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FAQs on Freshwater Aquariums &
Nitrogen Cycling Related Articles:
Freshwater Aquarium Water
Quality, pH, alkalinity, acidity, Treating
Tap Water, Freshwater Maintenance, Frequent Partial
Water Changes, Establishing Cycling, Freshwater
Filtration, Setting up a Freshwater Aquarium,
Tips for Beginners,
Related FAQs: FW H2O Quality 1,
Freshwater Nutrient Cycling,
Aquarium Maintenance, Environmental Disease,
Treating
Tap Water for Aquarium Use, pH, Alkalinity,
Acidity,
Biological Filtration,
Nitrogen Cycling,
Establishing Cycling 1,
Nitrite, Nitrate,
Freshwater Algae Control, Algae
Control, Foods, Feeding, Aquatic Nutrition,
Disease,
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Nitrofurazone... use, effect
on nitrification 2/14/08
Looked all over your site for the answer?
<You did?>
let me start at the beginning, I've seen collectors using Nitrofurazone (yellow
water) to store recently collected fish. In some cases I've heard of wholesalers
using it to fend off disease.
<Yes... not uncommon with FW...>
Question
Is this a good idea to use constantly in a quarantine tanks for all new arrivals
<Mmm, not IMO/E>
Will it affect the biological filter? (a little) (a Lot)
Fred
<Furan compounds generally do not affect nitrification (directly), but can do so
in established, closed (e.g. hobbyist) systems. Bob Fenner>
Water quality -- please help!
FW nitrogen cycling est. 11/11/07
Hi Crew,
<Nicole>
I'm having some serious water quality issues in my tank, and I need some advice
on what best to do. Here's the situation. I purchased two Opaline Gouramis for
my 20G community tank about a month ago, and they did not get on well at all.
<Sometimes happens with Trichogaster species... usually from having them of the
same sex, in too small a volume>
I thought that I had purchased a male and a female, but now I'm not quite so
sure... I'm thinking they might actually be two males.
<Easier to sex when larger... and both sexes present for comparison>
At any rate, the larger of the two Gouramis proved really aggressive, and after
trying several measures (isolating him in a colander for a few days, etc), I
decided it would be best to move the larger Gourami to another tank because it
was being extremely aggressive to the other Gourami and was even starting to
harass other fish in the tank.
<Good plan>
So, I put the Gourami in a 10G that I set up using a fishless cycle (just with
household ammonia and some filter squeezings from the established tank). This
worked well for establishing my other tank, but did not seem to go so well this
time. A few days after adding the Gourami I got some ammonia spikes. I decided
to try to ride it out with water changes to keep the ammonia down. The water
quality seems to be just going downhill rapidly, though. Yesterday when I came
home the tank was cloudy and the ammonia was at 2-3 ppm (!!!),
<Yikes>
no nitrites. I did a 50% water change, and added some activated carbon with ammo
chips to the filter. This morning the ammonia was back up to 0.5-1.0 ppm, and
nitrites at 0.25 ppm. I did another 50% water change, and now the ammonia and
nitrite levels are reading 0, but the water (6 hours after the water change or
so) is back to being extremely cloudy.
What's going on in my tank?
<Oscillations in becoming established... happens. I'd put the mean Gourami back
in the 20 in the colander>
I'm guessing the cloudiness is some sort of bacterial bloom, but I'm not sure
what to do about it aside from doing water changes and wait for the bacteria
populations to stabilize.
<This is "it"... but the water changes are setting the process back...>
In the meantime, the Gourami looks very unhappy (pale and hanging out in the
corner), and I am concerned about leaving him in the tank. I could put him back
in the 20G community tank, but I am worried that he'll resume his old pattern of
chasing and biting the other fish. Should I keep him in a 5G bucket for a few
days and see if the 10G tank stabilizes? I have a spare filter that I could set
up in the bucket to at least aerate the water, but this seems like not an ideal
solution either.
<Again, I'd place it back in the 20 in the colander...>
Any help you can give me would be appreciated... I'm really frustrated by these
water quality issues, and worried about the Gourami's health.
thanks in advance,
Nicole
<Welcome. Bob Fenner> 55 Gallon freshwater water
quality problems 11/8/07
Hello Crew,
I am somewhat new to the freshwater hobby and am having problems with the water
quality in my freshly established 55 gal tank. I set it up and began Cycling on
October 14th, 2007. I used a product called Stability from Sea-Chem.
<Ah, one of these "instant bacteria" products. They can work well, but approach
with caution. To paraphrase Euclid, "There is no Royal Road to a mature
aquarium". All these products do is help things along. You still need to do all
the usual water quality tests and stock the aquarium carefully checking for
problems.>
I provided the proper doses for 7 days as the directions said and completed my
cycling on October 21. Nitrites, Nitrates, and Ammonia all came back 0ppm with a
Ph of 7.0-7.5.
<Very good.>
2 Days after cycling I added a 5" Common Pleco. 2 days after that I installed a
new Aqua Clear 70 filter to go along with the Aqua-Tech 30-60 That I cycled the
tank with.
<OK.>
That same day I also added a 2" long Horse Face Loach. 2 days after that on
Saturday I transferred my 4" long Bala shark from my 29 Gal tank into the 55
Gal. Everyone was doing fine. I continued monitoring my chemical levels every
other day for a week. after that week I decided to add two 3" Spotted Pictus
Cats. Later that night I tested my water to find out that the Nitrites,
Nitrates, and Ammonia have
spiked.
<Yes, this happens sometimes. An immature aquarium is an unstable aquarium,
regardless of whether you do a with-fish or a fish-less cycle.>
I did a 10 gal water change with a gravel vac (probably not a good idea)
<No, water changes are good. The more the better. In this case, 50% per day
would be the minimum. To stop fish dying you need to be re-setting the ammonia
down to zero at every opportunity.>
and added another dose of the stability per advice from my LFS who is very
knowledgeable.
<OK.>
The next day the levels came down just a tiny bit so I added some more Stability
and waited to see what the next day would bring. Well Tuesday came along and my
levels were still high so I did a 15 gal water change, added some more Stability
trying to get the bacteria up and added Ammo chips to help reduce the Ammonia.
<Never mind the Stability. The bacteria are *already* in the filter, so adding
more of them doesn't really make any difference. The bacteria just haven't
settled down. That takes time. Water changes, my friend, are what you need
here.>
My last test was yesterday, Wednesday the 5th of November and my levels were as
follows: Nitrites 0.25ppm, Nitrates around 10ppm, and Ammonia a whopping 1.0ppm.
<Ugh. The nitrates are fine, but the ammonia especially is a killer. Water
change! Water change!>
My fish all appear healthy and are all very active. I feed them every other day
(except for the Pleco, I give him an algae wafer and cucumber every night).
<Cut back the food. Don't give them anything on alternate days. The less protein
in the system, the less ammonia.>
I am at a loss of what to do next.
<This is easy: water changes!>
I'm thinking of just letting it go and seeing if it balances on its own.
<Yes, it will. Two, three weeks, tops. The fact you have nitrite and nitrate
implies that the bacteria are doing their thing. They're just messing about a
bit, figuring out the right population size of this mini-ecosystem. Let them
settle down. In the meantime... water changes!>
Any help you could offer would be wonderful. Thank you, Derrick
<Good luck, Neale>
Re: 55 Gallon freshwater
water quality problems 11/8/07
Thank you very much. I will do a water change as soon as I get home today.
So as for the feeding. If am feeding them every other night right now (feeding
one night then skipping the next) how often should I be feeding them if you say
to cut back?
