Is he doomed?! :(

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Random thought.

I been growing out algae on the glass walls. I cleaned out the fx6 today and notice lots of this algae in the filter.

If this is breaking down in there is that going to be bad for water quality? I don't notice any nitrate spike.
 
If this was my fish, I would allow him a chance to rest & recover from everything. Obviously a filter choked off with algae isn't going to be ideal. (possible 02 depletion?)

Stability is key.
 
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(To qualify) As I understand it and from what I've read, plants and algae don't contribute to water pollution in the sense we're concerned about. An exception, again according to what I've read, is algae that has cleaned up and processed water contaminants and then dies, potentially releasing them again into the water. I'm not averse to algae, I consider having some on driftwood, etc. as beneficial, but seeing much in a filter itself (not just tubing), especially canister, would be atypical for me. If I knew my nitrates were low, assuming reasonable stocking, moderate feeding, etc., it would make me wonder whether phosphate or other algae feeding substances are in my water source-- unless maybe my canister maintenance interval was extra long.

I don't think anyone posting here intends criticism of your tank maintenance, etc., just suggesting possibilities for the issue and what we'd do in your shoes.
 
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No nutrients, no algae. Different chemistry and environmental conditions support different types of algae, but whatever it is, if there's algae (or algae-like bacteria) in your filter, there must be some logic to it, and the simple logic is there are nutrients supporting it. Maybe there's micro algae in your water the FX6 is filtering out. Also, some algae and algae-like bacteria prefer low light. For example, some algae species live on the inner surfaces of mollusk shells-- low light conditions. If there's an unusual amount of algae in your filter and not much on tank surfaces, whatever it is may be competing with the algae you're trying to grow for the available nutrients, at whatever level you have them.

Back to your question-- is this bad for water quality? Not necessarily, theoretically algae helps your water quality. It could be telling you something about your water, just what depends on what it is and how much of it there is. Or as I said, if it's dying en masse and releasing toxins, metals, spent meds, etc. that wouldn't be good. What color is it?
 
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When I say algae in my filter i should clarify that I mean it's the same.algae growing on the glass that has dislodged and got sucked up in the filter. Some.type.of.soft hair algae
 
philipraposo1982 said:
When I say algae in my filter i should clarify that I mean it's the same.algae growing on the glass that has dislodged and got sucked up in the filter. Some.type.of.soft hair algae
Click to expand...

Hair algae isn’t bad. In fact a lot of fish will eat it. If it was blue-green algae, I’d be concerned.
 
philipraposo1982 said:
When I say algae in my filter i should clarify that I mean it's the same.algae growing on the glass that has dislodged and got sucked up in the filter. Some.type.of.soft hair algae
Click to expand...
Ah, okay. Makes me wonder if the meds caused it. Would be interesting to check the filter again after a while to see if it's just temporary or an ongoing phenomenon.
 
I think my plan going forward is to get into the filter for a clean every other month.

I really like the look of the algae on the walls of the tank but if it's going to cause problems then I will remove it.

After some really big water changes and cleaning out the filter I'm feeling hopeful.

I also remove most of the substrate and just left a thin layer just to cover the glass. I figure it's easier to keep the tank really clean this way. Hopefully this all helps with the healing process.

After the levamisole treatment the one loach that was looking rough is going to town on food. So its looking really good for him/her. I'm sure the weight will come on quick.

I'm going to keep an eye on Kai's poops and see if they can get back to normal. Hopefully the hole closes up too.
 
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