Mixed tropical fish not eating, acting lethargic

ladayen

Also alot of the fish you have prefer to be in groups if you plan on having them you may want to look into this such as the corys you may want to add a few more as corys do best with at least 5 of one species or if you have multiple species group of 3 of a kind.

steagle

Bad news - I just started the 50% water change, and one of the balas started swimming upside down. I took a look at him and the other bala up close and I do see white spots, mostly on their head. A few on their bodies. I don't notice it on any of the other fish. Is there anything else I can look for to confirm if this is ick or not?

For now I am going to refill the tank and treat it with active carbon. But getting nervous - should I treat for ick or do anything else first?

k19smith

Ich looks like salt you can google some pics or try to take some and post them here.

I would confirm for sure you have ich before you start any treatment.

I'm not sure what you mean by treat the tank with activated carbon.

steagle

I just mean replacing the active carbon in my filters.
Yes it looks like salt sprinkles. The balas continue to jerk around, just like I would if I had gnats on me. The electric blue has been frequently sitting on the bottom of the tank in a corner motionless. He's hovering now, but not swimming around like he used to. The other fish seem fine. If this is indeed ick, could it be the infection just hasn't reached them yet?

After water change I have 0 nitrites and nitrate looks to be 20ppm. pH has dropped to about 6.8. Hardness 100, Alkalinity 100. Chlorine still 0.

k19smith

Sometimes not all your fish will get the ich. I don't know what the best cure for ich is as I haven't had it in 10 yrs, there are a lot of post on the forum I would do some reading. I myself don't use chemicals I would use salt but that is not an option with your catfish.

steagle

I also should mention about the electric blue - he doesn't have the same vibrant, blue hue that he had when I bought him. Almost as if something is covering his scales... I don't see white sprinkles like on the balas, but his scales look kind of, I don't know, fuzzy in places. This mixed with his behavior, I know something is wrong with him too.

Well I can't treat for ick right now anyways because I have to let the carbon filter out whatever was in the old water, but I do think I need to take action soon.

BarbH

If you can post pictures of what the fish look like right now, that may help in trying to figure out what may be going on with the fish. The fuzzy spots sounds more like body fungus to me. But pictures will definitly help in trying to figure out what may be going on. Definitly keeping the water as clean as possible will help.

steagle

Here's the smaller bala who seems to have more spots.

Attached Images

photo(3).jpg (63.3 KB, 10 views)

ladayen

eww.. that almost looks more like velvet to me.

steagle

it definitely looks more pronounced in that low quality photo - but he does have the spots all over and on his fins. his gills are also getting red.