Help Please...

[MarineMoney]

I did about a half water change last night, adding the aqua safe, some ph buffer and a little nitrate/nitrite/ammonia remover and I woke up this morning to find my angel fish dead. I am so upset, I did a water test and both no3 and no2 were sky high as was the ph. I added some more of the remover to bring it down and it had come down slightly but its still in the dangerous zone, I dont want to lose even more fish, i dont know what has caused this sudden change as I added everything I should have to the water.

Please help, i'm panicking here. My other angel doesnt look too good either, I also have 2 mollies 2 clowns and a siamese fighter...

 

[InaneCathode]

I did about a half water change last night, adding the aqua safe, some ph buffer and a little nitrate/nitrite/ammonia remover and I woke up this morning to find my angel fish dead. I am so upset, I did a water test and both no3 and no2 were sky high as was the ph. I added some more of the remover to bring it down and it had come down slightly but its still in the dangerous zone, I dont want to lose even more fish, i dont know what has caused this sudden change as I added everything I should have to the water.

Please help, i'm panicking here. My other angel doesnt look too good either, I also have 2 mollies 2 clowns and a siamese fighter...

Did you add the dechlorinator before you put the water in the tank? (add it in a bucket and let it simmer for a few minutes?)

 

[QuotheRaven]

By clowns what fish do you mean?? Also Siamese fighting fish should be kept by themselves and not in a community tank...Also was the cycled prior to adding the water, was the filter turned off and without water contact for a large amount of time??

 

[MarineMoney]

the siamese is okay with other fish apart from his own kind, he has caused no trouble whatsoever, he is peaceful.

I added all the products before hand then put it in. All I can think is that I put too much buffer in at once instead of over the 30 minute duration, but that still baffles me about the no3 and no2 being so high.

I've done a near half water change, with aqua safe put in and now I am going to add some ph buffer over 30 minutes to an hour and then I am going to test again. My filter is only ever switched off when I am doing a water change, and one the water level is but up to the require standard for the filter to work it is switched back on again. The temperature of the water is fine.

Its just stressful knowing that my fish are suffering through a mistake of mine, it happened after the water change so it must have been an error that I made.

 

[QuotheRaven]

are the clowns clown Loaches?? if so what size is the tank because clown loaches are very succeptable to white spot and grow to 30cm and need to be in large groups...also is the tank/was the tank cycled prior to adding fish...how long has the tank been set up for

 

[MarineMoney]

yes they are clown loaches, I only have two at the moment and the tank is 180litres.

The tank was cycled for 4 weeks, which is a very short amount of time admittedly. Everything was okay though until i did that water change. I had been testing regularly to make sure the water was okay and I had been doing 1/3 water changes about every 4 days

The tank is heading on to 5 weeks now, I took some water to be tested when I bought my clowns and they said that it was very good, I believe that I added to much of something to the water when I changed it which caused a dramatic leap, especially in ph and my angel die because of it.

It's very sad, Im just doing all the things that is advised when levels are too high.

 

[QuotheRaven]

well the tank won't be cycled yet I advise you research the properties of cycling as it is quite complex and I have to get off the comp so I cannot explain properly

 

[MarineMoney]

I have researched the propeties of the nitrogen cycle about beneficial bacteria that break down ammonia into less harmful substances, and the way that good bacteria builds up upon the filter media and gravel etc. My fish were added too early, I'm aware of that and I made every effort to get as much information about setting up a tank that I could. I should not have got angel fish at that early stage because they are so sensitive to water quality and sudden changes. Believe me, I feel awful about losing her.

I am going to leave my tank for 2 months or so before I do anything else to make sure the levels are consistent and on an even keel for a substantial amount of time.

 

[black angel]

What do you get today for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph?

I think the problem may have happened because you added too many fish at once and the filter couldnt catch up with the waste.
A cycle takes around 6 weeks to complete from new and the tank must be fed with ammonia whether through fish or not to start the cycle.
If you have any readings for ammonia or nitrite then you should do water changes as and when necessary to keep the levels low.

What filter are you using?

 

[MarineMoney]

Hi,

My filter is the Juwel Compact H, it came with the setup. Once money allows which will be in about 2 weeks, I want to buy an external filter which filtrates through peat. I like the idea of the gradual softness it brings, which may prevent me from using ph buffer.

I think you are right, I made the mistake i swore not to, and that was adding too many fish. 2 after the first week and four after another week. It was just too quick and I payed a price for it, so did the fish, which I feel horrible about.

My ammonia is now 0 and my nitrite is 0.3. Ive added some amquel to remove this. I did a 50% water change today and I will do another smaller water change tomorrow, then test. I bought a liquid sera test kit, which tests for everything ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, chlorine, iron, phosphate etc

What external filter would you recommend, my tank is JUWEL 180 LITRE

Thanks

 

[black angel]

Personally I like the eheims. I have a 2224 on my 34 gallon and ive never had a problem with it.

http/www.1st4aquatics.com/index.asp?func...;productid=1303

It would go well with your juwel.

 

[MarineMoney]

thankyou,

it looks good on first look. I'll do some more research on it.