hello i had 11 fish jsut tropical kinds liek bala sharks pictus catfish and in there we had crawfish and tookt hem out cuz they made the tank dirty and soon aftr all our fish kept flaking it seemed as if they wer eflaking and they ended up dying wat is wrong there fins also got shreded we dont no from what help me please
help whats wrng
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Okay, what's "flaking"?
We need a lot more, like specific *number* and *species* of inhabitants. We also need water peramters. What are your *exact* ammonia and nitrite levels? What is your mantainence routine? How long has the tank been set up? Did you cycle it?
What do you mean the crayfish made the tank dirty? and Did the fish's fins shred before or after they died?
We need a lot more, like specific *number* and *species* of inhabitants. We also need water peramters. What are your *exact* ammonia and nitrite levels? What is your mantainence routine? How long has the tank been set up? Did you cycle it?
What do you mean the crayfish made the tank dirty? and Did the fish's fins shred before or after they died?
pictus catfish 2 balas 2 swordtails male and female and well i cleaned it every week the water is wat is suposed to be its dirnking water that we buy...we buy alot so we use that and cycle it? flaking as in it lookslike there dandruff all ovr the fish and the fins shreded before and thn they get all calm and float to the top
and they sink downa nd do it voer and over and thn die
and they sink downa nd do it voer and over and thn die
All right, again, I need to know what kind of mantainence you do.
Drinking water isn't necessarry for fish tanks, tap water is usually fine for them. However, the water is not fine once your fish urinate and deficate in it. Most notibly, fish produce a chemical called ammonia through natural processes. Ammonia is toxic and harmful to fish. Ammonia is convirted into another chemical called nitrite when a bacterial colony forms which performs the conversion (although the level of ammonia is already lethal by the time that colony forms). Nitrite is also toxic to fish, however, another bacteria colony forms to convert nitrite into a chemical called nitrate, this process usually takes 3-6 weeks in unseeded tanks. Nitrate is not nearly harmful but does need to be removed through weekly *partial* water changes. The frequency and amount of water removed depends on the amount of nitrate in the tank. The goal is to keep it below 20ppm. There are some tools that you will need to know the *exact* levels off all three chemicals in order to help your fish. You can buy test kits at the fish store to test for these 3 chemicals and these test kits are *invaluable* when it comes to successfully keeping fish in aquariums. Cycling is the process I explained above involving the developement of the bacteria; they are commonly refered to as the nitrifying bacteria. Also, ammonia and nitrite should always read 0ppm in a cycled aquarium.
The flaking sounds like a disease known as Ich, do a google image search to see if that's the case. The frayed fins are likely a result of finrot. I suspect that both were indirectly caused by and uncycled tank. You can find out your levels right now with out buying kits if you take a sample of your water to your fish store, they'll usually test it for you. If you do have ammonia or nitrite levels, do daily to twice daily 50% water changes until they are consistently 0ppm.
A side note, bala sharks get to big and spazy for a 60g (when they get older they smash into the tank walls and other unpleasant stuff).
HTH
Drinking water isn't necessarry for fish tanks, tap water is usually fine for them. However, the water is not fine once your fish urinate and deficate in it. Most notibly, fish produce a chemical called ammonia through natural processes. Ammonia is toxic and harmful to fish. Ammonia is convirted into another chemical called nitrite when a bacterial colony forms which performs the conversion (although the level of ammonia is already lethal by the time that colony forms). Nitrite is also toxic to fish, however, another bacteria colony forms to convert nitrite into a chemical called nitrate, this process usually takes 3-6 weeks in unseeded tanks. Nitrate is not nearly harmful but does need to be removed through weekly *partial* water changes. The frequency and amount of water removed depends on the amount of nitrate in the tank. The goal is to keep it below 20ppm. There are some tools that you will need to know the *exact* levels off all three chemicals in order to help your fish. You can buy test kits at the fish store to test for these 3 chemicals and these test kits are *invaluable* when it comes to successfully keeping fish in aquariums. Cycling is the process I explained above involving the developement of the bacteria; they are commonly refered to as the nitrifying bacteria. Also, ammonia and nitrite should always read 0ppm in a cycled aquarium.
The flaking sounds like a disease known as Ich, do a google image search to see if that's the case. The frayed fins are likely a result of finrot. I suspect that both were indirectly caused by and uncycled tank. You can find out your levels right now with out buying kits if you take a sample of your water to your fish store, they'll usually test it for you. If you do have ammonia or nitrite levels, do daily to twice daily 50% water changes until they are consistently 0ppm.
A side note, bala sharks get to big and spazy for a 60g (when they get older they smash into the tank walls and other unpleasant stuff).
HTH
filters have nothing to do with ammonia or nitrite, only water clarity. If you drain all the water and "completely clean" you're probably killing the bacteria, and therefore could be causing more problems than solving. You really need to check the other stuff, there is no easy way out like buying another filter. You need to have your perameters checked. Ammonia poisoning is a painful death... it burns away gills among other things.
