Uh-oh, I think I found a dead pocket??

StarSapphire22

StarSapphire22

Senior Member and Goldie Enthusiast
May 3, 2012
473
0
0
33
Fargo, ND
Real Name
Jessica
So I've had a diatom issue for the last couple weeks and today I did a little over a 50 percent water change. I was taking out/moving a lot of the bigger decorations and took out the plants completely (I have goldies, so I keep everything fake) so that I could do a really thorough siphoning this time around. I had just finished poomageddon in my tank (apparently there's lots of yummies in my sand in my new pre-owned tank) so I'd had record poop strings and between that and discovering there's Chloramine in my tap and the diatoms, I wanted to make sure everything was SUPER clean and good to go.

I picked up this fake resin coral I had (it's pretty, okay!) and it released the most foul stench, and the sand underneath was black and just...EW. I threw out the coral, cause I don't want to deal with that again. Is that what a dead pocket looks like?

As of right now, I've seen no signs of bad health with my fish, and that happened before I even took out any water, so over 50% of the water from then has been taken out and replaced, and all the black sand siphoned out and the whole tank given a thorough siphoning and scrub down to reduce diatoms. Should I be okay, do I need to monitor the fish for anything?

My tank is 75 gallons, I dosed with double prime like the directions say for tap water with high ammonia levels, so three capfuls. I added tetra easybalance for my tank (my ph has been fluctuating between 7.5 and 7.8 the last week or so). Waiting to do tests until everything in the tank has settled down. Will probably do one when I get up tomorrow.

Thanks guys!
 
MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) are good at burying in the substrate and helping to keep it aerated enough to help prevent the dead pockets. Occasional stirring of the substrate will also help. I keep small pointed dowel rods to poke into the substrate once in a while. A more thorough vacuuming on a regular basis goes a long way. You will never prevent them all. Symptoms of your fish suffering will be gasping for air.

Yes, it does stink badly. I wouldn't get too worked up over it. It is naturally a occurring in nature as well and fish learn to avoid those areas.
 
It has always been my understand that the gas released from an anerobic pocket is really only dangerous if the gas being released is somehow diffused into the water. I will agree with the above and so trying adding some MTS if you are worried this may happen again.
 
I believe Sapphire keeps goldfish. I would not recommend MTS for a goldfish tank. They will eat them, and like rocks, they can get stuck and implale the fish. They don't always pass through, and unlike small ramshorns, their shells are not soft enough for a goldfish to crush.

I love my MTS for my cory tank, but be careful with the goldies. They are such a PIA sometimes!
 
Yeah, I had heard that MTS were incompatible with goldies before...would mystery snails do the trick? We have black ones or golden inca snails (I think that was what those were called?) available in our area, but that's about it. Fish are happily swimming around and pooping like always, so I think they're going to be ok. I was contemplating getting snails to help with my diatoms too, so....
 
Just finished my tests, and ammonia is reading zero, nitrite 0, nitrates 20, pH 7.5. This is the first time my water has been acceptable in a long time (thanks to the unknown chloramine). WOOHOO GUYS!!!!!!
 
In my experience, mystery snails are really cool, and get along with goldfish (as long as they aren't antennae nippers.) They clean up extra food, but add plenty of sludge of their own. Cool, but no real help with waste and dead pockets. I just stir the sand base and leave the top open. No fatalities yet! :)
 
I do a fairly thorough siphoning and stir up the sand with my weekly water changes....I do a big one where I move everything every month or two. Will that be enough??
 
I agree with no MTS for goldies. The mystery snails won't aerate the sand, simply because they don't burrow into the sand like MTS do. I just had a few clutches of mystery snails hatch, and have 2 more that are ready to hatch in about a week. It will take them a few more weeks after hatching to be a size that is goldie safe- but, when they are, I'll PM you for your address & ship you a bunch. Still too small to see what colors are there- they are literally like the size of a pin head- but, I have chestnut, blues, blacks, and an ivory in the parent stock, so, I should have a nice variety. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom