Kelsta Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Hi We've got 5 Borneo Suckers in our tank, and three of them went really pale yesterday. Bahaviour-wise they were still acting normal and active and nothing was different - just their colour. The remaining two looked like their normal darker colour. The temp ranges from 21 - 26 degrees at the moment. We tested the water and there was a tiny bit of ammonia, no nitrIte, and nitrAte was 10ppm. (The third coloured box down on the testing card). The tank is fully cycled and we don't normally have any ammonia in the water - just a bit of nitrAte, so we did a 50% water change, even though it's only been 3 days since the usualy weekly water change. Ammonia went down quite a lot, but they still look pale this morning. Can't think what it might be? No new fish have been added, no new water additives or medications. Anyone have an idea? Better yet, anyone got Borneo suckers who've had this happen? Thanks! PS: We use Prime in the tap water when changing the water, which binds any ammonia, so I would think that gave the fish some protection from the small amount of ammonia in the water anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Any product you use that binds the ammonia will stuff up test readings. If you had done a water change 3 days before, and use the Prime stuff, why did the ammonia "go down quite a lot". It shouldn't have been up. What size is the tank, how long has it been running and what fish are in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 What do you mean by saying the ammonia shouldnt have gone down a lot? It had been 3 days since the last water change, and then we changed 50% of the water again. So one on Sunday, one on Wednesday. Sunday: 50% water change as usual. Wednesday: tested the water - ammonia showing up Wednesday: 50% water change Wednesday: Re-tested after the water change, and ammonia levels had significantly dropped Also, what do you mean by stuffing up the readings? Could you please explain that so I know what to do and how to test? Tank has been fully cycled for ages - about 6 months. 4 Fantails, 6 WCMM & 5 suckers. 143 litres. I am aware that this is a little overstocked but we were only just advised this recently. We were told that was fine when we were setting up but the store wasn't being honest. Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 I was confused as you said you had done a water change 3 days ago so I wuold not expect ammonia readings to be so high that they could "go down quite a lot" as you said. The ammonia binding products stuff up the test readings, I believe, by giving higher readings than they should. I am not sure as I do not use these products but I am pretty sure they make the readings higher than they actually are, rather than lower. Why do you have a mix of coldwater and tropical fish in the tank? Never believe the stores as they are usually trying to sell you something A well balanced and mature tank should not need added products like Prime. To get accurate readings you wuold need to stop using the Prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Thanks. How would you suggest we treat the water for chlorine and chloramine then? Prime does that as well, but also binds the ammonia, etc. We used to use Aqua Plus, would that be a better product? Sorry, when I said went down quite a lot, I meant about 1 1/2 boxes on the testing card. It was on about the third box (Sorry, can't remember the actual numbers!) then went down to between the first and second box, colour-wise. We got the suckers for our cold water tank because it tends to be quite warm usually, and the suckers were beiong sold in the same cold water tanks as the goldfish in the pet store. So they were already acclimatised to a temperature that goldfish like as well. The info label and sales assistant said they prefer temps "up to 24 degrees". We were aware that they are tropical and shouldn't get too cold, but our tank rarely drops below 21 in summer, and the lowest it's been is 14 once in winter, but hovers around 16-18 in winter normally. We're getting a heater this winter so it doesn't drop too low for them. Thanks for all your help - what do you use for treat for chlorine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 I don't use anything cos we don't have chlorine in our water here. Not sure what other Wellingtonians use. I would go for a basic chlorine remover rather than the other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 I always use straight tap water without problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Oh wow, I had actually thought all NZ water had chlorine. Gee that's news to me. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted February 6, 2008 Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 Its true Kelsta, you learn some-thing new every-day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2008 You sure do - thanks heaps for that Have a good day guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 I've noticed that Borneo Suckers can change colour depending on substrate. But they will also fade if they are stressed which could be due to ammonia. They come from highly oxygenated streams that have very little ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. Any sudden ammonia spike that I've had has been due to an unnoticed dead fish (especially guppy fry in the filter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks very much for that reply - that's very helpful. I did actually do a quick internet search and found that they can change colour for a variety of reasons including substrate, temperature, ammonia etc. They are back to normal now thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Stress makes em turn pale real fast, I watched one of mine have a run in with an ancestris on a dark rock. Within a second or so he was almost white. They are cool fish I freaked out when I first noticed them changing colour, skinniness is what you really need to watch with the little guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Oh really? Ours are all nice and plump-looking. We feed them anything and everything and they love it all. Algae discs, blood worms, brine shrimp... goldfish flakes, and soaked crumbles & pellets. Not to mention whatever 'slime' they eat off the glass and gravel etc. I love the little mouth-shaped patterns we can see on the glass when we do the water changes! So cute Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Their main food is microscopic crustaceans in the algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelsta Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Yeah, that's why we give them the algae discs. They love all the other stuff too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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