<As infrequently as possible. No more than 3-4 times per week. Fish can go weeks
without food, but ammonia kills in days. Cheers, Neale>
Color aerator + Spirulina
flakes = dead mollies?? 8/22/07
Hi,
I love this site by the way. However, my tank is having some problems. I had 3
balloon mollies, 2 tetras, 1 guppy, 1 pleco (I was going to get female guppies
for my male). I added a Hydor Ario 2 color aerator - it emits a blue light which
shines on the bubbles, and also began feeding my fish Spirulina flakes
(ProBalance Spirulina flake) last night. They were all in fine health before
hand. After I installed the aerator they seemed to be a bit afraid of it at
first, but then warmed up to it and were swimming at least near it.
<Cool.>
I left it on all night. In the morning I woke up to find all 3 of my mollies
dead on the bottom of the tank. The tetras were also acting a bit funny, not as
active as usual. The male guppy on the other hand (who had previously enjoyed
chasing the mollies and trying to mate with them constantly) was swimming at the
top of the tank kind of like he was blind. He would swim until he hit a wall,
change directions, and repeat that. He swam right through the food I tried to
feed them. The tetras also showed no interest in the food.
<Why on Earth did you feed the fish if three had died? Let me tell you how
unwise that was! When fish suddenly die, that means you have a problem, one of
which is a problem with the filter. Adding food makes things like that worse.
For next time, the thing to do is run a series of tests (at the very least pH
and nitrite) and then do a big (50%) water change.>
I'm dreading going home, as I think I'm going to find them all bottom up when I
get there.
<Indeed.>
The temperature is constant (~78-80F), I'm not able to check the nitrates and
ammonia levels as I'm waiting for my water testing kit.
<Why waiting? You should have these BEFORE you have any fish. This is
non-negotiable.>
I did a 30% water change last week. I've had all these fish for about 1 month
(the male guppy for 2 weeks). What happened??
<Any number of things, but most likely caused by problems with the biological
filter.>
Did the presence of the aerator cause too much stress for them?? (if so, how can
I prevent this in the future)
<No, this is most likely coincidence.>
I may have overfed them the Spirulina flakes causing some to sit at the bottom
(I intended for my pleco to get these), could the decay have caused an ammonia
spike??
<Yes, but without a test kit, you'll never know...>
If (worst case scenario) I need to restock my tank, should I remove all/most of
the water and let it cycle??
<Yes. The bacteria are in the filter, not the water. Change as much water as you
can.>
My pleco was acting all right, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll
survive (he's proven pretty hardy in the past).
<Do you know how big this fish will get? If you have a 55 gallon tank, that's
fine and he'll be happy; anything smaller, and you've bought a fish too big for
your aquarium. By the same token, mollies need completely different water than
tetras. Mollies at the very least need hard and alkaline water conditions, and
I'd argue that for 100% success with them, they should be kept in *brackish*
water with a salinity around 10-25% that of seawater (using marine salt mix, of
course, not that old snake oil tonic salt/aquarium salt). As you've discovered,
mollies are extremely sensitive to poor water quality when kept in freshwater
tanks. I seem to say this 300 times a week, and yet no-one listens and mollies
keep on dying... Mollies prefer brackish water, mollies prefer brackish water.
Balloon mollies, which are of course some horribly inbred god-awful mutant of a
molly are even less hardy than the wild-type fish, and if I could I'd outlaw
them as animal cruelty. So if you want mollies, at least try and get a variety
that has approximately the correct set of genes for its species, and so stands a
fighting chance of living a decent life.>
Thanks in advance for any advice!!!
Grace
<Hope this helps. Good luck! Cheers, Neale>
Old Glass, Slate Tank repair, speculations re fish physiology re env.
nitrogenous compounds 2/18/07
Dear Crew,
<<Hello, Anne. Tom with you today.>>
I recently purchased a 55 gallon slate bottom aquarium. I've scraped the old
silicone out, cleaned and resealed the tank three times. I still have a
major leak. The slate is flaking. Could it be leaking the water? It's very
hard to lift the tank to tell where the leak is coming from. I am also not
sure that I can safely dismantle the tank.
