HELP!!! I wokeup today and my pelco was floating at the top of the tank up side down, what do i do??

Tank~
60 gallon
3 1inch goldies and a 2 1/2 inch pelco
PH 7.0
PH out of tap-7.0-7.2
Ammonia-0ppm
Nitirites-0ppm
Nitrates-a little high i was told but no dangerously so
Chloramines-?
Tank has been running for about 2 1/2 weeks but fish have been together for about 1 year ( i did lose on of the goldies about 1 week ago he just died, started floating, then was fine died the next day)
His fins are alittle frayed but i think the goldies where pestering him last night once he started to float.
I try to feed him pelco food but the goldies get to it first so for the past year he has been eating goldie flake food and standard alge and all. He has grow alot since i got him.
I change the water every 2 weeks and about 20 %
Filtration-double wisper high power top of tank filter system

What do i do i had to take him out and put him in a bucket cuz my hospital tank has a new fish in it to treat him so what do i do????!!???

Please help ASAP dont want him to die

When you say your nitrAtes are a little high, how high do you mean? What is the test results? Remember, anything over 50-60ppm can spell trouble for fish if their immune systems aren't up to par.

I couldn't help but notice thqat you said it was hard to get food to him. If that is so, your pleco might have become malnourished. This can lead to many problems. Couple that with high nitrates and you've got the potential for sickness.

I suggest that you remove the pleco into a bucket of freshly dechlored water and let him remain there for the time bing. If you can get him to the point that he can regain control of his swimming, try feeding him algae wafers. But, remove anything that becomes uneaten for an hour or more. Then try again. Change out 100% of the water morning and night.

Other than than removing him to immaculate wate and trying to feed him, there really isn't much more you can do. Sorry.

Keep us posted. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.


Paul

I can only agree with Toothless as for the likely causes of your pleco floating. I also agree that for treatment it would be best to islolate him to hopefully allow him a chance to get his strength back.

I also find it impossible to feed my 2 bristlenose plecos any type of dedicated food. I even tried feeding them in a separate tank so the goldies wouldn't steal it.

Someone here (sorry can't remember who) gave me some excellent advice, namely that aside from algae, driftwood is the #2 food source for plecos. Yep, they actually eat it.

So I put each pleco in a different 30g with goldies and added some driftwood. They are thriving now without the necessity to try to feed them anything special, they scrounge around and eat a bit of gf food now and again too.

There should be enough algae in a 60g to sustain 1 pleco, if you add some driftwood they should be happy as larry.

The plecos munch on the drift wood for their roughage. Helps with their digestion.

I'm afraid, Paul is right. Pristine aerated water and some food is your best bet now. Good luck!

I did the water changes and put him into a seperate container he was getting better and then the next day he was dead!!!


I need real help now this is the second fish I have lost in this tank in the past 2 weeks...what do i do????!!!!

PLEASE HELP

Sorry you lost him.

Okay, lets back up a bit. Can you answer these questions for us:


When you say the tank has been up and running for 3 weeks, but the fish have been together for longer, what exactly fdo you mean? Were they in a different tank or something? If so, tell us exactly how you went about moving them around including the filters and any stuff you did to them in between. Be precise. Sometimes the littlest things can unlock many insights as to what may have happened.

What is the name and size of the filters you are using now? Before?

Have you been testing since you moved them to the larger tank? Any jumps in the params?


Post back soon.

Paul

Sorry you lost your pleco.

Okay here is the info on what happened
I had 4 small goldies and a pelco in a 10gl tank that they were given to me in. obviously i didnt want to keep them in there because they need alot more space then that so they lived there together for like 5 months but i finally got them a 55gl tank when i moved into my new apartment. I didnt have time to cycle the water so what i did was i took all the water off the top of the ten gallon by that i mean about 6 gallons of water that wasnt dirty with poop... ....then i took the old filter pad and placed it infront of the new filter pad on the tank to get some of the bact. The old filter was a small Wisper filter the new one is also a Wisper filter but it is a double filter with a larger intake tube. The fish were all fine for about a week i kept and keep and eye on the levels in the tank and all seem abnormally normal you know what I mean? Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 00pm I havent got a reading on Nitrates but i will get that to you as soon as i can. PH normal 7.2
Then one day after about 2 week of the tank running i woke up to find on of my calico goldies resting at the bottom which was really odd for him to do, he came up to eat but went right back to the bottom to hide behind the plant. I thought it might be stress from moving so i salted the tank for one dose. The next day he was great again happy and swimming around all normal but then on the 3rd day when i got up he was floating at the top almost dead so i put him in the hospital tank and he died soon after. Okay so i did a patial water change and all seemed okay then a week later i woke to find my pelco flaoting at the top of the tank upside down i removed him and put him in a bucket 1 hour later he was dead what do I do???!!!

