Malawi tank disease?

[Marty]

Get yourself a bottle of a live bacteria culture like TLC Startsmart and your tank will cycle much faster with less stress on your fish.

[Kaia]

I put quick start in and the sponge is cycled

[LoveTheFishies]

Make sure to keep adding the quick start.  It will usually say on the bottle the amount and frequency.  It's not a 1 time thing.  It will take time to reestablish the bio filter.

[Kaia]

Make sure to keep adding the quick start.  It will usually say on the bottle the amount and frequency.  It's not a 1 time thing.  It will take time to reestablish the bio filter.

Thing is, I never touched the bio balls in the filter? And the substrate was from their tank unrinsed? If the bacteria live in substrate and in filter I thought I would be fine... Even with a 100 percent water change

[Kaia]

Make sure to keep adding the quick start.  It will usually say on the bottle the amount and frequency.  It's not a 1 time thing.  It will take time to reestablish the bio filter.

Thing is, I never touched the bio balls in the filter? And the substrate was from their tank unrinsed? If the bacteria live in substrate and in filter I thought I would be fine... Even with a 100 percent water change

I think where I errored was vacuuming the substrate and changing out the carbon and rinsing the sponge media. I thought leaving the bio balls alone would be enough :/

[danielratti]

Well if you used untreated tap water when you first set it up you could of killed off what good you did have in the gravel and on top of that if the filter was running after you put the tap water in that would of killed what's on the bioballs.good chance you have chlorie and crap in your water. Live and learn right.

[Kaia]

Well if you used untreated tap water when you first set it up you could of killed off what good you did have in the gravel and on top of that if the filter was running after you put the tap water in that would of killed what's on the bioballs.good chance you have chlorie and crap in your water. Live and learn right.

I treated initial fill with aqueon water conditioner. The 50 percent change I didn't treat but it's well water. I added the salt instead. My other two tanks are fine, but I started them myself, brand new from scratch. Maybe instead of buying a used tank with occupants I should bought some house plants lol

[danielratti]

Did they test your water hardness? Well water can sometimes be a lot softer espically if the fish came from someone with hard water water and yours being softer you could of shocked them.

[four_by_ken]

Well water is typically hard.... then after the softner it is soft.

[Kaia]

I don't have a softener! I rough it.

pH 8.2
Ammonia 1.5
Nitrite .25 (I've since done a 25 percent change with conditioner)
Nitrate 40
GH 19
KH 14

The nitrate cycle is the least of my concern really. The ill fish are my problem. I just picked these up on the 4th. Quite a few are emaciated and yes I'm noticing stringy poop coming from some. Others it's like the sausage machine got air in it. Preuss told me bacterial but everything is leading me to parasitic. So I guess my plan is just to keep the water in check and give them a good diet. Hopefully their own immune system will kick in. Those that don't improve will visit the freezer vet.

[Steve]

Since you are seeing white stringy poop then for sure treat the tank sounds like you have some sort of parasite. But do a water change again ASAP because Ammonia should be 0ppm and if you are at 1.5ppm that is not good at all for the fish, you need to get that ammonia level down by doing PWC's everyday until the filter media re-establishes itself.

[African cichlid Keeper]

Since you are seeing white stringy poop then for sure treat the tank sounds like you have some sort of parasite. But do a water change again ASAP because Ammonia should be 0ppm and if you are at 1.5ppm that is not good at all for the fish, you need to get that ammonia level down by doing PWC's everyday until the filter media re-establishes itself.

I agree

[Kaia]

Those measurements were before my 25 percent water change

[Kaia]

I will do 25 percent daily. Any idea how long, like a rough estimate? Considering I have nitrates and just introduced an established sponge? Also I won't be treating these fish now, as I feel like their already under enough stress from the move and the perimeters being off. I have no doubt that their water conditions have change drastically.

[Maize-N-Blue-D]

Keep doing the 25% WC's until you stabilize the Ammonia and Nitrites to continuously read zero.   Keep adding in the recommended doses of TLC SMART START COMPLETE as suggested and keep adding back in any salt that you may removed while doing the WC's...  Repeat only replace the salt that you have removed by doing the WC's.

Once you have stabilized your tank say a week and the ammonia and Nitrites continously read zero, I would treat the tank with Metro, this is an overall parasite killer.  If you have any parasites in the tank this should wipe it out.

Good Luck !