Some fish problem, apparently

[verygreen]

A bit longwinded so you know entire story.
But TL;DR, one fish dead, some strange behaviour in fish, one fish has strange skin problem (picture attached), wondering what's going on.

So, I got a 9500 galon pond per advice of my landscaping guy, who ensured me fish keeping is easy, and fish are low maintenance (yeah, right).
The pond was completed and filled with water end of last fall, but I only started to put in fish about 1.5 months ago. Even before then I had an algae bloom that never subdued (currently I can see maybe 8 inces deep, used to be 3 inches deep).
The initial load of fish included 10 feeder 2" goldfish from petsmart, a 6 shubunkins at 3-4", 4 koi at 4", 1 large (11") buttefly goldfish, a bit later 6 more 3" koi.
Initially fish was hiding very well and I even suspected it had died, food always floating at surface uneaten, but no floaters ever appeared. I put in one water lily and feeder goldfish started to hang under the leaves after a while, so I found out the fish was still there.
Then a three weeks after that I tried to feed at night with a flashlight and they came, but very afraid of the light, the big goldfish looking very lively.

I also got a camera overlooking the pond (taking a picture every 5-30 seconds) to ensure there were no predators tht would explain fish being so afraid.

Last week the big goldfish became very brave, frequently appeared at the surface even at the day time, though it looked a bit strange as I then though, yet I was happy thinking that fish finally is becoming familiar with the place.
I got 6 more 8" koi (from pond megastore this time for a change) that have arrived this Tuesday and let them into the pond at 9am. At 3:45pm I looked outside of my window and saw something white floating in the pond - turned out the big goldfish died.
(I examined the cam footage, the goldfish was astively "surverying the pond perimeter" until around 1:40pm or so, then disappeared, the dead fish floated up at 1:40pm, so I happened to see it right away).
The fish did eat the evening before at the mormal feeding time.
I don't think whatever these new koi might have on them (of course the seller assures all their fish are disease free, live in ponds that have not seen any added fish in like 60 years) would have worked as fast.
When I got the dead fish, the gills were pale green, one side outside of the gills had a lot of green growth, kind of like dense moss I would think, but I don't think I have ever seen it on the fish (but visibility is a problem, so I might have missed it easily). Sadly I did not think of taking a picture at the time. I brought the fish back to the store where I get it and they said they never have seen anything like that and exchanged it under warranty for another similar fish (hopefully not to meet it's certain death).

Now ever since I put those large koi in, they are super active they come to feed at day time too (but generally avoid the sun exposure), and other fish seems to be coming with them, a lot of original fish is much bigger now it seems, still much more skittish than the new koi. On a video footage from yesterday I see a replacement big goldfish mid-air over the pond (considering was taking pictures once every 30 seconds, that was a hell of a lucky shot or the fish was jumping all the time at the time?).
The feeder goldfish growth was uneven, some became considerably bigger, some much less so.

I noticed that some like to seclude themselves in corners of the pond or under water lily leaves, just hanging in one place, breathing fast (my my standards, anyway, like 3-4 times per second), sometimes coming to just under surface, and sometimes like catching some invisible stuff from surface.
Also I noticed today that one of the earlier koi (that like tripled in size) acts a bit strange, came to feed with the rest of the fish, but almost did not go to the surface and even when coming, did not try to get the food, but just munched water surface, seemingly missing the food that just floated above it moments ago.
Come think of it, it's hard to tell how many fish actually come to feed (due to water non-transparency), in a single picture I can make perhaps 11-12 fish bodies, I also occasionally see some distinct ones so make that 14-15, but that's still way under the number I should have in total.

Catching the fish in my pond is really hard - it's big, deep and really non-transparent, but I managed to catch one of the feeder goldfish to examine how do the gills look like (seem to be ok, though hard to be sure with this small fish, it's one of the smaller 3" ones) and
noticed one one side of the gill cover does not look right, there's non shiny patch with like the surface scratched off, there's no blood or red, I made a picture that hopefully shows this thing good enough, and I have no idea what that is.
Also tonight I came out with a flashlight and noticed the strangely-behaving koi from before is hanging just under the place where I administer food and not deeply, so I can still see the static fish when I shine my flashlight into the water.
It did not care for the net (usually as soon as net is in the water, all fish disappeares hiding) until the moment I lifted it out of water where it understandably became super worried. I examined it and don't see anything wrong, if only a bit of redness at the root of left front fin, but that might just be the natural color. I let it back into the pond for now as I don't have anywhere to isolate it, but the smaller goldfish with side damage is in a bucket for now until I decide what to do, probably need to catch a couple more for examination.

