Fish die after certain time

[Limming]

You'll know when your cycled when the readings for ammonia and nitrites are 0. The nitrate level is going to very high and this point and you'll need to do a large water change to bring them down. For the ick I've had success with Quick Cure but I'm not sure what the best way to treat that won't stress the fish to much with the tank still cycling. For the fin rot the most important thing to do is keep good water quality for you this means checking parameters every 2 or 3 days and doing large water changes when required.

[fishmommie]

So here's another update. I've been changing 50% twice per week, waiting for the cycle (not sure what will happen or how to know when it does) but my nitrates keep climbing into the oranges and even reds after 3/4 days.
You will know your tank is cycled when your Ammonia and Nitrite readings are 0 and your nitrates are 20 or less. Just keep with the water changes but check your levels before you do it. Any day that ammonia and or nitrites near .50, do a water change.
To top it all I've just noticed two of my fish are showing signs of ich even though I haven't added anything to the tank in about 2 months. (any top recommended ich cures?)
So I'm going to continue doing the big water changes until it levels out a little more with the nitrates, and probably try to cure this ich at the same time.
Well, you didn't need that but I'm not surprised. Stress can sometimes trigger an ich attack - another consequence of not having a cycled tank. I would use heat only to cure the ich. No medication. Gradually up the heat to 86 F. Leave it there. Once you see the last spot on the last fish, then leave it another 7 days. This is to make certain all the ich spors that have fallen off the fish die before they can find another host fish to live on. When you change your water, make certain you insure the temp of the water you replace is also at 86 degrees. The increased heat should help speed up the cycle process as well.
Oh and one of my Bettas just started showing signs of fin rot! It's going to be a long week :P

Multiple water changes for the betta tank. Clean water is the best remedy for fin rot. Don't use anything like melifex or pimafax for the betta. Those medications are oily and can pool at the surface. Bettas are labyrinth fish and need to breath air from time to time. The melifix or pimafix can gum up their gills. There is a medication called bettafix (or something like that) that is supposed to be safe to use to treat bettas with fin rot. if you do decide to use medication, make sure you remove any carbon from your filter first as the carbon will leach it all out of the water

Good luck. you sure have your hands full

[Jayoneseven]

Thanks for the info, I'll look out for Bettafix.
So this morning my Nitrates were in the red, I did a 50% water change at about 7am (tight time budget) and when I came home at around 5pm I had dark orange nitrates. I ran another almost 50% water change, at that time, now just came homw (9:25pm) and my nitrates are still mid range to dark orange. Is this normal? I'm struggling to keep up with water changes! How many can I do in a single day? What would you recommend? I lost one of the Gouramis today, the smaller female, but all of the other fish are looking strong except one of the barbs which has ich that doesn't want to disappear.

[Limming]

I would do more then 50% try a 75% next time also if you don't have any see if you can get some floating plants ,horn wort is a good one, these well help soak up the nitrates.

[fishmommie]

So sorry about the gourami but unfortunately, with all the issues you are having I'm surprised things are going (relatively) as good as they are.
You might check your tap water and see what the nitrates read straight out of the tap. If they are anything but 0 then we need to regroup.
Mid range to dark orange is actually getting where you want to go. Much better than when you started. In the meantime, your beneficial bacteria lives in your filter, not your water, so it does not hurt to do multiple water changes during a day (as long as they're spread out a bit) to get those nitrates down.
You have never mentioned what the ammonia and nitrites read. What are you seeing on those charts?

Also - you might try cutting back on feed. Most of us over feed and overfeeding can cause elevated nitrates. Fish can live several days in the wild without food. I've also been told that a fish's stomach is roughly the size of their eye, so keep that in mind when feeding. Don't feed more than they will eat in 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Fasting the tank for a day or so might not be a bad option right now to help with the water quality.

And good for you, BTW, for trying so hard and not giving up on this tank.

[Jayoneseven]

Thanks for the info. I've cut back on feeding but I am not going to feed them tonight, gonna let it sit and see how it handles. Still doing 50% 1-2 times per day, just the temp increase and the water changes seems to be helping the ich a lot, it's all but disappeared on the fish that was showing sign of it.
Ammonia is between 0-0.25 ppm, it's a very very light shade of green within the range of those two.
Nitrates are between 10-20 ppm much paler shade of orange.
Going to keep doing what I'm doing, hope for the best.

@ Limming: I already have ~10 living plants in the tank but I'll have a look for Hornwort if you think it'll help.

Again, thanks for all the help! I'd have given up by now if it wasn't for you guys!

[fishmommie]

glad things are looking up. and they ARE looking up with your nitrates falling. What do nitrItes read? That's a good place for Ammonia to be while you cycle - which is basically what you're doing.
Did you ever test your tap water for nitrates? Just curious as to what the reading is.

Keep doing what you're doing. Also remember - keep your temp at 86 for 7 days after you see the last spot on your fish. this is a critical part of the ich treatment.

[Jayoneseven]

Nitrites are 0 ppm, Nitrates haven't risen since this morning (~10 ppm)so that's a relief that they aren't still rising. Another change tomorrow morning and I might be on the right path.