Cloudy Tank and Sick Fish

[AquaNewby182]

I've had my 29G tank up and running for about 6 months. For the past month the water has been extremely cloudy (milky .. not green). Ph= 7.0, Ammonia near 0 (less than .25 ppm), Nitrite = 0ppm, temp=81F.

To address the cloudiness problem, I've cleaned the filter, replaced the carbon and foam (not at the same time) and have vacuumed a few spots under the rocks (where my upside catfish hides) that had lots of waste buildup. I also found that I didn't reassemble the filter tube tight enough against the impeller after a cleaning. I've cut down the feeding from 1/2 tsp of flake in the morning to 1/4 tsp. The cloudiness does seem to be getting somewhat better.

However, It seems that I am having some sort of disease problem with some of the fish in the tank.

My female Guppy has had ongoing problems with white spots on her body that sometimes get fuzzy. When I treat the tank with Melafix, it seems to clear up her white spots and she seems fine in the morning, but at night she still swims with her tail fin clamped tight and seems to waddle side to side. Also her spine is always noticeably bent. This has been going on for several months and I have been treating (1 week treatment) about every month or so with melafix and the carbon removed. I routinely do water changes about every 3-4 weeks and more often when treating with melafix.

My black molly has recently grown a large clump of white fuzz near one of his eyes and is swimming a bit strange.

The red wag and gourami seem to dart around the tank occasionally.

Recently, a bunch of the fish seem to hide near the bottom/back of the tank

Last time I saw the upside down catfish his stomach was really big.. I wasn't sure if he was fat from overeating and sitting under a rock all day or if he was sick. Well, I haven't seen him in three days, I suspect he may be dead inside a hollowed out fake rock where he used to hide. Guess i need to go in and look for him...

Melafix does not seem to help. I bought some "Parasite Clear" but didn't want to use it before checking with the experts in this forum. What type of medication should I be using on my tank? Parasite Clear or antibiotics or something else. Please be specific.

Thanks for all the help!

******************************************** .
-AquaNewby182-

29G
1 Red Wag Swordtail
1 Dwarf Gourami
2 Mickey Mouse Platies
2 Fancy Guppies
4 Zebra Danios
2 Otocinclus
1 Upside Down Catfish
1 Black Molly
1 Lamp Eye Tetra

3G
Male betta
1 Otocinclus

 

[MrMup04]

try doing a 50% water change

 

[AquaNewby182]

My last water change was about 45% two days ago. The disease symptoms have worsened since the water change.

 

[Lotus]

It sounds to me like it is a type of body fungus on the molly. Melafix won't work on that, and neither will a parasite remedy. You should get a fungus medicine. The spots are usually described as grey or white and "cottony." Your pet store should have a suitable medicine. Other members here may be able to offer you a different diagnosis. If the guppy's spots cleared up, it is possible you have 2 different diseases at the same time

The cloudy water sounds like a bacteria bloom. It's nothing to really worry about, and should go away eventually. The slight reading of ammonia is a little worrying. It usually means either you are feeding too much, or there is a dead fish in there. I would recommend you vacuum your gravel thouroughly when you do a water change. It seems you are already feeding less This could be making the fish hide at the bottom.

 

[AquaNewby182]

Thanks! Anyone have any thoughts about the darting redwag and gourami and the bent spine, waddling, disease prone guppy? I suspect there may be more than one disease present in the tank. Is there any super-med or is there a preferred order for the medicines and how long do I wait after using one before using another? Can I start the fungal meds, wait a day or two and then use the parasite meds? Or is a diff med I should be using?

Thanks
******************************************** .
-AquaNewby182-

29G
1 Red Wag Swordtail
1 Dwarf Gourami
2 Mickey Mouse Platies
2 Fancy Guppies
4 Zebra Danios
2 Otocinclus
1 Upside Down Catfish
1 Black Molly
1 Lamp Eye Tetra

3G
Male betta
1 Otocinclus

 

[AquaNewby182]

HELP!!!

Well, the black molly's eye seemed to heal without any help. So I went ahead and added "Parasite Clear" yesterday after removed the carbon from the filter. My fancy male guppy seemed to be eating the residual dust that floated on the top of the water after the tablets dissolved. Well, this morning he was dead, the underside of his belly appeared to be ripped open and bloody.

The other fish are still exhibiting strange behavior (darting, hiding in the back of the tank near the bottom, clamping of fins, some sit on the bottom, catfish seems to rarely come out from under the rock, female guppy fins are clamped and she waddles around the tank). I did a 35% water change to dilute any of the residual Parasite clear and put the carbon back. My readings all appear to be normal (ph=7.0, ammonia=0 ppm, nitrite=0 ppm, temp = 79F).

What am I doing wrong?

Do I need to treat with antibiotics? Can i get these at the lfs?

Thanks
AquaNewby182

 

[CoNMaN]

i really dont know what to tell ya. Is the tank still cloudy?