Breakdown Of Fish Waste

[happyhughes2001]

Good evening,

Could I have some advice please? There seems to be a large build up of fish waste at the bottom of the tank, previously I haven't noticed this and have just kept up with my 25% and 50% water changes. The fish seem to be opening and closing there mouths very quickly aswell, are they lacking oxygen?

I have had the tank for over a year, and only lost one tetra in that time so thought I was doing a good job. But recently things don't look right, like the build up of waste, fish staying at the top of the tank alot...

It is a big tank, I have the intake of water through the pump one side and on the other side the output from the pump, the output is under water though so it doesn't create surface ripples???

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[anon02]

I think you need to do an immediate gravel clean / water change of at least 60% of your tank volume, then test your water parameters.
At a guess I would say that you have been doing your water changes without doing a gravel clean at the same time which can lead to a high ammonia build up as the solid waste breaks down. I would also suggest that you check that your filter is not partially clogged. It would help if you positioned your filter outlet so that it causes a ripple at the surface which will help with oxygen diffusion

 

[SlyPolak]

do you have a test kit??

what is your water volume and what stock do you have??

do you gravel vac?

rapid breathing could be many, MANY different things..... high ammonia etc....

as long as your surface agitation is visible you should be good, lack of O2 would have fish breathing hard right at top of the tank "gulping" air

I think you need to do an immediate gravel clean / water change of at least 60% of your tank volume, then test your water parameters.
At a guess I would say that you have been doing your water changes without doing a gravel clean at the same time which can lead to a high ammonia build up as the solid waste breaks down. I would also suggest that you check that your filter is not partially clogged. It would help if you positioned your filter outlet so that it causes a ripple at the surface which will help with oxygen diffusion

Mulm build up (poo) will NOT cause ammonia levels to rise as long as you have a healthy filter, your nitrates would tho

 

[happyhughes2001]

Thank you for the responses.

The tank size is 150cm x 52cm x 56cm

I tested for ammonnia last night and it was clear, I do not have a gravel vac. I have never seen the build up of waste like this before, should I have beengravelling vacumming all along?

I have 2 Plecos,
2 Clown Loaches
20 neon tetra different colours
6 Gouriams
2 Khafti Loaches
1 Albino loach

the output water is a good couple of inches below the surface water is this a mistake?

my water temp had crept up to 81F so I have it coming down now..

Looks like I am making a lot of mistakes, I haven't got an air pump either?

Thanks again much appreciated

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi happyhughes...

I'm afraid you have been making a few errors, but never mind!

Yes, you should always gravel vac when you water change; not only to get rid of the 'mulm' but also because the nitrites and nitrates tend to sink to the lower levels of the tank.

You don't need an air pump; as long as you can see ripples on the water surface that will be enough.

You do have a lot of big messy fish in there. If your plecs are common plecs, they can grow to a couple of feet long; you'll probably have to look at re-homing them at some point; same with the clown loach; they can reach a foot long.

 

[happyhughes2001]

I can sort out the surface ripple straight away.

I will buy a gravel vac tomorrow and do straight away with another 50% water change? Should you only do a gravel vac when doing a water change?

Ideally should the input pipe for the filter be at the bottom of the tank?

Any other advice would be welcome thank you?

I am keeping mainly Gourmais and Tetra as they seem to get along fine and there are quite a few different colour/ species of each to make the tank interesting.

Thanks in advance

 

[fluttermoth]

I know some people have gravel vacs that return the water to the tank, but I prefer the ones that attach to a syphon. The mulm doesn't actually do that much harm in the tank; the nastiest things you get in your water, like ammonia and nitrites, are all invisible anyway!

It is best if you can have the inlet for the filter down as low as possible and the outlet at the water surface.

My best advice is always the same; don't be afraid of water changes