small fish v larger fish

[Jeff Butler]

Thank you for letting me join
I have a 190 litre tank that was given in June this year, stock it up over a couple of months with the usually small fish tetras , bloody noses and small gravel cleaners. Hopefully just coming out of a bad case of green algae which apart from two or three small fish I have lost the lot.In the tank I had one angle fish that came through. Question is do I stick with small ones or go to slightly bigger ones
Thank you
Jeff

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you are getting lots of green algae on the glass or in the water, reduce the light and do some 75% water changes. Algae grows from too much light or too many nutrients in the water. Reducing the light should make a huge difference and adding some live plants will help. The plants will use the light and nutrients so the algae can't.

Some good plants to try include: Ambulia, Elodia/ Hydrilla, Hygrophila polysperma & rubra, Ludwigia, common Amazon sword plant, narrow Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
Water Sprite is a floating plant that can also grow when planted in the gravel. The other plants all grow in the gravel.

--------------------------
If you are losing fish, do not add any new fish until we work out what is going on.

If you got a new aquarium it will require a month or more for the filters to develop colonies of beneficial bacteria that keep the water clean and safe for the fish. While the filters are developing these bacteria, you get ammonia and nitrite building up in the water and these will kill fish very quickly. Washing the filter out with tap water can also cause problems to the filter bacteria.

What sort of filter do you have on the tank?
Is the filter run continuously (24/7)?
How often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it?
How often do you do water changes and gravel clean the substrate, and how much water do you change?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
Have you checked the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels in the tank water?
Do you know what the general hardness (GH) and pH of your water is?

You can usually find the GH & pH by contacting your water supply company (phone or website). Alternatively you can take a glass full of tap water to your local pet shop and they can test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they do the test. You can also buy your own test kits from a pet shop or online and test it yourself. If you do get test kits, try to buy liquid test kits rather than dry paper strip test kits. The liquid kits are more accurate. Check the expiry date on any test kits and keep them cool and dry.

 

[Jeff Butler]

Hi and welcome to the forum

If you are getting lots of green algae on the glass or in the water, reduce the light and do some 75% water changes. Algae grows from too much light or too many nutrients in the water. Reducing the light should make a huge difference and adding some live plants will help. The plants will use the light and nutrients so the algae can't.

Some good plants to try include: Ambulia, Elodia/ Hydrilla, Hygrophila polysperma & rubra, Ludwigia, common Amazon sword plant, narrow Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
Water Sprite is a floating plant that can also grow when planted in the gravel. The other plants all grow in the gravel.

--------------------------
If you are losing fish, do not add any new fish until we work out what is going on.

If you got a new aquarium it will require a month or more for the filters to develop colonies of beneficial bacteria that keep the water clean and safe for the fish. While the filters are developing these bacteria, you get ammonia and nitrite building up in the water and these will kill fish very quickly. Washing the filter out with tap water can also cause problems to the filter bacteria.

What sort of filter do you have on the tank?
Is the filter run continuously (24/7)?
How often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it?
How often do you do water changes and gravel clean the substrate, and how much water do you change?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
Have you checked the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels in the tank water?
Do you know what the general hardness (GH) and pH of your water is?

You can usually find the GH & pH by contacting your water supply company (phone or website). Alternatively you can take a glass full of tap water to your local pet shop and they can test it for you. Write the results down in numbers when they do the test. You can also buy your own test kits from a pet shop or online and test it yourself. If you do get test kits, try to buy liquid test kits rather than dry paper strip test kits. The liquid kits are more accurate. Check the expiry date on any test kits and keep them cool and dry.

 

[Jeff Butler]

Tank size is 80cm height x 45cm width x 50 cm deep for the last two weeks only 4 hours with the light there are no widows where I have the tank . I have live plants, I have been using Algaefix 5mm every 3 days and a couple of 25% water changes a week. gravel about every other week the tank came with as a Aquis 750 canister filter ,I tested the water PH level it is usually a light blue, the pet shop tested the water for the rest and told me that I was in correct level. With the cleaning of the filter they told me to hold off till the water clear up. With the filter I have a 1000 Aquis filter would that be any better. You think doing a 75% water change would help

 

[Byron]

Some general comments on your posts.

