Howdy,
Here's a perfect example that you can try to do everything right, and still, bad things happen: Came home tonight and my pirayas are pale, beat up, lethargic, slow, unresponsive, gasping for air, hanging on the surface. Even my wife noticed that they are in very poor shape.
Tank stats FYI: 5x 10-12'' Pygo. piraya, Endlers, shrimp, raphael catfish. 220 gal tank, drip system, 2x 2262 canister filters, planted.
Order of events after I noticed the condition of the fish:
First: Observation: Shreds of last night's haddock fillet on the bottom of the tank. I always watch them feed and take out leftovers immediately. No clue where this came from, but it was maybe 1x1x1'' total. Did my fish regurgitate? Searched the tank for more leftovers, found another chunk. Removed all I could find.
Second: Tank check: Filters, drip system, temperature, nitrites, nitrates, pH within normal parameters. Endlers behave normal. Shrimp are all lined up along the water surface.
Third: Boost water changes from 5 gal/h to 25 gal/h. In a 220 gal tank, that's basically 2.5x tank volume in a day.
Fourth: Removed majority of floating plants to free up surface area for improved gas exchange. Added all available air pumps, pushing 60 gal/h air thru the tank. Do not want to add powerhead to not stress the fish physically.
Fifth: Added full dose of vitamins, turned off the light
Only three variables come to mind:
I am going to throw out the remaining haddock from the freezer, hoping that's the problem. Nothing I can do about the crabs or tap water at this point. Hoping the increased flow of the drip will detox the tank quickly enough for the fish to recover.
But man, not looking good
HarleyK
Here's a perfect example that you can try to do everything right, and still, bad things happen: Came home tonight and my pirayas are pale, beat up, lethargic, slow, unresponsive, gasping for air, hanging on the surface. Even my wife noticed that they are in very poor shape.
Tank stats FYI: 5x 10-12'' Pygo. piraya, Endlers, shrimp, raphael catfish. 220 gal tank, drip system, 2x 2262 canister filters, planted.
Order of events after I noticed the condition of the fish:
First: Observation: Shreds of last night's haddock fillet on the bottom of the tank. I always watch them feed and take out leftovers immediately. No clue where this came from, but it was maybe 1x1x1'' total. Did my fish regurgitate? Searched the tank for more leftovers, found another chunk. Removed all I could find.
Second: Tank check: Filters, drip system, temperature, nitrites, nitrates, pH within normal parameters. Endlers behave normal. Shrimp are all lined up along the water surface.
Third: Boost water changes from 5 gal/h to 25 gal/h. In a 220 gal tank, that's basically 2.5x tank volume in a day.
Fourth: Removed majority of floating plants to free up surface area for improved gas exchange. Added all available air pumps, pushing 60 gal/h air thru the tank. Do not want to add powerhead to not stress the fish physically.
Fifth: Added full dose of vitamins, turned off the light
Only three variables come to mind:
- 5 days ago I added four crabs to the existing two crabs as cleaning crew. That's after 10 weeks of quarantine!!! I house guppies in my Q tanks as indicators, and they showed nothing over those 10 weeks. Not long enough?
- Haddock came from a frozen bag, that I have fed them from previously. Fillets are individually sealed. Did I get a bad one?
- Changes in tap water quality can always happen but would have, IMO, gotten taken care of by my water conditioner (Chemilizer clicks happily) and diluted by existing tank water?
I am going to throw out the remaining haddock from the freezer, hoping that's the problem. Nothing I can do about the crabs or tap water at this point. Hoping the increased flow of the drip will detox the tank quickly enough for the fish to recover.
But man, not looking good
HarleyK
man sorry! GOOD LUCK BRO!But ur doing everything u can.
