My poor Bala.

[Dea]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and also a new aquarium owner, recently my Bala "shark" passed away, I think I know why, I just wanted someone with a little more experience to tell me if my assumptions are correct, apologies if I'm posting in the wrong forum.

Today I changed my fish rank water, My tank is roughly 80g, it's made from glass, (just some details) I have three guppies in with my two bala's, I know they will be eaten by the bala's when they grow but they are barely bigger than the guppies, and I quite enjoy the guppies, three ballon mollies. anyway, I did something I usually don't do, I removed more than half the tank water, I don't usually do, but the water was quite cloudy, even though I have the right filter for my tank, after refilling I noticed my smaller Bala acting strange, banging into the side of the tank, worried I turned the lights off, when I came back to check on them, he was floating upside down, almost looked as though he was gasping, then he thrashed around the corner of the tank quickly and died, now, my question was it because I removed too much water? Did I stress him? Will my second Bala become stressed if he is alone (species wise) for too long? I've lost a guppie before, but that was the days brought him, I just don't want to make the same mistakes. Thanks, I'm really sorry for the essay, but I do care for my fish, and I want to get this right, preferably without another death.

Thanks!

 

[Dea]

Please know I'm new at this, by new I mean roughly two months.

 

[FishDad]

Bummer. A water change, no matter how much will never hurt your fish so long as you dechlorinate and replace with the same temp. I bet the cloudyness was a bacteria bloom due to your tank not being cycled completely. True Bala's prefer schools, but his death would likely be more of a wasting away if that were the case. People on this forum can and will help you have a successful tank but we need some info...

How long has the tank been set up? How long have fish been in it?
How often do you do water changes? Do you dechlorinate? If so what product do you use?
Do you know what the nitrogen cycle is? (very important)
Do you test your water parameters such as ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? If so what test products do you use?
What temp is the tank at? What name and model filter do you use?

That may seem like a lot of info do divulge but I promise you if you answer those questions, the good people here will tell you what happened and what you can do in the future.

 

[Dea]

Hi there, thank you for your reply.

My tank has been up for about a month and a half, my bala's were the first fish in there, I had a few problems at the start, the pet shop that I brought them off told me that the water is cold, (after she dipped her hand in the tank) so I didn't think a heater was necessary until I got the guppies, they kept dying so I went to a different pet shop, and was told about filters and heaters, which kept the surviving guppies and bala's alive, the tank is kept between 26-28degrees, I use an "Aqua Zonic" heater (recommended by the second store) I have a power jet foam filter, with an attachment for the water to flow down, rather than make the top of the water move slightly (I was told they like still water)

I did not know what I nitrogen cycle was, until reading the forums.

I've never tested or dechlorinated the water before refilling after changes, but I have let it sit, (I don't know if that's what you're supposed to do)

They get fed, occasionally blood worms, most of the time just tropical flakes.

I've never tested my water parameters, but I'd like to, I don't know which products to buy, etc.

I have one bala left (unsure about giving him another fish of his species until the tank is properly taken care of) three balloon mollies, three mollies, three guppies, and one Corydora.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Dea, mail-order an API master test kit if you can't find one locally. Like fishdad said, you need to test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

What type of filtration does this tank have?

Joel

 

[FishDad]

How often do you do water changes? How is the cloudyness now and how are the other fish acting? The test kit is a must, btw.

 

[Dea]

I'll have a look at the second store tonight, if they can't recommend or have them what brand do you suggest?

The water today is quite cloudy. I'm not sure if that's because of natural light (It's fairly close to a window)

One of the guppies' died during the night, so I don't know if it acted like the Bala. I lost one Mollie yesterday, one balloon mollie is swimming oddly (not like the Bala, just swimming backwards a lot, didn't come up to eat, etc) all of the other fish seem normal, not as active during feeding time though, the temp is normal the filter is working. Etc. The catfish seems to be the only highly active one though.

I'm going to the store after work tonight to buy testers and treaters, I'll browse the forums again to see what products the general community are pleased with to see if I can get those.

 

[Dea]

Oh, and water changes have been happening a lot more frequently recently, last week it was twice, and the water looks like it needs to be changed again. Shall I change it before buying the testers or no?

My filter has foam inserts, should I clean or change them?

I was going to buy more fish today, but I don't think that's the right thing to do until the tank is set up and healthy for the fish.

 

[FishDad]

Your ammonia/nitrties are spiking. The cloudyness is definitly a bact. bloom. DO NOT clean the filter, that is where most of your beneficial bact. is growing. If you want you can rinse it in old tank water during a wc. The chems in the tap will kill it. You should do a water change every day right now to be on the safe side. The last thing you want to do is add more fish right now. Its going to be a few weeks before that thing is done cycling.