Do NOT use any form of chemical algae-fix. If it is capable of killing algae, it will most assuredly harm higher plants. Not to mention the harm to fish; any substance added to tank water gets inside the fish. The only way to deal with problem algae is by establishing the balance of light and nutrients.

When having tests done by stores, always ask for and write down the number and unit. "Correct level" is meaningless as we have no idea what the individual in the store considers "correct," plus we don't know what test this was anyway. Be thorough with tests, the results can tell us/you a lot.

Water changes. This is the single most beneficial thing you can do, normally and with any problem. Significant changes, 50-60% of the tank volume, use a conditioner. Filter should be kept clean, but not sure what "till the water clear up" means. Is it cloudy?

If most of the fish have died it is not likely due to algae, but the algae may be an indication of other issues. Until we have numbers for tests of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH, we are only guessing.

 

[Jeff Butler]

Some general comments on your posts.

Do NOT use any form of chemical algae-fix. If it is capable of killing algae, it will most assuredly harm higher plants. Not to mention the harm to fish; any substance added to tank water gets inside the fish. The only way to deal with problem algae is by establishing the balance of light and nutrients.

When having tests done by stores, always ask for and write down the number and unit. "Correct level" is meaningless as we have no idea what the individual in the store considers "correct," plus we don't know what test this was anyway. Be thorough with tests, the results can tell us/you a lot.

Water changes. This is the single most beneficial thing you can do, normally and with any problem. Significant changes, 50-60% of the tank volume, use a conditioner. Filter should be kept clean, but not sure what "till the water clear up" means. Is it cloudy?

If most of the fish have died it is not likely due to algae, but the algae may be an indication of other issues. Until we have numbers for tests of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH, we are only guessing.

Some general comments on your posts.

Do NOT use any form of chemical algae-fix. If it is capable of killing algae, it will most assuredly harm higher plants. Not to mention the harm to fish; any substance added to tank water gets inside the fish. The only way to deal with problem algae is by establishing the balance of light and nutrients.

When having tests done by stores, always ask for and write down the number and unit. "Correct level" is meaningless as we have no idea what the individual in the store considers "correct," plus we don't know what test this was anyway. Be thorough with tests, the results can tell us/you a lot.

Water changes. This is the single most beneficial thing you can do, normally and with any problem. Significant changes, 50-60% of the tank volume, use a conditioner. Filter should be kept clean, but not sure what "till the water clear up" means. Is it cloudy?

If most of the fish have died it is not likely due to algae, but the algae may be an indication of other issues. Until we have numbers for tests of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH, we are only guessing.

 

[Jeff Butler]

Yes about 4 weeks ago you could hardly see the back of the tank last two weeks it did in prove but not getting any better, if I look in the tank at one end I can just about see the temp; heater at the other end So to give it a 50-70% water change and would putting a bigger filter on be any benefit

 

[Byron]

Yes about 4 weeks ago you could hardly see the back of the tank last two weeks it did in prove but not getting any better, if I look in the tank at one end I can just about see the temp; heater at the other end So to give it a 50-70% water change and would putting a bigger filter on be any benefit

A greenish-tinge cloudiness is an algae bloom, due to unicellular algae. If the cloudiness is whitish or yellowish, it is likely a bacterial bloom, or sometimes diatom or organic bloom. These are usually harmless, though unsightly, but may be relatively normal especially in newer tanks or after significant filter cleaning. Using chemicals like the algae-fix could harm bacteria too, so that may be part of this. Water chemistry is the most complicated aspect of an aquarium because the aquatic world is totally different from anything we are familiar with, and just one little thing can have enormous impact elsewhere. Which is why to deal with problems members ask so many questions, and why the solution is almost never to add another additive/chemical.

We need to know the numbers for the tests mentioned previously. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH.

 

[Colin_T]

If you could post a small picture showing the cloudy water/ algae it will be able to help us ID the issue more accurately. And if you can post a pic of the fish we can check them for diseases. They probably don't have any but if you have the camera out, take a few pics

If the images are too big they won't fit on the website so reduce your camera's resolution to about 2MB if you can, and use a flash so the images are sharp and clear.