fish symptoms help...!?!?

[Kiko]

my Nyerereis appears to have:
cough/yawn
rubbing on the substrate (sand)
a little bit of discoloration

is it normal?
their swimming just fine..
looks quite healthy
but they've been coughing/yawning motion frequently and rubbing the sand..
i was feeding them once a day but i had narrowed it to once every 2 days...

not too worried about them dying because they look pretty healthy to me...
hopefully they are... =/

[barrettsline]

Have you tested your water. There's another thread open right now dealing with this same issue, under general discussion, lot of answers to your similar problem hope this helps


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[barrettsline]

Come to think of it it's your thread, is this a double?


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.255917,-95.212098

[Complexity]

cough/yawn

This is called gasping. It is a sign of distress.

rubbing on the substrate (sand)

As I said in your other thread, this is called flashing. Given what you've said in your other thread, I suspect the fish's gills are being burned by poor water conditions due to an uncycled tank.

a little bit of discoloration

No fancy name for this one. Just another symptom of the same problem.

is it normal?

I believe this was answered in your other thread. No, this is not normal. The fish are dying.

their swimming just fine..

It's good they're swimming in between gasping and flashing.

looks quite healthy

Except for their discoloration, gasping, and flashing?

but they've been coughing/yawning motion frequently and rubbing the sand..

And they'll continue to do this until they die unless the water conditions are improved.

i was feeding them once a day but i had narrowed it to once every 2 days...

Overfeeding isn't the root problem. The water quality is the problem due to the tank not being cycled and your lack of water changes.

not too worried about them dying because they look pretty healthy to me...

Fish that are discolored, gasping, and flashing look healthy? Your fish will die if you don't correct the situation regardless of whether you worry about it or not. Your level of worry won't fix things.

hopefully they are... =/

Unfortunately, discolored, gasping, and flashing fish do not get better just because we hope they will.

Please get a Freshwater Master Test Kit as I described in your other thread on this same topic to test your water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Based on the results of the tests, you will need to perform water changes to bring the water conditions into safe levels for the fish. Ammonia and nitrites are especially toxic to the fish and will kill the fish if the water conditions are not improved.

In your other thread, you stated you were going to do 20% water changes every 2 weeks. This is less than what's recommended for a tank with healthy fish with good water conditions. Water changes of 50% every week is generally recommended. In the case of an uncycled tank with dying fish in it, more aggressive water changes may be needed.

I also recommend that you not use the "drinking water" you said you were using in your other thread, but to use tap water with a water conditioner, such as Prime. Not only does Prime remove the chlorine and chloramine from the tap water, but it also locks up the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates which can be very helpful in this particular situation.

If your fish make it, I'll be very happy for you. However, they are showing signs of illness which will lead to their death if the water conditions are not improved. If what you have been doing was working, the fish wouldn't be as sick as they are now so things must change for them to get better. You cannot continue doing the same thing and expect a different result.

We're here to help you, but you have to be willing to accept the help when it's offered; otherwise, there's no point in trying.

[barrettsline]

+1 on all of that. Especially the last part.

[Kiko]

lack in water changes? ive been doing change way too much for the size fishes i have (1x a day for 4 days, then 1x every 2 days for 4, and yesterday was the last of the water change) ... these fishes are still frys no where close to adult.. my water did cycle or is cycling (for the first week i had 20+ feeder fish and 3 mollies in there to cycle the water and added amquel ammonia detox).. the water is full of bacteria... so much the glass was blurry before it settled.. yesterday the water change was full of ammonia i know this for a fact b/c they were swimming at the top and when i added more ammonia detoxifier they started their normal routine of swimming around and everything. thanks for the letting me know what the yawn like motion they were doing... but i dont see anything that is causing distress... i put a air pump in there which will give it plenty of oxygen... as far as nitrates and stuff i dont see anything that is causing it to rise... i change the filter pad every 2 days... my next option is to buy plants but my lighting is not strong enough to have plants... they'll die off... i will be picking up amquel conditioner for the fishes today to help them get a thicker coat of slime... the temp of the tank is 79-80ish is that fine? i really dont see anything else wrong and im probably going wait until the water cycles even more... and do 30% changes b/c these fishes are still frys and i dont want to spike the water again like yesterday... thanks for explaining stuff to me... =D

[Kiko]

i just want you guys to know i like the suggestions and help and stuff.. but i have the money (in college with no job) to be laying out to get a test kit (donate and ill get it for sure =DDD) just for a 20 gallon with only frys.. i just want to know what are these symptoms called and what their doing so i can do research and find a fix without paying for anything else except water and electricity... thanks

[mgarrido]

Dude just add bacteria from a very well stablished tank for cycle your tank. Also Try to buy/borrow a test kit, it's very important to know your water parameters, petco or petsmart can test your water for you.