 

[Thyra]

Excellent idea! Don't buy anymore fish until you get the tank set up properly. Also don't let the LFS sell you a bunch of unnecessary chemicals. Example: don't worry about your pH - fish will adapt. When at the LFS note the fish available that you like, then go home and read about them and ask questions here - you will avoid a lot of heartaches and problems. Good Luck! An 80 gallon tank will give you a lot of choices and should be easy to care for once you get things under control.

 

[Dea]

Right! So the things I must buy today, testers, water conditioner? (I'm unsure if that dechlorinates) do I change the water after I've tested? Or do I completely empty, then test with the new water? Do I completely empty? Should I clean plants/rocks? Should I wait if before putting the fish in the new water, if so how long? And I should wait until the water reaches normal temperature before putting the fish back in? Or can I do these things with the fish in? (If only emptying part way)

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[FreshyFresh]

IMO, the first thing you need to do is test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You want 0ppm and 0ppm for the first two. You want to leave the fish, decor, etc in the tank. Don't remove or scrub anything and change water based on what your testing tells you.

 

[Dea]

And if the first two aren't 0? Remove water or treat?

 

[Thyra]

Let's see if I can answer this correctly (I am on well water so don't have to worry about dechlorination) In your case if your still have ammonia or nitritre I would remove about 50% of the water - depending of course on how much of either is tested in the water. You want to keep both as close to zero as possible, but I realize you can't be changing it hourly - daily should be okay unless its really out of wack. Be sure to dechlorinate the water going in and keep it as close to normal temp as possible.

 

[Omnominator]

I can't believe everybody is missing this, Dea, any water you put in that tank you use dechlorinator (water conditioner)
unless you are on well water. If you know that the water company that you use treats there water with chlorine etc. then use dechlorinator.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I can't believe everybody is missing this, Dea, any water you put in that tank you use dechlorinator (water conditioner)
unless you are on well water. If you know that the water company that you use treats there water with chlorine etc. then use dechlorinator.

Fishdad mentioned using a dechlorinator in the very first reply to Dea.

 

[Dea]

Thanks guys!


You all have been great with giving me detail answers. Sadly while I was shopping and at the the pet store, I came home to only two fish. I took samples of water to the store, which is about 2 minutes away, because they do free water testing, and I can't remember what the exact reading was but the ammonia was quite high, the lady who did the testing gave me some products she uses at home. Including water treatment, I brought a "fish in" treatment called stability buy seachem, apparently it's a very good product, I have to put one capful (5ml) for each 10gal for seven days, before doing that though, u emptied 50% of the water, and used another seachem product called prime, to detoxify my nitrite, (because she said the levels where an emergency case) she suggested three times the amount, only once, then to use 1capful (5ml) for every 50gal, at every partial water change, which she also suggested daily, she also suggested not to feed for a day or two (thoughts on this? Should I not feed the survivors?) this product apparently removes chlorine and chloramine and ammonia and apparently converts them into the nontoxic form that my bio filter can easily remove, since doing this, the last balloon mollie has become it's usually active self, I let the water sit until it reached a temperate of 25 degrees before I placed it back in the tank (with the heater)

She was also worried that there was a lack of oxygen on the tank, so a stone was brought for that.

I'm a little worried about the smell that prime leaves. Is it a safe product? The instructions are good but it may not be the best product?

Any suggestions on what to do next/what to change?

 

[lauraf]

Oh Prime is fantastic. I use it, so do many others on this site. And when you use it at the higher dosage as your fish store recommended, it is effective in protecting against the effects of ammonia and nitrite. It won't fix the problem permanently - you still need to get your cycle completed - but it's a great product, not to worry. I also agree strongly with daily water changes, treating with Prime each time. And there is no harm whatever in stopping feeding - the fish will be fine. This will also cut down on the ammonia being produced.

 

[OrangeCones]

Ok, Dea, I'm not sure how long it would take me to get to your local fish store in Australia, but I would make the trip from the USA to there to give her a dozen roses! *SUNSMILE*

Her advice is spot-on! Get her home phone # so you can call her if she ever leaves the store's employment!

I've used Prime for over 30 years (initially marine aquariums but kept the product when I switched to freshwater years later). It is a wonderful product and because you use very little, it is also inexpensive to use. Don't worry about the 'rotten egg' smell you detect. It's perfectly normal and not harmful. You also may see small black flecks (looks like finely ground pepper). This is also normal.

 

[Dea]

Haha! Brilliant.


I doubt asking her for her number, she may question my sexual orientation! Just kidding.

Anyway, I've still been continuing, still have my two little solider fish. I was wondering do I feed today or wait until tomorrow?

My levels are being testing again tomorrow.