Emergency : Sick Bala Sharks & ID Shark

Emergency :Red in Fins with Sick Bala Sharks & Fin Issue with ID Shark

Emergency help please!

I did not hear back from many people so I decided to wait until today (Sunday) to take any action. I thought the longer I let the new tanks cycle (only filled with water around 11 pm Friday night), the better before I transfer any water or fish? I have also included a few pics.

1)One of my bala sharks has already died. He was being chased by a red tail shark & another larger bala, lost weight (because of being bullied), eventually showed red in his fins, fins started to deteriorate after being nipped and after being quarantined still died.

2)Then another bala shark was bullied by the same red tail shark, larger bala shark, showed same red in his fins and I moved him to another smaller tank with some platies. He is no longer being picked on but has not improved.

3) Now the large bala shark is being bullied by the red tail shark & shows red in his fins as well. His fins are starting to deteriorate a bit too.

I assume being picked on has reduced their immune systems and they have a bacterial infection.

4) One of my irridecent sharks now has a small patch of greyish white colour on two of his fins. Not ick but perhaps fin rot? And a very small red area on one of his fins.

5)I started cycling 2 other tanks yesterday but if I use a water conditioner that removes chlorine & chloramine is it too soon to do a 50% - 75% water change on the large tank with the ID shark?

6) Should I do the 50% -75% water change and leave the sick ID shark in the tank and hope the water change will improved the tank & his condition or should I quarantine him with the 2 sick bala sharks? The bala sharks are in a worse condition but will it make the ID shark more sick? I have a large tank & it is very difficult to try and catch the sick ID later if I completely fill the tank again.

7) I plan on using an aquaclear ammonia remover insert instead of the activated carbon for the large tank & the quarantine tank is this a good idea & for how long? OR I also have a bottle of "cycle" which reduces ammonia & nitrite levels.


I am just waiting for the 2 extra tanks to reach the same temperature as my tanks with fish in them before I need to make a decision. Extra tanks are now at the correct temperature (Sunday morning)

Is a 50% - 75% water change too much if I suspect ammonia or another bacterial infection in the larger tank?




Please help Fishlore land. 8:48 PM

 

Pictures would help us help you

 

what are your water parameters? do you have an ammonia problem? I would do daily water changes of 50% if that's the case.

 

Thanks MD Angels & Jacker,

Here are the pics of the 2 sick bala sharks & the 1 ID shark. I will do the 50% water change. Do you think 75% is too much?

 

Okay 2 shocks.

1)Some of the water changes that were to be done turned out to be just water top ups............ ;( very bad.

2)Also no ammonia issue ?



175 gallon 20 gallon extra tanks (set up Friday night)

Nitrate 6 20 1
Nitrite .1 .2 0
Ammonia 0 0 0
Wide Range PH 7.8 7.3 7.7

I plan to do a 50% - 75% water change of the large tank. Do I leave some of the media in the filter or do I change it all because of the bacterial infection in the tank?

I also plan to transfer the fish from the 20 gallon into one of the extra tanks because of the 20 reading of nitrate...or should I just do a 50% - 75% water change on that tank as well?

Please help I would like to take action tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Thanks Fishlore!!

 

Hello, sorry you are having a tough time.

I suggest in returning the RTS. This is the best thing to do for the rest of inhabitants. You've got a lot of stress going on in the tank. Balas and RTS are not compatible due to the RTS dose not care for other sharks that look similar. You have to do what is best and that is minimize aggression.

Start by doing a good gravel vac on the large tank to pickup any debris down in the gravel this will be considered as a water change. Don't forget to get under any decor. Take out at least 50% of water. Then do 30-50% daily water changes with Prime and/or Amquel Plus and Fish Protector together. Fish Protector calms fish, eases stress, provides multi-layer slime coat aid, helps minimize infections and aids in healing but dose not detox/remove chloramines or chlorine but dose detox heavy metals. Prime or Amquel Plus will detox the nitrItes until your next water change from my understanding you have a reading of nitrites. This most likely is the cause of the red streaks on the fish. Nitrite poisoning has the same symptoms as ammonia poisoning but is more toxic in lower numbers then ammonia I believe. Like I said before there is a lot of stress going on here too.

The grey/white patches could be Columnaris. It's a bacterial infection. Common cause from injuries or poor water quality. No more just "topping the tank off". Bad idea.

Don't add any bacterial additives. Get rid of the "Cycle" product. Prime or Amquel Plus is all you need to detox ammonia, nitrites and nitrates with daily water changes.

No, no need to replace the filter media, just rinse in some tank water in a bucket or fresh dechlorinated water to get the gunk off. The filter media is where most of the good bacteria lives.

On the q-tine tank doing daily 30% water changes with Fish Protector with Prime and/or Amqual Plus. Clean water is important.

I hope I helped you and things get better and not worse.

Water change, water changes, water changes.....

