ive been having issues with my w/cs the last couple months. everytime i do them i lose multiple fish. im thinking its the water but ive not had this issue up until say mid feb. any ideas? or do you think im right that its a water quality issue?
issues with water change
- Thread starter dphillips
- Start date
I know my condos do a water treatment every spring. I add carbon and treat with prime and of course don't do a wc the week they are treating the water. Check the tap water and see if they added anything and are you treating water incoming? A bit of carbon and prime can go a long way
I'd definately do a ph check on your tank and your tap. Try to make the tap as close to tank ph and temp as possible to try an relieve as much stress from the fish as possible.
Please describe your routine. What declore you use....how close in temp is new water to tank....size of water change.....frequency.....etc.
x2. as much info on the whole process will help pinpoint where your problem is likely coming from. if your on a well or public water... what conditioner you use if any and how much. the more detail the better, and and a recent water test result would also likely help.
my most recent ph test was about normal. i am going to be taking water samples from both my tank and my tap soon to test. my water is from a well. the water is a bit hard as well. we do not treat the water coming in. i forgot to add before that the fish only die within the first 24 hours. i usually do my wc as the water gets a little low (half inch to 3/4 of an inch below fill level) which is about once every week and a half to 2 weeks. roughly 20 to 25% change. the thing i find most troubling is that some fish last through as many as 7 or 8 changes before they have issues. when they do go, they usually stop eating and swimming around nearly immediatley after i do my change. i hope this is enough info to help start. as soon as i get my water results i will let you know what its like.
also, i forgot to add that when i do my water changes. i do make sure that the temp of the water im putting in is close to the temp of the tank
Although your temp is similar, your water could be super saturated with oxygen, if it starts very cold. This can cause gas bubble embolism.
Running an airstone in the new water to agitate it, or letting it cascade against rocks, or thru an overflow can prevent this. If you take a glass of tap water and it appears grey, but clears from the bottom up, this could be your problem. Here in Milwaukee the tap water is only 50'F or lower most of the year and I must cascade my water for changes thru an overflow to reduce the gas super saturation.
Running an airstone in the new water to agitate it, or letting it cascade against rocks, or thru an overflow can prevent this. If you take a glass of tap water and it appears grey, but clears from the bottom up, this could be your problem. Here in Milwaukee the tap water is only 50'F or lower most of the year and I must cascade my water for changes thru an overflow to reduce the gas super saturation.