help! my tropical freshwater fish have gone pale?

K

Kylie Anne

New member
pH is one of the most useless tests ever... your power went out which means your filter stopped working too, which means some bacteria probably died. this would cause the tank to go through a mini cycle again. test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. those are the important things.

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you can, but that stuff is usually dead. do a 25% water change and see how they are. you mayneed to do a few more water changes, but you won't really know unless you test your water.
 
The pH levels are all fine my tank has been healthy and all the fish were doing great (black red tipped shark three tiger barbs a bosemani and a fancy molly) my power went out in the night so my heater stopped. i frantically got it plugged in and working again and the fish all seemed fine at the time but have now all become slightly pale. The red on the sharks tale is hardly even noticeable and is almost clear. I know that pale fish means stressed fish... but will they be alright?? please help i dont want them all to die!
should i add some of my nutrafin cycle then? to help replenish the bacteria that may have died during the outage?
 
I'd say it is just stress. Fish often loose color when their surroundings change, such as when you put your hands in the water, when you clean their tanks, if they're getting bullied, if they're sick etc. Add in some stress coat to reduce the stress of the fish, and try not to shake up the tank by doing water changes, or putting your hands in there etc. Add in some API melafix as well, because while fish are stressed, their immune systems are lower making them more susceptible to diseases and the Melafix will help prevent diseases.
Leave the tank to settle for a few days after you double check to make sure your filter and heater are working. I'd do a quick check for ammonia as well because some of your bacteria may have died whilst the power was off and your filter wasn't functioning. Keep up with regular feeding. You shouldn't need to add in Cycle, your tank should have plenty of bacteria in your tank to convert the ammonia, if your tank shows traces of ammonia, then add it in.
 
It could just be shock from the sudden temp drop due to the heater. Are they getting enough light? I heard that fish can also lose their color if not enough light is provided. I'm no expert, I'm just leaving an idea and trying to help here.
 
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