Bala

Hi Travis, I did check for ammonia. It was not zero but slightly above. I did a water change. The fish seem to have issues like a bladder disease and can't straighten themselves. I have (not this specific time) treated with the routine Aquarium Coop blog has recommended (with Ich-X, Paracleanse, Maracyn) but that did not help. When the issue starts I generally lose about 3-4 fishes.. 😞 Any suggestions or ideas on what could be wrong? Bala

Hello, I have an ongoing problem with my tank that I cannot figure out what to do with. I have read many online articles and did the things that were suggested but it does not seem to help. Let me give an idea of the latest "episode" I have had. I am hoping some of you can give me other suggestions that might help me fix this issue once and for all. I have a 40 odd gallon tank with a variety of fish, mostly small ones, and snails. All of the fishes are supposed to be beginner fishes such as tetras', cory catfish etc. I did have 3 ghost fishes but 2 of them died recently. I do have one plecostamus that has grown pretty big. I check my water regularly and change 10% every week most of the time, worst case I may land up skipping a week. The water quality is good with nitrate being sometimes on the borderline. The water I get in CA is acidic, so the pH tends to go low. I use neutral regulator once a week and it seems to maintain the pH right around 7. About 2 months back, after lots of frustrating year or so of fish deaths and plants dying off, I moved the surviving fish to a temporary tank, completely cleaned my tank, used bleach to kill off any spores (theory), put it out in the sun for a day or two, got new substrate, new equipment for the tank, got new plants from Aquarium Coop and started the tank again. I waited for a few days, tested the water, ensured it was all good and then reintroduced the fishes back. Everything was going great -- I even had couple of guppies give birth to little ones, plants were growing well and spreading (suggesting the lighting and water quality was good). Then two weeks back disaster hit again -- the fishes started dying off, and the plants started falling apart. The sick plants started getting a black coating (?) as if there is some fungus growing in the tank. I also see green "bearded" algae growing on some of the decorations in the tank. See the attached pictures. This is the same problem i have had for more than a year now. The two small guppies I moved over to my quarantine tank are doing great and growing rapidly so the issue seems to be with my large tank. I am completely at a loss on what to do...You guys are the experts...Please give me suggestions on how I can fix this problem.. Bala