ok so i just checked on my tank a little while ago and there were a few things that raised and eyebrow for me. i looked at the top of the water and (its hard to explain it without a visual) it looked as if somebody had dumped a chemical or gasoline or oil or something of that nature in the water (which of course is not the case but just to describe what the water appeared like). you know if you got a bucket of water and put a few drops of gasoline how the colors and the chemistry changes at the top of the water in front of you, well thats what the whole top of my water level look like, just real toxic looking. now im aware that this can be a number of problems and a number of causes which could very well be my fault. thats why im going to list everything ive could of done to cause this, but first im going to talk about the tiny white bump (cist maybe) on my pollenis tail. im pretty sure its not ich because i know you can see ich on the tank walls and ive treated my tank for ick several times. does anybody know what this could be and what potential problems this can lead to? also if there are natural ways of cure (water change,salt,ect.) let me know please because ive been told that natural cure is the best remedy.
potential causes:
ive recently started feeding live feeders because i just got a peacock bass and he rarely eats anything thats not alive. so ive fed feeder goldfish, rosy reds, and even wild caught minnows (or baby trout) from the creek (i know not very smart, but i was told by the rep at my LFS it would be ok as long as they eat them rite away!). im also kind of a weirdo cuz i catch worms and bugs and spiders and what not and give em to my fish, ive even gone as far as catching a little wild frog and thrown him in there to see if the fish would eat him. that was awile ago tho. anywayz i think im starting to regret that now.
Another reason could be is maybe im doing too many water changes (probably 1-2, sometimes 3 a week)? everytime i do one i take 25-60% water out and change it (maybe im killing the good bacteria?).
Another possibility is maybe im not getting good enough filtration? I have a hang on back flter made for a 30-60 gallon and a 60 gallon powerhead & sponge filter. I was re decorating yesterday and when i was lifting rocks i found turds bigger than mine!! (not litterally but big for the fish i have LOL).
its a 60 gallon breeder tank and maybe overstocked? i have a texas cich,polleni cich, peacock bass,clown knife,bichir,RTC,pleco (all juveniles of course and yes i know i am in the blue prints of building an atleast 580 gallon plywood tank.)
Last but not least this is REAL reason i think ive caused all this. about a week ago i was reading something online that said if the red tail catfish eats crusteaceans (shellfish rite?) it will enhance the color of theyre fins and red tail. so what did i do? i went to a local bait shop and bought a dozen baby crawdads, which all but 2 or 3 have died or been eaten. i believe there might be 1 or 2 still alive in there. anyways i did a big water change yesterday and i seen one of the crawdads today but when i got back in there i seen the top of the water look funny, my RTC's belly was fat again and sure enough i cant find the crawdad that was just there a hour earlier.
Now maybe im just paranoid about the water looking funny, maybe the catfish just ate the crawdad and its inside juices or something made the water look toxic but then again what if its a huge problem?? and about my polleni's tail fin? its not like a major issue yet, i just seen a little white/grey colored bump that looks like a whitehead but what if it could be early signs of tail rot?? im fairly new to the hobby (7 months in now) and feel like theres soo much that i need to learn so i am open to all opinions and suggestions, and all of those will be appreciated! Thx for takin the time to read this!
potential causes:
ive recently started feeding live feeders because i just got a peacock bass and he rarely eats anything thats not alive. so ive fed feeder goldfish, rosy reds, and even wild caught minnows (or baby trout) from the creek (i know not very smart, but i was told by the rep at my LFS it would be ok as long as they eat them rite away!). im also kind of a weirdo cuz i catch worms and bugs and spiders and what not and give em to my fish, ive even gone as far as catching a little wild frog and thrown him in there to see if the fish would eat him. that was awile ago tho. anywayz i think im starting to regret that now.
Another reason could be is maybe im doing too many water changes (probably 1-2, sometimes 3 a week)? everytime i do one i take 25-60% water out and change it (maybe im killing the good bacteria?).
Another possibility is maybe im not getting good enough filtration? I have a hang on back flter made for a 30-60 gallon and a 60 gallon powerhead & sponge filter. I was re decorating yesterday and when i was lifting rocks i found turds bigger than mine!! (not litterally but big for the fish i have LOL).
its a 60 gallon breeder tank and maybe overstocked? i have a texas cich,polleni cich, peacock bass,clown knife,bichir,RTC,pleco (all juveniles of course and yes i know i am in the blue prints of building an atleast 580 gallon plywood tank.)
Last but not least this is REAL reason i think ive caused all this. about a week ago i was reading something online that said if the red tail catfish eats crusteaceans (shellfish rite?) it will enhance the color of theyre fins and red tail. so what did i do? i went to a local bait shop and bought a dozen baby crawdads, which all but 2 or 3 have died or been eaten. i believe there might be 1 or 2 still alive in there. anyways i did a big water change yesterday and i seen one of the crawdads today but when i got back in there i seen the top of the water look funny, my RTC's belly was fat again and sure enough i cant find the crawdad that was just there a hour earlier.
Now maybe im just paranoid about the water looking funny, maybe the catfish just ate the crawdad and its inside juices or something made the water look toxic but then again what if its a huge problem?? and about my polleni's tail fin? its not like a major issue yet, i just seen a little white/grey colored bump that looks like a whitehead but what if it could be early signs of tail rot?? im fairly new to the hobby (7 months in now) and feel like theres soo much that i need to learn so i am open to all opinions and suggestions, and all of those will be appreciated! Thx for takin the time to read this!
