grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi. help me please, we set up a 180litre tank about 4 months ago, and have semi stocked it. have had a few issues with ammonia levels which has something to do with the cycling i think. i got home tonight to find our algae eater sunk at the bottom of one of our ornaments, i checked the ammonia and it is the lowest at 1.0 that we have had in the last month. this is the 3rd algae eater we have lost in as many months. havnt had any other deaths apart from a couple of neons, but from what i hear it doesnt take much for these to go belly up. we are lost as to why we cant keep algae eaters alive!!!! could it be our substrate, (we have fruit salad) or are our other fish killing them. we have the following fish, 4 rummy nose tetra, 6 neon tetra, 1 goldspot plec, 1 algae eater, NOW BELLY UP! 1 Julli catfish, 1 silver shark, 2 dwarf gourami, 2 khulli loaches heres a link to a pic of our tank http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo25 ... G_0019.jpg thanks in advance Grubster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Do a 50% waterchange immediately. Another big one tomorrow or the next day. Any readable ammonia is a bad thing. Get the ammonia down to zero. edited to add: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disea ... poison.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 The ammonia is definitely to do with the tank cycling. Make sure you don't add any more fish until your ammonia and nitrite are both 0. I second the water change. Keep doing large water changes often, until your tank has finished cycling. You have a lot of fish in there for an uncycled tank, so they will be producing a lot of ammonia. I assume all the fish are still small, with the tank being so new, so hopefully it won't be as bad as it sounds! By the way, what kind of algae eater is it? There are several different kinds of fish that could be considered algae eaters. If you don't know the name, describe the fish to us and we will tell you what it is. (Regardless of the type of fish, it is still likely to be the ammonia and/or nitrite that are killing it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 hmmmmmmmm everytime i do a water change the ammonia jumps to 2.0ppm, its been about that for the last month i cant seem to get it to come down starting to get to my wits end with this tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 whats the best way to prepare water for a water change, i have no idea wat the water is like here in christchurch. i have a 100l container i got from the warehouse i full it up and add the required amount of stress coat, i have a heater i then put in it which keeps it at the same temp as the tank, i then leave for a day b4 doing a water change. a freind of mine thought i might be killing the god bugs off by not preping my water change water properly. could that b why its taking the tank so long to cycle surely 4 months is a long time for a tank to cycle through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 in that case daily 50% waterchanges til it is sorted..... yes it is a lot of work, but is needed. (any change you are *not* on town supply? Long shot, but I have heard of people who have water that has readable ammonia in their water.) The increase in ammonia when you do waterchanges can be from things getting stirred up. How often have you been doing waterchanges? I can understand you getting to your wits end with the tank, but it is not the tank's fault. At least now you know what the problem is and how to fix it Successful aquarium-keeping *is* a lot of work, and we all do learn the hard way, but the more research you do the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 My tanks get water straight from the tap.... Others would disagree. I blast the water into the bucket, which drives of a lot of the chlorine. Though sticking with what you are doing is probably not a bad idea for the moment. You don't want to shock already-stressed fish. (though please, do that waterchange right now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 whats the best way to prepare water for a water change, i have no idea wat the water is like here in christchurch. i have a 100l container i got from the warehouse i full it up and add the required amount of stress coat, i have a heater i then put in it which keeps it at the same temp as the tank, i then leave for a day b4 doing a water change. Hi grubster. Christchurch water is the best for fish keeping, no chlorine My water change method is this.....siphon out 30-50% of tank water and refill the tank with water straight from the garden hose. I've been doing it this way for over a year on all my mature tanks with no worries. I never use Stress Coat or other products. I'm not sure if it's even possible, but could the plastic bin be leeching toxins into the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 so am i doing water changes rite??? is it a bit random that the other fish can handle the jandal???? i know its hard work lol, just cant see the light at the end of the ammonia tunnel can our stones have anything to do with it have had a couple of comments tht i should change tht Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 so am i doing water changes rite??? can our stones have anything to do with it have had a couple of comments tht i should change tht Whats right?? :lol: I can only tell you what I do I don't think the rocks will do anything other than alter pH. How often have you been doing waterchanges? Ditto that question. When I cycle tanks I'll do 25% or more, depending on the Ammonia level, every day until the Ammonia is gone then every second day until the Nitrite is gone then weekly from then on in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi LB is right do waste your money on any chemicals the water in chc is 100% pure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Have you checked to make sure that your test kit is working correctly? what is the ammonia reading of the water straight out