Hi all ive been posting about this situation previously but my fish keep dying un fortuanlty i havent invested in my own water test kit but i will do that soon hopefully i took a sample to get tested at the local petco and the lady said that my nitrate levels were off the charts and most likely they were being poisned which kinda makes sense becuase there seems to be nothing wrong with them they are just dying randomly she suggested that i do A 25 percent water change today 10 percent tomorrow and ten percent on friday and come basck with another sample anyone have any other ideas i really want to prevent my other fish from dying they mean alot to me have had some for over 2 years now the only other thing ive seen is them scartching on rocks alot and twitching which lead me to believe they had internal parasites should i move them to a bigger 75 gallong ive had set up for 2 months now the nitrate levels arent off the charts as in this tank maybe that will stablize them any help[ would be greatly appraciated
3rd death in a week plz help me
- Thread starter wvera05
- Start date
I do 100 gallons weekly on my 120 gallon even though I don't need to...
That being said, how much are you changing?
That being said, how much are you changing?
If your nitrates are super high (for now we will presume she was right) do a massive water change right now. Seriously I would be doing an 80% right now and 50% every day for the rest of the week.
Nitrite is very toxic. Do you want to reduce its levels by 10% or by a lot more than that?
The next question to answer is why do you have nitrites? What did you do to your filter recently?
Nitrite is very toxic. Do you want to reduce its levels by 10% or by a lot more than that?
The next question to answer is why do you have nitrites? What did you do to your filter recently?
Okay so i do a 60 % water change didnt wanna stress them out im gonna do 50 % tomorrow and friday, ive also added stress coat,aquarium salt for as much water taken out, Amquel helps remove nirates nitrites and ammonia also i changed the sponge carbon bag and ammonia bag for my aqua clear fliter is there anything else i should do raise the temp keep lights off feed less etc any other advice i just really love my guys have invested alot of time and money into this and dont want to lose anyone else thanks in advance
im thinking i feed way to much overload of cichlid pellets to earth worths blood worms and beef heart i believe i did a bio overload , my other fear is that they may have internal parasites for the longesst time they have scratched themselves on sharp surfaces but dont know how to treat that or which medication clears them from that
You should take a deep breath and slow down.
Changing all the filter media is not a good idea, you could destroy the cycle but throwing out all the beneficial bacteria that grows on it.
The sponge on an aquaclear doesn't need to be replaced until it is literally falling apart. Be sure to rinse it under used tank water as the chlorine in tap water will destroy the bacteria.
You said you're running the ammonia removal media in the aquaclear? This is unnecessary. A properly cycled tank will not register ammonia, just nitrates which need to be removed by water changes. I run only the sponge and two biobags in my aquaclear 50 on my 20 gallon, and only use carbon when needed.
How are you doing water changes? Are you adding dechlorinator before putting water in the tank?
I would do some water changes to get the nitrates down and don't panic, if your cycle is destroyed I would buy a product like tetra safe start, I've had good luck with it.
You absolutely need a testing kit, get the liquid kind, not the strips, and test on a regular basis.
Sounds like the fish might have ich, not sure, but salt and increasing water temperature is the main treatment, there are also some medications but some fish are sensitive and you aren't even sure what it is.
Changing all the filter media is not a good idea, you could destroy the cycle but throwing out all the beneficial bacteria that grows on it.
The sponge on an aquaclear doesn't need to be replaced until it is literally falling apart. Be sure to rinse it under used tank water as the chlorine in tap water will destroy the bacteria.
You said you're running the ammonia removal media in the aquaclear? This is unnecessary. A properly cycled tank will not register ammonia, just nitrates which need to be removed by water changes. I run only the sponge and two biobags in my aquaclear 50 on my 20 gallon, and only use carbon when needed.
How are you doing water changes? Are you adding dechlorinator before putting water in the tank?
I would do some water changes to get the nitrates down and don't panic, if your cycle is destroyed I would buy a product like tetra safe start, I've had good luck with it.
You absolutely need a testing kit, get the liquid kind, not the strips, and test on a regular basis.
Sounds like the fish might have ich, not sure, but salt and increasing water temperature is the main treatment, there are also some medications but some fish are sensitive and you aren't even sure what it is.
I keep all my tanks at 82-84 dont have issues with ich.. i would bring the temp up to 84 add some aquarium salt.. i do a 50% change in my 145g weekly, i have alot of big fish though. i would do 50% a day for a few days then test it again.
If you have high nitrites the raised temperature will kill the fish.
Nitrites bond to the hemoglobin in their blood and prevent the blood from carrying oxygen. Raising the water temp will reduce teh oxygen in the water making it even harder yet for the fish to get oxygen.
Leave the contents of your filter IN your filter. That is what caused this problem in the first place. As noted above, rince it in used tank water.
Add dechlorinator to your water with each water change. GO buy a test kit, and do 50% changes a day until you have one. Water changes can do NO HARM. but if you need to do one and don't know it (and don't do it) that can cause harm.
Nitrites bond to the hemoglobin in their blood and prevent the blood from carrying oxygen. Raising the water temp will reduce teh oxygen in the water making it even harder yet for the fish to get oxygen.
Leave the contents of your filter IN your filter. That is what caused this problem in the first place. As noted above, rince it in used tank water.
Add dechlorinator to your water with each water change. GO buy a test kit, and do 50% changes a day until you have one. Water changes can do NO HARM. but if you need to do one and don't know it (and don't do it) that can cause harm.