Tropical problem

[Uncle Fester]

Right then, been into my local Maidenhead Aquatics, and have bought a test kit conering Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH.

Amonia and Nitrite check out very low, so filtation is efficient, Nitrate checks out at around 75ppm which as a previous marine keeper is higher than I would want, but acceptable for the barbs. pH is about 8.0 which is what I would expected given our location.

OK, the remedial action: Have bought r/o water and will do partial changes every few days for the next week or so (with the addition of the minerals). Have bought Myxazin, and will dose every day with that for the next few days, and we will see how it goes. Also will gradually drop the temerature down to around 75o F.

Unc F

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

Good your on track - watch that Chloramine issue though - very little publicity has been given to the switch (by water companies) yet more and more are moving over to it.

 

If you need RO water regularly Pozzani do a system for aquarium owners for less than £70 I think - might work out cheaper than buying it (long term).

[Uncle Fester]

Hi UK, I have an R/O unit at work which feeds a machine, and I store it into an open cistern, which is why I'm reluctant to draw it from there in case of chemical contamination from the environment I work in. However, now I have bought a drum of hopefully known cleanliness, I can refill it straight from the R/O unit for future changes. No more deaths so far, and the remaining barbs looking slightly happier following the Myxazin doses.

Thanks for all your help.

Unc F

[shrek]

Thanks NetFull, will reply in my "alter ego" as I'm at home for a change. Wasn't aware that barbs suffered from low oxygen levels, although it certainly fits the symptoms. But with three filters pushing the water around, and now a low stocking ratio (a cherry barb has now gone also leaving 5 ruby barbs, 2 small golden barbs or Shuberti as I remember them, the plec and the cory),it's hard to imagine as the water is 2/3 new anyway. I guess the water is about 80oF by the thermometer, a little on the warm side, and allowing the fact that the thermometer might be pants, the water doesn't "feel" warmer than the thermometer suggests. They are all gulping fast, but they are not on the surface as lack of oxygen would suggest. The missus wanted me to put in new sand, and new plants, but I think what I did was less harmful than her suggestion. It was clear that urgent action was needed, and there was no way to get the water quality back from dead without some harsh action and risk. But I just can't understand the rapid breathing, the rest I can put down to the conditions. Perhaps I'll try cooling them gradually down to 75oF, but with the weather now on full blast, it might not stay there anyway.

Thanks for your reply,

Uncle Fester Bikenut

 

A bit late UncleFester - but here goes!

 

You mention 'SAND' in your post. Theres lots of trouble with sand in your tropical tank if your not VERY experienced at fish keeping. It potentially blocks your filters. It compacts very solidly under the weight of the water, and it retains much of the detrius from the fish. Itis very difficult to clean effectively, and although the general surface area of the substrate does suggest it would have a positive effect on GOOD algae growth, generally I have found it does not because of the above reasons.

 

I find small gravel the best substrate at about 3-4mm across. Also you mention 3 filters. Some fish do not respond well to alot of water movement. Since it is only the surface movement ofthe water that airates the water, try pointing the directional jets of you filters at the surface. If the filters are causing a strong current in the water, remove one or two, and buy a stronger single filter that is up to the job.

 

Hope this helps mate.

[Jaffa]

Could anyone enlighten me please.

My stepson has a small (about 6 gallon) freshwater tropical tank, containing assorted barbs, one corydoras and a rapidly growing plecostomus. My worry is that the fish have always seemed to be struggling for breath. They show no other obvious symptoms, and don't seem to be particularly in distress. We have had problems with the filters clogging with decaying plant material and I added a second internal filter a while back, which resulted in both of them clogging in the outlet side and nearly causing a wipeout while we were away last week. Fortunately our friend who was feeding them noticed and changed some water. When I returned on saturday, I put the fish in a bucket of tank water, cleaned the sand which had turned black (in the tank water) then let it settle and syphoned out the muck. Refilled the tank using the bucketful of old tankwater that the fish were in, and fresh water with Aquasafe or similar. The fish were ecstatic, loved the clean tank and water and were breathing at a rate I considered normal. Its now 4 days on and 3 of the Pentazona barbs have snuffed it, and the others are fine, but breathing fast again. OK the deaths could have been from either damage caused by the near wipeout, or perhaps an ammonia or nitrate spike as a result of the drastic cleaning, but why the rapid breathing? The tank isn't overstocked, I added an external power filter at the weekend as extra precaution against the filtration problems and the water now is belting around and I'm sure they are getting the oxygen now that perhaps they lacked before. Could it simply be the temperature too warm. We have a glass thermometer, and it shows towards the top of the "green" zone, which I always assumed was OK. Could gill flukes or some other parasite cause the sympton, they dont seem to flick themseves any more than any other fishes. I'm stumped.