So now I am worrying if I have something in my pond that will kill all the other fish over time? Or not?
I check water parameters weekly, I have 0 ammonia, zero nitrates and nitrites, ph of 8.2 in the morning-8.4 in the evening, kH hardness of about 90, zero phosphates, zero chlorine.
I also have tons of foam (organics overload from leaves at the bottom from last fall?) and the foam amount increased significantly yesterday.

I should have plenty of aeration - there's a stream with multiple waterfalls that's 18' elevation (and that should work as a trickle tower apparently too, I don't have a separate filter).

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome aboard, Lot of things to work with or through on this one. First off from the picture I can tell that fish has a ulcer. Now that brings up the question, is that what is causing the death and is that what is wrong, or is this a secondary infection. and yes, they can be one or the other.
Do you quarantine new fish before adding them, If not. well this is why it is brought up time and time again. new fish can and do bring in new bacteria, parasites, and fungus infections even though they may appear 100% healthy for long periods of time before purchasing. Many fish don't show these signs until stressed which can simply be as little of stress as the move from one body of water to the next. From here on I do suggest QT your fish for at least 3-4 weeks before adding to your pond.
next problem I am reading, green water, and foam on the surface of the pond. this is a tell tell sign of to many nutrients being released in the pond, this can be from fish over load, meaning simply that there may be plenty of water for them all to survive but there doesn't seem to be a high enough turn over rate in the Bio-filtration to convert all the nutrients form waste. Is there to many fish, Actually it may be that there are more fish than the filter can handle, BUT IMO, there is more food going in that the filter can handle, not so much fish. Foam is DOC's, (Dissolved Organic Compounds) This is most common in the early morning hours and when fish spawn. but it can also be seen in ponds that are high in nutrients and low in dissolved oxygen. Where is the oxygen going? Algae uses Oxygen, so do the fish, and so do the bacteria needed to help break down the waste. So even though there may be a lot of oxygen being produced for the pond, the pond itself may need a higher oxygen content to help balance it. Leaves may have something to do with the problem, but also dying algae, left over food, and possibly a dead fish may also be part of the problem as well. Treating a pond this size can be quite expensive, so it's really a good idea to try and find someone that can scope and scrape the fish to help positively identify exactly what is going on. Guessing can even be more costly because if you start treating for say the ulcer and that is the secondary infection then you may still have the same problem going on even after treating and may need to medicate again with another expensive medication. Again, this is why QT is so important. It's far easier/less expensive to treat fish in a small pond than it is in a main show pond.
Reading and understanding how a pond works and finding what works for you and your pond is very important. No two ponds react In the same manner, but there are principles that do apply to every pond.
For now this is my suggestion, water changes, I would start by changing as much water as possible (Up to 50%) and still allow the filtration to continue to operate. Second thing I would do is try and remove as much matter from the bottom of the pond as possible. for treating the Ulcer, I suggest trying Bio-bandage. I have had really good results with this product but it does require that the fish be removed from the water, a soft cloth is needed to help remove as much moisture as possible from the infected area, Then the medication can be applied to the wound, allow 10-15 seconds for the medication to absorb into the infected area then release the fish back to the holding area. This may take several weeks to completely treat and it may need to be repeated every 3-5 days until healed. I also suggest to either stop feeing all together or only feed a few pellets just to get the fish to come up. You won't starve your fish, but many many fish are killed by giving to much love, many new pond keepers simply don't understand just how dangerous over feeding can be.
This is my rule when it comes to feeding. Feed very small amounts of food, if all the fish come up and eagerly feed, then you can feed a little more. If the food sits on the surface for more than 3--5 minutes, net all of it out and skip the next day. NEVER leave a single pellet of food floating in the pond after five minutes, if food sits there for any length of time then your simply over feeding. Common mistake and a mistake made by many pond keepers. Also have you tried to use a UV light. UV lights kill green water algae cells. this may help to clear the water, BUT clear water does not mean that the water is healthy. Your parameters seem to be pretty good, but I'm afraid that there is a lot more going on below the surface that needs some serious attention. Hopefully others will chime in as well, there are many options you can take and many things can be done. I do suggest finding out if there is a pond or koi club in your area, if so contact them, they may have someone that is familiar with scraping and scoping a fish. If that is the case I really think that would be the directon I would take. this will help take a lot of guess work out and help you find a direct path of planning what steps are needed to correct everything.

