Strange behavior

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Wow I feel sorry for those fish. 15 gallons every 3 weeks on a massively overstocked tank makes me nauseous. Your water quality has got to be terrible. It takes you like 30 weeks to change what I do on my 135 with two fish in it in a week... your depending too much on prime and I have a feeling that could be the cause of the problem. How much are you adding when you do a wc?

Sent from my LS670 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Larger water changes itself shouldn't be too excessive as long as your bacterial colonies are in tact. I've always had good luck with 50% regardless of stock, but everyone's different.

That is definitely odd behavior though. Keep us posted. ;-)
 
ATLEAST 50% waterchange each and every single week for the rest of that tanks life, or you are mistreating the fish im afraid. A 110 gallon tank with that amount of big fish, and only a 15g water change every 3 weeks must have HUGE numbers of nitrate. Toxic levels.

They cant show it like we can, but trust me, your fish are suffering badly under that waterchange schedule you have. Either trim it down to 1 or 2 fish for that size tank, then you might be able to get away with a 50% waterchange every 2 weeks, but otherwise ATLEAST 50% each week.
 
I'm going to do %25 once a week. I also am going to add pura complete to my filter. Had the nitrates tested and it was real pink. Did not match up a number but they are high. Hope this helps keep my tank healthier. Don't want to remove any fish. What are my chances?
 
A powerhead and air stones will prevent oxygen deprivation. You'll see the difference right away and to prevent this ongoing issue, 50% water changes will make your fishes happier. Since, your in Florida. I presume your tank is on the warmer side, thus, fish will remain at the top gasping due to deteriorating water conditions, i.e. old water. Just my opinion and good luck!
 
I don't believe this has anything to do with oxygen but rather extremely poor water quality. With waterchanges there would be an influx of oxygen in the tank due to the extra agitation caused by the waterchange. Also, they wouldn't just go back to normal after a few days if it were an oxygen problem. I think your water quality is probably very bad and when you add the Prime it detoxifies it but it only is effective for 48hrs. After this the toxins (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) turn toxic again resulting in a sort of shock to the fish due to a sudden change in the toxicity of the water. Those particular fish are not typically sensitive to subtle changes in water chemistry but drastic ones they would be. I have Haitiensis that exhibit this exact behavior after each water change (even though I maintain nitrates at 10ppm or lower) because they are very sensitive to changes in water chemistry and are known for this, but they go back to normal within an hour. With that size tank and that stock you would need to do 2 50% waterchanges a week to maintain nitrates under 40ppm. 25% a week just isnt gonna cut it. I recommend getting a full, liquid type test kit and test your water to see where you're at.
 
Jason R said:
I don't believe this has anything to do with oxygen but rather extremely poor water quality. With waterchanges there would be an influx of oxygen in the tank due to the extra agitation caused by the waterchange. Also, they wouldn't just go back to normal after a few days if it were an oxygen problem. I think your water quality is probably very bad and when you add the Prime it detoxifies it but it only is effective for 48hrs. After this the toxins (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) turn toxic again resulting in a sort of shock to the fish due to a sudden change in the toxicity of the water. Those particular fish are not typically sensitive to subtle changes in water chemistry but drastic ones they would be. I have Haitiensis that exhibit this exact behavior after each water change (even though I maintain nitrates at 10ppm or lower) because they are very sensitive to changes in water chemistry and are known for this, but they go back to normal within an hour. With that size tank and that stock you would need to do 2 50% waterchanges a week to maintain nitrates under 40ppm. 25% a week just isnt gonna cut it. I recommend getting a full, liquid type test kit and test your water to see where you're at.
Click to expand...

Agreed with Jason R. In regards to some of the comments, I wouldn't take it to heart. Just absorb all the advices that have been given from knowledgeable keepers, and learn from it. Everyone had to go through it someway or another. I certainly did. Judging from prior posts. I believe your new. Whether your new in the hobby or not, that is irrelevant at the moment. But moving forward, now you have the resources to remedy most of the situations associated with our hobby.
 
I had the same problem after water changes. I cured it by using a wave/water pump, And hanging an air stone under the back of the pump.
It oxygenates the heck out of the water. And I saw a change in the fishes behaviors in minutes.

Spike;)
 
Almost all of the beneficial bacteria is located in your filter pads and as a thin layer over your substrate and decor, with almost none of it in the direct water column. This means that even if you do a 100% wc a day which many breeders do, there is pretty much a insignificant loss of beneficial bacterial.

To add to that fish in their natural habitat experience a water turn over rate much greater then you could ever accomplish. Just think about the average discharge an hour that even a mid sized stream puts out. So even the fish aren't bothered by large wc's

The only way that it becomes un-safe is when you are changing water out of a tank that has high total dissolved solutes. Such as in your case where your nitrates are probably through the roof, doing a large water change in these kind of situations can cause the fish to go through something called osmotic stress that occurs when there is a large change in the chemical composition of the water.
 
So I do have 2 power heads. The water oxygen search for my fish is now gone like clockwork. Fish are acting normal again. Maybe it makes sense that after a long over due change... the prime wears of and there's a bad adjustment period. I'm taking this info to heart and will Gradually increase my water changes. Will adding pura complete make any difference? I've had my tank for long time with little issue. Yet I logged on so I can learn more and give my fish a healthy tank.

€
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom