Dead Bristlenose - High Nitrate reading??

[Redcrab]

I bought a new bristlenose from my LFS and he died within 4 hours (my old common pleco had to be traded in as he out grew my tank)

Can you help me with this one, not sure what to do next to resolve this problem, if there is one at all???

I've just tested my water for the first time in a while and got the following reading:

pH 6.8, KH 0, GH 16, N02 0, N03 250.

- The new fish just sat at the bottom quitely until it died.

- I do a partial water change (1/4) every month.

- I only add fresh start and anti stress when I do this

- Fish as listed below (pleco used to create alot of mess though)

- Tank 50 litres

Any help will be greatly appreciated as I'd like to add a new pleco to keep my algae under control but want to ensure that I don't make any mistakes.

Plus if it isn't my fault I'll be having words with my LFS about replacing the dead pleco.

Thanks

 

[chris_1127]

what sort of size are the clown loaches at the moment? theyre eventually gonna go the way of your common plec and outgrow your 50l tank as they get pretty big too. Could just be the bioload from the fish ie the vol of ammonia they are producing and subsequently being converted to nitrates that are causing the high levels - depending on the size of the other fish you're probably close to the stocking limit for the tank without the clowns arent you? Might be worth doing a 25% a week water change instead of 25% a month.

 

[Redcrab]

This was also mentioned to me in another thread relating to my pleco the other day, they are currently only 2 inches a piece, my total fish inches is only at 13 now that I got rid of the pleco.

I am considering upgrading to a 3ft tank to accomodate their growth in future.

The pleco only went the other day and I've still to clean out some more of his mess without upsetting the rest of the tank. I've heard about these vacuums, is that a good idea, plus my plants are covered in dust/stuff, should I take them all out and wash them in tank water??

 

[chris_1127]

before i set my 15g up as a dwarf puffer/bumblebee tank it housed 8 juvenile tiger barbs and 2-3 otos which was approaching the stocking limits, nitrates used to rise quickly and the only way i could keep them down was weekly changes. by doing the weekly changes with a gravel vac syphon it both cleaned up the mess and kept the levels lower. I did add some shrimp to this tank recently (4 cherry shrimp and 3 ghost) - they do a great job of cleaning the plants and bogwood in my dp tank (how long theyll last though i dont know!!). The air driven vacs are good for a quick clean up but will do nothing for your high nitrate levels.

 

[gadazobe]

Your nitrate readings are over the roof. They shouldn't go above 40. Admittedly nitrate is not toxic to fish, but such high readings will stress them out. The shock of high nitrate is probably what killed the bristlenose. You have to do more frequent water changes to get the levels down and keep them down, once a month isn't sufficient for your tank, 10-20% of the water should be changed weekly.

 

[Vip]

Sorru about your fish, they are a great fish.