1 fish down .......

[water jewel]

This is my husbands 225 gal tank I am helping him with.... The fish were gasping today and we saw the heat was a bit high.. but not crazy high...... we had just done a tank cleaning a few days ago but because one started floating we decided to empty close to half the water and replace with fresh water.... we have well water... well after all the work the fish looked happy again..... now about 6 hours later they are gasping again
..... the 1 fish did not make it
please any help would be appreciated .... BTW all tests seem good

 

[fluttermoth]

Could you post the exact numbers from your tests, please?

What fish species, and how many of each, do you have?

When you say 'tank cleaning', what, exactly, do you mean by that? Did you replace or clean anything inside the filter?

What was the actual temperature it reached, and what is it normally?

Sorry for all the questions, but we need as much detail as possible before we can really help

 

[water jewel]

we did an ammonia test and it was on and then I did one of those test strips that match up to a colour chart and it was ok
we have one big albino pacu, one Arrawana that's a little over a foot long , a shovel nosed catfish .about 7"long. a clown knife ..about 9 or 10 inches . some kind if albino shark... I think its really a catfish but they call it a shark... about 7" and 5 Sunnies 2-4 inches ..oh and an Eel (Tire track) about a foot long and a parrot fish..about 2"


the tank cleaning was about 60% taken out while siphoning the gravel really well..also washed down all the artificial plants and washed the class inside and lids.
we did not do the filter at that time as it had just been cleaned a few days before.... just rinsed nothing new added
We did the aggressive wash down because of the appearance of those tiny white wormy things on the glass.. I know my husband his been overfeeding


we normally keep it around 76 but it was at around 81.... not real high but higher than normal

When my son comes this evening I will have him clean the filter again..... My husband and I are both disabled and it is hard for us to do things under the tank

When I posted this they were all gasping for air quite a bit but not too badly now at all.... very strange
thank you for any suggestions

 

[fluttermoth]

we did an ammonia test and it was on and then I did one of those test strips that match up to a colour chart and it was ok

Can you please post the actual numbers. 'Okay' is not a number...
Was the ammonia 1ppm? Was that before the water change or after? What is it now?

we did not do the filter at that time as it had just been cleaned a few days before.... just rinsed nothing new added

What are you using to rinse the filter?

 

[nic1]

Also, how long have you had the tank?
How often do you clean the filter?

 

[water jewel]

Can you please post the actual numbers. 'Okay' is not a number...
Was the ammonia 1ppm? Was that before the water change or after? What is it now?



What are you using to rinse the filter?

we used the hose to rinse it.... the ammonia test was very pale..I don't know the numbers..this tank originally my sons..

 

[water jewel]

Also, how long have you had the tank?
How often do you clean the filter?

The tank has been set up for about 10
months

 

[flchamp89]

A 225 is huge. But thats a large bioload in there. Gasping at surface is lack of oxygen. Test strips imo are inaccurate. I recommend api master kit.

In 10 months obviously the fish have grown and will continue. I would test and do 50 percent wc then test again. Make sure your using prime to the 225g not to the 50 percent wc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[fluttermoth]

If you're washing the filter out with tap water, you're killing off the essential good bacteria that live in there. That explains the ammonia, and it's highly likely you have nitrite present too, if that's the case.

Nitrite prevents the fish's blood from taking up oxygen and that's what makes them gasp; it is actually very rare to have a lack of oxygen in a tank.

You will need to monitor the water for both ammonia and nitrite every day, and do enough water changes to keep the both as close to zero as possible, I appreciate that's a big task with a tank of this size, but it will be only way to keep the fish safe. Make sure the new water, and any you use to clean the filter, is dechlorinated.

I also agree that, even though your tank is very large, it is overstocked. You should probably think about rehoming some of the fish if possible.

What are the dimensions of the tank and is your water hard or soft?

 

[water jewel]

If you're washing the filter out with tap water, you're killing off the essential good bacteria that live in there. That explains the ammonia, and it's highly likely you have nitrite present too, if that's the case.

Nitrite prevents the fish's blood from taking up oxygen and that's what makes them gasp; it is actually very rare to have a lack of oxygen in a tank.

You will need to monitor the water for both ammonia and nitrite every day, and do enough water changes to keep the both as close to zero as possible, I appreciate that's a big task with a tank of this size, but it will be only way to keep the fish safe. Make sure the new water, and any you use to clean the filter, is dechlorinated.

I also agree that, even though your tank is very large, it is overstocked. You should probably think about rehoming some of the fish if possible.

What are the dimensions of the tank and is your water hard or soft?

The tank is 7 foot long for sure. I think its 22 or 24 high.. .. approx 18-20 inched deep
we do not have chlorine in our water it is well water. It is a little bit hard

I had a feeling there were too many fish but I have a very stubborn husband who says it's fine Grrrrrr and wants more


I also have a heavily planted 50 community tank that is doing fantastic after suffering a heavy algae bloom.. with a uv sterilizer it cleared up to crystal clear I was thinking about transferring some of my larger plants to his big tank as they are taking over mine. I know they add oxygen and help clean up some of the muck under the gravel.

 

[water jewel]

A 225 is huge. But thats a large bioload in there. Gasping at surface is lack of oxygen. Test strips imo are inaccurate. I recommend api master kit.

In 10 months obviously the fish have grown and will continue. I would test and do 50 percent wc then test again. Make sure your using prime to the 225g not to the 50 percent wc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

What do you mean by using Prime?

 

[flchamp89]

Seachem prime. It's a water conditioner. Your using a water conditioner when you do wc correct? Prime is widely used and considered the best.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[water jewel]

Seachem prime. It's a water conditioner. Your using a water conditioner when you do wc correct? Prime is widely used and considered the best.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

I don't think they do...they add some powder but not much for the PH.... I will tell him to get some Prime thank you....

they all seem to be doing much better now//I also took all my super big plants out of my tank and put in his..they were growing like crazy in my tank and blocking the light.. Im hoping it will help with oxygen and cleaning the tank like they do in mine.