Otos and other Catfish may not do well with the meds due to their sensitivity to them. Just need to make sure they are not scaless fish. If they are, you may need to reduce the med dose in half. I would medicate as a last resort though.


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## Copachick (Jun 7, 2011)

Yeah i think we are going to try salt starting tonight. Half of my plants are dying on their own anyway, so at this point whether the salt killed them it wouldnt matter. I think I just read somewhere that neons dont like salt... true? I have 5 neons and 5 cardinals. And I assume everyone else is ok with salt? Platies, a 3 month old platy, catfish and Otos, and one tetra (just lost one last week :-( )


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