I need some help please

[Jayclem]

I’m new to the saltwater business. I have a 35-40 gal fish only tank. I have had fish in it for a good 6 to 7 weeks now. I bought a Threadfin Butterfly fish last a week that ended up being sick and died. Now my other fish are dying off buy the minute and now I’m just down to two Damsels and one porcupine puffer. I am treating the water with Maracyn by Mardel but now my water is cloudy with a slight yellowish tent. I’m praying I don’t lose my puffer too. Can anyone help me with this?

 

[Percula9]

First never treat the display tank. Remove fish to quarantine and treat there. Start checking the water quality. Water quality issues can cause acute infection and cause rapid death. What symptoms were the other fish suffering from before they died? Check ammonia and nitrite levels, also the pH.

 

[Jayclem]

White spots about the size of a printed period or pin head, Increased breathing rate, faded colors, Lack of appetite and Fin rot. I have checked my my levels and they apper to be fine. The Ph is a little low though. I dont have a quarantine tnak yet wich will change this weekend when i get my 75 gal set up. Can you please tell me why its important to use a quarantine tank?

 

[Jayclem]

the pH is a little low its 7.5
salinity 1.023
nitrates is about 5
and i dont know about the amonia level. i did a water change a few days before i got the butterfly fish. All i have right now is test strips so this week I'm going to go get a good test kit.

 

[Percula9]

I asked about the ammonia level because I wasn't sure if your tank is still cycling. White spots that you decribed sounds like ich or velvet disease. It doesn't matter the treatment is the same. Antibiotics will not clear it up, you need either copper or formalin to treat this condition. Quarantine tank prefered but not mandatory. Medicants often kill some of the nitrifying bacteria. How are you measuring the pH? That number is a bit low. Needs to come up to at least 7.9-8.0. Test strips are very unreliable. Best to invest in a pH meter, I just bought one on www.aquacave.com. Ran me $30.00 with shipping. Your pH might actually be fine. The new test might show that. If you don't treat your fish soon with the medication I mentioned they will die. You can combine medications. Ich is a parasite with a known lifecycle. When the ich fall off the fish the cysts fall into the sand bed, where they will hatch again to attak your fish again. This is where the medicant kills them, this is the free swimming stage of its lifcycle. They are called tomites. The white specks you see on the skin is not the parasite but the skins reaction to it. Food soaked in garlic may help. It acts as a immune booster. Antibiotics are used to treat secondary bacterial infection.

 

[Jayclem]

How can you tell when a tank cycles and how often does it cycle. Do you think the tank cloudy for the medcation?

 

[Percula9]

A tank cycles usually once unless something happens to kill your biofilter. Fish produce waste in the form of ammonia which is converted by the bacteria into nitrite and then to nitrate. Eventually you have so much bacteria that ammonia and nitrite are converted so rapidly they can't be measured. All you can measure is nitrate. This is when your tank is cycled. Some antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria but the good bacteria that convert your waste to nitrate. This is why you should treat in a quarantine. The nitrification process lowers pH. Very simply stated, when ammonia(NH3) is converted to nitrite(NO2) it loses a hydrogen ion to the water. This free ion lowers pH. The pH is the measure of hydrogen ions in the water. The more there are the lower the pH. You need to maintain an alkalinity of 7-12dkh. This will help your water maintain pH. Alkalinity is the waters ability to resist changes in pH, or its acid absorbing ability. I use Reef Builder by Seachem to maintain carbonate alkalinity. The cloudyness may be due to the med. Like I said, you have ich and it needs to be treated with the meds I mentioned in the previous thread.

 

[Jayclem]

I would like to thank you very much for your help. This weekend I'm getting a 75 gal set up that is established. so ater it is ready i will be moving the fish i have left over. I will get what you sad for the ich. once again thank you so much for your help.

 

[Percula9]

Your welcome. You can PM me anytime if you have any questions. I will be glad to help.