WHAT is Killing my Fish?????

the_nuge

the_nuge

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Feb 13, 2010
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i live in st. Paul Mn.
my native fish have been dying off one by one.. even my bullhead died!! i thought they were quite hardy.

here are some of the things i have seen.. fin rot with redness at the base of the fins.. ruffled up scales with redness. pale color loss of appetite then death.. oh and the occasional white tufts.. not spots but cottony looking tufts of white stuff.. what is all of this and how do i cure it? i have been treating with ick meds but it seems to not be working.. any ideas?:feedback::feedback:
 
Sounds like a bacterial infection with septicemia. I am by far not an expert though. Hopefully somebody else will chime in.
 
Kinda sounds like it's being caused by aggression. If not, then it's bacteria or an internal parasite, and all of the other symptoms are opportunistic infections. My guess is it's not aggression, because even subtle stuff is easy to notice. Make sure your water is good, do a lot of water changes, and just wait it out.
 
When treating in freshwater illness its almost always a bacterial infection, true fungal infections are very rare, and i doubt that it is parasitic, i think it is septicemia as well, treat with maracyn.
 
knight4th said:
When treating in freshwater illness its almost always a bacterial infection, true fungal infections are very rare, and i doubt that it is parasitic, i think it is septicemia as well, treat with maracyn.
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Septicemia is just a symptom, not a pathogen.

Septicemia is the presence of bacteria in the blood and is often associated with severe infections. * from Google Health
 
Could be ammonia poisoning, or a bacterial infection related to nitrite poisoning, as well. Weren't you using these fish to cycle the tank?

Here's a couple of descriptions of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Do either of these sound like what your fish have?

Ammonia poisoning:
"As the damage from the ammonia poisoning continues, the tissues will be damaged as evidenced by red streaks or bloody patches that appear on the body and fins. Internal damage is occurring to the brain, organs, and central nervous system. The fish begins to hemorrhage internally and externally, and eventually dies."
-- http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm

Nitrite poisoning:
"Fish that are exposed to even low levels of nitrite for long periods of time suffer damage to their immune system and are prone to secondary diseases, such as ich, fin rot, and bacterial infections."
-- http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/nitritepoison.htm

Nitrite poisoning could have made them susceptible to bacteria-related problems like septicemia, as others have mentioned. You'll want a broad-range antibiotic, one that targets gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Maracyn 1 and 2 together will do this, or a nitrofurazone/kanamycin combo.

The dilemma here is, many antiobiotics you use to treat the infection can also kill off the good bacteria responsible for cycling the tank. So, you'll need to monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels, and do water changes and/or use a detoxifier like Prime, to avoid a repeat of these problems. Good luck!

Edit: I should add, if this is related to cycling issues, then clean water alone--with no meds--might clear up the problems. Just extra water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels below 0.25.
 
wow! great info guys.. i tested ammonia levels and it was at 0. nitrates i dont know ill have to go buy a test kit after work tomorrow.(yes im back to work after 10 month lay off!!) the red patches and red streaks on fins is there.. red gills also.. the tanks has been up for 3 weeks now and the water has gona clear.. i have live plants and algae is now starting.. im hoping my water is through cycling. I have done quite a few 25% water changes and that dose seem to give the ish a lill pep in there activity. I have prime here at home so ill add that incase its nitrates.. ill go to morrow and get stress cote and maracyn 1-2

I have been feeding them blood worms and gold fish pellets.. the bait shop owner cleaned out all his odd ball fish again today so i have about 15 bull heads 15 perch a craw fish and a few more mud minnows... how much food and how often should i feed do you think??

thanks so much for the help!!

120 gal.
 
the_nuge said:
i tested ammonia levels and it was at 0. nitrates i dont know ill have to go buy a test kit after work tomorrow.
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Get the test for nitrite, not nitrate. Not that nitrate isn't important in the long run, but nitrite is much more toxic and is what would be causing your problems.

the_nuge said:
im hoping my water is through cycling
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This is actually where the nitrate test is useful--in deciding whether or not you're done cycling. When both ammonia and nitrite test at 0, and nitrate shows up at all, the tank has cycled. It's ok to see some nitrate all the time--levels up to 40 are safe for fish. Actually, fish can tolerate levels way above 40, but it's best to aim to keep it below that. Once the tank is cycled, a water change of about 50% per week should keep nitrate below 40, depending on your stock.

Not sure about the feeding question--no experience with native fish. Anyway, the tank sounds really cool--I love that these guys are from a bait shop :)
 
I'm not liking the way these red streaks are going... Those are a really bad sign.
 
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