Help Really Smelly Water - Multiple Deaths!

[sammy86]

Ok - over the last two days i have noticed that my water (which i changed on sunday) has become awful smelling...not sewage - but a strange 'tangy' smell

overnight 2 of my seemingly heathy snails have since died (1 ramshorn, 1 apple snail)
and my mussel has also died...

the fish are all healthy, eating well etc - they show no ill signs atall.
today i done a 50% water change, and a hoover - but i can still smell it (not AS bad)

i need a new water test kit - so i cannot test the water yet (getting one asap)
could it be something to do with the water?

i fed my fish this morning, a mix of flakes and blood worm pellets
my remaining snails are happily munching on their food and doing snaily-things... they dont look ill.
my deceased apple snail behaved strangly (see his post) before it died..

help!

the only thing different i done was put melafix in the tank - however it says that its safe for snails...

 

[qwikimpss]

I actually just started dosing Melafix in my 55 gal to help an angel recover from some nipped fins and I also have experienced the odd smell.

The fish seem to be fine, healthy appetites, no clamped fins. I think so smell is just from the Melafix and isn't much to worry about.

 

[sammy86]

ahh so the smell and the dying snails are different problems? i have many (rather expensive) snails..so i dont want them dying on me!

 

[sylvia]

Do a BIG water change with de-chlorinated water ASAP. Do a thorough gravel vacuum while you're at it.

I'd ike to see results from a test once you've got you're new test kit...

Have you had any other deaths lately? Count your fish up - are they all there?

How big is your tank and what's in it (and how many of each)?

Do you have any plants? If so, can you see any that are rotting?

Try taking out your filter's media and rinsing it out in some OLD TANK WATER from a water change (ie: do your water change but keep some water in a bucket from it and use that water to squeeze out any 'gunk' from your filter media).

How much have you been feeding? Reduce the amount regardless.

Do you have carbon in your filter? If so, replace it asap or leave it out altogether as it's quite unecessary IMO.

edit: I've never had issues with melafix causing unusual smells. A healthy tank should never smell like sewage. If anything, it should smell vaguely like wet soil.

 

[sammy86]

Do a BIG water change with de-chlorinated water ASAP. Do a thorough gravel vacuum while you're at it.

yep i said i had done that in the post.


Have you had any other deaths lately? Count your fish up - are they all there?
my fish are fine - they are acting no different

How big is your tank and what's in it (and how many of each)?
2 platys, 2 danios, 2 tetras and 3 khuli and some snails
its a 12 uk gallon

Do you have any plants? If so, can you see any that are rotting?
all my plants look fine - i have java fern, wendtii and banana plant... should i wash them incase?


Try taking out your filter's media and rinsing it out in some OLD TANK WATER from a water change (ie: do your water change but keep some water in a bucket from it and use that water to squeeze out any 'gunk' from your filter media).

i done that on sunday

How much have you been feeding? Reduce the amount regardless.

flakes for the surface feeders... the tetras, khulis and snails eat pellets - i give them about 2-4 pellets a day - the flakes i scoop up in a net if their left

Do you have carbon in your filter? If so, replace it asap or leave it out altogether as it's quite unecessary IMO.
erm, i dont think so - i just have a rectangle spongey do-dah

edit: I've never had issues with melafix causing unusual smells. A healthy tank should never smell like sewage. If anything, it should smel vaguely like wet soil.


it dosnt smell of sewage...i cant really explain the smell... slightly woody and tangy

 

[qwikimpss]

Yeah, Sammy, I am experiencing the SAME EXACT smell. I can't say wether or not the Melafix is the cause of your snails dying (it shouldn't be). The smell is almost like smelling diluted Vick's Vapo-Rub.....which makes sense because Melafix smells just like Vapo-Rub.


Edit: I have also experienced that on my bubble ladder for my DIY CO2 set up that, instead of the bubbles merging when they touch one another with enough force and going up the ladder like they used to that they now bounce off eachother. This started happening in my 29 gallon yesterday when I was drip-acclimating some Rummy-Nose Tetras and added some Melafix (this isn't really a problem, just very interesting)

 

[sammy86]

yes i noticed the vapo rub smell too - it seems its made the water pongy

 

[WILDER]

Smelly tanks can be a sign of a bad bacteria infection in the tank, but it should smell like rotten eggs or sulphur if it's bacterial.
Also plenty of water changes as rotting snails can cause fish deaths.

 

[qwikimpss]

Yeah Sammy, I'm sure that's all it is.

I don't see how the Melafix coulda caused your snails' deaths tho. But as your other thread says they were acting oddly before the Melafix....or did I read that wrong?

 

[sammy86]

yeah they were!

the mussel is not dead! i put it in a jug of water and kept an eye on it and he is still moving - and he closed up in fright when i picked him up -
im glad as i had become strangley attatched to him XD

(hes called russel)

 

[sylvia]

The woody smell isn't unnatural...

If that's all it is, you don't have a problem. Your snail deaths were unrelated.

Melafix doesn't kill snails IME.

BTW, I did see that you'd done the water change already - but you should've done another if the water still smelled bad.

 

[sammy86]

i removed about 30-40% on sunday
50% tuesday...

everything seems fine