RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 They are all at the surface breathing for air im guessing this is not normal what could it be? Im about to do a water test. I did put a bit of aqaurium salt in today for my BGK but only maybe 2tspoon for the whole tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 water change and is there a lot of water movement in the tank particularly at the surface Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Do a 50% water change. Lift your filter intake above the water to allow more gas exchange. Tomorrow, do another water change. They're probably struggling with low oxygen because of the heat. How big is your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Do a water change pronto! There could be a few reasons. How big is your tank? How many fish? How big are your fish? Ph? Ammonia? Nitrate? Nitrite? How long has your tank been set up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Tank is 286L.... Water parameters are normal. I have decreased the water level as We have a waterfall filter which Will hopefully break the surface a bit more and create more gas exchange. I also lifted our internal filter closer to the surface to help with this. And added in an extra air stone. Fish we have 2syndontis 2bristle nose 1 BGK 4 Red finned tetras 2 Lace gouramis 1 L066 And 2 Kuhli loaches which I thought had disappeared but just came up for air. Tank has been set up for nearly 2 years with no problems. I started using Flourish which has caused problems with the mucus layering on fish so added salt to help with that. And fish have been so happy today until now. Water parameters are Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 pH 6. - which is normal for this tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Too much salt? Too much flourish? I still suggest water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I stopped using flourish cause of the problem it was causing. and am just about to do a water change before bed. Hopefully this will help. Moving the filter etc has helped a bit only a couple of the fish are near the surface not as bad as when all of them were. Fingers crossed the water change helps and hopefully this is the last problem for a wee while.. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Could be the temperature of the tank due to the hotter weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 They seem fine this morning, but I only had a quick glance before I had to pop out - so when I get back i'll have another look. It actually was so hot here last night we had all the windows and doors open but still roasting - its so lovely during the day but at night not so much. I guess everyones feeling the same Our pool is at 32deg so that shows how hot it is. I'll maybe turn the heater off during the day today and just keep an eye on the temp since I will be at home. then I can gauge how hot it will stay with the heat and then the heater back on according to that. And actually we have just put a new heater in - due to blowing up my last (i told you its a bad fish weekend ) So am still getting used to the settings on this one, until its just perfect. Hope you all had good sleeps and enjoy the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Ok so today I have turned off the heater and put in a few ice cubes in a bag to cool the top half so they have somewhere fresh to go. As it was bordering on 30ish pushing to go higher also going to go get a fan cause the room is so hot so hopefully thatll help.. worth a try. I am going to do another water test see if anything shows up. As my tetras are getting cloudy eyes and ive stopped using flourish a couple days ago so why would it be getting worse.... Unless its the start of dreaded white spot? Ive never had that before. Can someone explain what it looks like? My fish have more fraying fins and cloudy eyes Any help is appreciated, im not sure what is going on they must be under stress from the heat maybe? Argh my poor fishies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Unless your new heater is set at too high a temperature, there is no point in turning it off. It will only turn on to heat the water up when required. If the tank temperaure is erally high and constant, try freezing some 2 or 3L bottles of water and floating them in the tank. Slikka pads work well too. Cloudy eyes is often a sign of parasitic or bacterial infections. Not sure if the flourish has done it though as I don't know enough about the stuff. If a fish has whitespot it looks like it has been sprinkled with salt. If the fins are edged in white and getting shorter it is a bacterial infection called fin rot. All the symptoms could just be a sign of stress in the hot weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I put in some slikkaa pads to help cool it down. The heater should be fine its our spare and havent had a problem with it before. But will keep an eye on it. Ok in that case its not white spot it is fin rot from stress. Would furan help? My gouramis synos and plecos are showing no signs of stress its just discus tettras and BGK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Perphaps you should increase water changes to see if that helps. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 By percentage change or regularity? I did a water change today and last night. They seems to get worse after water changes Could this stress them out more? I do try to put it in gently. Should I try the furan or just leave it? I always get scared about using this kind of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sorry I can't comment on the furan. If you think that the water changes are causing the fish more stress, do you think it is because it is too much a change at one time and what about the water temperature. Perhaps too much, too cold at one time would NOT be a good idea especially where the temp in the tank is so high. So I think, other help please, you'd have to come to some kind of balance between amount and temp in order not to stress the fish. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I always try to make sure temp of new water is within a couple of degrees of the tank water. Ill continue to do small water changes. The one I did last night was 40%ish and the one this morning maybe about 30%ish. So If i do 20% each time just to give a water change but not to stress them out? I have been sitting here all day just keeping an eye on them. researching stuff but its so much nicer when its people helping you with their experiences and advice over reading and getting confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Are you sure it is fin rot and not damage done by other fish? I have never used Furan so can't comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Pretty sure its not damage by other fish, they dont fight at all. The only 2 that sometimes mark their territory are the synodontis but they are fine. And its their eyes that are cloudy and frayed fins. These guys have all been tank mates for the last few months with no tears to fins at all. So pretty sure that isn't the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Some fish don't start attacking others until they reach a certain age Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Hmmm still dont think so, sorry. I have alwyas kept an eye on that since our gouramis are suppose to get very territorial as they get older but we havent had any problems and they are fully mature now, and with our BGK I've always been scared of him eating things as hes got older but he hasn't. Those would be our main ones to damage anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 That is probably the only thing I am certain about at the moment is that they don't attack each other. ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I don't think you should add any antibiotics until you know what you're treating. Maybe post a pic of the affected fish? W/Cs are good right now, regardless of whether your tank is low in oxygen, has white spot or fin rot. Make sure you're either leaving the water to sit out for 24hrs before putting it in the tank, or dechlorinating it before putting it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Yeah have been dechlorinating. I will post some pictures for everyone to see so you can help. Just got to find the camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 rochelle it still sounds like chemical burn to me... pics will confirm that i suppose. i presume the events started like this: slime coat comes off, fish get white marks on them, looks like the fins have frayed, white around the edges - particularly the corners etc; eyes get a very faint film on them... looks like cloudy eye -but not quite... then that film goes more opaque? now while furan will not help in the removal of this problem - IT WILL ensure that immune system of the already compromised fish are not attacked by any nasties in the water. and i suppose its just a precautionary measure. stress coat / aloe vera gelly is great for repairing the damage done to the fins - and that should be the primary concern. i lost sight of the problem when this happened to my tank - but finally i figured out that all i needed to treat was the lack of slime coat - once that was done - everything else rectified itself. I do hope this helps, and if any one has any thing to add please do so =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 oh also - it is also possible for you to do a nitrate test? how are the discus doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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