Neon tetra sick

[dave76]

Are you using a liquid test kit for testing your parameters. Strips are very unreliable and most often inaccurate. Thank goodness for Prime. You saved your fishie's bacon during this spike. However, you need to monitor closely the parameters and step up the water changes for a few days to make sure the parameters are pristine.

If there is illness in your tank, pristine water will help the fish's immune system fight this, hopefully.

Red seat two reagents for ammonia, but strips for everything else....

I did a 50% water change, and it didnt really seem to make a dent, when I did the 50% water change, I couldn't find any dead fish. I did a count and they all seem to be there.

According to what I have, its right back where it was but not he PH has risen. This is because my PH on tap is high. I just re-dosed with prime and will do another 30% later.

Tank running since early feb.

 

[mel_20_20]

I'd keep up the changes.... keep monitoring. A good liquid test kit is the API Master. Has ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph. I used to use strips but everyone here told me how unreliable they were; found out for myself, too... and strips are much more expensive than the liquid kit.

Sounds like you're staying on top of things. Prime and water changes should help until your beneficial bacteria are able to handle the spike.

 

[dave76]

I'd keep up the changes.... keep monitoring. A good liquid test kit is the API Master. Has ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph. I used to use strips but everyone here told me how unreliable they were; found out for myself, too... and strips are much more expensive than the liquid kit.

Sounds like you're staying on top of things. Prime and water changes should help until your beneficial bacteria are able to handle the spike.

I also went in and trimmed some of the bottoms of my ludwigia repens plants. They had become rotten at the bottom. I bet that had something to do with the spike.

After using tank buddies and after my hefty water changes when you think it would be safe to add my snails back to the tank. I have zebra nerites and some MTS in a 5 gallon bucket. I keep finding more MTS that seem to be ok. Would it be OK to add them back?

 

[mel_20_20]

Whar tank buddies did you use?

 

[dave76]

Whar tank buddies did you use?

Parasite clear...

 

[mel_20_20]

I think it's probably ok to add them back. If you have some carbon I'd run that in the filter for a couple of hours, but if you've done 2 or 3 big water changes it's probably OK to add the snails back to the tank.

 

[dave76]

Things have settled down, I did a big trim on some plant material that had started to rot that was in a non obvious place and I think that was the cultprit. Thanks for all of the advice through the ordeal.