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ghusk · 22-01-2012, 23:27

Hi all.
Bit of a novice fish keeper here but have been taking it slowly and not going too ott with buying fish.
I have a 60L tank which I initially set up 2 yrs ago and had a variety of fish in initially such as balloon bellied mollys, tetras and a pleco. All fish were bought from the fish place in brittas (cannot for the life of me remember the name!)
All was going great for 6+ months and then I got a few guppies from them which were infected with white spot and killed everything other than the pleco. Have gotten the odd fish since but nothing much as other things came up and I didn't have the time to devote to it.
Decided a few weeks ago to start restocking as the plecos were lonely. Got 5 guppies and 5 balloon bellied mollys over a few weeks and now I'm left with only 1 pleco and 4 mollys.
I've tested the water and all my levels are fine. I treated with a tonic but no change to loss of fish. I've done a water change and cleaned the filter but nothing!
Any advice much appreciated!

Sleepy · 23-01-2012, 00:15

When you say a water change and clean of filter, what do you mean? What percentage of water is changed and how are you cleaning the filter? A rinse in a bucket of water you've taken out? Or under the tap?

Any ideas on what the lost fish died from?

vibe666 · 23-01-2012, 10:31

i had some new fish bring whitespot to my tank and the advice of the local aquarium shop was to turn up the temp of the tank and oxygenate it as much as possible and it cleared up in a few days.

apparently they don't like the well oxygenated water and the increased temperature speeds up their lifecycle so they die off more quickly.

having said that, i've no idea how true all that is, other than that following her advice got rid of it and i haven't (touch bogwood

) seen it since.

Sleepy · 23-01-2012, 10:38

That combined with salt worked for me for whitespot. Found the various meds for it utterly useless in my tropical tank (though they worked a treat in the coldwater).

fungun · 23-01-2012, 16:11

its not clear whether the new fish dies from white spot or just dies and you have no idea why?

Rangi · 23-01-2012, 22:45

It's hard to say without knowing a bit more about your tank,and it's maintenance regime.
What sort of filter is it?
How often do you 'clean' the filter,and what does this involve?
How often do you do water changes,and what does this involve?
Can you post some of the water test results?

Balloon mollys are an horrific man-made type,imo,and have no place in this World,but that's just my opinion,and I'm not having a go at you. Mollys also require different water conditions to tetras and plecs. The latter prefer softer water,whereas the former would be more at home in harder water,even with a bit of salt in it.
Guppys these days are very poor quality,no matter what the staff will tell you,you just can't get good quality in this country,they are very weak,and most people struggle to keep them for any length of time.
Aquatic Village is the name you're thinking of.
Answer the questions,and we'll try and get to the bottom of this.

ghusk · 20-02-2012, 16:23

Sorry, haven't had a chance to get online and check responses recently.

To answer your questions:

I have done 20% water changes. I have done this every 4-5 days. The fresh water for the tank is treated with AquaSafe before being added to the tank.
The filter was cleaned in water from the tank. I have two filters so I cleaned them about two weeks apart. One filter is just a sponge filter with no carbon and the second filter is larger and has carbon.
I live in a hard water area, so the water would be slightly harder than normal and the ph levels would be on the higher range.
The water testing kit is from Aquatic Village and each of the results come out as normal when compared to the colour card.
I really don't think this is white spot as non of the fish are showing signs of it and I am still loosing fish. I lost a Guarami last week and another two bb mollys the week before.
I treated the tank with a general tonic, which covers a variety of common ailements, but it doesn't seem to have made a difference.

Thanks again for all the comments so far, I hope that I can get to the bottom of this and have a healthy tank again!

***Silverfish*** · 20-02-2012, 21:09

You say the results are 'normal' - do you have numbers?

Sleepy · 20-02-2012, 22:35

Are you certain there's no dead fish left in the tank? Or a bully that's killing the others?

ghusk · 23-02-2012, 23:21

There are no dead fish in the tank. I have taken them out as soon as I notice them floating.

In terms of results they are as follows:
Freshwater Ammonia - 0ppm (mg/L)
Freshwater Nitrite - 0ppm (mg/L)
Freshwater Nitrate - 0ppm (mg/L)
Freshwater High Range pH - 7.4

The pH has been at that level since I set up the tank, so this is not the issue.

Thanks for the suggestions!