 

I have to agree. The RTS should be re-homed. This problem will continue to occur because the RTS will always defend his territory and will never get on with other sharks. I know some members have no problem with these guys, but so far this is not the case in your tanks.
I do huge water changes weekly, 75% each time, each tank. I also move the decorations and vacuum underneath. In my small tanks I use a turkey baster to get under the decorations. I am a big believer in Amquel+ and use it each and every time. I would also work on boosting your surviving fishes immune system with garlic and lots of clean water and a lot less stress. If a fish is getting aggressive with my other fish, which rarely happens because my fish are Community fish (except my Angels) I only let this go on for a day or so and then they get moved to another tank. They are in such a tiny, closed system that they cannot swim away from predators and the stress builds up and they get sick and weak. IMO One reason I only keep peaceful fish I guess.

 

Thanks AlyeskaGirl & Brainlady your help is once again awesome & much appreciated

Now that I have taken out all of the bala sharks from the large tank...( the one smallest bala is fine, 1 other small bala died & 2 others are sick) I hope the red tail shark leaves the ID sharks & pictus catfish alone. The RTS has never bothered them before but I will wait & see. Another alternative is to put the RTS with my orange platies...will the RTS bully them too? If not, then when the bala sharks get better then I can move them back to the larger tank with no RTS to bully them.

It is 12:35 am Monday morning now so I think I will wait until I get up again at 8 am to do the gravel vac & approx 75 % water change on the large tank. I also need to go to my LFS to get what you suggested. Thank you very much for the info on the nitrite poisoning, I only knew about the possible issue of high ammonia levels.

I noticed the sick bala in the large tank was starting to swim oddly so when he was up near the top of the tank I was able to scoop him into a net real fast & moved him to a q-tank. It also seems weird that both sick bala sharks like to be close to the heater (although they were in separate tanks.) As mentioned the nitrite levels in the new tank are 0 so I hope that makes him feel better soon......also no more RTS bully!

I plan to leave the sick ID shark with the grey/white on his fins in the large tank so I do not stress him out any more. As you can see with my pics there is not very much red in his fins but I want to improve the water quality asap so the bacterial infection he has clears soon. My only other option is to put the ID with the 2 sick bala sharks & I do not think that is a good idea.

Cheers and you two were a great help once again !!

 

Yeah, the RTS will chase the platies. It's not the best idea to keep him in a tank smaller then 55g. He will feel cramped and be aggressive still. Chasing the smaller fish. I know you like him but something has to give.

RTS and Pictus Cats work well together. I've got 4 Cats with my RTS in my largest tank. My shark is pretty laid back for the most part. Chasing a Giant Danio every so often. But the Danios are active playful fish....so they probably like it. lol They are a great fish to have if you have the right tank mates.

Just start doing those water changes.

 

Thanks for your advice AlyeskaGirl,

Funny thing is the RTS would chase the bala sharks but when he caught up to them I would never see him actually bite them. Well it stressed them enough though. I plan on leaving the RTS in the large tank until he starts to chase the ID sharks or pictus and if he does he is soooo gone.

So here are the measurements in my tanks again.

175 gallon Nitrate 6, Nitrite .1, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.8
20 gallon Nitrate 20, Nitrite .2, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.3
extra tanks Nitrate .1, Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.7

So it made sense for me to transfer the last sick bala out of the large tank, not put him in the 20 gallon with the other sick bala & the platies right? When I scooped him from the large tank last night he was swimming oddly and he was in pretty bad shape. I put him in one of the extra tanks last night because it had better readings, but when I woke up today he had died...

As mentioned I plan on doing a 75% water change on the large tank today but because of such bad water conditions in the 20 gallon should I transfer all the fish from the 20 gallon into one of the extra tanks OR just do a 50%-75% water change on that tank as well?

Please respond asap because I would like to fix this problem as soon as I am done with the large tank.

Cheers

----------------------

new update, found other sick bala shark in 20 gallon laying at bottom of tank gasping for air while 2 platies were picking at him. Put him in the extra tank but still died after 15 minutes..

 

Tiger, I am still concerned with your water params..... you still have nitrites in your water, I don't know why though.

 

Thanks for your help Brainlady,

Morning,

Before I did the 70% water change yesterday on my large tank the nitrites were .1 in that tank. Is that very bad? They should have improved with the large WC right? I know I stressed the fish out in the large tank yesterday but how soon should I change more of the water? I assume not 70% again.

Also what did you think of the 20 gallon situation with the bad water conditions: complete transfer of fish to another tank I set up Friday night or just a water change %? I put one of my platy fish from the 20 gallon in the extra tank yesterday and he seems fine....but a bit lonely.


Advice much appreciated once again.

 

So here are the measurements in my tanks again.


