I have a 20 gallon tank (set up 5 weeks ago) with one common goldfish in it. I bought the set up on Craig's List, and it came with a cool artifical coral center piece. I have confirmed the previous owner had a freshwater set up. When I turn the lights off at night, I have noticed that the goldfish is very fond of the coral, pecking at it quite often. Lately the "coral" is developing brown spots. Doesnt seem to be growth, almost like the coral itself is changing color. Does anyone know what this could be? Is it harmful to the fish? THANKS!
Artificial Coral - Turning Brown
- Thread starter kiddevo
- Start date
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
what material is the artificial coral made out of?
is the tank now near a window, and the tank now gets direct sunlight on it?
i would suspect diatoms. did you change the substrate or anything else when you set the tank back up in your home?
is the tank now near a window, and the tank now gets direct sunlight on it?
i would suspect diatoms. did you change the substrate or anything else when you set the tank back up in your home?
In a bacement, no windows nearby. I washed everything (no soap) and set up the tank for a fresh cycle. Problem is it is second hand, so i dont know what the material is. It feels real and is really heavy... I will try to upload a pic later today. Are diatoms bad?
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
definitely sounds like you have diatoms, due to the tank being 'reset'. diatoms are a natural part of a tank maturing. they are not harmful at all, just ugly to look at, lol. your goldfish is most likely eating them off the fake coral and that is just fine. they will go away in time. you can rub your fingers against the coral to loosen the diatoms off and suck them out of the tank during water changes.
did you rinse the filter under running tapwater? if so, you no longer have any beneficial bacteria and you will need to do large volume daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels as close to zero as possible. oh wait, just saw that you've had the tank set up at your place for 5 weeks, so the cycle may have completed by now. have you been doing big water changes during this time?
do you have a good liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? i highly suggest picking up the API Freshwater Master Kit.
did you rinse the filter under running tapwater? if so, you no longer have any beneficial bacteria and you will need to do large volume daily water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels as close to zero as possible. oh wait, just saw that you've had the tank set up at your place for 5 weeks, so the cycle may have completed by now. have you been doing big water changes during this time?
do you have a good liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? i highly suggest picking up the API Freshwater Master Kit.
I think I am pretty much cycled now. I limit my water changes as the incoming city water contains Ammonia, and drives my fish nuts for a some time until the levels come back down (hence I believe it is cycled). Instead I monitor everything using a test kit. I just thought it was interesting how it was only appearing on the coral. Perhaps the ample surface area helped. pH of the tank is high, close to 8.0, but I cant seem to bring it down. Must be pretty buffered. OK for a goldfish I am told. Thank you so much, look forward to comments after I post a pic!
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
what dechlorinator are you using? Prime (by SeaChem) is a brand that will detoxify ammonia, so you might want to switch to that if you aren't using it already.
i wouldn't worry about 'fixing' the ph at all. as long as it is stable and all other parameters are good then your goldie will be fine.
is your test kit the strips that you dip into the tank or a liquid regent kit with little test tubes that you put drops of the solution into? the test strips are horribly inaccurate.
the diatoms are most likely showing up only on the 'coral' due to the porous nature of it as opposed to the smooth surfaces of the glass/anything else in the tank. you're not seeing any of the diatoms on the gravel in the tank at all?
i wouldn't worry about 'fixing' the ph at all. as long as it is stable and all other parameters are good then your goldie will be fine.
is your test kit the strips that you dip into the tank or a liquid regent kit with little test tubes that you put drops of the solution into? the test strips are horribly inaccurate.
the diatoms are most likely showing up only on the 'coral' due to the porous nature of it as opposed to the smooth surfaces of the glass/anything else in the tank. you're not seeing any of the diatoms on the gravel in the tank at all?
Attached are some pics of the mystery stuff. I have also noticed it forming on the upper leaves of some of the fake plants, so I guess I can rule out the fake coral as causing the issue... What do you think? (sorry the pics are blurry....cell phone camera) FYI Dechlorinator is Nutrafn Aqua+..
BettaFishMommy
finkids make me happy :-)
yep, diatoms. they will go away eventually.
Nutrafin AquaPlus is a good dechlor (i was using it until recently myself). but Prime will detoxify that ammonia in your tapwater, making it safe for your fish and you won't have to worry about subjecting them to elevated ammonia levels when you do water changes.
that 'coral' looks to be a real dead coral, and that is probably one of the reasons your ph is so high. i've never used dead coral as decor in a freshwater tank so i can't comment fully on what it might do to your water chemistry in the long or short term, but i do know that it has the ability to raise the hardness of water, including raising ph. one thing i can comment on as well is that anything that looks like it should be in a saltwater tank looks very out of place in a freshwater tank. just my two cents.
Nutrafin AquaPlus is a good dechlor (i was using it until recently myself). but Prime will detoxify that ammonia in your tapwater, making it safe for your fish and you won't have to worry about subjecting them to elevated ammonia levels when you do water changes.
that 'coral' looks to be a real dead coral, and that is probably one of the reasons your ph is so high. i've never used dead coral as decor in a freshwater tank so i can't comment fully on what it might do to your water chemistry in the long or short term, but i do know that it has the ability to raise the hardness of water, including raising ph. one thing i can comment on as well is that anything that looks like it should be in a saltwater tank looks very out of place in a freshwater tank. just my two cents.