Feeling Disheartened With Fishkeeping

[sheree]

I seem to be having fishy bad luck this week - feeling pretty fed up. Last weekend after cleaning i found a scratch on the inside of my 180l mature tank. Its only small and my dh couldn't find it until i pointed it out but still i know its there and everytime i know look at the tank i can see it. Then my water quality went up the pan. i haven't had any real problems with the tank since setting it up 2 yrs ago apart from the odd fungal infection after bumps and scratches and the odd territorial disagreement. However, my ammonia levels went up to 3-4ppm along with nitrate and nitrite readings. Luckily my PH is low and the fish seem to be handling ok. I did daily water changes which decreased it slightly and changed my filter media which was due to be changed and i don't think was helping the matter. I've continued with water changes since and luckily now we're heading inthe right direction.
Then today i came to my little 25l tank in the back bedroom and found that somehow my 2 cories had jumped out and died. I did a 20% weekly water change as usual yesterday, they fed ok last night and then when i went to feed them today they were on the floor. They live with a very stroppy betta so I'm not sure if he's caused trouble.
Hopefully I will run out of my bad luck soon!!!

 

[rdd1952]

Sorry to hear that you are having so many problems. The appearance of ammonia in your tank is odd. Was the filter off for a period of time or have you added anything to the tank that would have killed off the bacteria colony? Also, have you tested the other tank or your tap water to make sure the kit isn't old and faulty?

Check the tank over good for any dead fish or plants. Anything like that can start decaying and put a strain on the bacteria. Just keep the water changes up to get the levels as low as possible. You may also want to pick up some Prime or Ammo-Lock to detoxify the ammonia until you can get it sorted out.

 

[Colin_T]

You mention changing your filter media. Do you normally do this? If so it could be a cause of the ammonia readings. Filter materials hold the good bacteria that keep the water clean. If you change the media for new stuff you get rid of the bacteria and ammonia levels rise because there is nothing there to break it down. Most filter materials can be rinsed in a bucket of tank water and then placed back in the filter. If you have to replace filter material it is recommended that you only change 1/3 at a time and leave it a couple of weeks before changing more. Also try not to change filter materials when you do a water change. The combination of these two events can wipe out a filter.

 

[rdd1952]

I missed the part about changing media. That could definitely be your problem. You said that it was time to change it so are you using carbon that you need to change it every few weeks? If so I would suggest you get some type of ceramic rings/noodles that you don't ever have to mess with. As Colin mentioned, changing the media means you are throwing away a vast majority of your beneficial bacteria thus risking an ammonia and nitrite spike.