Pesky Disease

[FlameTetra333]

So, there's this really serious disease going on in my 20 gallon tank. It's tail rot plus some sort of white fungus/bacteria. Sometimes the eyes even get a bit white. Usually the fish recover, but it keeps happening and I want it to end for good. Here is a list of possible explanations as to why this is happening:

Bad tap water (as in a rusty sink)
Bad fish (already with the infection)
When I vacuum the gravel (The infection came back today, on my maintenance day)
It's very serious and I want it to E-N-D. I already put in aquarium salt, but half the recommended dosage.
Most of you say that I should do daily water changes, but I'm frightened that the sink is the cause of the infection.

 

[OrangeCones]

Most of you say that I should do daily water changes, but I'm frightened that the sink is the cause of the infection.

Why would the water you use to do a water change touch the sink at all? If its the pipes that are rusted, the water is not fit for human (let alone fish) consumption. Is there not another place to get water from? An outside hose, kitchen sink, etc.?

What are you readings of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate on the 20 gallon tank?

What do you use to condition the water (dechlorinator brand name)?

Is the water you are putting back into the tank the same temperature? Don't just 'feel' the water, but use the aquarium's thermometer!

If its too hot, let it cool to the right temperature before putting it back in. If its too cold and you don't have a spare heater to bring it up to temperature, dripping the new water in slowly (5 gallons at a drip rate would take over an hour) would be your best bet. It will not change the tank's temperature that much and give the heater time to bring it up to the right temperature.

I've dripped my new water in every tank I've owned for 30 years and other than a batch of fish I've imported that arrived in the mail with ich, have never had an outbreak of disease using this method of water changes, on saltwater reef tanks, fish/live rock only saltwater tanks, and freshwater (planted and non-planted).

 

[achase]

Hijacking the thread a little.....

Is the water you are putting back into the tank the same temperature? Don't just 'feel' the water, but use the aquarium's thermometer!

If its too hot, let it cool to the right temperature before putting it back in. If its too cold and you don't have a spare heater to bring it up to temperature, dripping the new water in slowly (5 gallons at a drip rate would take over an hour) would be your best bet. It will not change the tank's temperature that much and give the heater time to bring it up to the right temperature.
.

OC, does it need to be the exact same temperature? From my understanding a degree or two off was acceptable. Mine is usually a 1 or 2 lower than the tank. Also how do you do the drip method?? I carry 3 gallon buckets from my bathroom to my bedroom (Where my tanks are) and pour them in by hand (slowly but not an hour slowly - that would kill me).

 

[Thyra]

I use an instant read cooking thermometer and check the tank and then set the faucet water at that temp. I use those plastic 4 liter drinking water jugs with handles and then I hurry back and forth, from the sink to the tanks but I double check the temp every jug. 1 or 2 degrees probably wouldn't make a different if you were replacing say 25% but over that I would be pretty exacting.

 

[OrangeCones]

OC, does it need to be the exact same temperature?

A degree or two either way will not hurt much, but it depends on the volume of water and the fish in the tank you are working with. With fry, I would drip it in slowly (1 or 2 drops per second) and have the return drip right on the tank's heater. The dripping method is not just to keep the temperature close to the same, but also to make any changes to the water parameters not be a sudden change. If I'm doing a 50% water change and my nitrates were at say 40, the new total water would be at 20. Both still 'safe' ranges for most fish, but a sudden change in anything can be stressful. The pH of an aged tank generally is lower than 'new' tapwater, so you don't want to suddently mix up 6.5pH with 8 and hope the swing is not too much for the fish.

I have a stack of 5 gallon buckets I got at Home Depot years ago that are empty. I use them to make a 'tower' of buckets a bit taller than the tank I'm working with, then drip the water in that way. Except when I had salt tanks, this bucket method is what I did. They easily all stack together in one small stack with all the lids on top of the last one when not in use.

With the salk tanks, I was making 50-100 gallons of new water at a time and had a dedicated 'trash can' to mix the water/salt in. It had a power head to return water out of it and into the tank (set at a slow rate) and a heater in the winter and a chiller in the summer to keep the temp the same as the tank.

 

[FlameTetra333]

OH GREAT, I JUST FIGURED OUT THAT THE PH IN MY AQUARIUM WAS TOO LOW. I guess thats why my fish keep getting infections. It was so low that it was off the chart. Now a flame tetra is dead, and the two remaining ones both have 1 messed up eye each.

Just great....
I'm gonna call this tank Acid Waters

 

[OrangeCones]

The pH of a tank doesn't matter much, as long as it doesn't change quickly. What reading do you have that is 'off the charts'? Low or high pH is not going to CAUSE a disease.

Both neon tetras and cherry barbs can live in acidic water with no issues.

 

[achase]

A degree or two either way will not hurt much, but it depends on the volume of water and the fish in the tank you are working with. With fry, I would drip it in slowly (1 or 2 drops per second) and have the return drip right on the tank's heater. The dripping method is not just to keep the temperature close to the same, but also to make any changes to the water parameters not be a sudden change. If I'm doing a 50% water change and my nitrates were at say 40, the new total water would be at 20. Both still 'safe' ranges for most fish, but a sudden change in anything can be stressful. The pH of an aged tank generally is lower than 'new' tapwater, so you don't want to suddently mix up 6.5pH with 8 and hope the swing is not too much for the fish.

I have a stack of 5 gallon buckets I got at Home Depot years ago that are empty. I use them to make a 'tower' of buckets a bit taller than the tank I'm working with, then drip the water in that way. Except when I had salt tanks, this bucket method is what I did. They easily all stack together in one small stack with all the lids on top of the last one when not in use.

With the salk tanks, I was making 50-100 gallons of new water at a time and had a dedicated 'trash can' to mix the water/salt in. It had a power head to return water out of it and into the tank (set at a slow rate) and a heater in the winter and a chiller in the summer to keep the temp the same as the tank.

Interesting and something to take note of!