Disneyworld Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 My fish are dying at a rate of one a day - I have NEVER lost fish at this rate before, and am mortified (yes, Ira, it includes some of your beloved gourami's :-? ) The only change I made: I removed the charcoal from my filter. I have a reasonably large Fluval filter with four canisters containing bricklike white pellets (forgotten their name too). Surely this is enough to keep a tank healthy without charcoal? I'm visiting Animates tomorrow, do I need to put charcoal back into my filter (hate the stuff), or do I need to put more brickets in the filter? Not often I feel lost, but do now :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FindingNemo Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I have a Fluval with 4 chambers and the brickets i think you mean are pre filter things for large matter only. I think you should definitly have Carbon in there as well for the small stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Is it a well cycled tank? have you tested your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates? If your tank is well cycled and you are doing weekly water changes, you shouldnt really need to use carbon. Dont get me wrong, carbon is good, and it can make your water crystal clear, but its not realy needed in my opinion. Is it a new type fluval with the four sponges? cause if it is keep using the pre filter and maybe get a box of ceramic noodles for extra surface area for bacteria. Did you clean the filter when you took the carbon out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I think the bricklike pellets are media, so that's probably not a problem. It's possible the carbon was there long enough to turn into a biofilter and removing that caused a small spike in ammonia, but I doubt it. So, otherwise I dunno what's going on. How many of the gouramis have died? I haven't been able to kill them when I tried! hehe. If you want to replace them, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disneyworld Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Thanks for that guys. I found it a coincidence that this started happening after I removed the charcoal, so I'll trot off to Animates this morning and replace it. They'll probably die because of the charcoal dust this time around, but they're dying anyway. So sorry Ira, I don't normally kill fish for a hobby - so far I've lost one gourami, and one looks ill. Lost a few platties as well, but some of the fish are still very healthy, I guess thats the hardy lot. Will keep you posted as to what happens after I replace the carbon...*sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 I can't see how removing the charcoal could cause the problems either and the Fluval should be plenty. Did you do a water change or anything at the same time? Perhaps something was in the water? How long had the charcoal been in there? It only lasts a few months and perhaps as you removed it the bad stuff it had absorbed was released back in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 4 days ago i was wondering why my Fluval 204 had so little output, filtering my 200l, So i took the whole thing apart, while clenaing the sponge, thinking that the motor was run down, or the impeller had broke, nope it all looks fine, so i look in the compartments, to find the carbon bags rotted away, and the carbon blockking up most of the compartment, i removed, and the fluval is running great again to my relief, and my fish are fine to date. The carbon had been in there two years, lol Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 in my external the carbon is in a mesh so so there will be no problems of it rotting its a jebo 815 external filter ant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Mine were in mesh Aswell. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disneyworld Posted June 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Tested the whole tank, and found water, output, etc, to be all in order. I therefore tend to agree that my fish are not dying because of a lack of carbon *phew*. Thought back to the things that changed prior to my sick fishies, and the only other alternative: I introduced a handful of new platys to the tank. They were the first to die, and I now suspect they brought some disease into the tank. Their symptoms: excessive opening of the gills, i.e. the gills on these platys literally stuck out compared to the other fish (anyone know what this could be caused by?). I don't have a quarantine tank :oops: (short of space up here, folk), and can only hope that the stronger ones survive. Not all fish appear affected, it seems to be killing the smaller ones, but it breaks my little heart. Thanks for the advice, its the first time in about 8 years I have a "sick" tank, one more experience I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 19, 2005 Report Share Posted June 19, 2005 Gill flukes, maybe. Or they could have been damaged when transported, if there were in the bag too long the amonia may have burnt their gills. Thinking about the carbon, it is possible (but not very likely) that the carbon was absorbing something in your water supply, that is now killing the fish. Carbon obsorbs chemicals out of the water which is why you remove it when you are treating fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 19, 2005 Report Share Posted June 19, 2005 If you don't have a quarantine tank then I'm glad you can afford to buy replacement fish. I have found through experience that a quarantine tank is a cheap insurance indeed. TRY and get one before you carry on, ok, it may led to MTS, but isn't that all good news. More tanks. More fish. BUT MAKE SURE OF THE Q. TANK !!! Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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