 

[verygreen]

Thanks for your suggestions.
I am planning for UV filter (and another skimmer, as now my pond is split into two parts by water stream from waterfall and only half of that is serviced by a skimmer as result), but that will take some time to actually implement.

As far as the ulcer, I was wondering if it was that or not - there's no blood or flesh you can see really, it's just the area is not shiny and looks a bit recessed. Normally when people describe ulcers in fish, there all those pictures with blood all over them?

I agree on quarantining, though my plan was to get my initial fish load and then not adding any new fish (and so I reached that stage now - no plans for new fish), so QT setup is way down my list ATM (and the only reason I am even considering it is for isloated fish treatment should I even need it).

I don't think I overfeed the fish, in fact I did not feed them entire week two weeks ago (as I found it pointless trying to feed them when they did not come to eat). No food is left when feeding is done now. (the manual on the food says 1 teaspoon per 3 inches of fish which works itself to like 0.8 cups, no way I am feeding even half that).
There was some foam in the pond even before the first fish was added too.

I don't have an oxygen meter to see what the picture is there, but given that the fish mostly does not hang out at the surface (outside of the few small ones), that should not be a problem too I guess?

Cleaning the bottom is somewhat challenging as I don't really see what's there, the plan is to clean it when adding UV filters and another skimmer (which will need quite a bit of draining). Currently water changes are only happening by the way of rains that drive some excess water into overflow.

There is a koi club in the area, though their web page seem dormant for like a year, hopefully I'll be able to get in contact with somebody.
It looks like I'll need to get a few more of the fish for closer examination too.

 

[Dave 54]

Hi verygreen it sounds like your expecting the pond to get along on its own when the opposite is true ponds need maintenance in the form of waterchanges, filters need to me maintained leaves removed from the bottom of the pond etc.
We clean our filters just prior to winter then again when we come out into the spring.
Waterchanges go on throughout the winter months even.
You stop feeding your fish s soon as the pond hits 10c and dont start again until the temperature is consistantly above 10c (15c) only then as much as they will eat in five minutes.
Water changes are carried out throughout the year, you cannot stint on this (though others will tell you different they are wrong.
Next you need somewhere where you can Quarentine your fish prior to them going in the pond for 4 weeks , if anything is going to come out it'll do it during that tme.
Next Learn to read your fish, the best time to do this is when your feeding them look for anything untowards and if you see anything QT the fish and treat it,
The fish that has grown quite large and round sounds as though it has dropsy remove it and QT it however it may very well be too late for that....
Next and I cannot stress this enough read up on your subject buy books and study them amazon sells then cheaply enough ,
I suggest the Interpet manual of fish health and the interpet Manual of Koi health , there are others out there but not novice friendly if looked after correctly goldfish can live for 40 years koi 80 , we have two in our own pond who are now in their 27th year with us.
Test the water on a regular basis using either the API pond test kit or the Tetra pond test kits do not for the sake of cheapness buy the pond strip test they are very innaculrate and near useless for the job in hand.
Larkin suggests a 50% water change I concur with that advice.
As to your problem I've a feeling its a thing called areomonas which needs a good antibacterial treatment gram negative/ positive, this should help your fish no end, however take a swab off dead ones are no good it has to be a live fish and send to the vet to asertain if the treatment to use is gram negative and not gram possitive
When doing water changes use a dechrorinator treatment at a later date buy yourself a dechorinator unit ( saves you a fortune in liquid dechlorinator treatment.
Take more photos to give us an idea of what hs befallen your fish , the green gills I've never heard of before though it may well be the gill dying gills should be a bright and healthy colour.
What tempersature is your pond at at the moment ?
You should never buy anothers fish unless you know their history , we have a rule of thumb when buying fish if there is anything wrong with any fish be it a split fin sore or anything else simply dont buy even if the fish looks health QT it.......
If I'm starting to scare you I appologise but fish keeping isnt rocket science as some would have you believe its down to plain common scense and nothing more.
Educate yourself fully but aviod the net as somethings said are darn right wrong .
We await your photos asap as spead is of the essnence here if your not to loose anymore fish .
Also find out if there is a koi and goldfish club in your area they will normally come out and help a novice in distress as you are they will even take scrapes for you to see if you have a parasite problem or other such as I've already said.
Best of Luck and remember more photos please

rgrds

Dave

 

[verygreen]

Thank you.
I already did quite a bit of reading (few weeks ago) and I do realize maintenance is actually needed. I do test water in the pond regularly too.
The pond temperature is 25C/77F.
The dead fish with green gills is long gone, and I did not think to take pictures at the time, sadly, and I really hope I'll have no other examples of that. I'll see if I can catch any more fish to inspect how they look. If you think you'd need more photos of this affected goldfish that I already caught, what are the other areas of interest on it?

