JohnNYC

It's a 10 gallon tank with an ACO sponge filter and I have an airstone in the sponge filter. He wasn't gasping at all, literally no movement. Then it would swim off when I went to gather him. Except the last time, no movement at all. The other galaxy raspboras stay near the bottom and hide under the sponge filter. On a positive note in my 20 long there's a baby albino corydora. I've seen them lay eggs a few times. But this is the first birth. I'm going to leave it in there because the other fish are the albino corydoras and 5 neon tetras.

Several times a fish would be lying on its side, floating at the top. But when I would go over to the fish it would wake up and swim off. Last night I did a water change and this time it was floating and did not swim off. I looked closer and it looked like pine coning. But it is so small that it is hard to tell. Nonetheless I removed the fish and threw it away. It was dead. So this brings to 3 out of 12 galaxy raspboras being in QT. Is this to be expected, are some fish just a numbers game? During the month that they've been in QT I kept the tank at 76', raised it to 78' the other day. I only saw ammonia slightly rise above 0ppm for 2 days, a barely perceptible change with the test strips. I never saw nitrite above 0ppm. I saw a slight amount of nitrate. I've had no wild pH swings. I added aquarium salt 1 1/2 weeks ago, 1 tbsp per 3 gal. At this point I will continue with them in QT and do a few water changes with non-salted water. Maybe it's my inexperience. Maybe the fish are not the highest quality, although the LFS is highly rated. In the future should I just treat new fish with salt? I'd like to go 2 weeks without a death before adding them to the main tank.

I use Dr. Tims First Defense for water changes. It is a dechlorinator but also supports their immune system and helps with stress.

Well I’m slightly concerned. Earlier a fish was floating and looked dead, but when I opened the lid and went to gather him he swam off quickly. I checked a few times and a few hours later I saw the same thing. He did not looked bloated, although that me be hard to tell with a galaxy raspbora. I opened the lid and went to grab him with a paper towel and he darted off. It’s a bit concerning but I just have to monitor the situation.

I just wanted to give an update. I got home from being away for 5 nights and there have been no more deaths. I fed them and will do water testing later. I plan on a water change tomorrow but am going to replace the removed salted water with dechlorinated fresh water. Assuming the fish remain healthy, then I will add them to the main tank at the end of next week. The fish were shy as usual, but looked energetic. I'll see how quickly they eat. I have noticed that they won't eat with me by the tank, as opposed to my main tank where the neons eat as I feed them.

Thank you. The instructions say to start with 1 tbsp per 3 gallons, I'll start with that and see how things are when I get back.

I wanted to give an update on this. My plan was to move the quarantine fish into the main tank on Thursday. But in the morning I noticed a dead fish, which I removed. I tested the water using ACO test strips. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, 6.5 ph, temp = 76'. When I got home from work I saw another dead fish and rechecked. The test results were the same except that maybe I detected a slight pink for nitrate. I am leaving them in QT tank. They've been fed every day, tested every day too. I'll do a 30% water change tomorrow morning and feed once tomorrow. I leave Sunday morning. The dead fish did not look bloated and I saw no white spots. They are small fish and I don't have the experience to detect much, but I looked for that. Hopefully I just had fish that died. But I don't want to harm my other fish. Since I'm away I can't really do treatment, unless someone can suggest a medicine I can leave in the tank for a week. I do have Maracyn, ParaCleanse and Ich-X as well as Aquarium salt.

Are you doing this with a QT? My concern is them being 5 days in water with no food will be tough. On the other hand fish survive pretty long in shipment and they'll be well fed next week. Plus I don't risk my main tank with unexpected diseases. I guess as long as they can go without food, including food waste in the QT, then they'll be okay.

Thanks to both of you. Yeah, I had typos and bad grammar. I meant I have no vacation planned after this one on the 24th. So when I get back from vacation I could buy some neon tetras, put them in the QT, and observe them for as long as is needed. It sounds like my best plan, assuming the galaxy raspboras continue to look healthy, is to add them to the main tank early next week.

The main tank is a 20 long. It's got a good amount of plants, 5 neon tetras and 4 albino corys. My intention when I went to the LFS was to get more neon, but they were out. In a month or so I'll add more neon tetras when they get them in. I feel like 5 is not enough. But I'll no vacation planned and hopefully the QT will be more established.