22-01-2012, 23:27	#1
ghusk Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 103 Adverts \| Friends	Fish tank advice needed asap Hi all. Bit of a novice fish keeper here but have been taking it slowly and not going too ott with buying fish. I have a 60L tank which I initially set up 2 yrs ago and had a variety of fish in initially such as balloon bellied mollys, tetras and a pleco. All fish were bought from the fish place in brittas (cannot for the life of me remember the name!) All was going great for 6+ months and then I got a few guppies from them which were infected with white spot and killed everything other than the pleco. Have gotten the odd fish since but nothing much as other things came up and I didn't have the time to devote to it. Decided a few weeks ago to start restocking as the plecos were lonely. Got 5 guppies and 5 balloon bellied mollys over a few weeks and now I'm left with only 1 pleco and 4 mollys. I've tested the water and all my levels are fine. I treated with a tonic but no change to loss of fish. I've done a water change and cleaned the filter but nothing! Any advice much appreciated!

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23-01-2012, 00:15	#2
Sleepy Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Clontarf, Dublin 3 Posts: 15,873 Adverts \| Friends	When you say a water change and clean of filter, what do you mean? What percentage of water is changed and how are you cleaning the filter? A rinse in a bucket of water you've taken out? Or under the tap? Any ideas on what the lost fish died from?

23-01-2012, 10:31	#3
vibe666 Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Clonsilla, Dublin 15 Posts: 10,985 Adverts \| Friends	i had some new fish bring whitespot to my tank and the advice of the local aquarium shop was to turn up the temp of the tank and oxygenate it as much as possible and it cleared up in a few days. apparently they don't like the well oxygenated water and the increased temperature speeds up their lifecycle so they die off more quickly. having said that, i've no idea how true all that is, other than that following her advice got rid of it and i haven't (touch bogwood ) seen it since.

23-01-2012, 10:38	#4
Sleepy Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Clontarf, Dublin 3 Posts: 15,873 Adverts \| Friends	That combined with salt worked for me for whitespot. Found the various meds for it utterly useless in my tropical tank (though they worked a treat in the coldwater).

23-01-2012, 16:11	#5
fungun Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 945 Adverts \| Friends	its not clear whether the new fish dies from white spot or just dies and you have no idea why?

23-01-2012, 22:45	#6
Rangi Registered User Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 127 Adverts \| Friends	It's hard to say without knowing a bit more about your tank,and it's maintenance regime. What sort of filter is it? How often do you 'clean' the filter,and what does this involve? How often do you do water changes,and what does this involve? Can you post some of the water test results? Balloon mollys are an horrific man-made type,imo,and have no place in this World,but that's just my opinion,and I'm not having a go at you. Mollys also require different water conditions to tetras and plecs. The latter prefer softer water,whereas the former would be more at home in harder water,even with a bit of salt in it. Guppys these days are very poor quality,no matter what the staff will tell you,you just can't get good quality in this country,they are very weak,and most people struggle to keep them for any length of time. Aquatic Village is the name you're thinking of. Answer the questions,and we'll try and get to the bottom of this.

20-02-2012, 16:23	#7
ghusk Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 103 Adverts \| Friends	Sorry, haven't had a chance to get online and check responses recently. To answer your questions: I have done 20% water changes. I have done this every 4-5 days. The fresh water for the tank is treated with AquaSafe before being added to the tank. The filter was cleaned in water from the tank. I have two filters so I cleaned them about two weeks apart. One filter is just a sponge filter with no carbon and the second filter is larger and has carbon. I live in a hard water area, so the water would be slightly harder than normal and the ph levels would be on the higher range. The water testing kit is from Aquatic Village and each of the results come out as normal when compared to the colour card. I really don't think this is white spot as non of the fish are showing signs of it and I am still loosing fish. I lost a Guarami last week and another two bb mollys the week before. I treated the tank with a general tonic, which covers a variety of common ailements, but it doesn't seem to have made a difference. Thanks again for all the comments so far, I hope that I can get to the bottom of this and have a healthy tank again!

20-02-2012, 21:09	#8
*Silverfish* Administrator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Dublin Posts: 13,307 Adverts \| Friends Admin: Book of Condolences, Diagon Alley, Linguistics & Etymology, Top Gear, Urban Exploration	You say the results are 'normal' - do you have numbers?

20-02-2012, 22:35	#9
Sleepy Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Clontarf, Dublin 3 Posts: 15,873 Adverts \| Friends	Are you certain there's no dead fish left in the tank? Or a bully that's killing the others?

23-02-2012, 23:21	#10
ghusk Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 103 Adverts \| Friends	There are no dead fish in the tank. I have taken them out as soon as I notice them floating. In terms of results they are as follows: Freshwater Ammonia - 0ppm (mg/L) Freshwater Nitrite - 0ppm (mg/L) Freshwater Nitrate - 0ppm (mg/L) Freshwater High Range pH - 7.4 The pH has been at that level since I set up the tank, so this is not the issue. Thanks for the suggestions!