Fish Sitting On The Bottom

[menacer]

Ok since i have changed to sand, my fish seem to sit on the bottom till i turn the light on. I have lost one guppy recently that was doing the same is there a problem? My plants are rotting as well should i remove them?

 

[jnms]

What type of sand is it?

 

[menacer]

Argos play sand

 

[jnms]

Ok, I used that same stuff in my tank for 2 years without problem...so unless it has been changed - it shouldn't be the sand alone which is causing the problem.

Was the sand washed?

Also, to ask the obvious - have you checked the Ph levels and ammonia levels?

 

[menacer]

Yes i washed the sand i have checked Ammonia but not pH checking right this second

 

[menacer]

In fact i did not check Ammonia it was Nitrate i checked so ill check both!

#41#### pH is fine,

Ammonia: 1ppm

50% change?

 

[menacer]

bump

 

[jnms]

Yeah, certainly do that water change.

But you will also need to find out why you are getting ammonia. How long have you had the tank? It's possible I guess, that some beneficial bacteria we removed with the old substrate.

Have you cleaned your filter lately, or made any changes to it?

 

[menacer]

I have not made any changes to it, i took it out and bathed it in some old tank water as it was running slow but i only opened it and moved it through the water, i did not take out any sponge etc...

 

[jnms]

Seems strange.

One thing that happend to me before is that my filter got clogged up with sand which made it run slow. So I got a small ammonia spike. Could be that the slow running of your filter is preventing it from getting rid of all the necessary ammonia. It maybe worth taking out one of those sponges and given it a good clean - just incase it is clogged.

 

[menacer]

will i not lose vital bacteria?

 

[jnms]

Only wash one of the sponges, not both.

Also make sure you wash it in tank water. You will lose a little beneficial bacteria, but not much and it will repopulate quickly. You need to get the flow of your filter back up to full speed, else you are going to keep getting ammonia problems.

 

[menacer]

Ok thanks buddy

 

[eaglesaquarium]

BTW, 50% water change when the Ammonia is 1ppm, will only drop it to 0.5ppm, you need to do about an 80% change - at the least.

 

[jnms]

Or do 2 50% water changes if you can't take 80% out in one go.