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someone was moving and was giving away their 45 gal tank. It was brought home to me fri night. as a "surprise", which normally would be great, except their are numerous problems.

1) occupants- 1, 8 in common pleco
2, 4 in silver dollars

the pleco has about 25% of his fins gone- looks similar to a betta's "fin rot"

the silver dollars- about 75% of their fins are gone, and ALL the pectoral fins are gone. whats left looks tattered and frayed.

2)this tank hasnt been maintained in 3 yrs. only topped off, fish fed, and filter cartridges completely changed out.the person that gave away the tank didnt knoww anything about fish, their ex spouse did the maintance, and they split up 3 yrs ago.

3) the original water looked like mud- at the top dark brown and cloudy, towards the bottom, dark and thick.

4)I know these fish are TO BIG for this tank- 45 gal, 36 X 24 x 13, but in the shape they are in the LFS that has will take them and has room for them will not take them in this state.

5) were told the fish were lazy, and just sat there...
now I didnt see the original tank set up, nor did I know anything about it till after the fact... It was brought home "so I could have a bigger tank"

ok, that was fri night. Each fish was brought home in seperate 5 gal buckets almost full of their original tank water. I couldnt tell how bad the fins were, until much later, as I couldnt see them till they were in the tank.

Considering how filthy the tank was, and that they had been living in that for 3 yrs, I was scared to completely strip it down and sterilize it..... so I scrubbed the walls, ect- extreme calcium build up, and rinced everything in dechlor'd water till it ran clear. I wasnt given the original filter pads, she "changed" them out for us.....

I used 1/2 the water the fish came in as part of the water used to refil the tank, as I didnt want to complely change it to fast, scared of shocking them .....

Today, the fish are finally starting to swim around. The silvers, as soon as they get up speed, are running into the tank wall... this tank is just to small for them. I did a 3 hr long acclimation... then kept lights off till today.

they have only been fed flakes and algea wafers... so today for their first feeding here, I gave them blanched spinach, which was literally attacked and gobbled up, including the pleco...who really needs a cave and some driftwood....

Parameters-
I didnt check anything on the original water except ph which was 8.5... and ammonia- 1, after that I got scared, and figured its only going to get better....

today
ph 8 ( my tanks are 7.0)the tank WAS decorated with tons of real seashells.
am .5
nitrIte 50
nitrAte 10

Besides cleaning, I've dosed with 1/2 dose of melafix and pimafix..

I just want to get these guys better so I can get them rehomed to a bigger tank. There is no other signs of disease which are visable. The silver dollars are swimming a tad funny, but I'm pretty sure its due to No pectoral fins left ( only lil numbs left) when they change direction they 'wobble n lean" then come upright again.

Plans- get them better n rehome
change 10% of water every other day, dose after water change ( no carbon in filter) to help with cycling stress, and get the ph back down. Going mini gravel vacs with each change to get out whatever remains of the sea shells out.
Then once ph comes down, and cycling is done, go to a regular water change schedule of 25% weekly
Once i see some obvious fin regrowth I plan on stopping the pimafix/melefix routine. and see how it goes.

I'm trying to make the best of it, given the situation. Any suggestions???


also- I've added filter wool from one of my other tanks to the HOB filter of his tank. This tank has a large HOB filter ( looks like whats commonly sold for a 55) and a UGF. i'm not using the UGF. I also moved a small interal power filter that I had from the 10 gal, to this tank, to help " seed" it.

So long as they are improving it seems like you are doing a great job. Your assumptions that "it can only get better" are correct. Just keep up with cleaning and feeding and they should perk up and regrow their missing fins within a month ( in know it seems long but it seems like they were missing A LOT). Other than that just keep up with your dosing/cleaning/feeding regimen and get them back to tip top shape. I'd suggest start looking for homes now and researching what you want so you don't leave the tank long between getting these to their new homes and buying your new ones... an mini cycle would be tragic after all of that work you are putting in. if they seem to be getting worse after this week (which should be highly unlikely) maybe consider euthanasia? I know its hard to take a life but if they seem to be suffering then its better for them to move on to the light...

The tank should have plenty of bacteria already in it, but it is better to get more water circulation in there. unless you took the UGF out I'd suggest you get it working because it cant hurt the tank by getting more oxygen and water movement in there. just shut if off when you do a gravel vac and it shouldnt interfere with the suction or keep you from getting out the "GUNK".

seems like you're on the right track here.
-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Yes- they are missing ALOT of fins, and i know its going to take time to regrow. I was thinking I will prob have these guys for 6-8 weeks if no new problems arise.And that would be a plenty enough QT time to make sure nothing else comes up.

Euthanasia- I know sometimes its the most humane, but as things stand now- they are getting around ok, and there are no other signs of illness. If things turn for the worse, and it appears they wont make it, then I'll do whats most humane.
My main concern right now is that they dont come down with a major infection.

New stock- I have a good idea what I want, and have time to make the final decision. But After I rehome the current occupants- the tank is getting an overhaul- new substrate,ect... and an upgrade of the old equipment. I have a couple other tanks, and can seed this one well when the time comes.
I dont want to add those things now,as Im trying to change things as slow ( but healthy) as possible given the circumstances. ANd the substrate- multi colored blue gravel is full of sea shell particles, that Im slowly removing. I feel the shells is what is changing the ph, and they have gotten so used to it, I dont want to change that on them over night....

Sounds like you have this well planned out. Your plan on overhauling the tank and reseeding it should work just fine. Just out of curiosity what fish and plants are you planning on getting?
-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

The silvers and pleco are getting more active each day, no signs of distress except fins still, so thats a good sign.
I'm still getting ammonia and nitrite readings, but they are slowly lowering. ph hasnt changed since 1st water change...
Wondering if maybe I need to Up the changes to 20-25 % instead of 10-15...


As far as new set up- yeah I pretty much know what I want.
filters and lighting upgrades, substrate a mix of flourite and sand, plants;
wisteria and dwarf sag, already have it, and its multiplying
a sword, tons of vals,Bacopa Myriophylloides, and a couple anubias nana and java ferns on driftwood and rocks

will be heavily planted in back and sides, with a more open center swimming area

stocking- down to 2 options, not sure which, I'd like them both- need another tank....he he ,but it will be one of these

1- a tiger barb species tank- all the regular, orange color morph- With all the plants- I think it would be striking, and crazy...

2- a pair of angels, lemon tetras, and panda, sand or skunk cories.
depending on what is in stock when I go..

glad to hear that the fish are perking up!

Honestly I like angels but they are a little boring to watch... I'd like to go with the all tiger barbs tank. that would be one hell of a tank to watch... and SUPER entertaining! How large of a shoal were you thinking of getting?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

well ive finally noticed new growth on the pleco. The silvers I cant really tell- they are still skittish, and wont sit still when Im trying to see.!

Hoping to get these guys better soon.