Sick Sevrem HELP! ( Got videos to show )

Jun 2, 2008
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#1
I have a 29 gallon tank with the fallowing fish

1 Gold Sevrem
2 Gouramis
1 Bala Shark
2 Scavenger Catfish
some flat silver and black fish
Red fish with big eyes

Its a semi-agressive tank, I have noticed my Sevreum looking sluggish and resting too much he also now has mold like something on his gills, I'm not sure what to do. I took videos of my fish to try to show you what it looks like. My Sevreum is eating fine and aggresive and usual but sometimes he active and sometimes he flat out tired

I have the fallowing products avaliable for the water:
Bio Spira (Used one time to cycle tank, worked great)
Cycle (Not opened, Heard bad reviews)
Aqua Plus (Used once to add new water, worked great)
Waste Control by Nutrafic (Bought today, No oepned yet)

I feed them TetraMin PRO Tropical Crisps

It is about 3 weeks old and it took me a while as I am trying to get it estabalished. I am trying to be natrual and make sure I do NOT add alot of chemicals unless its nesccarry.

Yesterday here was my water results

PH- 6.8-7.0
Amonia- 1 PPM
Nitrate- 0

Video of Servuem 1- Sick Sevreum 1

Video of Servuem 2- Sick Sevreum 2
 

nrstype

Medium Fish
May 5, 2008
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#3
Your tank, being only 3 weeks old, is overstocked, and attempting to cope with the bioload. Your fish are becoming stressed (thus susceptible to illness), most likely due to this. Do not be surprised if the ammonia peaks higher than it is already, since there is no nitrates per your description. Once your tank develops nitrites and nitrates, you know your on your way to being cycled.

SIDE NOTE: If you are using testing strips, can them, and go with a liquid test kit (Like an API Freshwater ammonia, pH, Nitrites, nitrates at minimum). Strips will not give you the readings you need, due to being habitually inaccurate, giving false negatives/positives/readings.

If you want to correct this "naturally", attempt to correct the water conditions by small, more frequent partial water changes (2 - 3X per week instead of weekly), and DO NOT ADD any more fish. Reduce the amount of feedings, which will help reduce the waste produced in the tank, which adds to the problem. Most of the problems in any tank/fish are a side affect of water conditions, brought on for whatever reason, and it doesn't take much to throw it off it seems.

If your tank was cycled to start with (a process that is always in flux depending on conditions of the tank), then the addition of all those fish are putting it BACK into a cycle again. My suspicion is that the cycle was not fully complete, then the overstocking of fish compounded the problem. Adding biospira may help, but ONLY if it has been refrigerated for the entire SHORT time you've had it. It is very subject to dying off if proper storage has not been followed, and after opening, must be used within a short period of time.

Stocking SLOWLY is the key in adding livestock to a tank, after the initial cycle.

Good luck with your fish. He/she may pull through, since it is still active and eating. You may have to isolate it if it shows signs of worsening.
 

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Jun 2, 2008
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#4
How much more biospira should I add?

Bio Spira was in a bag for 20 minutes and I asked the man because I know it can die easily if it will be okay he assured me it'll be okay but, Maybe it was dead when I put it in? Should I add the one in my fridge or order oen online that is refriderated when sent?

How about Cycle, Should I try something diffrent like Cycle?
 

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nrstype

Medium Fish
May 5, 2008
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#5
Unless it is preserved (ie.. refrigerated).. it won't do much good.

Go ahead and put in the biospira, you won't overdose that stuff, and if it IS viable, it has ammonia to work on already. It won't hurt. You can add the cycle, that WON'T hurt either, but it may not help much. You won't be hurting anything by adding those products, singularly or put in together. Though the amount of help it gives will vary for sure.

Good luck.
 

Jun 2, 2008
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#6
I started to cycle with Bio Spira and Cycle last night and unfortunatly I looked today and my bala shark which was hiding atleast I thought was dead stuck behind a plant.

RIP Bala. Still looking for my sevrem he seems to be hiding. Hope he pulls through.
 

Jun 2, 2008
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#8
I tested the water yesterday and here are my results

PH-6.8
Amonia-1 PPM
Nitrate- A little darker on the chart than 0 so that means we are possible going to get nitrates in the tank I will be testing it again tommorw and We will see if I get to 5

Okay, So today I added some more Bio Spir and some more Cycle I am on a every other day sequence. I finnaly cut the bubble tube in 1/3 and put it under gravel and I have a good ammounth of bubbles now.

My fishes condition is getting worse. My gouramis and my red big eyed fish are showing no signs yet but my black and silver fish is showing excessive stuff all over fins over past 2 days and is shaking randomly he is going soon I am sure. My poor sick sevrem is getting sicker as it is now covering his entire body yet both fish are eating fine while my bala wasnt eating very much. I am trying my best to try to cycle this tank. I do NOT plan to add any more fish than my first 4 (my 2 gouramis, red fish and sevrem)

I keep adding cycle and bio spira I jsut hope its working. We will see if my nitrtates go up tommorow during my water test

but What is all over their fins? I mean is it called somthing, this white fungus stuff its now going all over the sevreum =/

Should I keep doing what I'm doing until I get a good cycle? I would like to save these fish but if they do not survive what would be the next step to try starting my aquarium again?
 

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May 30, 2008
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suffolk england
#9
hes got whitespot/ ich you can treat the aquaria however with a tank as young and sorry but overstocked as yours - i dont think he will make it , or you could get a smaller tank and and use as a hospital tank and put him in there . but use the water from your larger tank in the smaller one to keep stress levels down. you can get ich treetment from any good LFS or pet shop. good luck - hope this helps