<<This one’s a little out of my area, Anne, but if the slate’s flaking, you
won’t get proper adhesion with the silicone. Both the slate and glass must
be perfectly clean and, in the case of the slate, sealed, in order for the
silicone to bond properly. Now, my shortcoming, if you will, is in knowing
how to properly seal the slate in order to get the bond that you’ll need to
prevent leakage. I would hazard a guess here that you’ll need a clear epoxy
sealer that’s, obviously, suitable for aquarium use but, beyond this, I’m at
a loss to provide any hard information.>>
I have been researching fish for ten years and am hoping to get a PhD in
aquatic animal medicine.
<<A commendable goal/pursuit.>>
I haven't started college yet and am having trouble understanding a few
things. I understand pH and the measuring of Hydrogen ions. What I don't
understand is the direct effect pH and ammonia have on fish. Is it merely
the fact that fish don't come into contact with ammonia and nitrates in the
wild?
<<From an evolutionary standpoint, I would offer that this is, in part, the
case. Fish have adapted, around the globe, to a variety of differing
conditions which is why we don’t have “one-size-fits-all” water parameters
in the hobby. The most obvious example is the difference between saltwater
and freshwater life but variations in pH in different areas of the world are
certainly other cases in point.>>
Does it affect their bodily functions?
<<Absolutely. Ammonia, for example, adversely affects (burns) the gill
tissues causing swelling/damage which inhibits/prohibits the uptake of
oxygen and the expulsion of ammonia. The result is suffocation. Likewise,
nitrites bond with oxygen-transporting hemoglobin in the blood resulting,
effectively, in the same thing, i.e. suffocation. pH fluctuations can cause
damage to the skin, eyes and gill membranes as well as altering, with
sometimes fatal consequences, the very narrow range of the pH of the fishes’
blood.>>
From what I understand it's not that fish can't handle the levels it's how
quickly it changes.
<<This is true, to an extent, with pH levels. Ammonia and nitrite levels,
ideally, should never even be measurable but fish can/will adapt to pH
levels outside of their particular norms as long as these remain stable. The
current thinking in the hobby now is to adapt our fish to the pH levels of
whatever our primary source of water – tap water, for instance – might be.
Attempting to chemically alter the pH is, all too often, the recipe for a
disastrous change in the pH levels of our tanks. Better to maintain stable
pH conditions outside of the “ideal” than to set the stage for a potential
calamity. (This almost always takes the form of a plummet in pH levels due
to insufficient buffering.)>>
I know some fish can survive with gradual acclimation to abnormal levels. I
have a bad feeling that I've got things very messed up!
<<I don’t think you have things “messed up”, Anne. These aren’t easy
concepts to get a handle on. The important thing to do is take it slowly.
Lots of folks become overwhelmed by the volume of information and throw up
their hands in despair. Narrowing your focus to very specific topics until
you’re comfortable with each one will help in avoiding “information
overload”.>>
Please help a very obsessed and very confused fish fanatic.
Thank you so very much,
Anne ( I hope to one day be as smart and knowledgeable as all of you)
<<Well, in my case that might be taking a step backward but, for all of us,
thank you. I’ve got the feeling that you’ll far surpass my knowledge with a
little more time and research. Best regards. Tom>>
Loading up a Non-Cycled Tank 1/21/07
Hello,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Thanks for taking the time to set up such a well rounded, helpful website first
off.
<Thanks a bunch!>
I have a 55 gallon tank which has been set up around two weeks. In that time
I've lost a ropefish, an angel fish, a blue Gourami and 2 rainbow fish. I was
thinking that it may just be the water cycling, so I did a 50% change but now I
have a serious problem. My female ropefish, Roxanne, refuses to eat. I've had
her in the tank for about a week and she has not ate one time. I feed everyone
else in the tank tropical flakes (there are currently 7 other fish: pink kissing
Gourami, 2 blue gouramis, one swordtail, one plec sucker fish and 2 rainbows)
and I feed her frozen bloodworms. I took the advice of others and fed her at
about midnight with the tank lights off but she just showed no interest. I
really don't want to lose her as I did my other, whom I might ad I never saw eat
anything either. Thanks for your help.
