# PLEASE HELP



## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

I have posted this up recently and gotten no reply so i decided to change the topic title and description to sound more desperate

MODERATORS: Feel free to delete my other post that got no reply, i guess you could consider this a double post.

anyway, my fish are sick, there is fuzzy white stuff all over one of them, the other one is not far behind, and my biggest one is fuzzless but has a white bubble on its eye, as do the rest of them. I started givin em melafix but i think i might have gotten the wrong stuff ( DO I NEED PIMAFIX FOR THIS!!???)
also they are extremely lethargic and will not eat, as i guess must be expected with anything thats sick.anyway....

i found a pic on the sick fish pinned topic that shows the same thing as with mine, i will try to get pics ASAP my sister has my camera. anyway please help!!!

also my water stinks real bad, might just be the medicine and no carbon tho.


















pic credit to X-j-X


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## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

I found another pic that looks like the stuff they all have on their eye. This was posted as being ammonia burn, is that right???

it is possible because a week ago when all this madness started i found a hidden rotting fish under some driftwood.










pic credit to hughie


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

My piranha also had grey marks like that but they dissapeared after a while.What is your filtrasion like because lack of this may be causing water to smell,also there may be rotting food which also makes water go bad.You could try doing 50% water change and check for uneaten foods also check water parameters nitrates ammonia e.t.c


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

What's your pH? That could be it...

Edit: I just read your other post in Water chem... Double check your pH in your tank and try to fix it first before medicating. The reason the newer fish died is because your p's are tolerating the poor quality water (though they are sick because of it) while the newer fish could not adjust.


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## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

Thanks Don, my Ph is about 6.4 very low i know and ihave stepped up my water changes as well as slowed down on feeding. Slowed down with their help because they won't eat ANYTHING. also, i checked the tap water in philly and it is very low to start with. I heard something about crushed coral helping out with PH, and also baking soda.

Should I be adding baking soda to the water i put in during water changes to adjust the Ph, or put crushed coral in my filter?? thanks again for the help Don, like i said I'm a total newbie when it comes to dealing with crises.

so shoud i just stick with more frequent water changes for now, put the carbon back in and hold off on melafix until my pH gets back to normal or what? i'm pretty much totally lost at this point.......someone help me.........


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Are you sure the pH is 6.4? They symptoms you are describing are consistent with a drastic drop in pH (sloughing off of excess mucous and cloudy eye), but that pH should not be low enough to cause that kind of damage.

Also, check your ammonia. If your tank smells (does it smell like urine?), it could be that... You might have had very low pH before and didn't know it (below 5) which knocked off your nitrifiers and your tank is experiencing high ammonia also. This would explain the symptoms and the smell.

I wouldn't medicate just yet... You need to fix the water first. (Thorough gravel vac, rinse off filter material and small, frequent water changes). Don't feed your fish since they won't eat anyway. Treat it like your recycling your tank. If you want, you can add a fresh bag of activated carbon to take out any toxins that might be in there.


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## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

thanks Don that sounds good. I saw an insert for my filter that says it takes out ammonia, would that be good? it must have been lower than that cause it was yellow, and the ammonia theory is a good one. So im going to get a new carbon, and exactly what frequency and amount of water change do you reccomend?

thanks so much Don, these fish mean a lot to me i'd hate to see em feelin ill.












































EDIT: I definitely think that the low pH i was experiencing must have "killed" my ammonia oxidizing bacteria so now i basically have a recycling tank?? should i bring water from my other tank next time i change water? sheeesh i ask a lot of questions, thanks for the patience.


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

You can add a bag of fresh ammo-chips if you want. Since your tank has low pH, it would be a good time to use it because most of the total ammonia is in the form of ammonium (ionized ammonia) which the resin will remove from the water. Place it in there and remove it after a couple of days. Once the pH bumps up, the residual ammonia will convert to free ammonia that is toxic to fish so keep your eyes out for that and increase water changes to correct it. While the ammo chips are in the filter, I suggest you do not add salt to the water. This reduces the efficacy of the ammo-chips and can potentially dump the ammonium back in the water.

As for water changes, 20-30% every other day would be fine until your fish look better and the water starts to improve. Bringing some filter material from an established tank will be better than just bringing water over. Good luck.


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## Methuzela (Apr 27, 2004)

thank you so much for help Don, i appreciate it very much. Much respect.

I'll let you know how things turn out and I'm sure ill have some more questions for you along the way.....

big up Donh!!!!


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## ldmak90 (Nov 4, 2004)

Methuzela said:


> thank you so much for help Don, i appreciate it very much. Much respect.
> 
> I'll let you know how things turn out and I'm sure ill have some more questions for you along the way.....
> 
> ...


I don't know guys... I had this problem recently and lost 9 RBPs in 3 days. Once that fungus starts getting in their gills they can't breath... then it moves to their mouths and they won't eat. By the time I researched it, found that it was a fungus in the tank attacking my fish, and applied medication it was too late.

I agree with everyone about fixing the water levels and stuff with your tank. However, I can almost guarantee that you should put those fish in another tank and medicate them at the same time as you are fixing your main tank. Once my fish got to the point where your fish are in your pics it wasn't long before they were all gone.

Fix your tank... but quarantine those fish and apply meds. I was trying to use Meds from Mardel (Maroxy and Maracyn). I could tell a difference in the fish but the situation was just too far gone by the time I acted.

Hope this helps you save yours.

LD


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