Progressive deaths
- Thread starter Terrymobil
- Start date
Any ammonia can be stressful on the fish, and I'm wondering since you had to treat for ich and remove your filter pads, you might have removed more of your bacteria than you realized and went through a cycle. Did you use meds. to treat for the ich? Many of them can kill your bacteria as well. Check out the disease fin rot and see if that is what you are seein on your fish
The reason I remove the carbon filters is that the bacteria that keeps the water cycling process going lives in the filters. When you treat for ICH it is basically an antiseptic which would kill the bacteria.
As an aside - my filter unit has two cartirdges. I was advised only to clean/change only one filter at a time for the same reason - if you change both you have to start the bacteria process all over again.
As for my ongoing problem I decided to do a 50% water change last night. A female guppy died overnight and a I have a female sword which is gulping continually and not interested in food. Two more femal guppies are "resting" om leaves at the top of the tank so I am not to hopeful for them
As an aside - my filter unit has two cartirdges. I was advised only to clean/change only one filter at a time for the same reason - if you change both you have to start the bacteria process all over again.
As for my ongoing problem I decided to do a 50% water change last night. A female guppy died overnight and a I have a female sword which is gulping continually and not interested in food. Two more femal guppies are "resting" om leaves at the top of the tank so I am not to hopeful for them
I have not changed the filter on my 10 gallon for over 2 years. Its just not necisarry and everytime you remove one of the two, you loose half your bacteria, and have a mini cycle(this may be your problem?). If you gently swoosh the filter arround in a bucket of old tank water during the water change, you will clean off the "crud" without loosing much bacteria. Now as far as removing the filter per a treatments recomendation, good that you read the directions, but next time try a salt/heat treatment if you get ICH. You wont need to remove the filters, and the salt will come out eventually with water changes. The only reason you would want to use carbon(as stated above) is to remove meds from the water. The carbon will basically loose its function over time, but will still serve as a bed for your bacteria, so you don't need to go but new filter media, just leave the ones you have now.
Thanks for the salt/heat treatment advice. I have salt which advises 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons and heat of 80deg. Would you agree with this?
As for reading instructions I recently bought an ICK treatment which actually says "Do not use on baby fish, TETRAS or Scaleless species" (Watercare Ick Away). that stuff is going back to the store!!!!
The only fish which show signs of ICK are the Glassfish. i understand that the parasite is present throughout the tank but none of the others seem to develop it. Is this a thing that Glassfish are sensitive too?
As for reading instructions I recently bought an ICK treatment which actually says "Do not use on baby fish, TETRAS or Scaleless species" (Watercare Ick Away). that stuff is going back to the store!!!!
The only fish which show signs of ICK are the Glassfish. i understand that the parasite is present throughout the tank but none of the others seem to develop it. Is this a thing that Glassfish are sensitive too?
I picked up 10 glassfish the other day and the same thing has happened to me. they are dying off about one per day. and now I'm down to 3. so I'm thinking that they are not the most hardy fish. everything else in my tank is doing great.