<You are definitely having a problem because you have fully stocked a non-cycled
tank. A big no-no in aquarium keeping. Here is some info for you to read:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library.php?cat=4
As for now, I suggest doing a huge (90%) water change & again tomorrow. Add
Bio-Spira to your filter ASAP. Be sure to use dechlorinator--I suggest
Prime. No other product, other than Bio-Spira, contain the live nitrification
bacteria (mentioned in the above link) that keeps your tank cycled. Fish do not
eat when they are unhappy. I think once you get the cycling issue straightened
out, they will be much happier. You can try live blackworms, if she still won't
eat.
Buy yourself a test kit & keep track of ammonia & nitrites (VERY toxic--should
be 0 at all times), nitrates, (should be <20) & pH (around 7.2). I also suggest
researching the adult size of some of your fish, especially the gouramis. I've
never been able to keep a ropefish for long--they can escape through the tiniest
hole in your top. ~PP>
Tank Crashed After Ich Treatment 12/21/06
Hello. I hope you can help me. I have a 55 gallon aquarium that recently
came down with ich. Originally, it contained mollies, platies, guppies, Neons,
other assorted tetras, and one Pleco that is about 12" long. Since we had the
tetras, we were told we had to use a chemical known as Rid-Ich Plus to treat the
tank because they could not handle anything stronger. After 8 days of treatments
with this, they all died along with a good majority of the tank. We switched to
Quick Cure. It was at this point that our levels in the water sky rocketed. Our
nitrites actually were at toxic levels. We took a sample to an aquarium shop and
they told us they had no idea how anything was alive in the tank. :( While
treating with the Quick Cure, we were doing 50% water changes daily to attempt
to fix the water levels. Which brings me to the new tragedy in a very long road
for this poor guy. We have tested his levels daily and they are fine. He has
developed a film over his eyes. I am told this was a protective layer his body
created during the ich cycle which has scarred him for life and he will never
see again. (It reminds me of cataracts.) I have also been told that this could
be a bacteria infection.
He has blood under one of the capsules. I am guessing it is from him hitting his
head when he would try to jump from the tank and hit his face on the hood of the
tank. He also has red spots right above his dorsal fins that almost look raw. As
if he needs anything further... he has white spots on him that would make me
think he had ich, but the remaining 2 mollies in the tank do not show any signs
of it and with everything else he is displaying... I am not sure that it is not
fungus. Can you please tell me what is wrong with him and what is the best thing
to do for him? Also, with the holiday we will be out of town for two days so I
am not sure how that would affect any treatments that we would need to
administer.
This tank is a month and a half old. It was originally set up as a pond, but we
started the cycle over again when we changed the gravel. I thought you may need
that information as well. I appreciate any help you can give me.
Have a wonderful holiday! Mikaelah
< The prolonged treatments affected the biological filtration and created deadly
ammonia and nitrite spikes. Most of the fish were killed off directly with the
fish that are left have been stressed by the treatments and the spikes.
Unfortunately the Pleco has come down with a bacterial infection too. Let start
by getting the tank stabilized. Do a 50% water change , vacuum the gravel and
clean the filter. It would be best to place the Pleco in a separate 20 gallon
hospital tank. Either way then, make sure the water temp is up to 83 F. Increase
the aeration. Add a tablespoon of rock salt or aquarium salt per 5 gallons of
water. The mollies will love this and it will make the Pleco develop a
protective slime to fight the ich. Treat the tank with Nitrofurazone as per the
directions on the package and the Rid-ich II. The next day do a 50% water change
and treat again. Do not feed the sick fish. They will not eat and the food will
rot and cause the spikes you had before. Do this for three days. If you are
leaving then on the last day just do a water change. When you get back check on
the fish. If everyone is alive and the infection has cleared up then add some
high quality carbon for the filter to remove any left over medication. When the
tank is cleared of any medication you can add Bio-Spira from Marineland and you
tank will be cycled very soon. Then you can start to feed your fish again. New
fish need to be quarantined before placing them in the main tank or this will
happen all over again.-Chuck>
Fish Concern During Cycling 9/12/06
Hello Crew, I have made the ignorant mistake that other beginners
have made. I did not let the aquarium do its cycle before
introducing fish. I have 10 fish and 3 mystery snails in my 28gal
bowfront tank. I have read the fish will start to die near the end
of the 'Cycle'. It has been about a week and no fish have died yet
and ammonia levels are about 1.5mg/l. My question is, as the
ammonia increases throughout the cycle should I remove the fish from
the tank and place them in smaller containers of freshwater until
the chemical levels are normal. I have performed 2 - 25% water
changes and added the product "ACE" (ammonia chlorine
eliminator). Thanks for your time
< Add Bio-Spira by Marineland. Tank will be cycled within a day. Or
keep fish in tank and continue to dilute ammonia with water
changes.-Chuck>
Water Changes 9/7/06
Hi,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here.>
I understand that this issue is more than adequately addressed on your
webpage but the more I read, the more confused I get so please be patient
with my tale of woe.
