Great discussion on water changing methods

[cichlidwoman]

Hi,

As above I have one baby fronnie (gasping & generally not moving much - i have put him in isolataion fron the others in the same tank but in a floating unit). His tank mates are fine, the other 5 fronnies are showing no signs of distress, eating hearthly ect etc. I have 6 yellows, 2 blues of similar size and none of these are sick either. He doesn't seem to have any bits from the gills either. I know that baby fronnies show the first signs of sickness when something is wrong in the tank but after testing ph, adding salt regularly nothing seems different to usual. He had been sort of sitting on the bottom for 2 days (just though he was being a typically fronnie) before he got noticably worst last night. He's also about 3cm if that helps

Anyone got any advice, would appreciate it....

Thanks

Alana

[ashhhh]

im am no expert :roll: ,
but maybe a lack of oxygen?
 the weather is starting to warm up, so the more aeration and water surface agitation you have, the more oxygen. I think the agitation from the bubbles or a powerhead aimed at the surface breaks the surface tension of the water and helps with oxygen / carbon dioxide release,transfer -whatever , well something like that
maybe someone else could back me up or correct me or tell me to shaddap :wink:

[cichlidwoman]

yeah thought that could be it so increased the air. Only did this last night though and he's still gasping. It's like he has a parasite or something but he's not blotting yet. Im at work now so i'm hoping he'll have taken a turn for the better not worse by the time I get home. Im thinking maybe a salt bath would be good for him cos something is obviously in his gills...

[madbob101]

Shaddup (sorry ash  :P )

No id do as ashh said and throw in an airstone or 2 see how that goes :wink:

[grokz]

ill 2nd that
more aeration is the go and how does he get along with the other fronnies cause he might be getting bullied.

[cichlidwoman]

Just had word from the other half that he didn't make it. No else is gasping so hoping that the others are fine. We had uped the air last night so that'll help. Can anyone tell me why one would be struck down with it and the others not, that is why i suspected a parasite.. we do regular water changes, add salt check the ph, nitrate, ammonia.... the only thing i can think is that a couple of days a go they were fed small bait prawns(although im not sure he even ate any)....any suggestions

thanks everyone for you advice

[DeagonTheo]

Without knowing tank and fish details it would be pretty hard to make any assumptions whatsoever. Unfortunately fish do die from unexplainable reasons sometimes.

Some things to watch out for, especially if you are new to the game.
Overcrowding
Overfeeding
Waterchanges straight from the tap
Too many water changes while the tank is trying to cycle
Overfeeding while the tank is trying to cycle
Putting new fish straight in the tank without acclimatizing
Bullying from other fish.
Any fish that sits in a corner too often, even Fronnies, probably has a problem.

And even when you do everything right , sometimes there is an inexplicable death.
Theo

[cichlidwoman]

thanks Theo, I just hate seeing the buggers die with no obvious explanation - one question, we do water changes from the tap (with chemicals) for about a quater of the tank every 2-3 weeks.. do you think this is to harsh? why not use straight from the tap..we do it gradually over an hour, one hose going out one going in.. not the way to go??? if not what is the best way from your experience?

Cheers,

Alana

[grokz]

there is chlorine and chloramine in the tap water which is deadly to fish.
should always put chlorine neautralizer in the tap water.

[DeagonTheo]

I know a lot of people think they arent harming their fish by putting in fresh water , but I can tell you from experience they are.
Not only that, Councils sometimes put in more chemicals for one reason or another, such as after a storm. When this happens you [u:fa28662f8c]will[/u:fa28662f8c] lose fish.
The best way is to age water in a drum or drums. Two days is all it takes(Or longer if you wish) and your fish will love you for it.
I always have two drums ready to go.
Go to the markets and pick up cheap plastic drums, or Bunnings have all kinds of containers nowadays at very good prices. Just make sure they havent contained harsh chemicals.
Theo

[here fishie fishie]

I do the same as Theo when it comes to water changes.

With the fronnie, breathing heavy at the bottom of the tank isn't a lack of oxygen in the water.
If it was breathing heavily at the top of the water it would of been lack of oxygen in the water.

Frenchy :D

[cichlidwoman]

thanks everyone, so even adding the chemicals whilst adding the water there is still a risk. Looks like I'll be buying some drums.

[DeagonTheo]

Adding chemicals while adding the water is probably the worst way, besides adding no chemicals that is.
Theo

[devz11]

I put my neutraliser in then get the hose and put it in the tank. I have never had a problem this way for americans or africans. It seems to work and is far easier than doing it any other way. Everyone does things different. But no neutraliser is murder i would say

[grokz]

i do exactly what devz11 does i put the neutraliser in then i put the hose in and i have never had a problem