# My tank has all kinds of problems



## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

I dont know whats going on but over the last week fish are dying and I have all kinds of diseases. I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 bala sharks, a sucker fish and 2 catfish. A week ago I noticed that the 3/4 of the sharks fins were starting to rot away. I went to the aquarium store and they had me buy API FURAN-2 anti bacterial medication. I still have 1 day left on the medications but the first day using it the sucker fish died. About 2 days into it one of the sharks started groung fuzz around his fins and he just died today. Now my cat fish are covered in white spots and two of the sharks have a few white spots as well. From reading stuff online I think they have Ich but the medication im using now doesnt treat that disease and I dont think mixing two different medications at the same time would be a good idea. Also the entire tank is now starting to grow red/rust color stuff im assuming is algae, is this harmful?

If anyone has any suggestions on what I should do to save the rest of my fish I would really appriate any feedback. Thanks for reading my long list of problems.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Start with a 50% water change and increase your temperature slowly over a day or two until it reaches 89 degrees. That will take care of the ich. 

It would be good to post what your readings and what your normal maintenance practices are.


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## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

I havent tested since I put the medicine in but before that all my water reading were fine. 0 nitrite and nitrate, almost 0 ammonia, I forgot the exact pH but it was within the limits. I vacuum the gravel and do about a 50% water change every week and the tank is kept at about 79 or 80 degrees.


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## Bill Pape (Oct 1, 2010)

I had the same problem, starting with parasites and then fish getting infected from dashing against rocks and gravel. The fin and body rot were a fungus, not a bacterium. I asked the resident expert at a fish store here. api makes an anti-parasitic called api General Cure that works really well. but it takes it's toll on the fish. Make sure your get the furan out by a big water change. temp 80 - 83. the General Cure creates low oxygen condition, but my shrimp and snails survived it well. I used that in conjunction with an anti fungal, api Pimafix, and all the fin and body rot got cured on the fish that weren't too far gone. The General Cure goes for 4 days, then a big water change. The Pimafix goes on for 7 days. I am not buying any new fish for a long time and will quarantine first. Good luck!


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## Amie (Sep 15, 2010)

How long has this tank been set up? Whet type and size filter do you have? Were any of the fish added to the tank recently? The red stuff in your tank concerns me. I haven't read up on the characteristics but I'm hoping it's not some type of parasite that multiplies when it falls off the fish.

Also, your nitrates should NOT be at zero.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Are you sure your test results are good? Multiple problems like this are almost always caused by poor water quality.


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## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

Amie said:


> How long has this tank been set up? Whet type and size filter do you have? Were any of the fish added to the tank recently? The red stuff in your tank concerns me. I haven't read up on the characteristics but I'm hoping it's not some type of parasite that multiplies when it falls off the fish.
> 
> Also, your nitrates should NOT be at zero.


The tank has been set up for about 4-5 months but there has only been fish in it for about 2 months. The Bala Sharks and the sucker fish that died have been in there a little over a month but the two catfish have only been in there a week. When I did the water change I wiped off most of the red stuff and it doenst seem to be growing back yet, theres still some left on my pirate ship and log that I coulnt get all the way off. 

I turned the heat up to the high 80's on Friday and it did seem to get rid of the Ich, when should it return it to its regular temperature? Also the medication is all out of the tank, how long does it usually take for their fins to grow back so I know if it worked? 

I just checked the water again and the Nitrite is zero. The Nitrate is pretty close to zero but I guess it could be 1 PPM. Is that a normal level?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Did you test the ammonia also? I find it hard to believe that the ammonia or nitrites are not high with the problems you describe. Some nitrates are not a big problem. The red stuff sounds like diatoms (google it), not unusual in new tanks, can also be a sign of water quality problems but not harmful in it's self, usually goes away with time.


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## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

snail said:


> Did you test the ammonia also? I find it hard to believe that the ammonia or nitrites are not high with the problems you describe. Some nitrates are not a big problem. The red stuff sounds like diatoms (google it), not unusual in new tanks, can also be a sign of water quality problems but not harmful in it's self, usually goes away with time.


The ammonia level is at about 0.25 PPM.

It does soud like the red stuff is what your saying. I found this while reading about it: 
Algae control in the aquarium (I cant copy paste from this site)

If its Diatoms it should just go away, but scroll down to "Red/Brush Algae." It says only Siamese Algae Eaters are know to eat this stuff. I didnt have a Siamese Algae Eater so do you think it might be this kind of algae and thats what could have killed my sucker fish?

Thanks for all the help btw.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

There are good pics of algae here:
Aquarium Algae - Fish-Keeper.Com
In general algae isn't harmful for your fish it's more that it can look really bad. The most alarming thing about a sudden out break of algae is that it often indicates poor water quality.


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## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

How long should it take for their fins to grow back? They arent growing back but they dont seem to be getting any worse either.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

It takes a while for fins to grow back but as long as the problem has gone and the water is good they will.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I had a Platy that lost her entire tail over two months ago. Just now looks like it is fully grown back.


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## Skybox (Nov 13, 2010)

Has any one use a UV sterilizer for the algae. It should work right?


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## cowboys9to19 (Nov 23, 2009)

Skybox said:


> Has any one use a UV sterilizer for the algae. It should work right?


What is that? Just a different lightbulb?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Skybox said:


> Has any one use a UV sterilizer for the algae. It should work right?


A UV light will only work on algae that is free floating in the water column. It won't do much for the other algae.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

A UV sterilyzer is an enclosed unit that your tank water flows through, exposing the water to the light. The exposure is designed to be long enough to kill free floating algae and some parasites/microrganisms.


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