# my fish are losing their colour and dying



## sulley07 (Sep 16, 2010)

Hi, I am new to tropical fish keeping, and have a small variety of fish. A couple of my silver sharks and tiger barbs have developed a whiteish scale area and are losing their colour. A couple of the barbs have also died. I clean the filter every week and change about 1/5 of the tank water every week too. Are the deaths and the white patches linked? Can I prevent the rest of my fish from dying?


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Welcom to TFK! Really sorry to hear about your troubles. How long has the tank been set up, how long have you had the fish and are you able to post your water parameters, size of tank??


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

> I clean the filter every week


Sounds like the tanks not being allowed to cycle.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Filter pad should be rinsed with aquarium water once every 2 weeks and not exchanged for a new one until it is literally falling apart to preserve bacteria. It sounds like your fish are fading due to stress from high ammonia or possibly high nitrite levels because the tank isnt cycled.

Tank size and water parameters would also help use figure out what could be causing the problem. Faded colors generally mean illness, stress, or a incomplete diet. If some have died, it is likely to be illness or stress.


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