My local koi club seems in disarray ATM, emails bounce and such, so I guess I'll try to find a microscope and do my own swipes.

 

[Dave 54]

Dont hesitate to ask itsa shame that your koi club is in dissary it seems to be happening quite alot nowadays most probably due to the state of the recession which is sad.
Our own club seems to be going from strength to strength bucking the trend of other clubs.
We use a Bresser microscope X40 - x1024 they can be bought quite cheaply as I said in another post most recently give it a read .


rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

There is a koi club in the area, though their web page seem dormant for like a year, hopefully I'll be able to get in contact with somebody.

It could just be that their webmaster is busy or left the club. Try giving the board members a call or email.

 

[verygreen]

Well, I just spent a few hours fishing for the two smaller feeder goldfishes that were the most inactive always hiding below the lily sitting mostly dormant only sometimes adjusting for the current that moved them from under the leaves.
One had something that looked like a brown bump (and I thought, must be a tumor of some sort), but I took a picture of it and :blink: that must be some sort of a parasite (see pictures).

The other one had nothing like that and seems much more active once I actually caught it. It has a small scale missing, but I cannot make it be visible in a picture despite all of my attempts.

Anyway, back to the scary thing, what's that and how do I make it go away?

Ok, a little bit of googling found that it's "Branchiuran Fish Louse"

 

[fishin4cars]

That is a fish louse. although it needs to be addressed it is by far not the primary problem. Fish lice are a type of parasite but many fish can live with one or two of these on them for quite some time with very little effects to the fish themselves. It's when there is explosion of them that they really become a problem. But this is another sign that there may be some underlying water quality issues. Lice and anchor worms rarely attack unless the fish is weakened by other issues.
I wanted to also bring up that the green fungus on your fish was probably SAP.
Here is some information I copied and pasted from KHA about it some good information to dig through.
Sap.....or is my fish growing algae?


Excerpt from REC's cold water article

Cold Water Fungus

One of the most common ailments we see in our ponds during spring warm-up is the cold
water fungus saprolegnia. Saprolegnia (or sap) is a freshwater fungus which simply
means it lives in fresh water environments and needs water to grow and reproduce. Sap
can also be found in brackish water and moist soil. It is often referred to as a “cold
water” fungus as it flourishes in colder water, but it lives well in a wide range of water
temperatures extending from 37 deg F to 91 deg F (3 to 31 deg C).

In the water, sap looks like fluffy cotton; however, out of the water it appears to be a
matted mess of slime. Sap starts out either white or grey in color. The grey appearance
also may indicate the presence of bacteria growing with sap’s structure. Over a short
period of time, sap may turn brown or green as organic particles in the water (such as
algae) adhere to the filaments. Note the picture below. This is a classic presentation of
sap that has invaded a bacterial infection of the dorsal fin area of a koi. The green color
is actually embedded algae particles within the sap’s filaments.

By appearance, sap can be easily confused with epistylus, a freshwater parasite that
presents as a white cottony substance growing on the skin of the fish. Epistylus does not
gather organic particles and will remain white. Confirmation of Epistylus versus sap
should be done with a microscope.

Typically we think of sap as a “secondary” invader. This means that something else has
violated the integrity of the fish’s skin allowing bacteria to enter and provide direct tissue
access for the sap hyphae to embed themselves. In treating sap, it is imperative to treat
BOTH the sap and the underlying primary cause. This will be discussed in more detail in
the treatment section below.

However, sap can also be a primary invader under the right conditions and this is where it
gets the reputation as a “cold water” fungus. We all know that cold water conditions,
including dramatic temperature changes, cause great stress on the fish and suppress the
fish’s natural immune system. As stated above, sap flourishes in colder water by
producing and releasing increased zoospore counts into the water. The combination of
stress, suppressed immune systems, and increased spore counts give sap the ability to
cause major problems in colder water. Sap infections are commonly the cause of “winter
kill.”

