# My Fish are slowly dying



## Alliestars (Jun 15, 2015)

Hello, im new to this site but have been using it as a reference to help educate myself on how to care for my fish (fresh water).

Ive had the tank for a little over 2 months now so it should be cycled. After doing a water change yesterday and testing the water today: Nitrates and Nitrites are 0, PH 8, ammonia .25, but the general harness and carbonate hardness were too high (working on lowering it). The tank is 33 gallons with 7 guppies, 1 molly, 1 pleco, 2 black shark tetras, and 2 other very small fish.

Lately, the fish have slowly been dying one by one which breaks my heart. Everything was going well for a few weeks until one of the guppies died, which isn't very unusual until the other molly I used to own a few days later passes away as well. Since then, in around 2 weeks, i have lost 3 guppies and now my molly is dying!

The molly is at the bottom of the tank breathing heavily and not moving around much. This is similar to how one of my guppies and the other molly died. They lie on the tank either on their stomach or side and slowly die. However the latest guppy's spine curved and he died 3 days later. Can anyone help me determine what is going on? The water is in great condition and I would really like to save the rest of the fish even though they all currently seem healthy.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

With your Nitrite and Nitrates are 0 and Ammonia at 0.25 it sounds like your cycle crashed. If that is the case I would bet its ammonia poising that killing the fish. 

If it was my tanks I would to do 25% water twice a day until the ammonia got to 0 then I would do them once a day. The cycle will come back it just tanks time, you can get tetra safe start for about $7-10 that will kick off the cycle but it will still take a few weeks to get fully going again.


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## Alliestars (Jun 15, 2015)

See that's what I thought too, except that after the nitrate and nitrites spiked during the cycle, they went back down to 0 which is what they are supposed to do. Nitrates are more at .25 but both ammonia and the other levels have maintained the same reading each week after regular cleanings and the guy at the store told me my water parameters were perfect and I might have some contagion going on in the tank. So I believe something else might be going on, however I will do more water changes like you said  also, the guppies also get what appears to be fin rot before they die, does anyone know anything about that?


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

What kind of test kit are you using? If your using strips I suggest getting something like the API test kit or even take your water in to the local shop they will test it.


Here are some signs of Ammonia poisoning 

Fish gasp for breath at the water surface 
Purple or red gills 
Fish is lethargic 
Fins are torn & jagged 
Loss of appetite 
Fish lays at the bottom of the tank 
Fish may appear darker in color 
Red streaking on the fins or body


You might not see them all but it does sound like you described a few.


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## Alliestars (Jun 15, 2015)

I don't know if I should also mention I have 2 live plants in there and 2 filters going, one on each side, but you're right. Some of those signs do match what happen to my fish, although I'm confused why some of my fish have been in the tank since before I got it cycled (i didn't understand the process at first) and others die right away. I use strips for nitrate levels and such but an actual kit for the ammonia, I'll switch the strips out next time I go to the store. Thanks so much for your help


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

We all have used the strips but in the long run it is cheaper to buy a API test kit. 

As for understanding the cycle start here. http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...ssories/cycling-two-sentence-tutorial-506714/ It can be hard to get but don't over think it. 

The very best thing you can do for your fish is water changes. I was doing two 30% and one 50% water changes every week. Clean water keeps fish happy and health. I have dropped back to one 50% change a week because I cut down on my feeding.


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## Alliestars (Jun 15, 2015)

Okie dokie, I'll go to the store tomorrow and buy the API kit along with SafeStart or the Tetra stuff. I usually do about 40% water changes every Sunday but will start doing little ones more often :lol:


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

I strongly recommend Prime for a water treatment. It's the only thing I use. 

With fish you really have to learn to enjoy water changes, I learned after a while to really enjoy it.


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## Matt68046 (Jan 13, 2012)

Fin rot is usually caused by bacterial infection. Mostly pseudomonas and aeromonas. But like warhawk said, removing stress and keeping the tank clean and happy is the best bet to prevent said infections, which 99% of the time are brought on by stress.
You might try some melafix and large doses of aquarium salt. Guppies and mollies LOVE salt.


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