Help please

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#1
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#1
Hello everyone, I haven't been on this forum in a while because everything with my tank has been going really good, up until a week or so ago. I've been away at school for a long time, and my little brother was taking care of my 10G because I couldn't bring it back to school with me. Long story short, it was kind of neglected and had a huge algae outbreak and my brothers idea to get rid of it was to change all the gravel and the decorations out. So, when I came home I noticed that the tank was going through a cycle and my fish weren't doing well. Unfortunately I got to it too late and all the fish in my 10G died. So I wait a few weeks until the tank was fully cycled (I added ammonia to it), and decided to add 4 Platies. 3F 1M. Everything was fine until I noticed that 2 of the Platies have what appears to be a white abrasion on their sides. I know it's not ich, it looks to me like they've been nipped or have possibly been rubbing against decorations. What can I do for this?

EDIT: I did forget to mention that I friend of mine approached me the other day and asked if I could re-home a small bumblebee catfish. His tank started leaking and he has to get a new one set up. So in the tank are the 4 platies and the bumblebee catfish.
 

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xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#4
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#4
xarumitzu said:
Was doing a water test as you sent that, thanks for the quick reply.

Nitrate = 10, Nitrite = 0, Ammonia = .5.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the double post but it's not letting me edit my last one for some reason. After I got that ammonia reading I immediately did a 30% water change, rinsed all my filter media in the changed water, added an aquaclear ammonia remover that I had, and attempted to get any un-eaten food off the gravel during the WC. Is there anything else I should be doing?

I know this all sounds stupid and I'm sorry, I'm an aviation maintenance major, if you want me to take an engine apart, overhaul it, and then put it back together I'm good. But I can't seem to keep a 10G tank stable and it really bothers me.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#5
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#5
Don't apologize. There's lots of variables in fishkeeping. So you've got a bit of ammonia - I've never used the product you mention, so can't comment on its effectiveness. Not sure where the ammonia might be coming from - could be the bioload from the new catfish and your cycle is adjusting. Just keep testing, do water changes if needed and limit your feeding until the ammonia settles to 0. Throwing some live plants in there, if you don't have some already, will also help.
In terms of your platies: can you describe the abrasions further or post a pic of them, or google fish diseases and let us know if you find something that looks similar? Whether the cause is physical or bacterial, keeping your water pristine will only speed their recovery.
 

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#6
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#6
Unfortunately I don't have a camera good enough to take pictures. But I did find a picture that is very similar. http://www.question-mark.net/images/fish/goldfish2.jpg

My platy isn't as bad. The wound on my fish is much smaller and not as red. I think I caught it early enough before it got as bad as the picture. Last night I separated the catfish from the Platy's with a quick DIY divider. Unfortunately I don't have another tank to put them (our old 30G started leaking and had to be taken down). I raised my tank temp a bit and started adding Melafix.
 

aakaakaak

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
#7
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#7
Careful with the Melafix. The bumblebee cat is scaleless and may be killed with an overdose. Otherwise, keep it up. Also, gradually raise the temp to around 85 and, if you can, presoak food in garlic juice*.

(*Take a zuchinni round, chop up a garlic clove, add about an inch of water, all in a plastic cup, then stick it in the microwave for a minute. Let it cool, pull out the zuchini, jam an algae wafer in it, and drop it in the tank.)
 

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#8
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#8
Thanks for the info. I've been careful to follow the directions on the bottle to a "T". How often should I be doing water changes? Up 'till now I've been changing about 30% every other day. But I've been trolling the older threads and people have changed about the same only 3 times a week.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#11
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#11
A light on a timer would help keep your algae in check while away at school. I agree (and glad you know!) that a common pleco would never work in a tank that size.
 

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