My dad has a small problem with his tank.

[Vincenia]

He gets new fish every other month or sometimes a bit longer that that. But 3 of the fish that died weren't new fish, which is strange. My dad been in this hobby for 30+ years, he does have a test kit, he did use it a month ago. The tests as of now would be useless. His tank was fine till a few days ago, when his oto died.

I just rehomed 9 of my swordtail fry, they are not so easy to catch. My aunt loves them and so would her class. Now onto taking the rest to a local petstore and I also have to give my massive pleco to the petsotre to. He's about 8 inches now, he's just to big of my tank and I'll miss him. The pond os to cold for him.

 

[jpappy789]

I fail to see how tests right now would be useless. Fish are dying and it is pertinent info.

 

[SpruceGruve]

You said in the Overstock thread that your dad rarely or never does water changes.

This is the cause of "Old Tank Syndrome." OTS is when the Total Dissolved Solids in the water get very high. The "solids" are all the organic waste from fish poop and other by-products of life in the tank. What it means is that the water is "thick" with all kinds of stuff dissolved in it (doesn't seem like it to us, but believe me, it's in there). Fish that have been in the tank a long time have gotten used to the "thick" water as they have acclimated to it as it's happened. However, new fish that aren't used to such a high level of Total Dissolved Solids, will die rapidly from osmotic shock.

The catch here is that suddenly doing a bunch of water changes on the tank will end up killing the fish already in the tank. You have to do very small, frequent water changes, like 10-20% every day for a week to slowly acclimate the existing fish to CLEAN WATER.

Think about in the wild. You have a massive, enormous body of water like a lake. All lakes are fed by streams (Salt lakes do not have an outlet to the ocean, but I'm pretty sure they still have streams that empty into them from mountain runoff and such). These streams and rivers are caused by snow melting in the higher elevations. Snow is fresh water. Lakes other than the salt lakes have outlets to the ocean. Also, it rains, so most all freshwater environments have regular water changes in nature, and are FAR lighter stocked than any aquarium we have in our homes. Aquariums NEED weekly water changes (Walstad systems are their own special category that are exempt from these statements). It's not an option, it's not just when you have time or feel like it. It doesn't mean topping the water off because you don't like the sound of the filter. It is a requirement of the hobby and if you don't want to do weekly water changes of 20-50% depending on stock, then you, or your dad, should not have an aquarium.

1+

I fail to see how tests right now would be useless. Fish are dying and it is pertinent info.

1+

both these statements seem correct

 

[finsNfur]

Here we go again.....based on the numerous comments on your thread I'm linking below, your dad does not do regular water changes. Just because someone has had fish for 30 years does not make them an expert. Posters such as myself REPEATEDLY gave you advice, which you continue to ignore, and you continue to make excuses. You and your dad need to make some major adjustments in how you care for your fish. It is NOT useless to test the water parameters again, you must stop making excuses and take action. But I am sure you will ignore our advice, since your dad is the expert. :headshake2:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...ater-aquarium-first-fish-tank-in-over-6-years

 

[SMinNC]

Here we go again...

I knew that user name sounded familiar when I clicked.
...............................................................................

I said one thing on the other thread, where you simpley asked if your 37g was over stocked. And that was "Yes". Because all I saw was everyone taking a turn at beating a dead horse.
I must be bored... with a big stick in my hand.

No one but you consider the Fry as the over stock, problem. Those Fry put no more load on the tank than the mother they came from!

A week ago you tell us(on the other thread) that your Pleco is 7" and quit growing a long time ago. But now miraculously, he's managed to grow another inch over the past week.

You act as if Disease in aquariums are "Normal". Disease, even in a semi-well maintained tank are Not Normal!

Your dad "gets new fish every other month or sometimes a bit longer that that". Really? Because of the "Normal" deaths every month or so?

.....

I'm glad to hear you are re-homing the fry and esspecially the Pleco.

Will your 37g be over-stocked after this? YES!

.....

GTG, I need to tend to my 1 Upside Down Cat, sitting all alone in his 40g L.
And for some odd reason. He has never been more entertainment in his previous 16 years, all couped up with other fish.
Now he comes up to greet me everytime I'm looking around in his tank, with "his" nose against the glass.
He's probably pushing 100 yrs old in fish years. And seemed to be enjoying himself playing around with the one and only dead leaf floating around in the tank, the other day.
Ok, I'm rambling... gonna go get him some breakfast.... later...


See...

 

[Manafel]

I fail to see how tests right now would be useless. Fish are dying and it is pertinent info.

Having actual real-time numbers help more than you know. You should be testing your water(ideally) before and after every water change. If you don't do water changes, your Ph will drop and your nitrates actually can harm your fish at higher levels. it should never exceed 40ppm. You and your father really should be doing weekly water changes as everyone else is saying. It might sound like harsh advice, but it's something we all need to learn to take. If you keep ignoring everyone's advice, eventually they will not even try to help anymore.

 

[Taari]

DOING SOMETHING WRONG FOR 30 YEARS DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT.

 

[Vincenia]

The pleco grew an inch in the past few months since I moved him from a 30g. He's going into the 1000+g pond my dad built, after he gets a heater into it.
He told me that the nitrites were low and the pH was fine in his tank, cause ther other day I asked him something was high and he plainly said no. He says its my fault his fish are dying...

I'm going to get a test kit for my tank the next time I head into petco, since I have to feed my brother's snake. Last week I updated my 5g betta tank to a 10g, I'm going to divide it up and put my other bettas into the tank, after I make some dividers. Some of the swordtail fry are rehomed now, which made room in my 37g. I stressed the fish out a little, which I didn't mean to, when I was trying to catch the fry. :[

 

[Manafel]

your dad blaming you for his failure just goes to show -_-;; but getting a test kit is about all you can do for now(other than your weekly water changes)

 

[Vincenia]

As of right now, I no longer have any aquasafe left. I may go tomorrow to get the test kit and the aquasafe. My dad has a test kit for his tank.. But I have no idea why he's blaming me for his fish dying..