Hello all. This may be a long-winded post, as I feel like it has been a never-ending uphill battle with my community tank and I have no idea what may be related or relevant, or if perhaps its a cumulation of it all.
Some things to note:
I have researched more than I ever thought I would and am frustrated with all the conflicting information on certain things.
I am in Canada, which has a ridiculous rule about fish medications. I honestly feel like this is the main issue relating to my tank.
I test my water religiously. pH=7.6ish; Nitrates=water change when it nears 20-40; Nitrite=0; Ammonia=0; Temp=78-80
Fish Types in Community: Mollies, Platies, Guppies, Julii Corydoras, 1 Angel, 1 Hillstream Loach, 1 Kuhli Loach (only because I lost 3)
I believe that there may be a parasite affecting my fish; however, I am unable to get medication to treat it and I have heard that salt is bad for the scaleless fish. I have also dealt with bouts of Ick and possibly other types of ailments that I think may be byproducts of the stress from the parasite?
Over the last few months I feel like I am constantly treating my tank for something (and I think the constant treatments may have caused the loss of the kuhli loaches); however, I have also lost Mollies, Platies, and Guppies to seemingly different causes.
In the past I have treated with APIs Pimafix, Melafix, and Super Ick Cure...which are pretty much all I can get locally.
There is never a large "die off" of fish which is what my aquarium store owner said would happen with diseases (that it would wipe through the tank in a couple of days). It seems like I have only one fish sick at a time...then it dies...then another one gets sick...and so on (and not always from the same cause...at least how it appears).
Currently I have a Molly who is swimming oddly and likes to hang out next to the heater swimming vertically; however, not always. He eats normally and swims fine when doing so (although perhaps a little more wiggly than normal). He appeared to have white spots, so I am treating the tank again for Ick. I also have a Platy that used to be outgoing and now hides in the back and I would have thought maybe she was just pregnant except that the last time I saw her swim, it almost looked like her tail wanted to float upwards. And last night I lost a Kuhli Loach (absolutely broke my heart). The rest of the fish seem normal.
The previous fish to die was a Guppy who almost looked like he got fin rot, but not sure, as he went quickly.
Before that, a Molly that seemed to perhaps have a fungal infection, but it was clearing up when he died.
Before that, a Platy that developed a curved spin and was very thin.
And there have been others...some that seemed to have no cause, others that were behaving oddly before hand, etc.
I have noticed sometimes, white stringy feces, which I was told is a sign of parasites, but there always seems to be other symptoms.
I was so excited to get into this hobby and my 3 small tanks are all fine (*knock on wood*), but this big tank has been a struggle from the get go and it breaks my heart every time I lose a fish. It is honestly making me question whether to give up all together. I am so frustrated that I am unable to get the medication I thought I needed that perhaps could have ended this awful cycle of death a long time ago.
I don't know if I am asking for help or just really needed to vent to people who might understand (my family doesn't understand when I get so upset about losing a fish). Sorry for the long post.