I bought two goldfish for my daughters 3 weeks ago. I got a 20g tank and
let it sit for about a week, putting a small amount of flake food in
everyday.
<Did you test the water, during this cycling process? How about a 90% water
change, before adding the fish?>
After introducing the fish, I overfed which resulted in high ammonia. After
doing partial water changes every several says and reducing feed, I have the
ammonia down to .5ppm. Today, however, the nitrite shot up to 2ppm. One of
the fish is hanging out on the bottom behind a plant. I did a 50% water
change and the ammonia is now .25ppm and but the nitrites are the same. The
fish still looks stressed. I have been adding API stress coat, Cycle (which
is see is junk) and ACE (also junk?). I have no live plants, about 2 inches
of gravel and a Whisper 20 filter. Water temp is between 75 and 80 which is
probably too high but not sure how to lower it (I live in the Mojave
Desert).
<Definitely a bit uncomfortable for goldfish...>
I plan to add a real plant and switch to frozen (thawed) peas for
feeding. What else should I do!? How much of an emergency is this?
<Ammonia & nitrites are extremely toxic to most fish. Goldfish are a bit
hardier than tropicals & can handle poor water conditions a bit better. I
still suggest water changes, water changes, water changes! Your tank is
still cycling. The only product I'd add is Prime. ~PP>
Thanks, Russell
Re: Nitrites and fancy goldfish- help Seachem's Prime 9/8/06
OK thanks! This morning the ammonia is 0ppm and the nitrites are still
2ppm. The fish still looks stressed but ate. Neither fish went for the
peas but ate the flake food OK.
<I would feed very minimally, while trying to cycle your tank.>
What is Prime?
<Prime is IMO the best water conditioner to use for your fish. removes
chlorine, chloramine and ammonia.
See:
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Prime.html>
Water temp is down to 72 after leaving AC on all night.
<Glad to hear they're doing better. Keep doing water changes. ~PP>
Re: Nitrites and fancy goldfish- help Seachem's Prime 9/8/06
OK got the Prime (I found it on www right after my email this morning)
and added a plant so we will see what happens. Also did a 25% change. How
long does it take the Prime to work?
<Should work instantly. Are you using enough for the entire tank, not just
the water you're replacing? You should be.>
Also, I assume that even if the Prime is working and detoxifying nitrites,
it will still test positive. Think I read that somewhere. Thanks for your
help! My daughters don't want to loose
their new pets.
<With the right care & tank size, they can live >20 years! ~PP>
Maintaining Biofiltration with no Fish 11/25/2005
I have a 3 gallon Eclipse tank with BioWheel, heater, 4 or 5 java ferns and
airstone that has been set up for over a year now. It has recently housed a
betta. My water parameters are: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0 Temperature
in tank is a consistent 79 degrees. I am one week away from getting another
betta, could you please tell me if I need to do something to maintain the tank
for a week (in order to not lose my biological filter)?
