# nitrates @ 40 then tank over heated to 90= fish flashing : (



## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

about 2 weeks ago was having a hard time with my nitrates being at 40, did a bunch of water changes and brought them down to 20 - then my tank over heated to 90 because of a faulty heater argh!!!!!!

now i have noticed some of my fish are flashing, this is not normal for them at all other then the odd time here ad there. could this be from all the water changes- ( i've done 7 - 40 % water changes in the last 2 weeks.)

my beautiful F0 metriclima callainos seems to have been affected the most by temp raiseing to 90 - he was always so active, and now he just hides and seems to be very nervous and sadly i noticed he has not eaten in 2 days .

need help, what should i do?

i have a 90 gallon
tests are: amonia 0, ph 7.8, nitraites 20

thanks in advance Jenn


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

Did you use a de-chlorinator for the water changes? The flashing could be from chemical burn or perhaps 90Â° caused problems to their slime coats. Also an inncrease in temperature can cause parasites to increase in numbers. Flashing is often a sign of parasites.

I had a heater failure once on my African tank and it got to 90Â° too. My fish slowed down, didn't eat as normal and were not as active but they recovered with no losses. I saw no increased flashing.

Not eating is a bad sign. I think it might be best to follow the instructions used to treat bloat.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

I agree on the possible bloat angle. The stress and possible internal damage that the fish experienced with the heater mis-hap may still be playing out. At the very least I'd remove this fish to a hospital tank for closer observation

All the water changes are a very good idea but make sure you're using a good quality declorinator! So many water companies are adding chloramines to our water and chloramines need declorinators that do more than break the chlorine - ammonia bond. Check out the declorinator article below to see how your declorinator lines up.

If you notice that the fish are flashing more directly after a water change then it may be something in the water, or some thing you're adding to the water that is stressing them. Generally fish will flash _a little more _after a water change and that's normal--but if its excessive then you need to look further.

Did you figure out why/how your nitrates got too high? Were you over feeding them? Too many fish in the tank? Inconsistant water changes? I ask because not only will these factors cause the nitrates to rise but they will also stress the fish out all on thier own and as we all know: a stressed fish is more likely to succomb to illness.

Robin


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

yes i use a declorinator- Prime i've heard many of you use that. the only other new thing i started to use as i figured it would be a good idea because of all the water changes is stress zyme, do you think they can be reacting bad to that? i've only given 2 doses so far.

i have a 90 gallon with 24 fish and i have a rena xp3 canister filter.

i'm not sure why my nitrates were so high as i used to do 1 water changes every week around 30 %,- 40 % in one of my other posts i was told i should step up my routine which i have to keep the nitrates down.

so you think i should treat for bloat? what med should i use? aslo should i treat my whole tank? or just take the one who is not eating out? i wanted to add he looks fine, no other signs of illness to the eye other then what i mentioned above.

2nd question- how do i get my fish out without stressing everybody out?


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

There is a course of instructions for treating bloat as a sticky on this forum.

Another course recommended by someone I highly respect is:


> For each net ten gallons of water, mix the following in a gallon of very hot water:
> 
> + 1 TBS Epsom Salts
> + 2 TBS non-iodized salt (e.g. Kosher or Plain salt)
> ...


It would be your call if you want to treat the whole 90 gallons. There are a few factors I would consider: 1) is only one fish showing signs?
2) do you have a hospital tank and is it cycled or easily cycled from media from existing tank?
3) how easy is it to net the fish in question--would it put a lot of stress on that fish and others in the tank?

There is always the chance the problem is tank wide but at the moment only one fish may show signs.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

more then 1 fish is flashing but everybody else is eating, if bloat is contaigous, should i not treat the whole tank?
thanks


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I think I would treat the whole tank.


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## jenandcoffee (May 3, 2008)

ok so i'm doing the 6 day bloat treatment per the sticky in this forum on my whole tank. i did notice on the box for clout- it does not mention anything about bloat treatment- so i hope i bought the right thing (blue tabs )- this is the 3rd day of treatment, my poor guy is still hiding but comes out a bit more- i think the rest of my fish are upset with me as i have not fed them, and god knows they are pigs!!!

so my question is can i feed on the 6th day? alos can i use the epsome salt in addition to the clout treatment or should i just leave things alone for now?

thanks everybody! i don't know what i would do without this forum!
Jenn


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## addicted2cichlid (Apr 8, 2008)

also ur tank is overstocked, and way UNDER filtered, an xp3 in a 90 gal doesnt even have a 4x turn around.

and with 2 dozen fish u need way more, up it to 10x turn over and stuations like these will be a rarity.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

I suspect you can start feeding on the 6th day but the first feedings should be very small. Skip the epsom salts for now. If the one fish that wasn't eating before doesn't start eating, then separate it and treat with the salt/clout treatment.


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