hello, i just cleaned my tank for the first time. i have a 38gallon, and i did a 30-40% water change. i have 6 cichlids, 2 afra, 2 pseudotropheus, yellow lab, and leleupi. since ive changed the water the leleupi has died, and the rest of the fish are swimming near the top of the tank. i did use a dechlorinator but i guess there is either ammonia or nitrate in the tank. the question is how long until these fish die and what can i do to stop that from happening.
just have a few questions...newbie
- Thread starter benvardag
- Start date
I can not predict the deaths, however....
How long has the tank been up and operating?
Did you do a cycle before adding fish?
What is your filtration?
Can you give us your test readings on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph? Same readings on your tap water after it has set out 12-24 hours?
More info will allow a better answer.
How long has the tank been up and operating?
Did you do a cycle before adding fish?
What is your filtration?
Can you give us your test readings on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph? Same readings on your tap water after it has set out 12-24 hours?
More info will allow a better answer.
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the tank has been up for more than a month. i dont have any nitrate or ammonia readings. when i first added the fish a month ago there were no problems, but now the fish are just acting wierd. i do have a ph tester and it is at 8.1. the fish have progressed to the bottom but a few are still near the top. i have a penguin 200 biowheel filter and i did change the filter today.
benvardag said:
Do you not have any readings or no test kit for them? If it's only been up for a little more than a month, I suspect it to be the tank going through the nitrogen cycle thats killing the fish, and possibly a PH shock, what was the
PH before you did the water change?
and some more questions:
did you change the biowheel? if you did, you did more harm than good.
You are aware of the fact that you should be doing water changes of atleast 20% atleast every week right?
Are you using a gravel vac? IMO you need to do a thourogh gravel vac atleast once a week (use it to do the water change) in any fish only tank(what you have), can't comment on planted tanks though.
i dont have any readings because i dont have a test kit. but the ph remained constant through the water change. i have a gravel vac and it worked well, however i did not change the biowheel, i just thoroughly cleaned it. i went from a single filter to a double, added an additonal filter.
pls get a test kit.. its important to monitor water conditions (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings, not just pH) in trying to pinpoint a problem...
based on what u said.. fish could be acting that way due to lack of O2, or difficulty in breathing that is probably caused by poor water quality.. however, we really cant pinpoint the problem unless u give us specific readings of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate
based on what u said.. fish could be acting that way due to lack of O2, or difficulty in breathing that is probably caused by poor water quality.. however, we really cant pinpoint the problem unless u give us specific readings of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate
Don't even clean the biowheel, if it looks dirty, it has good bacteria growing on it and cleaning it will just kill some of the bacteria, wich is completly unnesisary and will probably send your tank through a mini cycle.
I take it the tank was not cycled prior to adding the fish?
If this is the case I suspect you are just now seeing the effects of the nitrogen cycle..as others have suggested..please get a test kit.
it is important , especially at this time, to test the water.
ammonia and nitrites can be killers if the concentration gets high enough..even at low concentrations they can do a lot of damage.
good luck..at this stage there aren't a lot of suggestions since we don't have readings.
If this is the case I suspect you are just now seeing the effects of the nitrogen cycle..as others have suggested..please get a test kit.
it is important , especially at this time, to test the water.
ammonia and nitrites can be killers if the concentration gets high enough..even at low concentrations they can do a lot of damage.
good luck..at this stage there aren't a lot of suggestions since we don't have readings.
Try Bio-Spira to help get through the mini-cycle. Its a concentrated nitrifying bacteria culture that is found in the refrigerator at good LFSs (NOT the freezer!).
Don't clean the bio-wheel, I agree with Dorkfish.
Poly-Filter is a chemical sponge filter that helps remove contaminants. I use it in both my SW and my FW tanks as a filtering aid. You may want to try it.
Test for NO2 and NO3 and pH.
Add an airstone or plant the tank.
Use RO/DI water. RO drinking water from the supermarket is fine.
Don't clean the bio-wheel, I agree with Dorkfish.
Poly-Filter is a chemical sponge filter that helps remove contaminants. I use it in both my SW and my FW tanks as a filtering aid. You may want to try it.
Test for NO2 and NO3 and pH.
Add an airstone or plant the tank.
Use RO/DI water. RO drinking water from the supermarket is fine.