<Just leave all the
filtration and lights running as you would if there were a fish in there, a week
is not a long time, your filtration should be fine. Best Regards, Gage>
Thank
you, as always. Sue
"New Tank Syndrome", Guppies, Fatalities.... - 10/19/2005
Hi,
<Hello.>
I had an absolutely crushing experience yesterday. I could NOT figure out what
happened.
<Uh-oh....>
I had put my guppies into a 10 gallon tank with heater and filter. They weren't
crowded up and they were doing fine....for about a week.
<Uh, so the tank was just set up a week ago?>
Suddenly yesterday I came home and looked in the tank and realized immediately
that something was terribly wrong. The first thing I noticed was that the water
was cloudy. I had checked the tank every day during the previous week and the
water was always clear and the fish were swimming normally about.
<Clarity of the water speaks nothing about the quality of the water.... You
absolutely must test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.... Especially during
this critical cycling time of the aquarium....>
They had light during the day via a window and they had darkness at night and
evening. I fed them with the food from the container I'm feeding the other fish
which are still alive and healthy, with the possible exception of some old food
left at the bottom of the container, but I did not see any of that upon
inspection. I fed them the evening of night before last, I think, or if that
wasn't the last time, it was early yesterday before going to work. They did not
attract my attention to anything unusual at that time. I checked the pH of the
water after I found them dead, and I found it to be pretty close to normal and
possibly a little alkaline, which is what livebearers like.
<pH is not the issue here, but the toxicity of ammonia and nitrite
present.... this is what's killing them.>
The temperature was not too hot or too cold. When I found them there was one
small one still alive so I immediately put her (him?) in my healthy tank in the
side container with two molly fry. I thought I'd saved at least that one and it
seemed to be ok. About an hour or so later I checked it and it was also dead!
<Too badly burned from ammonia or nitrite to recover, I'm sure.>
I inspected the dead fish and found a number of them seemed to have big openings
at the stomach area.
<Possibly just coincidence, possibly something else pathogenic - but the root
cause here is a toxic environment.>
Can you shed any possible light on the possible cause of this???? I would be
ever so happy to find out because I'm afraid to put anything else in there and I
am, to tell the truth, disillusioned about keeping any fish at all now!!
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwset-up.htm
and also in the Set-Up and Maintenance portions of the Freshwater section of the
website.>
Thanks for your help. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts if any on the
possible cause. I haven't emptied the tank, thinking that if I need to test the
water I'll still have it.
<Begin reading, and learning about water quality and how it affects your
fish. You will do fine in time, no worries.>
Leslie W.
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Incredible reappearing Gouramis- help! 7/7/05
Hello to the Crew,
I set up my 30 gallon freshwater, let it run for a week, then added 2
Blue Dwarf Gourami males. Checked water quality for 5 days and all was
progressing nicely, until I came home and my fish were gone on the 6th
day. We assumed they either ran away from home or the cat got them, but
could find no evidence of escape or midnight snacking. Two weeks have
passed during which I've added plants, played with gravel, splashed
around, etc., waiting for the tank to finish cycling before getting new
fish. Tonight I moved a large rock and out came floating two blue
bodies, which then proceeded to twitch. I was shocked! Don't know if
they were stuck or what, or how. Surprisingly they are alive with no
food for 15 days, but worse, no water changes. Ammonia is about gone,
nitrites are sky high.
<Toxic, toxified... why did you place fish in an uncycled system?>
I did a 50% water change, fed them, turned off
the light, lowered filter intake flow (one got pulled alongside), and
turned up the bubbler a little. They now have more motor control, but
seem very weak. Any other suggestions? Chances for survival? I might
have missed something else pertinent on your site. Thank you!!
<Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsetupindex.htm
particularly the article and FAQs files on Establishing Biological Cycling. Bob
Fenner>
Re: Incredible reappearing Gouramis- help! 7/7/05
<Toxic, toxified... why did you place fish in an uncycled system?>
Hi Bob,
Because placing a couple fish into a new tank at the beginning helps the cycling
process.
<... dismal...>
At least that's what I've always been told/read.
