[andree_anne89]

I need someone's help !

I have a dwarf gourami since about 2 months, he has been doing great and this week I just started to notice black spots on his tail. They are really small but I want to make sure it doesn't get worst.

One of my cat fish died about 2 weeks ago because my nitrate/nitrite level was too high. I now have a nitrate/nitrite filter and change 30% of my water more often...

Is that what causes the black spots on my gourami or could it be something else?

Please help !!

Andrée-Anne

 

[Elliriyanna]

Sounds like ammonia burns test all your levels and let me know

 

[andree_anne89]

I have an ammonia scale and it says that my ammonia is safe

 

[andree_anne89]

I brought my water for testing 2 weeks ago and only my nitrate/nitrite was high (very high)... I did everything I have been asked to do to bring it back to normal... I have been told that my fish might have got used to the high nitrate/nitrite level and they might react (shock) to the nitrate/nitrite level coming back to being safe....

Could it be a shock reaction?

 

[Sasami]

I'm not sure why you keep grouping nitrite and nitrate together. They should be too values and are detected with separate tests. One is very toxic (nitrite) while the other is only bad when it builds up (nitrate).

What are the actual values for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

What size aquarium do you have and what fish? How often do you do water changes? I agree that this sounds environmental.

 

[andree_anne89]

both levels of nitrite and nitrate were very high and my ammonia level is at 0.02 pm... i don't know what are the actual levels now... I will have to bring a sample of my water in to check as i don't have the tests at home (i am a new tank owner)

i have a 10 galon tank
i change my water twice a week now (this is what has been recommended to me (30% water change)
i have one dwarf gourami, 3 aqua frogs, 1 cat fish, and 3 red eyes tetra...

 

[Sasami]

What kind of frogs (African Dwarf or African Clawed? What color are they and how big?)? What kind of catfish?

Your tank is unfortunately over-stocked which is probably making it difficult to maintain good water quality . You may need to return some of the animals. The water change schedule seems good, I think it's just hard to keep up with such a heavy bio-load in a tiny aquarium.

To save your current animals you can do a third water change weekly to keep the water clean (you won't have to do this forever, just until you fix the problem). The gourami may not make it (the dwarf guys are pretty sensitive now and I wouldn't recommend them at all) but it should help prevent any more deaths.

If it was my tank, I'd return the gourami and catfish. Possibly the frogs depending on species and how well they're eating (they can be tricky to maintain in community tanks). If the frogs were returned, I'd then get a couple more tetras to have a school and then eventually add another animal...perhaps a single betta, a few pygmy cory cats, a single bristlenose pleco, etc. And that'd basically be the max for a 10-gallon, they don't have much room. Beginners are always better off with tanks of at least 29-gallons IMO. A 10-gallon has little room for error as you're finding out.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[andree_anne89]

thank you ! I find it pretty sad because everytime I went to buy another fish I have been told I could still add more eventhough i also thought it was too many for a 10 galon tank...

the frogs are african dwarf... and they are doing great, they eat a lot and have grown a lot since i got them... they are about 2 cm (body without legs) long... and i am not sure about the kind of catfish... it is small and stays at the bottom of the tanks and eat from the rocks...

I have been told to not over feed to make sure my water quality is good... i feed them flakes twice a day and 1 square of frozen mini blood worms every other day... does that sound ok to you ?

thank you so much for your help !

 

[Sasami]

If the frogs are doing fine then great, they should do fine in that size tank. I'd re-home the catfish, though, most get quite large and some become predatory. Is there a way you could take a picture or ask the pet store what species it is?

Well, it depends on how many flakes you're feeding but as long as there aren't any rotting in your substrate it's fine. You basically want to feed enough so that nothing is left uneaten provided your fish don't start getting fat .

 

[andree_anne89]

so here are the pictures (as well as I could take with my phone)....

the spots on the gourami are pretty small as you will see...

and the catfish is a little smaller than my red eye tetras...

Hope this help !

 

[Elliriyanna]

Thats a Spotted corydoras you should return him they need to be in groups of at least 4-5 and your tank can not support that ...

Your other option of course is Upgrading everyone but the ADF's which a trio would do VERY well in a ten gallon alone its hard to keep them in a community as they are almost blind and hard to make sure they are eating Unless you use feeding tongs.

 

[wishbone]

Interesting Elliriyanna, my close friend got two but looks good together in 20gal.