The following is a list of conditions that support the spread of sap:

�� Overcrowding – stress and too many organics in too little water
�� Handling – stress and removal of the mucous coat on the fish
�� Epidermal integrity – open wounds that provide direct access to tissue
�� Parasites and pathogens – parasites cause wounds that allow pathogens (like
bacteria) to enter the tissue thus giving sap a chance to take hold and stress
�� Pollution – stress and reduced water quality
�� Spawning – stress and physical damage
�� Water quality – stress and reduced physiological conditions
�� Water temperature changes – stress.

Obviously the underlying theme in the above list is “stress” and this is the one thing that
we need to guard against first and foremost to keep our fish healthy. In healthy
conditions, our fish have some natural protection against sap with the mucous layer being
the most effective first line of defense. The mucous layer or slime coat provides the
ability to reject a sap attack by sloughing off a layer of mucous and sending the sap with
it. The mucous coat also provides a natural fungicide at the cell-level. So you can see
that improper handling or any activity that reduces the mucous coat offers an increased
opportunity for sap to take hold.

The best “cure” for sap is prevention. As mentioned, sap is present in every pond and has
its place in the order of life in the pond’s ecology. It really only becomes a problem
when something has gone wrong with the fish and/or the pond or a condition such as cold
water suppresses the fish’s immune system. Some of the steps we can take to reduce
sap’s effectiveness include:

1. Providing a stress-free environment (which starts with excellent water
quality)

2. The active reduction of organics in the pond (good mechanical filtration and
a balanced ecology). This also will reduce natural aeromonas bacteria counts

3. The quick removal of dead and dying fish and excess food

4. Proper handling (which starts with as little handling as possible)

5. Elimination of parasites

6. Increased water flow during warmer conditions

But no matter how hard we try, and especially for those ponds located in areas subject to
cold water situations and/or rapid water temperature changes, sap is always a possibility.
Except as noted above, there are no reasonable preventive measures, including the
use of anti-fungal products as they just do not work effectively against sap.
Therefore, we must be prepared to diagnose and treat sap as soon as we see it and here
are some treatment recommendations:

1. Malachite Green (MG): Hands down, this is the best treatment for all fungal
problems, including sap. MG baths and dips work_ exceptionally well and one
treatment will usually solve the problem (assuming any contributing causes are
corrected as well). There are certain cautions that go with using MG, such as use
only in cooler, well aerated water, so read the label carefully for instructions and
precautions. MG is not recommended as a pond-wide treatment for sap as the
concentration levels needed to kill off sap are too high for a pond-wide treatment
to be effective. Such products as ProForm C, a Malachite Green-formalin

combination can help reduce the incidence of sap and parasites in the water, but
because the sap hyphae may be deeply embedded, the stronger dip or bath method
is recommended. Caution: Malachite green is carcinogenic and has been
banned for use on food fish. Use MG with great care.

2. Salt: This is a distant “second best” treatment to MG. Salt in the 0.6 to 1.0%
range for 30 minutes or less can help eliminate sap. The caution with this
approach is that the higher the salt level, the more stress the fish will endure so
check carefully on the stability of your fish prior to performing a high-level salt
bath.

3. Formalin: Formalin is mentioned as a treatment for sap however, generally
speaking, formalin is ineffective against most molds and fungi. Like MG and salt,
formalin comes with its own precautions, including limiting its use in warm
water, where low oxygen situations may develop. Handle formalin with care, its
toxicity is well known. Diluted versions of formalin products, such ProForm C
offer a nice one-two punch where MG takes out the sap and formalin gets the
parasites. It is not recommended to use formalin against open wounds because of
the harmful effect of formalin on exposed tissue and cell structures. Formalin is
also more toxic to fish in cold water.

4. Potassium Permanganate: In the right hands, PP is one of the better treatments
for sap. PP treatments at 4PPM (4g/1000 litres) will eliminate most of the sap but
for deeply embedded sap hyphae, further surface treatments using a PP paste may
be required. The down side of PP, of course, is the inherent danger of using it
at all. It is not recommended for those inexperienced with its use.
Treating a sap-affected fish requires that the wound site be tended completely. As
mentioned, sap is generally a secondary invader; this means something else went wrong
to allow the sap to take hold, like a parasite attack or another wound that opened the
tissue. So, when treating a sap-affected fish, first eliminate the sap from the surface of
the fish and then treat the actual wound site, which is most likely starting to look like an
ulcer. For the latter, Tri-Cide Neo, iodine, PP paste and/or Debride topical ointment are
good choices. Depending on the extent of the underlying wound, injectable medications
may be required and the assistance of a veterinarian sought. If you suspect that cold
water has allowed sap to become a primary invader, attention to the surface tissue of the
affected fish is still required as the sap hyphae penetrates the tissue and can allow
bacteria to enter the wound site.