Before the 70% water change on the large tank
175 gallon nitrate 6, nitrite .1, ammonia 0, Wide Range pH 7.8

The tank with the bala and the platies is still at
20 gallon Nitrate 20, Nitrite .2, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.3
Was not sure if I should transfer all fish from that 20 gallon to one of the extra tanks or do a % water change on it, I did not get a clear answer from anyone so I did not do anything with it yet.
ALSO...the one platy that I transfered to one of the extra tanks died, I know it was sick because it was not swimming with the others, his fins were clamped, his nose was oddly shaped & always hiding. But now I am worried about the extra tank conditions.....Maybe I am just being paranoid. All fish that I have transfered to that extra tank have died. Okay they were all sick but still.. as you know the 2 sick balas were very ill with the redness and odd swimming. Maybe a % water change will be better than transfering all the 20 gallon fish to that "death tank". I am thinking 30% WC per day?

At least the tank I used to do the water change on the large tank was not the "death tank"
extra "death tank" tank Nitrate .1, Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.7



Have a great day

 

Sick ID shark

Hello,

Started a new thread to try and identify what my 2 inch ID shark is suffering with. I have already lost my 2 sick bala sharks and really need to save this ID. I had him in a larger tank but moved him to a smaller tank so I can treat him easier. He is now with 9 platies, a corydora catfish and a small bala shark. When he was in the large tank his fins started to deteriorate, he had red streaks and was swimming oddly, sometimes vertically. Since moving him he swims better, he is less vertical but sometimes I see him going back to that same vertical position but not as drastic an angle.

He has a whiteish grey on his fins & as mentioned some of his fins have seemed to rot away? He also showed a bit of redness but not much. Funny thing is when it is feeding time he acts totally normal, almost like a vacuum at the top of the tank gobbling food.

Here are the water parameters of the large tank he was in,
175 gallon Nitrate 6, Nitrite .1, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.8
(before a 70% water change.)

20 gallon Nitrate 20, Nitrite .2, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.3
(where ID shark currently is in)

extra tanks Nitrate .1, Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Wide Range PH 7.7
(where I may transfer fish from 20 gallon to, or source for partial water change for 20 gallon)


Because of the readings in the 20 gallon I plan on either transfering all fish from the 20 gallon to a 10 for treatment...

OR just a % water change but do not know how much 20%-75% before treatment of whole tank?

Or separate sick ID in extra tank with 50%? water from 20 gallon & 50%? from extra tank?

please help Fishlore

 

HI tigertrackz, I'm sorry about your fish

We have merged your threads.
It's better to keep all the information together so you and the members don't have to switch between threads to see what's been done and suggested.

Good luck, I hope things look up for you soon.

 

I would transfer the sick ID shark to the extra tank that has 0, 0, and some nitrates. Sounds like he may have bacterial infection like finrot and possibly Columnaris. This is due to poor water quality in the large tank which is showing a nitrite reading. For him do daily changes of 30% to keep water clean with a slime coat aid like Stress Coat or Fish Protector. If severe then treat with both Maracyn & Maracyn 2 together. Follow directions. Be patient fish don't heal over night.

Most meds harm some of the good bacteria so keep eye on parameters if you go that route & never medicate the main tank unless absolutley necessary.

 

Thank you AlyeskaGirl,

I will transfer the ID shark tomorrow. You have been a great help. I did not know what to do with him for a few days, so as mentioned I put him in the 20 gallon. I won't be able to move him to the qarantine extra tank until Friday night..I hope he makes it. I will also make sure to do the WC and add stress coat too.

Awesome advice

Cheers

 

Here's a good article, below, on your Iridescent sharks. The part about needing a tank 40 feet long, made my mouth fall to the ground and even bigger if kept in a school!

How's it going by the way?

 

Here is Fishlore's article on them, too, if you don't like trusting wikipedia:

https://www.fishlore.com/profile-iridescentshark.htm

 

Thanks AlyeskaGirl & GemstonePoney,

Your info was awesome. Some events lately. A guy in a nearby city sold a 209 gallon full set up for $200. Yes really, the empty tank weighs 450 pounds. But I was too late to contact him and really about $200 short right now.......lol. However I picked up 2 breeding pairs of angelfish with two of their buddies & offspring yesterday. Whoa, I need more tank space. I have 2 watch my fish addiction.....control.

Unfortuately the sick ID is still in the 20 gallon because I had a few things going on yesterday & worked today. He has adjusted well to his tankmates, is swimming much better but still shows the same grey/white signs on his fins. I am thinking about putting him in a q-tank with meds, but obv meds as a last resort. Increased temp to 80 degrees in current tank and that seems to have helped him.

Ummm... do I mention I also rescued 2 red ear slider turtles from a girl's bath tub. Funny story, girl advertised a free 50 gallon turtle set-up with lights, lid etc. Guy loaded tank & accessories and when he went back to van for bucket for turtles, drove off without turtles. Shame...lol.

 

Just keep doing daily water changes with stress coat. It can take a few weeks. If its not getting worse but looks better don't medicate.

Soaking food in garlic juice from a jar with no additives to boost immune system is another way to help. Also enhances appetite. Or fresh garlic and mash it to get juice. Fish may eat a small piece, that good too.