I have 1 main planted tank that has been up for 1 1/2 years. At the beginning of this month I set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank. It has a sponge filter, some PVC pipes in case they want to hide. It is heated to 76', same as the main tank. I added beneficial bacteria when I set it up, I used a bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only. On March 5th I added 12 Galaxy Raspboras, they are very tiny. I've been testing daily for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate using ACO test strips. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate have been at 0 until Tuesday night. On Tuesday night I could see a very slight change in color for ammonia. If I gave it a number it was <.25 ppm, certainly less than the .5 ppm color. I also tested with API liquid test kit and detected less than .5 ppm. I know it's not 100% accurate, but it was definitely less .5 ppm. I didn't feed them that night. It was late, so last night, the 13th, I tested again and had the same results and did a 25% water change. This morning I tested with the strips and there was a slight color change for ammonia, meaning slightly more than 0 ppm. I fed them a little this morning. My plan is to feed daily, continue testing and do water changes if needed. In a perfect world I would quarantine for a month assuming they seem healthy. The fish are active, they are shy fish but move well, and they eat. Now to my question. I am going away next Sunday, March 24th, for 5 nights. Assuming the fish continue to look healthy. Should I leave them in the QT with an auto feeder set for once a day? Leave them in the QT with no auto feeder? Move them to the main tank where there are plenty of plants and it is lightly stocked? I expect to get the ACO auto feeder on the 18th, so I'll have a chance to make sure it is not feeding too much. I leave early on the 24th and get back late on 29th. So I couldn't do a WC until the 30th. My main tank has 5 neon tetras and 4 albino corys.

A LFS here in NYC told me that they don't dechlorinate because the levels are so low. I did test my tap water once and I saw no indication on the test strip of chlorine or chloramine. That being said, I use Dr. Tim's First Defense just to be careful with the added benefits similar to Stress Coat. Plus it detoxifies heavy metals and there are old pipes in our building.

I am pretty sure it wasn’t columnaris based on pictures I looked up.

The fish that was sick had an injury on its side and started bloating and pineconing. I moved it to the hospital/quarantine tank and tried treating him with Maracyn. I honestly think I should have euthanized him sooner based on what I’ve read about his condition. The tank has had water in it but no fish since then. My plan for the quarantine tank, once cleaned, is to put glass marbles, sponge filter, heater and a couple of pvc pipe/caves. I will dechlorinate the water and had a fresh bottle of One and Only nitrifying bacteria. I will test every day for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and do a water change if needed. Otherwise I’ll do weekly water changes. I’m leaving them in there for a month. I am going away for 5 days on the 24th. So I’ll have 3 weeks to feed/observe them before going away. Then move them to the main tank after I get back. If more experienced people think that is chancy to leave them unattended after 3 weeks then I could do a fishless cycle and get the fish when I get back.

I'm lazy at times, so let me get that out of the way. About 6 months ago I had a sick fish in a 10 gallon tank and was treating with maracyn. I ended up euthanizing the fish. The lazy part is the tank has been just sitting there and I want to set it up as a quarantine tank. The tank has glass marbles and 2 PVC pipes for hiding spots. I also have a sponge filter. Do I need to bleach this tank or rinse it with hot water and scrub it down? The tank does not smell at all so maybe a good rinse and scrub is enough. But if I need to bleach, then I'll bleach. My goal was to clean tonight and set up tomorrow so that I can get fish on Sunday. Any advice is welcome.

I'm no expert, so take my comment with a grain of salt. Will you be adding any beneficial bacteria like One and Only? I am setting up a quarantine tank sone and will be doing a fish in cycle and using One and Only. I also think a lot depends on the size of the tank in relation to the number of fish.

Thank you all!

My aquarium water is pretty low in KH, ~20 ppm when tested with Aquarium Coop test strips. GH is ~80 and pH is 6.5. My tap water shows the same. I would like to raise it because I was having trouble keeping nerite snails alive and would like to add more. Easy enough, I'll put some crushed coral in a bag in the HOB filter and test over time. But my question is should I be concerned if my quarantine tank is just using tap water with no crushed coral? I just don't know how different the water parameters will be and if it will be a problem for fish moving from quarantine to the main tank. My quarantine tank is a 10 gallon tank with a sponge filter and I use glass marbles for substrate because they're easy to clean. I suppose I could add crushed coral to the substrate and if I every needed to really clean out the quarantine tank I could just replace the crushed coral. Any advice is appreciated!

I got home today and the gourami looked the same. Hanging out on the bottom, would sort of swim up then down. Very bloated and pine coning. I felt very conflicted about what to do. I found a drugstore that listed pure epsom salt in stock. The one I stopped by on the way home had scented salt. Before I went to get I looked at him, he's so bloated that his bottom half looked like 2 boils. The hospital tank has nob gravel, just some smooth flat glass marbles. So I made the decision to euthanize him. I felt bad, but the only reason to keep him alive is to say I did it, like some bad experiment. I followed instructions for using clove oil. I gave him 30 minutes of no movement in total. Then I threw him in the garbage. I have to bleach the tank, but that has to wait for another day. It's late and I wanted to do a water change on the main tank. I think I messed up through ignorance and inexperience. When I saw the cut I should have removed him immediately and treated him for a cut. Having a planned vacation in the middle of all this didn't help. I also think he a little bloated before and I have read that they should have some roughage in their diet like freeze dried peas. I can't be too hard on myself, I see plenty of other new fish keepers having sick fish. The other fish seem healthy. I'll bleach the tank and equipment this week, dry it out, and set it up for quarantining some more neon tetras. I think they'd feel happier with more than 6 in a 20 gallon tank. Thanks for all of the advice.