[eklikewhoa]

Stop replacing your filter pad... bacteria has to build somewhere and that would be your best bet.

[Complexity]

Kiko, I know you are trying and you're doing a good job. It can be confusing at first since there are so many details, and things that seem to make sense aren't always what works.

If there is any ammonia in the tank, that indicates that the tank is not cycled. A fully cycled tank never has ammonia.

I wish I lived closer to you because I just got a brand new test kit. My old test kit had expired, and I'm doing some extra cleaning in my 90g tank which might be compromising my bacteria so I have to test the water to make sure I'm not affecting my tank's cycle. I would be more than happy to test your water if I lived closer. Testing the water is the only way to really know what's going on. Think of it like how a doctor does a blood test. You're the fish's doctor, and you can only do a good job if you have the right tools, such as a test kit.

One thing I noticed is that you mentioned that you are changing your filter pads every 2 days. I can see you are trying so hard to keep the water clean! But while it may seem odd, a dirty filter pad is actually good when you're trying to cycle a tank. The filter pad is where a lot of the good bacteria multiply so you want disturb the pads as little as possible while the tank is cycling. In fact, many people will transfer a dirty filter pad to a new tank specifically to carry over the good bacteria in the dirty pad. So stop changing the pads. Let them fill up with bacteria. A healthy filter pad will look really gross with lots of brownish muck in it.

Can you take some of your water to a local fish store to have them test it? Or do you know anyone close to you with a test kit? I know I keep harping on this same thing, but it's really very important to test the water.

[Complexity]

Kiko, you're welcome to bring your water to me for testing. You can bring it over here every day to have it tested until you get your tank cycled. If you'd like, I could even give you a dirty (filled with good bacteria!) filter pad to help jump start your tank's cycle.

[barrettsline]

Kiko, try going to your local LFS, some are nice enough to give you just enough to test for a week or so. Aqua zoo was very accommodating in this area for me as well as they would test for free for me as much as I wanted.


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[Kiko]

yea my filter pads were all brown and disgusting looking... which grossed me out so i changed it... XD... and it also stinks real bad... well i think if i let this pad sit for awhile then it should be fine right?... im will hit it with a lil more water conditioner today but thats going to have to do for now...

Kiko, I know you are trying and you're doing a good job. It can be confusing at first since there are so many details, and things that seem to make sense aren't always what works.

If there is any ammonia in the tank, that indicates that the tank is not cycled. A fully cycled tank never has ammonia.

I wish I lived closer to you because I just got a brand new test kit. My old test kit had expired, and I'm doing some extra cleaning in my 90g tank which might be compromising my bacteria so I have to test the water to make sure I'm not affecting my tank's cycle. I would be more than happy to test your water if I lived closer. Testing the water is the only way to really know what's going on. Think of it like how a doctor does a blood test. You're the fish's doctor, and you can only do a good job if you have the right tools, such as a test kit.

One thing I noticed is that you mentioned that you are changing your filter pads every 2 days. I can see you are trying so hard to keep the water clean! But while it may seem odd, a dirty filter pad is actually good when you're trying to cycle a tank. The filter pad is where a lot of the good bacteria multiply so you want disturb the pads as little as possible while the tank is cycling. In fact, many people will transfer a dirty filter pad to a new tank specifically to carry over the good bacteria in the dirty pad. So stop changing the pads. Let them fill up with bacteria. A healthy filter pad will look really gross with lots of brownish muck in it.

Can you take some of your water to a local fish store to have them test it? Or do you know anyone close to you with a test kit? I know I keep harping on this same thing, but it's really very important to test the water.

[eklikewhoa]

The smell is temporary unless something is dead in there.

[Kiko]

im returning 3 cory cats today to petsmart... ill have them test the water that the cory's are in.. im returning them b/c i want better looking (green) cory cats so probably going to swap them for the spotted corys