tank going downhill

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

johnuskglass

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 18, 2008
203
1
0
Maine
My father doesn't do waterchanges, so when I came home from college I started doing them on his 90 gallon tank, about ten gallons a few times a week. A while ago I did a 30% change of the water all in one go, and then a couple of days later introduced, unquarantined, a few neons and a gourami. No signs of health issues diseases, etc.
Since then there's been massive die off in the tank. Amon/nitrates are normals, fish show no sign of stress/disease...but keep dying. I set up a 20 gallon med. tank and I'm wondering if it's better to move all the fish in there or use melafix on the big - or even to just change almost all the water on the 90 gallon. I've never experienced anything like this so I'm at a bit of a loss.

Thanks in advance
Chris
 
Water Parameters? Filtration? STock list before and after the waterchanges? Any and all information you can add would only help.
 
ProblEmZ;3244252; said:
Water Parameters? Filtration? STock list before and after the waterchanges? Any and all information you can add would only help.
Click to expand...


Yes...

Kinda like a recipe in cooking.. there are logical cause/effect changes that happen in a tank.. It is a controlled environment so there is some part of the equation we are not seeing...
 
before deaths: 6 platies, 13 neons, 8 corries, 3 gourami's, 5 swordtails, 3 chinese algea's.
nit's: right around 0 ppm, PH is 8.1 or so.

current
90 gallon - two 55 gallon HOB's.4 platies, 4 neons, 6 corries, 2 gourami's, 4 neons, 3 chinese algea's, 4 LARGE swordtails.
 
should have clarrfied a bit more: other than the neon's added on fathers day , the tank had experienced little die off over a period of a year.
 
8.1 PH.. waaay to high for neons. whats the KH/alkalinity at? my guess is your getting your fish from a standard shop who keeps thier ph in the 7.2-7.5 range and your fish are getting PH shocked. Nit's? Nitrates? Nitrites?Ammonia? thus far sounds like your best off either A.) trying to maintain a lower PH which can be a pita. or B.) look into african cichlids who like such water.

Your PH can also be a result fromthe length of time the tank went w/out a water change. What does the water come out straight form the tap at? ph/kh/nit/nitri/amm? Can give a better idea of whats goign on as well.

I'm guessing neon die-off... nitrate spike... kills a few others... water tests a okay!

2 55 HOB filters doesn't help much. what brand? GPH?

likely going threw a bacterial cycle as well if you got home.. ripped the filters apart and cleaned them and started doing lots of water changes. the BB that had built up may be takeing a beating.

I doubt it's a bacterial infection or disease, unless you are seeing obviouse signs like white patches or ick spots, ect.
 
13 or so of the neons had lived in the tank for over a year. I understand PH shock, but I also understand acclimating. Lowering PH is impossible without RO - water is too hard.

I think that doing the water changes may have done something - out of tap it's about 8.1, but slowly over time I believe it goes down to somewhere around 7.5. OUt of tap the amm/nits etc are around 0 (ground water).

2 HOB's are some sort of walmart whisper filter.


Didn't strip the filters - just water changes.
 
When I first did the water changes the water was crystal clear - now however it's cloudy. Do you think that this could be a bacteria bloom? The siphoning that I did disturbed parts of the tank that hadn't been cleaned in a long time - possible years. The water from the gravel that I siphoned out was black/green. Is it possible I distrubed large pockets of BB?

If that's the case is the answer switching out the remaining neons and doing large water changes?
 
like I said before, your tank is likely going threw a cycle. water changes will help. But likely at the Ph your at your neons and any other you put in the tank will die, they just aren't physically built for that type of water no matter how well you acclimate them, or will live a short life. 25% WC 2x a week max. let the tank cycle it threw. if your 30 is cycled you can try dividing the fish load and puttign your neons at leats in that tank so they don't get shocked bad. and when you syphoned out the bottom you prolly unearthed a bunch of decaying debris thatw as slwoly decomping and releasing into the tank and being handled by the BB. changes in temps can also trigger ammonia from what I've read, and makes logical sense at least to me. There is also debat on "old tank syndrome"

there is no quick fix, adding prime will help level the cycle. but only time and patience will let the tank re-balance itself imo. methodical syphoning of the gravel every week or 2.. regular WC's .. slowly acclimating the fish back to regular maintenece. smaller more frequent wcs are better then fewer larger ones imo w/ your issue. had the same problem.. only my tank had gone almost 3 yrs. and surprizingly their was a black kulie loach still alive. who now lives in my planted tank merry-like. as much as you want to rip it all up and clean it.. thats prolly the worst thing to do, 'specially for the fish.

btw my Ph comes out the tap at 8.2+ and hard as a rock.. and I have cardinal tetras in one tank. and I don't use RO water. so yes their are other ways to lower your PH, but like I said it can be a pita.

So where it's at atm w/ cloudy water. I wouldn't touch it unless your levels spike. add some prime. wait it out best you can and maintain the best WQ you can while it cycles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom