[tabitha20gallons]

Hi! I am new here. Pleased to see a great community such as this. Here is my issue. I am not sure what is going on in my tank. Is it a bully or a disease but I have had two fish now afflicted with this problem. The first is dead and I hope the other doesn't. The left eye, only the left, begins first by turning whitish and then begins to swell. The one that died began to swim sideways with the bloated eye towards the top of the tank almost as if it were more buoyant than he could handle. Strange. I can't seem to find any good info about what to do. Any ideas???

 

[Lupin]

Welcome.:wave:

What fish is that? What are your water parameters? What is the size of your tank? What are the occupants of your tank? How do you maintain your tank? Any chance of pictures? The more info provided, the better.

It appears your fish's eyes were infected or showing signs of cataract. As to why it was swimming sideways, it appears its swim bladder may have been damaged.:blueworry:

 

[tabitha20gallons]

Ok, I'll be more specific: 20 gallons (is a 20L) I have 1 Bala shark, 1 red-tailed shark, 1 tiger loach, 2 Buenos Aires Tetras, 2 Scissor tails and 3 Purple Passions. The infected fish that died was a Buenos Aires and the currently infected fish is a scissor tail. I also have a few live plants in there and about 1/4-1/2 inch gravel. I use a whisper over the side filter and have a nice bubbler going as well. It is a new tank and I have not even done a water change yet (was planning on it this weekend). I feed 2x a day with a few flakes and slow-sinking pellets. I can't give a picture as I don't have a digital...
Thank you for the rapid reply.
Tabitha

Welcome.:wave:

What fish is that? What are your water parameters? What is the size of your tank? What are the occupants of your tank? How do you maintain your tank? Any chance of pictures? The more info provided, the better.

It appears your fish's eyes were infected or showing signs of cataract. As to why it was swimming sideways, it appears its swim bladder may have been damaged.:blueworry:

 

[Lupin]

Oh ok.

First of all, I recommend buying API Freshwater Master test kit. You get to monitor your water parameters. Your tank may still be in cycling phase. Your ammonia should rise so the test results are bound to tell you that your ammonia is not at zero level when it should be zero. Nitrites should spike in a few days, and finally nitrates. I'd recommend asking your local fish store(lfs) an established sponge filter to speed up cycling. You will want zero ammonia and nitrites in the end with nitrates not exceeding 40 ppm.

It seems to me your fish are in trouble since your tank is new but with a bit of patience, you will be able to stop such problems soon enough.

A 10% water change on daily basis will help you keep down the ammonia and nitrites but in order to know what is going on, you'll need the test kit I recommended for you. Water changes are never known to hurt and will help your fish. I forgot to add that you'll need a dechlorinator to get rid of chlorine and chloramine which are toxic to the fish.

Good luck.

 

[tabitha20gallons]

Thank You

Thank You for the advice Blue. I'll be sure to be back with more questions in the future! Love the site don't you?!

 

[Lupin]

Re: Thank You

Thank You for the advice Blue. I'll be sure to be back with more questions in the future! Love the site don't you?!

I do.:mrgreen: Don't hesitate to ask more questions. We are here to help anyone.

 

[tabitha20gallons]

Discovered the Cause

After help here and a conversation with the good folks at my lfs it was determined that I have a fungus in the tank. I am treating them with QuickCure and it is making obvious differences. I can see the fungal patches diminishing!!! How long should I wait after everything looks good again to replenish my community. I lost 1/2 my fish in this epidemic and will definitely replace them. :?:

 

[Lupin]

Re: Discovered the Cause

After help here and a conversation with the good folks at my lfs it was determined that I have a fungus in the tank. I am treating them with QuickCure and it is making obvious differences. I can see the fungal patches diminishing!!! How long should I wait after everything looks good again to replenish my community. I lost 1/2 my fish in this epidemic and will definitely replace them. :?:

10 days will do or until the patches completely diminish. This time, I would advise you keep checking your fish on regular basis. If you see any wounds, try treating them immediately with Melafix to stop the fungus from developing. Fungus always targets infected/untreated wounds.