 

[Mmathis]

Gross, gross......but so informative.

Is there a good reference book that addresses these "water issues"? Pictures, descriptions, treatments...... The internet is good, but sometimes I just prefer being able to open to that page in a book

As with equine injuries, it's not an issue of "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen!

 

[HTH]

Another case of possibly infecting a new pond with feeder fish.

 

[verygreen]

Argh, the one I was worried about yesterday and that was very inactive today in the morning is dead now too. Did not float.
I don't see anything wrong on this one outside of it being dead and a smirk of blood in left eye. Lots of blood-looking stuff on scales is actually natural coloring it seems. The blood-looking spots under the eye only became appaent in the picture, I did not notice them with my eyes.

Fishing4cars, so what do you think is bad with my water, just the DOC's? I assumed thoe are harmless to fish.

 

[verygreen]

And the one in the first post, with the ulcer is now dead too

 

[fishin4cars]

I don't see anything on the fish that looks alarming. As for the water, test again and post the actual results, maybe someone or myself can spot something. I don't believe DOC's are the problem unless they are very high and you would probably be noticing red fins, ammonia readings, or breathing at the surface if they were that far out of line. Honestly My first thought would be Ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate issues. I also would like to say that just because your getting a good reading does not mean that the test kit is reading true. If you know someone or a local fish store that can run the tests as well it may be a good idea to get a second opinion from a different kit. I say this as my best friend never gets a nitrate reading on his pond with a API liquid test kit. He bought three kits and all read the same reading. He is slightly overstocked, and not the best filtration and yet constantly gets a 0 reading and has very few plants. How ever we tried a different kit and we got a reading of 60ppm, I'm not sure if he is getting a false reading due to something in his tap water that is reacting with the test kit, or if he simply isn't doing something incorrect when testing. He tried a strip kit and got the 60ppm reading did a few water changes and tested a week later and got a reading of 40ppm. I told him to do the same thing, keep doing water changes and keep the bottom as clean as possible. he started using a swimming pool net to net the stuff on the bottom and removed about 4 net fulls of accumulated debris on the bottom including leaves, acorns, and an assortment of seed that the squirrels were dropping in the pond. I told him to keep a journal of his test results and we also found that he was getting PH swings from morning to night. Once I started seeing the swings I got him to get a KH test kit and we found his KH was low. added some baking soda and oyster shells and the KH has been increasing and the PH is becoming far more stable. Oxygen is not a easy test to test for and it COULD be that with green water that the PH could be swinging although the reading you posted for the KH is just slightly low it's still high enough that PH should be stable. I don't get concerned with KH unless I get a reading lower than 50. Although I try and keep my ponds between the 100 and180 reading.
So sorry to see and hear you lost such a beautiful fish. I'm trying to think what else it could possibly be. keep posting piics and information as you can. Pond pics might help, filtration pics may also trigger something that someone else may think of. Remember that the more information each of us have to work with the more likely someone will think of something that may help.
I also wanted to comment on the ulcer pic. That ulcer is new, and it's on the boney plate of the gill so there isn't much muscle tissue between the ulcer and the bone itself. that's why it doesn't appear as bad as many pictures you may see. many times the pictures you see when describing ulcers are more pronounced simply because the author wants to show a extreme example so other can learn, but seeing a developing ulcer may look different however at this stage it's far easier to treat than when it becomes more advanced.

 

[verygreen]

I actually did my tests in the morning (I usually do them on Sundays anyway) already.
Nitrates and nitrites are at zero, the ammonia gets a bit greener than the yellow, so it's somewhere between 0 and 0.25, but the chart from the kit does not elaborate.
My KH is stable, I tried to add soda a couple of weeks back to raise the KH some more and it worked, but dropped back to here it was.
PH was 8.2.
When the first fish died, I brought a water sample to the shop (their requirement for fish warranty) and their readouts for the tests that I perform matched mine. They also tested for salt and chlorine that both came out at zero.

Like I said, I do not really have a dedicated filter (yet? I plan to experiment with one of those UV+ filter thingies when doing UV and one more skimmer).
Here's a picture of the setup.