Fish Dying

[Angibug]

On Thursday I lost my 2 Angel's, yesterday I lost a neon tetra, and this morning I lost one dwarf gourami. My other gourami is at the top with its mouth breathing air from the top. Everthing is testing fine but my ph is a little high so I have no clue whats going on. I've been having some kind of algae problem and I have a film on top of the water. My water is not so cloudy today and thats the only thing that has improved.
If I don't get help with whats going wrong I'm afraid all my other fish will probably die too. If that happens I will just drain this tank and let this adventure end. I give up! This tank was set up on June 13th. I have only been writing on this forum for a week and I don't get much response from anyone but some have been helpful.

 

[FroggyFox]

Well first of all can you please post information about the tank? we can't remember which tank is yours specifically.

How big is the tank, what kind of filtration, what are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels?

Which fish are in the tank? How long has it been set up? What do you keep the temperature at?

Gasping for breath at the top of the tank usually means there isn't enough oxygen in the water...do you have very much surface agitation? (airstone/filter etc)

If your tank has been set up for only a month (little over) then is it still cycling?? If so then most of the fish you mentioned aren't strong enough to go through a cycle and the extended period of high nitrites.

How often do you do water changes and when was the last one? What have you tried to deal with the algae problem...have you put any chemicals in the water?

 

[Angibug]

29 Gallon
Whisper 30
Ammonia: .25 Nitrite: .5 Nitrate: 20
2 Fruit Tetras, 2 male Guppies, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 3 Zebra Danios, 2 Red Serpae, 1 Cory Catfish
Set up on June 13th
Temperature 76-78
I have no airstone, only the filter for surface agitation
I don't think my tank is still cycling
I do a water change at least once a week. Last one I did was on Wednesday. This is the day my filter quit overnight (clogged) and the algae covered the inside of my tank. Took an hour to scrape it all off. I put some Algae Destroyer Liquid in the tank last night. Only other chemicals I put in was some Tetra FloraPride for my live plants. Lady at pet shop told me to put some in when I told her I have black, fuzzy stuff on the leaves.
Do I have too much water in my tank? I filled it to where the line is on my heater (what directions told to). When the water comes out of the filter, it flows right directly on top of the water. Is the water level too high?
I appreciate any advise. You see, this is all new to me - learning as I go along. I wish I had researched a little more before starting.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

idk.....the fish dying kinda sounds like an ammonia spike to me.

I was gonna suggest a water change but you do those weekly so i am not sure what to do. :-/ Sorry!

 

[AndyL]

Originally posted by Angibug
29 Gallon
Whisper 30
Ammonia: .25 Nitrite: .5 Nitrate: 20

This alone tells us that your tank is still cycling. When a tank is finished cycling (think of it as breaking in) you should have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. Good 'ons to ya for having the test kits

The fish are gasping at the surface due to the ammonia and the nitrite. Basically they are 'burning' the fish's gills. You need to do a 50% water change ASAP.

Originally posted by Angibug
I put some Algae Destroyer Liquid in the tank last night. Only other chemicals I put in was some Tetra FloraPride for my live plants. Lady at pet shop told me to put some in when I told her I have black, fuzzy stuff on the leaves.

Algae destroyer is not a particularly nice product; for fish or plants... I would recommend against using it. You're having algae problems due to the excess nitrogen in the tank. Rather than adding more, I'd definitely stop adding fertilizers for now. Wait until your tank finishes cycling, once the cyclings done we can start working on getting the algae dealt with. Its ugly at the moment, but the algaes actually doing you some good right now - it is stripping away some nitrogen.

What kinds of plants do you have in the tank? I ask because you may actually want to add some more - if you can get some hornwort, buy it, add it. Just about any floating plant would be good; Duckweed is a pest to get rid of, but its a really good plant to leech nutrients out of the water.

To sum up; Do a big water change ASAP, 50%. Do not dose more algae destroyer or fertilizer. If you can get some, add some amquel or seachem prime, something to de-toxify the ammonia/nitrite. Adding horwort would be good, same with duckweed.

Andy

 

[Scrumpy]

I agree with Andy. The tank is most definitely still cycling and the ammonia is poisoning your fish.
You put a COLOSSAL amount of fish in there when it wasn't cycled......I'm surprised you have any left It's normal to add a couple of fish at a time when you're cycling with them.
I also think you need to do a 50% water change and do it again whenever your fish look like they'e suffering. Do it daily for a while if necessary.
It'll prolong the cycle but otherwise you may well lose all your fish.
Don't replace any of the losses or add any more fish until your ammonia and nitrite a steady at 0ppm for a couple of weeks.
I also agree that you should stop adding fertilizer and algae destroyer for now. The ferts will be feeding your algae, and the algae destroyer vastly adding to the stress your fish are under atm.
Because your filter clogged fast and you have so much algae and a film on the water I think you're overfeeding and that will be adding to the ammonia spike.
Have you got a gravel vacuum for the tank? If so....clean the gravel at every water change, make sure you rinse the filter sponge at least once a week with DECHLORINATED water.
You are dechlorinating the water when you do water changes aren't you?
Feed less. You only need tiny amounts of food...as a rule only what your fish will COMPLETELY eat in 2 mins...and that means nothing left. No flakes left on the floor of the tank. I'd probably feed only every other day until the crisis passes.
Definitely add some bunch plants...Hornwort is great and has algaecidal properties, or Canadian pond weed...anything like that. They don't have to stay long term....but they'll help while you're cycling.


Hopefully everyones advice will help.....but in the worst case senario and all your fish die, don't give up on the hobby.
You need to do a lot of reading up on cycling and take things really slowly. You'd also need to sterilise everything in your tank before you start again and bin the plants. If that happens...get back to us and we'll tell you how to clean your plants so you don't introduce the dreaded black beard algae (which it sound like you might have) and how to introduce fish slowly.
This hobby has a very steep learning curve for all of us so I know how you feel....but it's so worth it if you don't give up!