<Well... now you're being "told" differently... there are better ways to
establish nutrient cycling...>
I've read the cycling FAQs and have cycled several tanks over the years. I
watch my pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels religiously and do regular
water changes along the way to keep the ammonia, then nitrite levels down. I've
never lost a fish. In this case, the two fish "disappeared" at the beginning of
the cycle (still low ammonia levels), not to be seen for 2 weeks, and assumed to
have been gotten by the cat. Thus, I did not do any water changes, and was
waiting for the tank to finish cycling before adding new fish. My question was
what can I do, other than what I've listed, to help the poor critters. Thank you
for pointing out my tank is toxic and suggesting the FAQ on tank cycling.
<Glad to find you've been reading... but you stated that the nitrites were/are
high... I would keep these under 1.0 ppm through water changes... look for a
bacterial prep. like BioSpira, other conditioned media... to facilitate cycling.
BobF>
Bye Bye Bio Filtration
I want to thank you for your wonderful site.
Questions: I was reading yesterday about tanks infected with disease, and about not using pet store water when adding new fish. Okay, I have a tank that was diseased, and had pet store water in it. There were numerous diseases in there - all needing different treatments. I used
Kanamycin and Super Velvet in there, and then took the whole tank apart and rinsed everything off. However, my water is well water and there is no chlorine in it. I put Bio-Spira in the water and figured everything was fine. Two fish got a fungus, and I set up a hospital tank the same day to treat them with Rid-Ick Plus, which specifically says it can't be used with any other
medication.
Next thing I know, the fish in the "clean" tank started showing signs of disease. I had to treat them in the "clean" tank because of the Rid-Ick in the hospital tank. Since I had already tried
Kanamycin, I started running Spectrogram in the "clean" tank. Next thing I know, two of the fish in the "clean" tank started developing
Popeye. I cleaned the hospital tank again, put the Popeye fish in there and started treating them with
Kanamycin.
So here is the end result: I have a "clean" tank that apparently has some kind of disease in it that causes
Popeye (one fish had already died from it before I started doing all these changes and treatments - right after I brought it home from the store.) One of your articles said that diseases can live in the rocks and silicone. Does that mean this
Popeye disease can still be living in my tank?
How do I clean the "clean" tank (there is only one fish in there, and I don't think she's going to make it) after I am done with all the treatments? Should I use bleach in the water I use to clean it, since there's no chlorine in my water? (I did this before in the city when my water WAS chlorinated, and just rinsed really well afterwards.) If I do, how do I get the bleach OUT of the rocks, silicone, decor, etc. after cleaning? De-Chlor?
Regarding the Popeye, how do I know when the treatment has been successful? Will their eyes go back like they're supposed to be? Or do I just see that the eyes are not getting worse and figure I've killed the disease? Is
Kanamycin the best treatment? When will it be safe (assuming they don't die in the hospital tank) to put them back in the "clean" tank? (I know a guy that has been giving antibiotics to a
Betta for a year now because she had Popeye and one eye was still clouded over, and I told him that if the bacteria that caused it wasn't dead yet, it probably never would be.)
Kasey DeVita
<Hi Kasey. Have you been testing during all these treatments? The only diseases you mention are a fungus and
Popeye. Both can be caused by bad water conditions. And the meds you used will kill the
beneficial bacteria needed in bio filtration. Readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate would tell the tale. Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm. For right now I would suggest you stop medicating. Do a 50% water change daily for the next few days. Add 2 tbls of aquarium salt and one tbls of
Epsom salt for each 5 gallons of replacement water. Mix it into the new water before adding it to the tank. The
Epsom salt will help with the pressure build up in the eye. How much it goes back to normal would depend on the amount of damage done. The eye could be lost. When cleaning you can use bleach in the water. Rinse well, fill and add a double dose of dechlorinator. Then drain and refill. Small objects that can handle heat, even gravel, can be boiled. Please do a fishless cycle or use Bio Spira before adding any fish back to the system. Don> | |
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