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hi..

my aquarium had 3 red phantom tetras, 3 columbian tetras, 2 swordtails, 1 pleco and 1 blue dwarf gourami. all of my water parameters were perfect:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite (note the I): 0
Nitrate (note the A): 5
pH: 7.0
Temp: 26C

after my last water change, i noticed that my red phantom tetras had ick. i was told to raise the temp. in the aquarium, give a treatment with an ick medication, and add some aquarium salt. i did everything i was supposed to do and followed all of the instructions but the tetras died last night, all at the same time.

another problem i had was with one of my swordtails. he used to be the most active one in the tank but then slowly started to stay at the bottom of the tank and then developed some white sores on his body (similar to a sore u might get in your mouth). he was being treated for that too but then this morning, he's nowhere to be found in the tank. i looked absolutely everywhere and he's not there. is it possible the other fish ate him?

these are the answers i'm looking for:

1.) why could have the red phantom tetras died? is it because the columbian tetras seemed to be aggresive towards them?

2.) what and why did my swordtail get sick? again, could it have been due to the columbian tetras?

3.) the blue dwarf gourami all day just swims back and forth in the tank and never calms down... why is that?

4.) what should i do now that these fish have died?


thanks soooo much!

Richard
To start off with exactly what is in the tank, including its size, filtration etc.

Personally I would never use Aqu salts.

after my last water change, i noticed that my red phantom tetras had ick.

This is the only thing I have to go by at the moment unless another fish brought in an unknown disease.
Ich can be easly imported into a tank from introduced water. That is one of the reasons I store all my water for one week as I know especially during the colder months my water supply does have Ich.
You could have easly imported many other problems with the water as many other member have found out including me.

Remember with Ich you must treat the tank for at least 3-4 weeks after it had disappeared some say this could be too much but I prefer to be well on the safe side.
Do you also add a Bio Starter at every water change as this helps to keep the good bacteria in its origional srate of good health/

I would take a good water sample directly from your water supply and get that tested at your LFS also ask if any one else is having similar problems.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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The salt (in combination with the ich) is probably what killed the tetras. Salt does more harm than good with the majority of aquarium fish, so it is best never to use it (except in extreme cases, and even then you don't put it in the main tank).

It sounds like the swordtail had some sort of bacterial infection, but unless there is a picture of the fish I wouldn't be able to tell you with absolute certainty. If any other fish starts showing signs of a bacterial infection (i.e. frayed fins, discoloration, blood streaks, etc.), then you should treat the tank with an antibiotic such as Maracyn.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

ok, now i noticed that i have 5 baby snails in my aquarium!! how did they get there and what should i do?

As long as you don't overfeed the tank, snails are perfectly fine.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

are they going to reproduce? i don't want a whole bunch of them in my tanks!

They will reproduce, but there won't be tons of them if don't overfeed the tank.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.