Help urgent cloudy water fish breathing heavy and losing pigment and dying

lauren_laroo

lauren_laroo

Reefing newb
PLEASE HELP I've read and read today but cant really find anything but to change the water.

my water got really cloudy out of the blue yesterday i bought water clearer didnt work at all changed the filter no help today my fish started dying the remaining ones are swimming at the top gasping for air they are now losing pigment i did a 20% water change the water is still cloudy i've lost a blue damsel green cromis and strawberry pseudo I only have 2 clowns a blue damsel and engineer goby left(he's even swimming the top) please is there anything i can do i dont think they will last through the night
 
A water change. That's all you can do. Why haven't you done one already? Cloudy water is evidence of a bacterial bloom. The bacterial population explodes, turns the water cloudy, and starves the water of oxygen, which is why your fish are gasping -- they are suffocating.

If you have a 30 gallon tank that is 3 months old with 7 fish in it already, that is why you have a bacterial bloom -- your tank is totally overstocked, and you stocked it very quickly. Overstocking a fish tank like that will cause a tank crash in the exact way you are describing. In a 30 gallon tank, you can have 3 or 4 fish, max. You should add no more than 1 fish every 3 to 4 weeks. Add too many fish too fast, and this happens, sorry to say.

Water change, water change, water change. Good luck -- I hope your fish recover.
 
Man, what happened? What changed in the water? What are you water tests showing? We need more info. Remove the dead things and check that water.
 
I did a water change already but still no improvement i did a 20% water change.... and now i know that i stocked to quickly from reading and reading only reason i stocked so quickly is because our towns fish store said that i was ready to go and that i could put them all in there
 
Sorry to hear that you were misled by the fish store -- that really sucks. Not all of them are honest. In the end, they are a business, and sometimes all they're interested in is making money off of people. There are good fish stores out there, and it usually takes a while to find one that has integrity.

I would do another 20% water change. And then another 20% in a couple of hours. There isn't much else you can do, unless you remove the fish from the tank altogether.
 
How about ammonia? Do you have an ammonia test kit? If nitrite is anything above zero, it can harm fish, and I'm willing to bet you have ammonia as well.

Do you happen to have any chemicals on hand like Amquel or Prime? They neutralize ammonia and nitrites and can be used in an emergency situation like yours.
 
No i cant find my ammonia test strips i've been looking all day and no i dont have any of those chems only AquaSafe, Start Right, nutrafin Cycle, and crystal clear I'm running out of salt i think i hane enough for 1 more water change and thats it I will try to do another one
 
Okay -- good luck. Don't give up... Fish can be tougher than you think. They may pull through.

Do you have adequate circulation in the tank? Like powerheads moving the water around? Make sure there's a lot of water movement, that will help.
 
well all i have is my filter but it makes a really strong flow and nomatter how full the water is it still pours heavy into the tanks and theres constant bubbles.. should i put more cycle chems in it or just the water conditioner? oh i also have melafix
 
Does the water conditioner say that it will neutralize ammonia or nitrites? If so, use it. Cycle and Melafix won't do anything to help.
 
Only if they say on the bottle that they neutralize ammonia and nitrite. Melafix and Cycle do not -- I don't know about the other ones. Check the bottles.
 
ok i just got the 2nd water change done havent done tests yet waiting for stuff to settle a little bit but the water looks a little better and the engineer goby is back at the bottom breathing slowed AND He's even digging AGAIN!! the damsel isnt going to the top anymore but is swimming around more the 2 clowns are still at the top but one has been going down under the water then swimming back to the top I really hope that they all pull through both my snails are doing good and are moving around anything else?
 
oh is it safe to use water from a water purifier hooked to your kitchen sink ?? my father-n-law says that the one we have is really good and is cleaner than bottled water
 
i have to go look i'll try and take a pic i dont know what kind it is but i know he spent $500 on it well the blue damsel is looking alot better he was almost gone of his blue and now theres barely any grey on him almost all his color came back!!
 
:protest:

:frustrat:

:chair:


:bye2:

:faint:

That's all I have to say about that............ and it ain't even 2010 yet! I started early!!
 

Similar threads

J
Help With Dying Fish!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
J
Help with Nitrates!
Replies
0
Views
1K
Jeff P.
J
C
Fish Ich
Replies
0
Views
5K
Crystal1962
C
Hellybell80
Water quality advice needed.
Replies
4
Views
2K
Hellybell80
Hellybell80
Kelli1120
seahorse not doing well need help asap please!!!!!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Kelli1120
Kelli1120
Back
Top