Dying Fish...Help!!!!!!!?

Question

My fish keeps dying. Their fins deteriorate and they sometimes get white spots. Its mostly the fins that worry me. We checked the temperature, so it can't be that. They are well fed and have enough oxygen. The tank is automatically filtered. Does anyone know what's killing my fish?

Answer 1

They are probably getting ick. This happened in my 25 gallon when I first inherited it from my aunt. I got a fish from Benson's (blue honey sunset goriami) and had him with 1 Betta,1 glass catfish, 1 pleco, and 2 sword tails, 1 goldfish. then he must have brung this disease because these are the fish that died of the disease:sword tails, goldfish, and goriami. So after that I moved them into different tanks and changed 50% of the water and Then when I put them back in I bought ick treatment. Then it spread to my gold fish tank and did a 10% water change and used the treatment. The weird thing is my pom-pom goldfish was the only one who got it in my gold fish tank. It took about 5-7 days for the treatment to work and my Pom-pom's tail disinagrated some(it grew back withen 2 weeks) But fin rot can be caused by dirty rocks and when my fish had ick they stayed on the rocks and my goldfish one's were really dirty so make sure you clean your rocks.

A$h!

Answer 2

We would need a little more information to really help you narrow it down and find a way to stop the problem. Please add some more info to your question. How large is the tank and how long has it been running? What fish do you have now and what fish have been dying? The white spots... can you describe them a little bit more... are they very small, large, do they look slimey or rough? Anything else you can add that might help would be good too.

On the surface it sounds like possibly fin rot ( which is a bacterial condition and NOT caused by poor water conditions, that's an unfortunate myth) and maybe ich (small white spots that look like salt) which is a parasite that would have entered the tank with your fish. Without the additional information though it's really impossible to say

MM

Answer 3

It sounds like a combination of Ich (the white spots) and Finrot (the deteriorating fins). Both of these conditions are introduced from other fish that have the disease and/or poor water quality. I've enclosed some information on ICH and Finrot for you, hopefully these will help you rid your tank of the condition(s) and save your finned friends.

Finrot - It's a bacterial infection that can be identified by either fin edges turning white, fraying, becoming enflamed or "rotting" away. They may even develop a fuzzy growth, which may be your white spots. Finrot is most commonly caused by poor water quality. Just because you have a filter on your tank, you still need to keep a close eye on the water parameters (especially for smaller tanks) and do weekly 20-30% water changes. If you don't have a water test kit, take a small amount of your water to a local PetSmart or PetCo and they'll gladly test it for you.

To treat Finrot, I would first test your water and perform a water change. If the parameters are high, a 50% water change may help. If the fish are dealing with the disease now, you may want to consider treating with antibiotics (sold at your local pet store.) Remember, when you treat your tank with antibiotics, you'll want to remove the carbon layer from your filter.

Here's some more information on Finrot: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/finrot.htm

As for Ich, this is a parasite that will attach itself to any of your fish, if not treated. It's introduced in your tank by a newly acquired fish that's carrying the parasite. You can identify the parasite as little white bumps on the fish's fins and body. This is relatively easy to treat. Most fish stores sell medication that you can add to your tank to kill the parasite and save your fish. It's important to note that the parasite will continue to live in your tank if you do _not_ treat it.

Here's some more information on Ich: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ich.htm

In my opinion...your fish may have Ich, which has most likely stressed them out and may have caused Finrot. If your water quality is poor, this may have contributed to the Finrot process as well. I'd treat the tank for Ich and keep a close eye on your fish and water parameters.

Good luck!

Answer 4

How long have you had your tank? Secondly how long do the fish live before they show signs of fin rot?

Fin rot is usually a water problem, however white spots are a parasite problem.

Do you do regular water changes and use tap water with a dechlor/water conditioner?

When you do a water change, do you only remove 25-30% of the water and vac the gravel?

What kid of fish are they and where are you buying them from a trusted petstore or walmart?

Need more information before anyone can determine the cause.

Answer 5

Have you checked the water's pH and ammonia levels? (Very important). Where are you getting the fish? They're most likely sick when you get them. White spots are usually ick. It can be treated. They also probably have fin rot, cause by a fungus.
Is your tank overcrowded? For instance, if you have a 10 gallon tank, you can't put 20 fish in it.

Answer 6

My friend had a similar problem with fish dying. She had to *very thoroughly* disinfect the tank. She had purchased an infected fish, and it infected all the other fish -- and their replacements -- before she realized what was going on, and completely sterilized the tank.

Answer 7

There is a fish disease called Ich that causes white spots and kills them. Clean and treat your tank. You can get the treatment for that at most pet stores.

Answer 8

They probably have a disease... Maybe fin and tail rot or ICK. Go to your local pet store and get medication!! Make sure you take the carbon out of the filter when medicating!!! Hope this helps

Answer 9

there is this certain thing called fish conditioner u can try. it is supposed to protect fins and sccales from diseases.

Answer 10

IT COULD BE ICK. IT'S A PARASITE THING THAT IS ALWAYS IN YOUR TANK NO MATTER WHAT. IT USUALLY BECOMES ACTIVE IF YOUR WATER CONDITIONS ARE BAD, IF YOUR FISH ARE STRESSED OUT, OR IF YOU HAVE ADDED NEW FISH. THERE ARE A COUPLE MORE CAUSES LIKE OVERFEEDING OR TANK MAINTANENCE BUT I WOULD LOOK INTO THAT (ICK) AND FIN ROT.