# Ohh gods Help



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

I did a 50% water change yesterday. I have a 40 gallon tank with 3 small Red Bellies. I added Melafix per directions and all my P's looked great. Recycle water was left to age 24 hours prior to adding and heated to assure the correct temp. I also added "Start Right".

This morning approx 17 hours after the cycle I noticed my largest and healthiest P was looking not as shiny as usual. (9am) by noon he was gasping at the surface and there was a noticeable amount of skin just flaking off his body. I added 1tsp sea salt per gallon (well I added 37). His gills looked trashed. The other two looked fine. Now (7pm) my other two are starting to gasp at the surface and are starting to show flaky skin and loss of shine. At the speed this killed my largetst I doubt I will have any P's left. I'm starting an emergency tank now but thinking that I won't have tiime to get it ready before thier dead. My temp is at 79 degrees.

Any ideas? help

Attached Pics are as follows.

#1 My largest and now dead P really shows the flaking skin

#2 My other two smaller P's one is half shiny and half dull. there is small bumps starting and they are now gasping.

#3 another of the two still living P's


----------



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

sick


----------



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

sick


----------



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

my sick P's


----------



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

Side note

I have 6 small guppies in the tank as well. left overs from the last feeding. They are fine no probs and look very colorful.


----------



## mr_rob_boto (Aug 31, 2003)

OMG man!!








what are your parameters? pH, nitrate, nitrite, amonia, all that jazz?
I hope no more die, that is grousome.


----------



## joepalazzolo (Mar 4, 2004)

horrible to see a p dead, it lookes like it was put in acid


----------



## hakeemtito (Oct 3, 2003)

Dark Arrow said:


> I added 1tsp sea salt per gallon (well I added 37). His gills looked trashed.


 there's your problem...sea salt in a freshwater tank is a no no.


----------



## cooldudectd (Mar 4, 2004)

> there's your problem...sea salt in a freshwater tank is a no no.


Ummmmm.....I think (I know) that is the wrong advice.....Sea salt has a ton of benefits to freshwater tanks.


----------



## khuzhong (Apr 11, 2003)

do they look like this?

click the link
http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...pic=34117&st=0&


----------



## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

cooldudectd said:


> > there's your problem...sea salt in a freshwater tank is a no no.
> 
> 
> Ummmmm.....I think (I know) that is the wrong advice.....Sea salt has a ton of benefits to freshwater tanks.


 The addition of sea salt might not be the cause of this, but can you tell me what these "tons of benefits" to a FRESHWATER tank are?


----------



## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Dark Arrow said:


> I added 1tsp sea salt per gallon (well I added 37).


 Just wondering: isn't this way too much for f/w fish?

I know you can administer a salt bath for very sick f/w fish, but a bath like that only takes a short period of time.
One tablespoon of salt per gallon in their own tank sounds very high to me (I could be wrong, though...)


----------



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

> I did a 50% water change yesterday. I have a 40 gallon tank with 3 small Red Bellies. I added Melafix per directions and all my P's looked great. Recycle water was left to age 24 hours prior to adding and heated to assure the correct temp. I also added "Start Right".


Was the tank every fully cycled? Why did you add Melafix in the first place? I dont understand the "recycled water was left to age for 24 hours"..I dont know what recycled water is.

I think adding that much salt will only stress them, unless you added it over a long period of time...and still, that is a lot of salt.


----------



## kouma (Sep 1, 2003)

looks like amonia burns..from what I read I don't think his tank was cycled? as he said only 24 hours


----------



## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Next time you should add water conditioner to eliminate chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals...and you should test your water parameters...







!


----------



## airtorey15 (Jun 15, 2003)

use dechlorinater.


----------



## Dark Arrow (Dec 5, 2003)

khuzhong That is exactly what they looked like

I quickly removed them and placed them in my 10 gal feeder tank. Of the 2 I had left the largest looked the worst. They both seemed to be doing fine but tonight the largest is on his back though still alive I doubt for longer.

What I meant by recycled water is I syphon out 30 to 50% of the water and have that amount sitting in 5 gal buckets ready to go back in. I use start right dechlorinater. I added the salt and the Melafix after I noticed the fish were sick

On a good note so far my smallest P looks fine and has only very small parts on his body that look effected. I figure it must be either the chlorine or something else in the water that did it. I have buckets I use exclusively for fish tank changes but there is always the possibility that something got in one of those too.

I'm still amazed that all the feeders in the 40 gal are alive and swimming about healthy like

The pic attached is my next dying P

Chris


----------