Please help and let me know if you need more info if this wasnt enough

So what are you water quality readings now? While the old filter pads will help to kick start the new filter, there is no guarantee that you won't get an ammonia and/or nitrIte spike.

Capt K is correct. Even though you used your old filterpad to help colonize your new filter and tank, I think you may have left out some steps that help keep your fish healthy.

Testing every single day for ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes HAS to be done for the first week or two of starting your new tank. Even longer if you hadn't seeded it with bacters from the old tank. Waterchanges must be done to reduce any ammonia and nitres that is found.


Off the top, a 55 gallon tank needs to have, at a minimum, filtration that totals 500gph (gallons per hour). It sounds as though your filtration might be a little too undergunned for the gallonage in your tank. to be sure, answer the following questions:

What is the total gph of the filter/s on the 55gallon? If you dont know that, what is model name and size of the filters?

Hey all
Okay so i guess i left that step out but i was testing my Ammonia and Nitrites every day for the first 2 weeks and there were no spikes i was also using Biozyme to help build up bactiria incase i forget to mention that. Sorry. I still test them once a week to make sure that it isnt jumping up to high on ammonia and nitrites I just got a Nitrate test kit so i will have to get back to you on that my other Nitrate test kit ran out 2 days into the tank running.

Okay as far as filter goes i have a AQUA-tech power filter Model # 30-60 It gets 660GPH With easy replacable Carbon cartridges

Would the Biozyme kill my fish??? It said it is safe for your fishes

I am really confused about this maybe my Nitrates are high(?) I will check and let you know

So, how is everyone acting now?

Did you test every single day for the first two weeks of the 55 being set-up?

I still think perhaps there WAS a spike in either ammonia, nitrItes or both. Your fish might have fell prey to internal, or bacterial gill disease as a result. The params may have leveled off to 0ppm but they remained ill and eventually died.

This is just my hypothesis based on the info we have. If everyone else is acting and eating fine, I would say that you are clear of any re-occurances.


Post back soon.

Paul

The remaining 3 goldies seem to be fine, no strange behavior or anything.

I just did a water change today and am going to test the water levels again i think I will have to keep an eye on it if you think that might have been the cause of the deaths.

Yes I did test the water, but i only tested it every other day for the first 2 weeks now i just test it once a week should i up that for a while?

How long should I wait before i put my new fish in there??
(he has been in seperate tank for 2 weeks to treat fungus and bact.)

Thanx for being quick to help Post back soon...

To be quite honest with you, I am clueless as to what might have happened....


If your original tank was cycled and you seeded the new tank with filter material and water from the old tank, your new tank should have been relatively cycled and within a few days, it would have completed cycling. Since you tested every other day and never saw a single peep out of nitrIte or ammonia, this proves my point.

Now, the above would be true if your test kits aren't expired and you performed the testing correctly. Just a thought...

The reason why I suspect that nitrItes (and possibly ammonia) had something to do with this is that you said your calico acted fine after adding salt. Salt acts a buffer for nitrItes poisoning and causes relief for goldies once added to nitrIte ridden water. However, plecos, especially small ones, don't like salt and cannot handle it very well. The hypothesized nitrItes would be one stressor for the plecos and when you added salt, this added another stressor and he might not have been able to handle it.


Alas, this is only a hypothesis. We might not ever know what actually happened. All you can do now is make sure your test kits are up to date and you're testing properly. Once thats double checked, re-test your tapwater just in case.


Good luck!

