Help with bristlenoses and borneo suckers!

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

Help with bristlenoses and borneo suckers!

by liam1995

When ever i add a bristlenose catfish to my tank, it always dies within a few days. This is the same for chinese algae eaters. Yesterday I added a borneo sucker to my tank, and today it has disappeared.

PH 7.0
Ammonia- 0
Nitrates-0
Nitrites-0

What is going on? why does nothing survive?

In my tank i have a albino cory, female fighter, 3 angel fish, 2 serpae tetras, 2 white skirt tetras, 10 neons and one molly. please help sa this is beginning to cost me a lot of money.


natalie265
Site Admin
 
Posts: 746
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:48 pm

by natalie265

When introducing them to your tank, how do you acclimate them? What are you using to test your water? Zero nitrates is a bit unusual. How many gallons is the tank?


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

20 gallon tank. I float the fish in the bag for 10 mins then add a bit of aquarium water into the bag. I add the fissh with a net then add 10 mls of Melafix to kill diseases it has. I continue the Melafix for 3 days.


tekneb
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am

by tekneb

I'd be willing to bet money it's the melafix. Every fish you described is scaleless, and they are veeery sensitive to meds. I know the label says it's safe for scaleless fish, but I would still be wary. Every fish you described is also an algae eater, so if your tank is new there may not be enough algae to sustain them.

Borneo Suckers need high water movement, so if hes still alive and hiding somewhere he's probably near the filter.

Also, your tank sounds like it's a bit overstocked, unless your angels are fully grown in which case it sounds extremely overstocked.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

ok, i just went looking for him. i couldn't find him. I moved rockjs around. I have a medium current through the tank. Is my tank actually overstocked? the angels are only about 3 cms long.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

what should i do instead of adding melafix?


tekneb
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am

by tekneb

You should inspect your fish thoroughly while they are still at the pet store. Look for ich, torn fins, quick breathing, other dead fish in the tank etc. If none of that is present, then you should be OK. If you're really concerned, set up a quarantine tank to keep your fish in for awhile before introducing them to the main tank. The only chemical you should ever really need to use is stresscoat to remove chlorine from your tap and repair any damage the fish acquire during transport. Melafix is a curative, not a preventative, meaning it should only be used if your fish is already showing signs of the diseases it cures (open wounds, mouth fungus, fin rot) and most of those will heal on their own if you maintain high water quality.

The general rule for determining whether or not your tank is overstocked is 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of tank. I'm not gonna lay out all of the math here, but do it for yourself and you'll see you have well over 20 inches of fish.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

Thankyou. Also, i have river rocks that are large and chunky instead of gravel. Could this be why the fish die? they get stuck? How should i introduce them into my tank. My local pet store has told me how to maintain a fish tank but you guys give heaps better info.


tekneb
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am

by tekneb

It's not likely that the river rocks would cause problems, unless they like fall over and land on your fish. Several other users on this site use only river rocks for substrate and I've never heard any of them complain about fish getting stuck.

This site happens to have already written a very impressive article about the proper way to introduce your fish. You can find it here http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/97

I wouldn't say your pet stores advice should be ignored completely, but their advice should always be taken with a grain of salt for two reasons. First, their primary concern is making money, and their advice may be skewed in an effort to address that concern. Second, you don't know what experience, if any, the salesperson actually has with fish. That's why its extremely important to research eeeeeeverything before making a purchase. Google is a powerful tool, use it to the fullest.


liam1995
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2010 2:33 am

by liam1995

I work at the local pet store! haha . the lady that handles the fish knows a bit about them but not this much. SOOOO.... why do I keep having trouble with adding catfish? Its only catfish that die, when ever i add other fish they survive and flourish in the tank!

Help with bristlenoses and borneo suckers!

12 posts • Page 1 of 2

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