columbian shark shedding...

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 21 Sep 2005, 16:21

one of my columbian sharks (recently perchased) seems to be shedding... This is not normal (i'd imagine). I haven't kept fish for some years now, and don't recall diseases. it's small, and only a $7.50 investment, but i'm fond of the little bugger (and it's tankmates). any ideas?

chrs

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 21 Sep 2005, 16:29

That sounds like muccus shedding. That's usually an indication that the water is bad in one way or another. If this is a recently set up tank, I would think that it's NTS (New Tank Syndrom). This means high ammonia and/or nitrite values.

Immediate water changes would be the best way to solve this. Checking the water with a test-kit would be a good idea... Make sure that both ammonia and nitrite are ZERO (or lower than the lowest non-zero value on the test-kit).

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Mats

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 21 Sep 2005, 16:39

The tank was actually running for a couple of months before fish were put in it, and only one of them has the problem. that being said, muccus shedding does seem pretty appropriate. I'll get on the water changes right away. Thanks!~

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 21 Sep 2005, 19:21

The poor thing got sucked up the filter... must have been pretty weak. it was fine for the first week, and then seemed to deteriorate pretty rapidly. I'll continue doing 30% water changes for the next few days. hopefully that will help. it's a real bummer tho.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 23 Sep 2005, 09:39

Sorry to hear that.

I'd get a test-kit and see what the water pollution is like anyways. If you didn't have any fish in the tank, you could have run it for a year and not built up much in the way of beneficial bacteria culture. The buildup of beneficial bactera comes from ammonia and nitrite being present in the water, which really only happens once you've got some fish in the tank. [There are other ways to add ammonia to the tank, for instance breakdown of food or dead fish will cause ammonia buildup in the tank].

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Mats

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 23 Sep 2005, 12:45

I did go ahead and do a few tests... nitrites are fine, ammonia was a little difficult to read as it a brackish setup, and a cheap test kit (new), and it seems like it would be .125 mg/leter (yellow = 0... lite gree = .25 ... there was a hint of green in the tube, but not as green as .25 on the freshwater chart)
I am continuing water changes every couple of days to try and get that under controll. i lost another fish to the filter, perhapse the columbian sharks just like the current and get too close? its unplugged now and im getting a foam cover for it... under gravel filter is running strong tho

thanks much
chrs

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 23 Sep 2005, 13:51

I suggest you do a cross-test for the ammonia, do the following tests:
1. Test your tap-water. There should be no measurable ammonia in it.
2. Add required amount of salt to tap-water [you probably need to do a big bucket to get a big enough amount of salt]. Measure again, and check that the salt itself doesn't upset the test.
[It's probably a good idea to do both of the above tests in some water that you poured up into a bucket and treated with de-chlorinator, or whatever your normal procedure for preparing water is.]
3. Compare the above two tests with your tank's water.

Most test-kits are OK for both marine and fresh-water tests. Brackish being inbetween shouldn't cause any problem in itself.

If your tank has ANY measurable ammonia, it means one of two things:
1. The beneficial bacteria isn't there yet.
2. The beneficial bacteria can not cope with the pollution level, or some beneficial bacteria has been killed (for instance if you add water with chlorine still in it).

Btw, when you got the fish, where they in brackish water, and if so, what was the concentration of salt? Did the fish go from no-salt to brackish in one move? When transitioning from fresh to brackish, it should be done very slowly, just a little bit of salt added each week [on top of what's removed with water changes]. One way to do this is to add new water with salt, to replace the water in each water change. That way, the water eventually ends up being as salt as the water you use for replacement, but it's a gradual change from freshwater to brackish or marine. [Obviously, it may make sense to start of with slightly less salty water in the first couple of water changes, especially if a large proportion of water is being replaced].

Once the salt-concentration is whatever level you want, it's a very good idea to make sure it doesn't fluctuate in either pH or salinity.

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Mats

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 23 Sep 2005, 16:24

thanks again for your help, Mats. The cross test is a great idea.

the tank itself can hardly really be considered brackish at this point. they were in freshwater when I bought them, and I added a tablespoon and a half to the 29 gal. tank just before releasing them from the bag (to help with stress). Adding, as you say, a bit at a time, at this point there is a consentration of about 1 tablespoon/ 10 gallons. I have read they like it about 1 tablespoon / 5 gallons. I havent gotten a salinity test yet, so i really dont know the exact consentration in more technical terms.

as for adding water with chlorine already in it, i've been told that the water treatment works almost instantly. i pour the water, add the tsp. recomended, wait a minute or so (and make sure the temp is right) then pour it in. should i let it sit longer, to be sure the chlorine and other toxins are neutralized?
it's been about 15 years since i had my 55 gal full of african cichlids, i have forgotten a lot in that time. Im truelly glad the forum is here, and that there are forum members such as yourself eager to help!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 23 Sep 2005, 16:35

beer_baron1 wrote:as for adding water with chlorine already in it, i've been told that the water treatment works almost instantly. i pour the water, add the tsp. recomended, wait a minute or so (and make sure the temp is right) then pour it in. should i let it sit longer, to be sure the chlorine and other toxins are neutralized?

That's pretty much what I do, fill a bucket with water [mixing hot and cold to make the right temp], add dechlorinator, carry it over to the tank, and pour it in the tank. I know others do more complicated methods, like filling big tubs and using a thermostatic heater to keep it the right temperature, aerating it, etc. But for me, it seems to work fine.

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Mats