Paul

I checked all the dates and they are good...I know I am testing right I have been doing it for a year (I know you werent being mean... )

i didnt know that salt was bad for the pelcos

I use the strip tests as well as for nitrites and ammonia i use the test tubes

I dont test my tap water because i treat it before i put it in the tank and i hadnt done a water change in days when the deaths occured.
I dont know who else to ask and i am worried that i will lose more fishes,yesterday I noticed a spike in the nitrites but i tested with the tubes for nitrites and for ammonia and all was still safe but i did a water change in case.

I have 3 large goldies that i am gonna move in that tank and i want it to be safe i mean when the big tank is more of a danger then there "to small" tanks then i am worried.

Should i tear the tank down and start over or something???

Let me know what you think

Hmmm, somethings not quite right here. Can you elaborate on what you mean by your above statement? How did you notice there was a nitrIte spike if you tested and "all was still safe"???

FYI: ANY ammonia OR nitrItes (anything above 0ppm) is bad for fish. By this, I mean that if you ever test positive for ammonia OR nitrItes, something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Even if you test and the test results say that it is in the "safe range", ANYTHING above 0ppm spells trouble. Regardless of what the box or bottle of tests say, any ammonia or nitrItes is bad and is of the utmost concern.....

I know I have asked these before, but, I think a recap is due......

What is the name and size of the filters on your tank?

How many gallons is it?

How many goldfish and their size?

How do you go about maintaining your filter? Cartridge rinsings, cartridge changings, gravel cleaning, tank cleanings, water changes?

Test your tapwater and post back with the results for everything. Test your tank and post these results as well.


Be as specific as you can about everything. Sometimes even the smallest, most insignificant things an lead to a whole slew of realizations......


Post back soon.

Paul

"yesterday I noticed a spike in the nitrites but i tested with the tubes for nitrites and for ammonia and all was still safe but i did a water change in case."
-okay so what i ment by that was i use those stupid test strips that you dip in the water and it said that i had nitrites so i tested it again with the test tubes to get a more accurate reading and i was at 0ppm and i know that i did it right i usually us these types of test and not the strips.

What is the name and size of the filters on your tank? --- AQUA-tech power filter Model # 30-60 It gets 660GPH With easy replacable Carbon cartridges

How many gallons is it? 55gl tank

How many goldfish and their size?-- 3 small goldies about 1 to 1 1/2 in

How do you go about maintaining your filter? Cartridge rinsings, cartridge changings, gravel cleaning, tank cleanings, water changes?--I rinse the cartridges about once every 2 weeks when I do the water change( i do water changes once a week) I replace the cartridges about once ever 2 months to 3 months or so. I do gravel cleaning when i syphon the water during water changes, and i clean the fixtures about once a month.

Levels from tap----Nitites-0ppm Nitrates-5(water print out from city) Very Hard water Alkalinity-120 PH-7.2
Levels from tank---Ammonia-0ppm Nitrites-0ppm Nitrates-20 Alkalinity-120 PH-7.8

Did i forget anything??

Let me know what you think soon
Thank you for all your help by the way it has been much needed

Also algee is starting to grow on the tank walls a fixtures it is BROWN algee is this weird for a new tank or what??

Without sounding like a water quality freak, I still think that was the case with your lost ones. 1-NitrITes are usually the only toxin to rise when doing a quick cycle with colonized media in a new tank. 2- One of your test kits were/are lying to you. 3- Going from a ten gallon tank to a 55 gallon tank is a big jump and You were sure to get a spike of some sort. 4-Floating and frayed fins are a distinct nitrIte poisoning symptom. 5-the fact that no more strange deaths have ocured also fits nicely into the water quality thing, the cycle has established enough to handle the water volume.


Now, if you were using your dropper kits while testing at the beginning of the cycling of the new tank and results were negative the whole time, then I would advise you to either purchase a new test kit of a different brand, cross check it with another brand or investigate the compatibilities of your test kit with your dechlorinator, or salinity of water (you cannot use saltwater kits for freshwater). I am still suspicious.....


Definitely invstigate this angle further.


Sounds like everyones doing well now, though!

Paul

Hey I am agreeing with you on the water quality I am sure that was what the poblem had to be I cant find another reason, however I was using the test strips when I started the tank not the drip test kits that I have and I am inclined to think that the strip testers are poopy and I am not gonna use them anymore. I will only use the drip testers cuz they have never let me down...

Thanx again for all your help I will post back again with the algee problem and will let you know if anymore of my family dies.

Thank you