Fish disease affecting shiners

Gerald,

Yeah I have lots of fish and Zero plants. I can't remember what the alkalinity was now, but I really don't 100% trust the test strips

OK that makes sense -- so if I understand correctly, the Acid-Neutralizing Capacity (alkalinity) is preventing the pH from dropping even lower than 5.5, so it IS consuming excess acid, but not when the pH is above 5.5, right? I've noticed that the USGS on-line water quality data now uses the term "ANC" instead of alkalinity. I suppose that's a better term, since it doesn't convey the idea of higher pH like "alkalinity".

The commercial tests for alkalinity are just a measure of buffer capacity, right? You can have a weak acid buffer under certain conditions. Eventually nitrification in a phosphate-buffered system will leave you with something much closer to phosphoric acid.

I have seen this before. heximita protozoa caused the fish to go off feed and chew on each other instead. F. columnaris appearing a year later is imo unheard of. I am not sure shiners can survive a dose of CLOUT i know for a fact sunfish cannot. Hex is a timebomb that strikes long after exposure.

Bear in mind im not saying thats what it is. I have seen peroxide have a negative effect on fish, especially when applied topically.

I've lost another 4 fish that were otherwise healthy. I did a water change yesterday and dead today.

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That fish disease - I hate that stuff.

That fish disease - I hate that stuff.

Me too. I won't be too much longer that I'll have to worry about it......I'm almost out of fish

I think this may have to be a teardown and start over situation.

I think this may have to be a teardown and start over situation.

Ammonia & Nitrite are at 0, Nitrate was high,80ish. Based on strip, Ph was 5.5 (oddly low for water in this area) and the alkalinity and hardness was high.

I feel like wiping my tank out and running bleach through the system or something, it's very frustrating.

Or just a 'start keeping nitrate under 30 ppm' situation. It's important. Nitrate should stay under 30 and pH shouldn't dip a point and a half suddenly. You gotta keep the water comfortable for the fish or you start to lose them.

In the future, every week do a test of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If nitrate is above 30 ppm, do a water change using dechlorinated water to bring it back down. It should never be hitting 80 ppm; that's hard for a fish to recover from.

Maybe it's time to consider a sump full of hornwort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65yVr7DiDls
Stick a shop light over the sump tank (aim for about 100 to 200 lumens per gallon), and you'll grow it great. Hornwort doesn't need a substrate, just light, water, and nitrogen. It's super easy and it's native here.

Check this out:
The plant in Table 2 ate 26 ppm of nitrate in five days. http://www.theaquari...ical_Filtration How much plant was that? One plant? Five plants? I don't know, but now imagine the capability of an entire sump full of hornwort for eating nitrate. It may accumulate much slower or stop accumulating altogether. Then you take the hornwort out every week and throw half in your trash. That's a lot less effort than a water change. Heck, if you've got a monthly fish club meeting, take it there and you can make a buck. Plants are good.