Desperate for some help!!!

sponger · Post by **sponger** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:42 am

Hello all. Im in desperate need for help! My boyfriend and I have been looking through this site to help with our zebras. We were hoping to find the answers to our problems so we didnt have to post but this is our last hope. We have lost 5 our of our 7 zebras. it has been such a horror story!! We first purchased 5, had them for a week, noticed that they were not eating very lethargic. not sure of the perameters but we lost 2 to what we think was ammonia.

started doing more water changes, they still didnt seem to be eating, they looked reddish under the skin so we tried API general cure. didnt seem to help. purchased 2 more zebs..couldnt resist..checked ammonia almost everyday, pretty much zero. monday we lost 2 to what we think was nitrites. one looked really really red under the skin, the other looked good in color, but seemed to have an anchor worm or something attached to its "fin armpit" and seemed to be bleeding inside from it.

lost another one just the other day, he had a red spot, looked internal, on the left side of his face. We have two left now

. the smaller of the two has pop eye in both eyes. (came one really fast) and looking at him now he is losing color, quick. but he is still moving around quickly. the other one hides but also seems to be losing some color. still doesnt look like they are eating.

We put some Epsom salt in there earlier today for the pop eye, could lead to color fading?

checked perameters:
no ammonia
no nitrates
nitrites between .5 and 1.0
hard water
no chlorine
alkalinity is moderate
and ph maybe a little higher than 6.8 probably due to the drift wood we put in.

please if you have any opinion or guess to what they might have or had so we can fix it asap and releave our stress it would be much appreciated!
thanks.

Joby · Post by **Joby** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:35 am

Am no expert but its clear your tank is not cycled as you are showing ammonia and nitrItes. Ammonia can burn and kill fish very quickly in only tiny amounts nitrIte too is not good for them. How long has your tank been set up? what size is it, what exactly is in it and what is your water changing routine?

Personally I would be suggesting daily water changes here to get the levels down. Your ammonia should be 0 as should your nitrIte and nitrAtes around 10-20 If you know someone with an already cycled tank (disease free) then getting some of their filter media into yours would greatly speed up the cycling process (your local fish shop may be able to help with cycled media)

Sorry you have lost so many

Jo's Zebs · Post by **Jo's Zebs** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:33 pm

I am afraid nitrItes are a fish killer.

sponger · Post by **sponger** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:02 pm

Joby wrote:Am no expert but its clear your tank is not cycled as you are showing ammonia and nitrItes. Ammonia can burn and kill fish very quickly in only tiny amounts nitrIte too is not good for them. How long has your tank been set up? what size is it, what exactly is in it and what is your water changing routine?

Personally I would be suggesting daily water changes here to get the levels down. Your ammonia should be 0 as should your nitrIte and nitrAtes around 10-20 If you know someone with an already cycled tank (disease free) then getting some of their filter media into yours would greatly speed up the cycling process (your local fish shop may be able to help with cycled media)

Sorry you have lost so many

we have sinced moved the last 2 zeb's to a 20gal. i currently have a sponge filter that i had running in my 55 gal tank. i am doing 25% daily water changes right now. i was looking to pick up another medicine for the pop eye, would like to find something that also takes care of possible internal parasites. im gonna be picking up an aquaclear 30 for the caarbon factor. im not real sure what else i can do.

Jo's Zebs · Post by **Jo's Zebs** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 1:02 am

It is such a shame it really is I do hope you manage to keep the 2 remaining fish alive, the fade in colour is due to stress caused by their ill health, it may appear that they are not eating this is quite typical for zebs feed them a little after lights out in the evening they prefer to eat in the dark alone but dont over feed them as this will only help worsen the water quality.
To be honest it sounds like they have a range of symptoms had your tank bee up and running long? where did the fish come from were they recent imports?

sponger · Post by **sponger** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:43 am

Jo's Zebs wrote:It is such a shame it really is I do hope you manage to keep the 2 remaining fish alive, the fade in colour is due to stress caused by their ill health, it may appear that they are not eating this is quite typical for zebs feed them a little after lights out in the evening they prefer to eat in the dark alone but dont over feed them as this will only help worsen the water quality.
To be honest it sounds like they have a range of symptoms had your tank bee up and running long? where did the fish come from were they recent imports?

the tank itself had not been up at all. the sponge filter had been up in my established tank for awhile. the fish had come from an importer that is local to me. he has had them awhile and has roughly 200 of them himself. he was feeding them the hikari massivore and so i have been doing the same. as of right now they are still alive and at least one is eating. as the half a pellet i threw in last night is gone. im still currently treating for the popeye, using maracyn 2 and a lil epsom salt. not sure if raising the temp will help with the treatment? any thoughts on that? its currently 82-83 degrees.

Post by **TwoTankAmin** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:48 pm

Epsom salt will do nothing good for the fish here. It is commonly used to relieve constipation or to increase the hardness of water.

While zebras can handle hardness/tds changes, they do require a well cycled tank. They do not tolerate elevated nitrate levels either. They are not a fish that should ever be put into an uncycled tank.

Over the past 6 months or so there has been a large number of what are described as wild caught zebra plecos showing up all over the world. I can not speak to those arriving in other countries, but here in the USA there has been a lot oc comment about the poor health in which the fish are arriving and being sold.

If these fish are indeed wild caught, they have been illegally collected and then smuggled out of Brazil. This process has left many of them in very poor condition and a lot of inexperienced buyers have suffered as a result. When you exacerabte this by putting them into an uncycled tank, it is a recipe for instant disaster. Pop eye is often a sign of poor water quality, although this is not the only cause.

In terms of feeding, it depends upon size. most here tend to feed their fish a good variety of good foods that are mostly meaty. However, some vegetable matter should also be included.

GrubbyGirl · Post by **GrubbyGirl** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:10 am

I'm no expert with Zebs but I have kept fish for a long time, and I agree with the others, your problem is that your tank is uncyled. You said you tested for ammonia and it was "pretty much zero" which implies that it isn't always zero. You desperately need a mature filter in your tank and if you can't get any is there anyone you know who keeps fish who could look after your zebs for you until you get your tank cycled?

It's going to be tough on your fish to cycle the tank with them in, and you could lose them all.

Personally I have seachem ammonia alerts in each tank so you can see immediately if there is even the slightest trace of ammonia in the tank. I also use Seachem Prime as a dechlorinator as that converts ammonia to ammonium that doesn't harm the fish. These are all belt and braces things I use as a precaution on cycled tanks, but it sounds like you're isn't.

You need to do large and frequent (maybe up to twice daily) water changes until your tank is fully cycled, and whatever you do, don't add any more fish!