oh please help!

[LUVaLOACH]

Hi Kris,

I'm really sorry to hear all this, you must feel so sad.

It's possible that it was a secondary bacterial infection or another type of parasite (probably more likely). When was the last time you added new fish to this tank?

Has your pH dropped rapidly recently, or is that a normal stable reading?

I personally wouldn't advise changing the carbon until you have finished any courses of medication as otherwise it will absorb this and render it useless.

Emma

Well, there is nothing left alive in the tank but the rainbows and they won't eat so I am just going to medicate and hope. I lost all my loaches, well, except my 2 dojo's in the coldwater tank.

As for the carbon, well I will be amazed if rainbows make it through the night, but if they do I will finish out the treatment.

Emma, did you read the other post about my power going off and the tank went from about 6pm-6am without filtration? It didn't dawn on me until I read that post that this might have caused the problem and yes, after that the ph did drop but I caught it right away and brought it back up with a buffer. Sometimes I have to buffer the water but mostly the ph is always at or around 6.5-6.8.

The only fish I have added are the clowns and I noticed the ich on them the very next day. I don't know which it was, a secondary infection or another parasite but whatever it was it hit quick and totally blindsided me. I watched those fish constantly, they were fine just yesterday evening. I will say this, I now understand why people love clowns like they do. I am really bummed to have lost them all and the angelicus. It was just so sad, they were literally dying one right after the other. Makes you feel helpless when you can't help.

Thanks for trying to help me figure it out.

Take care,
Kris

[Keith Wolcott]

Kris,

Martin and the others are correct. It is not your fault. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, events are beyond our control.

Keith

[LUVaLOACH]

Oh Kris, what a bummer
I missed all this going on.....not that it sounds like anyone could have stopped it.
One thing that often gets forgotten is that for every Ich spot you see on the surface, there are many that attack the gill filaments. This severely reduces the ability of the gills to process oxygen and just like Pneumonia in humans, it can be a killer. It sounds like the general weakness and then going to the surface indicates oxygen deprivation.
Like Emma says, you need aeration, but all the bubbles in the world won't help if the fish's gills cannot function correctly. Young fish will also be far less resilient and unable to cope. A larger fish might have enough gill capacity to survive.

It's probably best to wait now till you get the big tank up and running and then find yourself some new babies. When you get to that point come and ask us here and we'll tell you what to look for to try and get you the best fish possible. With these guys you tried your best with fish that arrived in a less than ideal way. Sometimes there's nothing that you can do to stop the inevitable. Not your fault.

Chin up

Martin.

Thank you Martin, as you can imagine I am very upset. I was so excited to have these guys and I really considered it a rescue mission b/c of the way I got them. I did what I could but I have never seen anything like this, they were just dying so fast and it was a pattern.

I apprecite your advice and offer to help me find some more clowns for my big tank when it's up and running, and I will take you up on that when I get it going. I fell in love with those tiny dancers and my big tank is going to be devoted to them.

I hope this finds you doing well, thanks for the reply.

Kris

[LUVaLOACH]

Kris,

Martin and the others are correct. It is not your fault. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, events are beyond our control.

Keith

Keith,

Thanks for your reply, and welcome to the forum. I see that you just joined us recently...wonderful to have you here.

I have lost a lot of fish in the past 9 months of fish keeping, due to my inexperience, but these little guys had me by the heart strings today. I did what I could but like you said this was something out of my hands. I will have more clowns again soon.

Thanks,
Kris

[mikev]

Mucus deterioration prior to death and very rapid dieout despite ich treatment makes one think that something else was involved. It may be poisoning, but also there are some other pathogens out there, that are on the level of plague (if ich is a mere pneumonia).

If your rainbows make it, don't put any new fish in the tank for some time, at least a couple of months. If they don't, I'd consider junking the tank and everything in it, or at least fully sterilizing it.

Good luck.

[LUVaLOACH]

Mucus deterioration prior to death and very rapid dieout despite ich treatment makes one think that something else was involved. It may be poisoning, but also there are some other pathogens out there, that are on the level of plague (if ich is a mere pneumonia).

If your rainbows make it, don't put any new fish in the tank for some time, at least a couple of months. If they don't, I'd consider junking the tank and everything in it, or at least fully sterilizing it.

Good luck.

Thanks so much for your reply. The rainbows are still alive...barely. The whole thing just freaked me out...it happened so fast. I am still treating the tank but the fish are getting worse and not eating and their breathing is very labored now too so I am not expecting them to make it, but they might surprise me...who knows.

Thanks and take care,
Krista

[mikev]

Sorry to hear this.

Do/did you see any signs of ich on the rainbows?

If no, let me say that what you describe resembles a very nasty episode here with new fish. Since I knew the pathogen involved in my episode that tank no longer exists...

[Emma Turner]

Hi Kris,

Fingers crossed for the Rainbows. If you had a power cut for 12 hours, that will knock out your filter bacteria and your tanks may well cycle again because the oxygen supply to the nitrifying bacteria will have been cut off. Make sure you carry out ammonia and nitrIte tests daily for a while until it all settles down, and if need be, take appropriate action.

Best wishes,

Emma

[Icewall42]

Wow, I really feel your pain. A couple days ago I freaked out, too, and I was so upset when my old sinibotia pulchra up and died within 10-20 minutes. It's completely acceptable to be upset about losing a fish, because they are as much a part of the family as a dog or cat might be, at least to fish-lovers like us.

I think Martin might be right about the diagnosis, especially with the pattern you mentioned. But whatever did happen, try not to blame yourself as it wasn't your fault. These things do happen.

Beleive me, I felt I was at fault for the death of five fish two-three days ago. I still have no diagnosis on the pulchra, and the only thing I could think of that happened to the four other fish was cyanide poisoning, as I've learned from one person here and a Petsmart representative that wholesalers sometimes do use cyanide in catching their fish. If it's all a myth... then I'm at a loss

I also have no clue what happened with my modesta, as it spazzed out on the day the pulchra died. But he looks okay now and he's once again joining his buddies.

Have you tried anti-bacterial medication like Melafix? I know that stuff does well for bacterial problems. You're using Maracyn2, right? I think that's also anti-bacterial? Also, I think increasing the aeration is a good thing, too.

Good luck, and I'm so sorry for your loss, it's perfectly okay to be upset.