Thanks in advance, Bikenut

 

Sorry to hear about the troubles Bikenut.

 

Very late but...

 

If its flukes look for rapid breathing and gaping gill covers. Treat with sterazin rather than myxazin. Don't treat with either until your sure what the problem is.

 

The tank sounds overcrowded. Barbs should not be in a six gallon tank, nor should a rapidly growing plec. Nor should a cory be in any tank on its own

 

You should be getting zero ammonia readings (a trace is too much), zero nitrite,and nitrates are way to high at 75.

 

Gulping and fast breathing without gaping gill covers usually means ammonia damage to the gills. It could be Overstocked tank ( this one sounds it) or chloramine in the tapwater. Your high local pH will make matters worse whatever it is.

 

Get some "ammo lock" and dose the tank with it, do 30 % water changes daily for ta week (use a conditioner that neutralises chloramine. If you can find another home for the cory, remove and add salt; try a tespoonfull a gallon to start with.

 

Don't put barbs in wee tanks, or corys on thier own

[mike11]

DONT TREAT WITH ANYTHING

 

THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS a 6 gallon tank is tiny,and much to small.This size tank would only be ok for say 2-3 small goldfish.It is very cruel to keep any more fish than this in such a small tank.

[Steve Walker]

Be careful with RO water - it is too pure for most fish tank setups and you need to add buffering products (effectively chalk!) to bring it back upto moderately hard water. RO water in fish tanks is used for things like Discus where the levels of hardness need to be exact (i.e. by buffering it up you can get it pretty precise).

 

Not really a problem if you're mixing it with very hard tap water, though. Even making water changes with peat-filtered rain water only causes a gradual drop in pH and hardness with the runny chalk that comes out of our taps. I think there's so much of it precipitated in the gravel and filters that taking some out with peat just causes more to leach out of the tank.

 

I wish I'd gone for hardwater cichlids instead of softwater Amazonians.

 

As for chloramine, old fashioned declorinators based on sodium thiosulphate will break it down and grab the chlorine, unfortunately leaving free ammonia. Should only be present in small amounts, which the filter ought to be able to deal with. Newer dechlorinators will deal with the ammonia too. Personally I only ever bother with them when making very large water changes.

[mike11]

All these experts on here!!!!!!!!

Whats all this advice you are giving about ro water and so on.Have any of you actually kept fish.This lads problem is simple and age-old,OVER STOCLING,remember he said 6 gallon tank not 60.So stop trying to be flash and downloading extracts you read about water chemestry etc; Listen mate ; Just get a bigger tank and dont listen to all these water boffs on here.

[Steve Walker]

All these experts on here!!!!!!!!

Whats all this advice you are giving about ro water and so on.Have any of you actually kept fish.This lads problem is simple and age-old,OVER STOCLING,remember he said 6 gallon tank not 60.So stop trying to be flash and downloading extracts you read about water chemestry etc; Listen mate ; Just get a bigger tank and dont listen to all these water boffs on here.

 

Mike, I assume you're talking to me, since mine is the only post between your two.

 

I wasn't particularly replying to the OP's question, rather Ian's comments about RO water. For what it's worth, the OP's tank does sound overstocked, and if it isn't, it soon will be once the fish have grown a bit. I didn't see the point in repeating what you've already pointed out.

 

As for downloading extracts, I have a pretty reasonable grasp of the science involved in fishkeeping without the need to do that.