of the tap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 so am i doing water changes rite??? is it a bit random that the other fish can handle the jandal???? i know its hard work lol, just cant see the light at the end of the ammonia tunnel can our stones have anything to do with it have had a couple of comments tht i should change tht Your gravel will be fine. You describe it as 'fruit salad' so presumably you bought it from the pet shop, therefore will be fine. Effects different substrates can have tend to be making the water hard/soft/acid/alkali. The fish that died were simply more susceptible to whatever killed them. It may have been outright ammonia poisoning, it may have been lowered immune systems due to the stress of high levels of ammonia over a long period. Whatever it was doesn't really matter a whole lot, the SYMPTOM was the fish dying, the CAUSE was the ammonia issue. Cure the cause and the symptoms will go. You may have a few more deaths yet, as all the fishes' immune systems will be down at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keriboi Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 [ My water change method is this.....siphon out 30-50% of tank water and refill the tank with water straight from the garden hose. I've been doing it this way for over a year on all my mature tanks with no worries. I never use Stress Coat or other products. Hey Mark, are you tanks cold water? Or do you not worry about the water being colder than your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hey Mark, are you tanks cold water? Or do you not worry about the water being colder than your tank? Hi. My tanks are all tropical, sitting around 26-28. The temp drops to around 20-22 C after a water change and it's back to normal in a couple of hours. I do warm the water on my fry tanks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 rito, many thanks for all the advice just done a 25% water change, straight from the tap althought i put my spare thermometer in the buckets and kept the temp the same as the tank 27dgrees, i didnt put any coat in lol. when should i test next, water has no ammonia straight from the tap my ph is around 6.5 is tht a little low??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubster Posted October 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 just a pic of the tank at night thought it looked cool http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo25 ... G_0041.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 when should i test next, water has no ammonia straight from the tap my ph is around 6.5 is tht a little low??? I'd test it again tomorrow and if there was ammonia detected I'd do 25% again. 6.5 is low but should be OK for your tank. It's more important that the pH is stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi. My tanks are all tropical, sitting around 26-28. The temp drops to around 20-22 C after a water change and it's back to normal in a couple of hours. :o Wow, I'd never do that! That is so bad for the fish and too easy to loose them that way from the shock of the temp change. Sure hope you don't have anything expensive in that tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 so many people run the water straight in from the tap without heating it up. Most also say the fish will come over and play in the current. If it was too much of a shock for them they wouldn't do that. There is always the thing with ponds, how it is warm on top and cold at the bottom and the fish swim about through all sorts of temperatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 I used to do 50% water changes on my African tank using the garden hose with the forceful trigger on the end. The fish loved it and played in the strong current. Not only did they get a big temperature change but they got a pH change as well. Never bothered them in the least! A fish keeper I know of many years standing never used warm water in his water changes. He never used filters either for that matter. Lightly stocked tanks, heavily planted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 I would still never take the chance, even 30 years ago we never did it that way. Pond fish are more adapted to temp change than tropicals. And I think that these captivity bread fish become use to the consistency of having the temp the same. It's like bringing a new fish home from the store and just dumping him straight in the tank without floating him. My fish still get to play with filter current and my water change comes from my sink mixer, a set up that lets me attach a hose to it and straight to my tank after I have adjusted the temp correctly, so they get to play in that too if they really want. But that's my opinion. I'm sure others would agree. However if yours works for you then that's fine too. I would just never recommend it as I've heard too many times of fish loss that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 :o Wow, I'd never do that! That is so bad for the fish and too easy to loose them that way from the shock of the temp change. Different strokes for different folks 8) I've never suffered a loss from water changing, touch wood :lol: I do it to all of my mature tanks (4) but I warm the water for my fry tanks (3) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 All of my tanks get cold water water changes from the tap except for my big one but the only reason that gets warm water is because its right next to the tap in the kitchen.. If I am changing the fry tanks I just adjust the hose sprayer to a slower rate and change a little less water so its less temp drop but they're sweet as. If I am dealing with more sensitive fish (ie when I had discus rams etc) I do things differently. I think some people get hung up on things a little too much if it didn't work then people wouldn't do it.. I think some people have been told something and just always done things that way so are afraid to change, but hey if it works for them then why not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.