I have Fritz' Freshwater salt on order, but I'll see if the local Petco has API salt in stock. He's barely eating anything at all. I have been adding freeze dried peas and garlic to the tank, just a little. I'm using daily doses of Maracyn for anti-bacterial cure. He looks real bad, just lays there then floats to the top and then back down. I'm trying to balance between trying to cure him but having him suffer. I wonder if initially he got a cut from the swimming behind the hang on back filter and that got infected. I'm not sure.

That makes sense about it being preventative. Thank you for the encouragement. I'll update with, hopefully good, news.

I did not post an update at the end of last week. I noticed that the honey gourami was looking bloated, like a football. Also, his scales were looking like pine coning. I was scheduled for a 5 night vacation starting on July 2nd. So I put him in a 10 gallon quarantine tank with fresh water, sponge filter and an extra air stone. I added the extra air stone because I was advised to raise the temperature a little. I searched for bloated fish on Aquarium Coop and one thing list was using Fritz' Maracyn, which I have. The Fritz directions are every day adding a packet of Maracyn for 5 days, which was not possible since I was going away. The Aquarium Coop directions was 1 packet for 7 days. So I added a packet. Tonight I got home. The good news is he is still alive. But he is very bloated and still pine coning. I also tested the water using test strips. The ammonia was a hair high and the nitrites were at 1. I added Prime to help detoxify the Ammonia and Nitrite. I filled a bucket with fresh water so that I can do a water change in the morning, it will reach room temperature by then. I tried to feed him. He goes to the top but did not seem interested in the food. I'll try again in the morning. My plan is to do a 50% water change in the morning. Then start the Fritz directions for Maracyn, 5 days of adding a packet each day, then 25% water change on the 6th day. If necessary I can repeat the treatment. I don't know if he'll get better, but I'll try.

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I do have a Tidal 35 filter. I’m relatively new, first aquarium, but I like it and the water is very clear. He does hang out by it. I just fed the tank and he was actively eating. I also began setup of the quarantine tank last night, so if needed I could move him there tonight. But I bet he’ll be tough to capture!

I have a 20 gallon long tank with 1 honey gourami, 6 neon tetras and 4 albino corys. Yesterday I noticed a small mark on the right side of the honey gourami. I did not notice it on Friday, but maybe I missed it. He normally spends time in the back behind the plants. He seems to be spending some time resting on top of plants, but he may have been doing that already and I never really noticed it. He ate well this morning. He seems to swim okay. I went to my local fish shop and showed the fish guy a picture and he suggested API Melafix. When I got home I did a water change and did the first dose. The label recommends doing this for 7 days then doing a 25% water change. The problem is that I go away for 5 nights, leaving early next Sunday. So if I do a water change, I will be doing it on Saturday. Then I am away for 5 nights. Any ideas on what this could be or general suggestions? I can set up a quarantine/hospital tank tonight that will be ready tomorrow. Although he may be tough to catch! So I may just need to treat the whole tank. Melafix seems safe for that. I also have Para Cleanse, Maracyn and Ich-X on hand. If it is something serious then I would want to get him into the hospital tank because I would hate to have a dead fish in the main tank while I'm away. I tested my water before the water change. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 60 nitrate, pH is 6.8. Temperature is 78' - 79' depending on how hot it is outside. I posted this on the Facebook group and got a like and a love, not sure why someone liked a sick fish. Maybe they just thought it was a pretty fish, lol. I attached a picture, any advice is appreciated.

I have regular gravel. The filter is a Tidal 35 HOB in which I have the included coarse filter sponge and bio media. I used the API master test kit before the planting, cleaning on Sunday and had a pH of 6.8, 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite and 80 Nitrates. On Tuesday I checked with the Aquarium Coop test strips and had Nitrite and Nitrate was at 10. I added One and Only nitrifying on Tuesday. Last night I did a 25% water change. The test strips still showed high nitrite this morning. I did not feed yesterday, but fed a little this morning. If the Nitrite its still high tonight I'll do a 50% water change. The plants look good. From my initial plants 2 had dies and I removed the java moss because I didn't like the look of it. On Sunday I added about 8 plants. Again, thank you all for being so helpful!